When clearing your personal shipment the following must be presented:
Valid Government issued Identification e.g. Valid passport, Driver’s Licence – photocopied documents must be signed and stamped by a Justice of the Peace (JP)
Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN)
Bill of Lading or Airway Bill
Proper Invoice (where applicable)
Import Permit or License, where applicable
Unaccompanied Baggage Allowance Slip (UBA Number) where applicable
Steps to take when clearing personal shipments:
The importer should contact the shipping agent.
Submit the invoice (where applicable), permit, UBA number (where applicable) and TRN information to the shipping agent/freight forwarder.
The shipping agent/freight forwarder will prepare and submit the IMS4 Declaration to Customs and advise importer when payment should be paid.
The shipping agent/freight forwarder will make arrangements with the warehouse operator and Customs for the goods to be examined after payment of the declaration.
The warehouse operator will notify Customs once the goods are located for examination.
Customs will review the declaration and examine the goods.
Upon completion of examination, if there is no anomaly, a Release Order will be generated by the officer.
Where an anomaly is detected, the declaration will be updated for the Agent to make the necessary adjustments or actions.
The Release Order will be delivered to the warehouse operator/ shipping agent/freight forwarder for the Gate Pass to be issued.
The shipping agent/freight forwarder will contact the importer to take delivery of the cargo once all payments have been made to all parties (warehouse operator, customs, shipping agent/freight forwarder).
The importer or importer’s representative will present the Delivery Order/Gate Pass and validated Bill of Lading to the warehouse personnel for vetting.
Once the cargo is verified, an Exit Note will be generated, and the Gate Pass processed and returned to the importer or importer’s agent.
The shipment will then be delivered by the warehouse operator.
