CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the study.

The Containerized system has been used for years since it is best for the transportation of goods over long distances and duration. Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers. Containerization is a method of disturbing merchandise in a united form. It permits an intermodal transport system to be evolved, that is one providing a combination of rail, road, carnal and maritime transport (Alan E Branch 1988).

It is long established, the development of containerization, mechanization improved productivity and working conditions in the shipping business, it has gone a long way to change the face of its decades (lospress 2012) Containerization process is the best process for movement of goods from one county to another country with safety and security. It is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers. The containers have standardized dimensions. Although Containerization is an innovation that made it appearance on the world transport scene in the 1960s, it has not ceased to expand and evolve (Brain Slack, John T Starr 1994).

A seaport can be defined as a terminal and an area within which ships are loaded with and AO discharged of cargo and includes the usual place where ships wait for their turn or are ordered or obliged to wait for their turn no matter the distance from that area (Alan, 1986). The Douala seaport is a deep seaport of considerable size which was constructed by a German Plantation Company, where several vessel load and discharge (Munge; 2019). The City Douala is the economic Capital of the country.

The Douala seaport is not only of critical importance to Cameroon, but it’s influence spans the entire Central Africa and beyond. The Cameroon Economic report (2015) indicates that one area that requires an acceleration of reforms is trade facilitation, especially the efficiency of the Port of Douala which accounts for at least 95 percent of the goods exported from and imported to Cameroon. The movement of these vehicles is only possible if the goods are properly presented and loaded at the Port of departure and unloaded at the Port of arrival.

Njobinkir (2019) stated that the Douala seaport located in the Littoral region handles about 95% of imports and exports for the country as well as some neighboring landlocked countries like Chad, the central Africa Republic and even the Northern Congo Brazzaville, making it a gate way to these countries and a pole of reference at the heart of the Gulf of Guinea. Cameroon is a port state with over Nine poets, out of which, only few are operational and the Douala Bonaberi port is the principal one. Containerized Vehicles from across the world both second handed and brand new enter Cameroon through the Port of Douala. Following all the activities at the Port, it’s all directing to the smooth transactions by Customs Authorities for the transportation of these vehicles from abroad to be legal in the country.

Cameroon custom duties on Cars vary according to the condition of the cars. These cars can either be second-hand cars or New cars. The clearance procedure for these cars and the calculation of customs duties rely heavily on the car’s condition. About 90% of the world’s goods are transited by sea. The Importation of vehicles from America to Cameroon varies on the tariff cord and the relationship between the two countries. Since Cameroon don’t have good equipments to produce cars, they are bound to import them from Europe, America, West indies and many other countries. This is mostly transported by Sea where by the vehicles are put in Containers for a better management by the carrier or shipper.

Rapid Clearance processes for goods arriving in ports or at border crossings generally involve multistep declaration, risk analysis, inspection, revenue collection, and release procedures focused in time and space at the point of arrival of a shipment in the destination country (Pomerantz & Topik, 2018).

In most countries, existing border clearance models for international goods shipments have developed in the context of a trading environment dominated in recent decades by business-to-business (B2B) commercial shipments of bulk, containerized or palletised cargo for further processing or distribution (for example, by retailers) in the country of destination (David, 2017).

International trade in goods in today’s global economy is largely based on standards set by multilateral post-World War II conventions and treaties (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, 2012, pp. 10–29). The bulk of today’s international trade takes place in a highly complex environment involving financial, fiscal, legal, logistical, and regulatory aspects, and the movement of a shipment from origin to destination typically involves a multiplicity of commercial and governmental actors who must perform a choreographed sequence of tasks to ensure the shipment’s arrival.

The ‘Buy-Ship-Pay’ model developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) provides an easy-to-understand reference for how commercial trade happens and the categories of actors involved, which include a number of intermediaries and service providers (UNECE, 2012). A very important step in this chain of event.

Containerized vehicles that’s both second handed vehicles and brand new vehicles from the USA, Germany, Belgium and the UK are all shipped into containers to Cameroon following all the processes and procedures required, automobiles like motorcycles, tractors, trucks, vans, are all imported to the Port of offloading in Cameroon The SGS evaluate second handed vehicles Arriving the ports. To import vehicles to Cameroon, you will be required to pay import duties and take care of some necessary documentation.

Cameroon import tax is charged based on the FOB (free on board) the value of the vehicle, the rates are applied using the FOB value of cars as stated by KBB.com and some parts of Asia According to the Chamber of commerce and sectoral association (2011), Trade undeniably plays a crucial role in bringing about economic development and growth. One of the concerns in international trade is the time spent to clear export/ import goods by complying with the customs regulations and procedures of the country in question, and the concomitant transaction costs associated with such procedures. (Ended Negus, Tsegaye Teku).

A commercial shipment’s clearance in most cases requires submission of declaration data (whether in documentary or electronic form, sometimes well in advance of the shipment’s physical arrival) to the responsible agency, which uses the data provided to determine whether duties, taxes or other fees are payable, whether other mandatory legal requirements apply, whether an inspection is required, and then issues a release for the shipment, which may occur in certain cases conditionally prior to full and final clearance.

The efficiency and cost of rapid clearance has been widely recognized as a critical factor for the underlying business drivers of trade, and therefore for trade facilitation generally (Mclinden et al., 2010, p. 90). The prevailing paradigm of government regulation and management of cross-border trade in goods has been incrementally impacted since the inception of the 21st century by several interrelated factors driving change. Change drivers range from heightened policy concerns about security and safety risks in international supply chains (Urciuoli, 2018) to the increasingly sophisticated use of pre arrival data collection and IT automation by governments.

Innovation in national border clearance processes may also be driven by bilateral and multilateral arrangements, notably the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) (WCO, 2006) and the treaties administered by the World Trade Organization (WTO), including the recent WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) (WTO, 2017).

National border clearance policies are further influenced by policy frameworks developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), such as the SAFE Framework of Standards (WCO, 2005) and its associated security-focused documents and updates incorporated into the ‘SAFE Package’ (WCO, 2020a).

While these factors have led to modernization and incremental innovation in the primarily commercial B2B-focused national border clearance processes for cargo over the past two decades, there has only recently been recognition that the rapid emergence of online commerce, especially direct business-to consumer (B2C) commercial arrangements1generating a proliferation of cross-border parcel shipments, presents potentially significant management challenges to the prevailing border clearance processes in place in many countries.

1.2 Delimitation of the Study

Thematic Delimitation: This study is designed to examine the procedures for the clearance of containerized vehicles at the Port of Douala. Thus, thematically, the work shall focus on the documents needed to clear containerized vehicles at the Port of Douala, to examine the measure taken by the government, and to determine the Factors influencing the rapid clearance of containerized vehicles at the Port of Douala.

Special Delimitation: This relate to the physical dimensions of the research work. The study area specified in this work is the Douala seaport of Cameroon.

Temporal Delimitation This research work is based on findings, that are related to the problem of the study. Findings are only identical to current situations in the study area and institution, with no retrospective analysis or projection.

1.3 Statement Of The Problem

It has been noticed in the recent years that there is increase in the number of companies dealing with the important and clearing of goods in containers. Many freight forwarding companies, Transit Companies at the Douala port zone to facilitate clearance. Thus, containerization is an emerging activity in the maritime sector in Cameroon. Containerization is a system of intermodal freight transport using intermodal containers. Containerized secondhanded vehicles, are cleared in port 5, and new vehicles in the container is port 1. Containers are often used in transporting Containerized vehicles in the Douala seaport.

It is often challenging to clear containerized vehicles upon arrival at the Port of Douala. This is due to the fact that it requires lengthy procedures and the sector is a plaque by inadequately trained personnel, lack of appropriate technology and other Customs officials who are in charge of facilitating clearance procedures.

In the port of Douala, the rapid clearance of containerized Vehicles is more complicated, and has given rise to enormous different administrative documents needed by client to clear their vehicles. Following the identification of these problems, steps were taken to solve the problem by bringing trusted and qualified people involved in the Clearing department.

Despite the steps taken to solve this problem, the contribution of the Port Authority to increase performance remains low. This is due to the fact that the volume of containerized vehicle imports handled through the seaport increases rapidly daily. It is against this backdrop that the study seeks to address the following research questions;

1.4 Research Questions

1.4.1 Main research question

What are the stages involved in the clearance of Containerized vehicles at the Douala seaport?

1.4.2 Specific Research Questions

1. What are the documents needed to clear containerized vehicles at the Port of Douala?
2. What are the measures taken by the government to improve the rapid clearing of containerized vehicles?
3. What are the challenges of clearance of containerized vehicles at the Port of Douala?

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