What is Advance Cargo Information System?
Advance Cargo Information (ACI) is a new customs procedure that requires cargo data or documents (Pro-forma invoice and draft bill of lading-if exist) at least 48 hours before cargo shipment from the export country, to enable stakeholders to monitor any risk to the state through the Risk Management System (RMS), with the highest priority given to the security of Egyptian citizens
What are the Advantages of ACI?
- Protecting Egyptian citizens from unidentified goods or goods from unidentified origins
- Reducing release time and hence the cost of releasing goods
- Using electronic data and documents, thereby dispensing with paper documents
Who does ACI impact?
- Importers
- Exporters and suppliers (foreign)
- Clearance companies
- Sea/air shipping companies
When will ACI be applied?
ACI Application Phases
- Phase 1 - Pilot as of 1st April 2021
- Phase 2 - Mandatory Operation Phase as of 1st October 2021
How to prepare for ACI
- The Egyptian importer registers on the online portal www.nafeza.gov.eg
- Obtain the electronic signature pad from competent authorities to access Nafeza
- List advance cargo data and acquire ACID prior to the start of import operations
- Submit cargo data and documents (commercial invoice and final or initial bill of lading) prior to shipment
- Notify overseas exporters dealing with electronic invoices to send all shipment documents to (Nafeza) platform through supply chain networks using Block-chain technology - upon the vessel’s departure from the port of export -
What is Blockchain Technology?
- Blockchain is a technology that allows a person (or company) to transfer valuable data or documents to another person safely and without the intervention of any intermediary
- Blockchain is simply a series of fixed records or blocks of data and is managed by a group of computers that are not owned by any entity. Data blocks are secured and linked to each other using cryptographic principles
How Blockchain Technology Works
Block-chain is a simple and innovative method to pass information from person A to person B in a fully automated and secure manner. One Party initiates the transaction by creating a block. That block is verified by thousands, perhaps millions, of computers distributed throughout the network. The verified block is then added to a chain store in the network, creating a unique record associated with other records. To forge a single record, the entire chain has to be forged on millions of computers, which is practically impossible.
Who are the certified Block-chain Service Providers?
CargoX
CargoX has developed BDTS (Block-chain Documentation Transaction System), which offers a platform with many applications, the most popular of which is Smart B / L ™. CargoX created an open system that uses Blockchain technology and decentralized encrypted data storage to enable the creation and exchange of information and documents.