Customs administrations in the various regions of the world rely more and more on the latest available technology to track goods in transit and combat fraud. In Africa, many Regional Economic Communities (RECs) have developed automated transit management systems where interconnected customs can exchange among themselves electronic transit messages to confirm the entry and exit of cargo from their territories. Probably the most known regional transit system in Africa is the COMESA RCTG scheme, also known as RCTG Carnet, which according to the COMESA Secretariat has reduced the cost of transit in the region between 10% to 15%, with trucks now spending no more than 30 minutes at border crossing points, in contrast to a previous waiting time up to 2-3 days needed for truckers holding national transit bonds and causing them additional costs of approximately 500 USD per trip. In the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) a project called “ALISA”, was launched by the ECOWAS Commission in 2000, subsequently renamed SIGMAT, to interconnect customs in the region so that they can exchange electronically transit messages as cargo moves through the countries of departure, transit and destination. Therefore, the system avoids traders to submit repetitive declarations to Customs at each border through which the consignment moves. The automation of such formalities and procedures leads to a reduction of the cost and time for goods in transit. Moreover, it makes it easier to track goods, increase transparency and fight fraud.
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