R.B
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- May 10, 2012
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Katika kuhakikisha inaboresha huduma kwa wafanyabiashara ambao wanaingiza mizigo nchini kwa njia ya bandari, mipaka na viwanja vya ndege, Serikali kupitia Mamlaka ya Mapato nchini (TRA) imeeleza mpango wa Serikali wa kuanza kutumia mfumo wa Dirisha Moja la Huduma (Electronic Single Window System) ambao kwa hakika utamaliza tatizo la mizigo kukaa muda mrefu kwa sababu ya kukosekana vibali.
Akizungumza na waandishi wa habari baada ya kumalizika mafunzo ya siku moja kuhusu mfumo wa Dirisha Moja la Huduma kwa taasisi zinazotoa vibali na wafanyabiashara, Meneja Mfumo wa Kieletroniki wa Dirisha Moja la Huduma, Tinka Felix alisema lengo la kuanza kutumia mfumo huo ni kuboresha huduma ambazo wanazitumia sasa ili wafanyabiashara wanaoingiza mizigo nchini waweze kuipata kwa haraka kuliko ilivyo sasa.
“Ni mpango wa Serikali kuboresha huduma kwa wateja kwa kupunguza muda wa kutoa mizigo bandarini au mipakani au kwenye viwanja vya ndege, kupitia mfumo huu wateja hawatakuwa wakienda kwenye idara na taasisi za Serikali na badala yake wakiwa hukohuko kwenye ofisi zao wataweza kuomba na kupata vibali na kupata bili za malizo kwenda kulipa benki, mfumo pia utafanya kazi na benki,” alisema Felix.
Alisema Tanzania haitakuwa nchi ya kwanza kutumia mfumo huo na mataifa mengi yanautumia ili kurahisisha huduma kutolewa kwa haraka kwani mfumo wa sasa wa forodha (tancis system) unashindwa kufanya kazi kwa haraka jambo ambalo linasababisha mizigo kuchelewa kutolewa kutokana na muda mrefu mmiliki kutumia kutafuta vibali.
“Mfumo wa sasa ili mtu apate kibali anatakiwa atembelee hizo ofisi hata mara 10 na baadhi ya ofisi wanataka vibali zaidi ya kimoja lakini mfumo huu wa sasa muda ambao unatumika kuomba vibali utapungua na tunategemea kuokoa Dola milioni 65 kwa kutumia tu mfumo wa electronic single window system,” alisema Felix.
Alisema kwa sasa kuna taasisi za Serikali 47 ambazo zinatoa vibali lakini mfumo wa Dirisha Moja la Huduma utatumiwa na taasisi 32 ambazo kwa pamoja zitakuwa zikitoa vibali 106.
Aidha alisema Serikali imeagiza kuwa mfumo huo uanze kutumika baada ya mwaka mmoja hivyo wanategemea kuanzia mwakani mfumo ambao watakuwa wakitumia utakuwa ni wa Dirisha Moja la Huduma (Electronic Single Window System) ambao utawezesha wafanyabiashara ambao wanatoa mizigo kupitia bandari, mipaka au viwanja vya ndege kupata vibali kwa haraka.
What is TANCIS?
TANCIS refers to the Tanzania Customs Integrated System. The system is built on hi-tech principles with a view to increasing effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, and reliability in the Customs administration. Being a web based system TANCIS progressively facilitates paperless operations leading to a significant reduction in costs of doing business. TANCIS has replaced the previous customs management system – ASYCUDA++ that has been in use in Tanzania since 2005.
It’s official: Tanzania Customs Integrated System has started
Officials say TANCIS will mean considerable cost savings for clearing agents. Photo credit: East African Business Week
07 Jul 2014
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has said that its new system known as Tanzania Customs Integrated System (Tancis) aimed at bringing greater transparency in customs clearance has officially started with Dar es Salaam customers only.
The system, which is also aimed to simplify and speed up the import and export of goods through the customs came into effect on Tuesday.
Speaking in an interview with The Guardian at the ongoing Dar es Salaam International Trade Fair (DITF), TRA Director for Taxpayer Services and Education, Richard Kayombo, said the tax body has started administering the system with Dar es Salaam customers before moving to other regions after a successful pilot project.
Kayombo also said that in the Tancis pilot project, about 13 clearing and forwarding companies were involved.
He pointed out that the system will help clearing agents not to move from one office to another in their quest for document clearance.
“Clearing and forwarding agents, customers will be able to access Tancis at the comfort of their own offices as long as they have access to the internet,” he clarified.
He underscored that the system will also link in with other stakeholders like shipping lines and ports authorities to speed up goods clearing processes, while banks will also be joined to facilitate quick payment of customs fees and duties.
“Tancis will bring greater transparency in customs clearance requirements and processes. As the system will be available online, all relevant parties will be able to access it for relevant documentation. We therefore expect to reduce cheating, since everything will be online and no one will cheat anyone through this system,” he said.
He underscored that the system will also issue sms alerts to inform importers on the progress of their clearance requests so they could know at all times what is happening and be able to do verifications.
Speaking recently when he visited the Tancis offices, the ICF Board of Trustees co-chair Neville Isdel said “it is good to see what is happening on the ground and to get a full picture of the effectiveness of the project.”
“This has been an impressive project visit. It is encouraging to see the passion and commitment that TRA has for this new system. It gives us confidence that the project will go on well and be of great benefit to Tanzania,” he said.
He added: “ICF is happy to work with TRA in this initiative to speed up movement of cargo and help to improve the investment climate in Tanzania.”
The Investment Climate Facility for Africa (ICF) is a development institution that is donor funded and private sector focused, whose purpose is to work with businesses and African governments to improve the investment climate in respective African countries.
Based in Tanzania, it is a unique partnership between governments, the private sector and development partners.
It believes that an improved investment climate is critical for job creation, income growth and poverty reduction across the continent.
Therefore, it works with African governments to create a conducive, legal, regulatory and administrative environment for businesses, both big and small to invest, grow and create jobs.
Apart from customs modernisation, ICF also provides support in the areas of trade facilitation, property rights and contract enforcement, business registration and licensing, taxation, financial markets, infrastructure facilitation, labour markets, competition, and corruption and crime. It is supported by development partners and the private sector
With a view of reducing cost of doing business in the country, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) in March 2014, will introduce the new customs system christened ‘Tanzania Customs Integrated Systems (TANCIS)’.
“Once the system becomes effective, it would be one of the vital tools to make the country attractive for internal and external investment,” TRA Deputy Commissioner for Customs Modernization and Risk Management, Mr. Bellium Silaa said.
"TRA in general has continuously been trying to improve its operational efficiency through leveraging on technology as one of the tools to create convenience in doing business and also reduce costs," he noted.
According to Mr. Silaa, TRA spent over $ 11.6 million to have TANCIS in place.
He pointed out that, the new system aims at eliminating the weaknesses of the current system which is called Asycuda ++ which is not user friendly as it is much complicated. The development of TANCIS started since 2009 involving numerous players in the cargo clearance chain.
Some of the players involved in the system development are Tanzania Shipping Agents Association (TASAA), Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association (TAFFA), Tanzania Food and Drug Authority (TFDA), Bank of Tanzania (BOT) and Tanzania Ports Authority (TPA).
"The involvement of stakeholders is due to the fact that TRA cannot clear the cargo itself, there are other players that need to get involved such as banks, regulatory bodies, importers and exporters," he added
