Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) says the automation of customs risk profiling has reduced cargo clearance times by allowing officers to focus inspections on high-risk consignments while fast-tracking compliant traders.
The improvements are being driven by the upgraded Automated System for Customs Data (Asycuda) World, which processes import and export declarations and uses risk profiles to determine the level of scrutiny consignments should undergo.
In an interview on the sidelines of a media tour on Tuesday, MRA Mchinji One-Stop Border Post station manager Tawona Nkata said the system has reduced the time required to process containers.
“Containers are now processed and cleared faster. This means people can pay their taxes faster. They pay before they go into the inland centre,” he said.
At Kamuzu International Airport in Lilongwe, MRA station manager Victor Msesa said Asycuda’s selectivity management module automatically assesses declarations and assigns them to different clearance channels according to risk.
He said high-risk declarations are channelled for physical examination while others require only documentary checks, post-clearance verification or immediate release.
Msesa said this allows customs officers to direct resources towards potentially problematic consignments.
“We are able to focus our resources on risky taxpayers. We are able to release those that don’t give us problems, those that are less risky,” he said.
The Asycuda upgrade is supported by the World Bank through the $150 million (about K263 billion) six-year Southern Africa Trade and Connectivity Project, which runs up to 2027.
The project seeks to increase private-sector activity along targeted Malawi-Mozambique corridors.
