THE AMCHAM POST JUNE 02 2022 

On May 25, the General Manager of the Malagasy Customs (DGD), LAINKANA Zafivanona Ernest was the guest speaker of AmCham’s traditional Thursday Morning Round Table at le Centell Antanimena.

Towards digitization. The modernization of the services provided by the Customs was one of the main topics covered by its General Manager last week. His collaborators are required to improve the services they provide and make the entity more effective and more efficient. As the TMRT is a way for the members to have an open discussion with the guests, beyond just giving technical details, he also served the guest members in providing answers to questions and remarks from Malagasy companies.

Time efficiency. Releasing containers at the port requires long customs procedures, hence takes a tremendous amount of time. Today, declarations, full scan and visit take two to four days. In other countries, the same process takes not more than a couple hours. The port of Toamasina, where 70 to 80 percent of operations happen, uses only one scanner intended for both exports and imports operations at the same time. Lainkana Zafivanona Ernest announces that by the end of the year, Madagascar will have four scanners out of which two arrived in April, whereas the remaining two are expected to be delivered soon. With that in mind, the DGD envisions to complete all the declaration process in three to eight hours. In addition to that, the Customs Directorate has taken an economic measure in order to facilitate the tax payment. Before the goods are released by the Customs, they are kept in a warehouse until the importer is paid by his client and pays its dues.

Madagascar does not really get benefits from free trade areas. Lainkana Zafivanona Ernest pointed out that Madagascar has between 250 and 300 billion MGA of short fall. He insisted that if the government plans to ratify any free trade agreements in the future, we need to be highly cautious and select the products to be excluded appropriately.

The Customs represents a major asset in supporting Madagascar’s economic development. In its 2020-2023 strategic plan, the DGD is described as an "accompanying and partner of Madagascar’s economic takeoff ".In this perspective of supporting the Malagasy economy, the DGD has set four objectives: securing customs revenues, promoting economic growth by facilitating legitimate trade, protecting citizens and the environment by fighting against illicit trafficking, and securing the international supply chain.With those objectives in mind, the DGD is expected to collect 4,932.6 billion Ariary of duties and taxes in 2023.

During his address to the guests of AmCham’s TMRT, the General Managerof Customs mentioned that he launched calls for partnerships with the current ministries regarding the MIDAC system.The DGD’s strategic planshows great ambitionsfor 2023 at both the institutional, legal and financial levels. In order to better satisfy and coordinate the actions of the Customs with the development perspectives, a better collaboration between the Customs and the other public institutions would help to perpetuate the DGD’s actions, especially when it comes to the reinforcement of the country's borders. To Lainkana Zafivanona Ernest, the extension of the port of Toamasina isan opportunity for Madagascar to improve its cargo management, and totake advantage of international transactions circulating in the economic zones of the country. As a final remark, the General Manager of the Customs reiterates his dedication to ensure a better support to the smooth functioning of all customs operations.

Among the members and guests present at the event: Economic Development Board of Madagascar, BushProof, X-Seller, Madagascar Oil S.A, Birger, EBM El Bissap Mada, Lemur Energy, HP Services et Conseils, EntrepriseJarisaina, Airtel, MiotyVoanjanahary, E-toile, Groupe SOCOTA, Madagascar Products, Festival, Velogic, and FedEx.

The next TMRT will be held on June 9th at Le CentellAntanimena and will feature as guest the Minister of Digital Transformation and Development, Posts and Telecommunications, Tahina Michel Razafindramalo.

By John Timothy Andrianaivo and Maherintsoa Andrianiaina