Cargo release in Zambia

What release means in law

The Customs and Excise Act defines release as the customs action that permits goods undergoing clearance to be placed at the trader's disposal ³.

Section 17(5) of the Act says no vehicle or goods shall be taken out of any customs area without the permission of the Commissioner-General ³. Customs areas are places in or at a customs port or customs aerodrome that the Commissioner-General licenses ³.

Release steps for imports

• The agent or importer lodges the electronic declaration before the goods arrive ¹
• Supporting documents are attached and the goods are checked against the declaration ¹
• Original documents go to the enforcement unit when the goods arrive ¹
• The self-assessed taxes are paid. Payment triggers customs intervention ¹
• A release order is issued if the declaration is correct ¹
• If it is not correct, an additional assessment and penalties are generated and must be paid first ¹

Release for transit and export

For transit cargo, the clearing agent declares the goods before they reach the border. Payment of the ASYCUDA Processing Fee triggers customs intervention. A release order and a transit document follow if the declaration is correct ⁴.

Road transit cargo must report at the port of exit within five days of leaving the customs yard at the port of entry. Rail cargo has 30 days ⁴. At the exit border, officials check that seals are intact and the transit is acquitted in ASYCUDAWorld ⁵.

Exports are declared by the exporter or a customs clearing agent, with permits for restricted goods ⁶.

Storage limits and charges

The Customs and Excise (Amendment) Act of 2015 says goods entered under section 32(4) and stored more than ten days beyond the authorised period are liable to seizure ⁷.

Statutory Instrument 15 of 2005 set a fee of 3,000 fee units per day or part of a day for goods or vehicles remaining beyond the authorised period. This is the 2005 rate. Check the current fee schedule with ZRA ⁸.

Measured release times

Zambia's National Trade Facilitation Committee launched a Time Release Study for Chirundu One Stop Border Post on 18 September 2020, with World Customs Organization support. The study, run in December 2019, focused on imports. The WCO said average clearance and release times fell from 5 to 6 days to 2 to 3 days by March 2020 after ZRA acted on early recommendations. It recommended that the 17 border agencies at the post apply coordinated border management ².

A later study of the North-South Corridor found that northbound cargo took an average of 15 days, 21 hours and 5 minutes from Durban port to Kasumbalesa. This was stated at the launch of the report in Harare on 7 February 2025 ⁹.