The Government of Egypt has made Advance Cargo Information (ACI) declarations mandatory for all cargo inbound to Egypt starting on 1 July 2021, to be managed through a blockchain-powered National Single Window for Foreign Trade platform (NAFEZA).
The NAFEZA infrastructure was originally built by Misr Technology Systems (MTS) under a mandate from the Egyptian Ministry of Finance in 2020. The company has now been tasked with designing an additional ACI documentation process, which it says will employ the CargoX Platform for Blockchain Document Transfer (BDT).
The CargoX platform will allow digital shipping documents to be immutably registered and transferred using the Ethereum network, including ACI declarations, bills of lading, and other original documents, as part of a national platform that covers Egyptian airports, seaports, land ports, dry ports, and free zones.
The NAFEZA single window integrates information exchange between all parties involved in Egypt’s foreign trade system. It allows documents and transactions for customs, control authorities and ports to be submitted once through an online portal to fulfil all regulatory requirements related to the release of goods.
Once registered on the NAFEZA platform, companies involved in the shipping process receive an Advanced Cargo Information Declaration number (ACID). The ACID should be included on all shipping documents sent through the CargoX platform to allow the goods to be cleared and to avoid them being returned without discharge at Egyptian ports.
“Governments and companies with a strong digitalisation agenda are showing the way for all the rest to follow while gaining a strategic advantage,” said Vjeran Ortynski, Chief Business Development Officer at CargoX.
“The Advance Cargo Information functionality builds on the immutability and tamper-proof concept of our public blockchain technology while providing real-time transparency and auditability where it naturally fits – in moving goods between countries or continents.”
