Newsletter Edition N 21 July 2017

Transcription

1 Newsletter Edition N 21 July 2017 Editorial During the meeting of the members of the National Committee for Business Environment this July, they applauded the significant progress made by Morocco in the latest World Bank Doing Business ranking. Our country gained 39 places within a year in the field of cross-border trade, the fact that elevated the country to the 63rd rank among 190 countries. Thanks to the increasing number of dematerialized procedures through our platform, PORTNET S.A., is proud of having contributed to this achievement. This accomplishment crowns the collective effort which mobilized all actors of port community (ANP, ADII, ONSSA, exporters and importers, etc). Simultaneously, and in order to optimize import flows, a new product has been initiated to enhance the range of innovative services that PORTNET offers. Starting from July 3rd, importers are henceforth notified in advance by mail of the arrival of their goods (See topic of the month). Also, in this edition, we present a review of the different sensitizing actions launched by PortNet prior to implementing the export full cargo prearrival notice would be mandatory starting from August 1 st, 2017 in the port of Casablanca before covering the needs of the port of Agadir on September 1 st, 2017 (see highlight) Enjoy reading! Jalal BENHAYOUN Highlight Cargo pre-arrival notice Strengthening sensitization meetings July was characterized by various sensitization events and meetings with regard to the announcement, through PortNet, of the pre-arrival notice of full container intended for export. This new service, which was put into effect since June 19 th, would be mandatory in the port of Casablanca starting from August 1 st, Later, it would be obligatory in the port of Agadir starting from September 1st before covering all ports of the ANP by the end of the year. On Tuesday, July 25 th in Casablanca, PORTNET S.A. organized a sensitizing seminar in collaboration with the ANP and the CGEM logistics committee after the training workshops that were held in Agadir on July 10 th and 11 th. This process of export cargo arrival notices is strategic for Morocco as it is considered the starting point of the whole export process declared the Managing Director of the ANP Mrs. Nadia LARAKI. She highlighted the fact that the added value of this service among others in the process of preparation would depend greatly on the business community ownership and involvement. The event of Casablanca was very successful. Among the different parties that participated in this event are exporters, stakeholders of the port community, media representatives as well as other partners. The exchanges have been fruitful as they provided answers to a number of practical questions raised by users of PortNet concerning the export cargo pre-arrival notice. 1 July 2017

2 News 21 Doing business PortNet at the center of business climate improvement system The National Committee of the Business Climate (CNEA) held the 9th meeting on Wednesday, July 19 th in Rabat. During this meeting, the CNEA adopted its plan of action for the period about 22 projects, among which is the project that connects the ONSSA with PortNet. Saâdeddine El Othmani, the chairperson of the meeting and the head of government, acclaimed the different reforms that contribute to improving the ranking of Morocco in the Doing Business report. Before the creation of the CNEA, Morocco was ranked 129 th. However, in 2016, Morocco reached the 61 st rank among 190 countries, and the first in the North African region. Thanks to the valuable services offered by PortNet, Morocco has gained 39 places in the period between 2016 and 2017 reaching the 63 rd rank in the cross-border trade. As a reminder, El Othmani s government determination to rank Morocco among the Top 50 in the World Bank classification concerning the quality of the business environment is part of the government s five-year program. Figure of the month corresponds to the number of exporting companies in Morocco as opposed to nearly importing companies. These figures were disclosed by the Secretary of State for Foreign Trade Rakia Eddarhem in the sensitizing seminar on the Support Program for Primo Exporters held on Wednesday, July 19th in Casablanca, on the initiative of ASMEX and Secretary of State In charge of Foreign Trade. The port of Agadir Progress report on the mainstreaming of the dematerialized removal of goods In order to successfully implement the mainstreaming of the dematerialized removal of goods in the port of Agadir, all stakeholders are convened. On Monday, July 10 th, a meeting on the piloting committee was held in the aim of drafting a progress report of the said service first implemented on Agadir as early as the beginning of May. This implementation was preceded by a successful deployment in the port of Casablanca. This new measure aims at the dematerialization of the formalities of control and removal of goods and also the declarations of container weight for export shipments. The port of Agadir plays a major part in the development of the regional economy thanks to its location. It is the natural outlet for Agri-food activities in the Souss-Massa plain. 2 Means of Payment Customs launch the multichannel payment The dematerialization process of financial flows is ongoing. A multichannel payment system has been established by the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII) in consultation with the General Treasury of the Kingdom (TGR). Henceforth, customs debts may be paid by operators in all bank agencies. This new payment method comprises four channels: Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), m-banking (payment via mobile phones), e-banking (payment via the website of the bank), and the proximity-based service points. The manipulation of this new service is deemed to be simple and fast. One has to connect to the BADR system and create a list of debts to be paid via one of the aforementioned channels. A payment code is automatically assigned to the list at hand that the operator would use in order to make the payment. A receipt is sent by mail to the operator once the payment is confirmed. July 2017

3 News 21 Customs The Mainstreaming of the MICIEN control results exchange through PortNet. The digital exchange procedure through PortNet of the control results by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Investment and Digital economy (MICIEN), which has been ongoing since February 22 nd, 2016 in several Customs offices, has been generalized all over the customs offices of imported goods. The authorizations submitted by MICIEN are forwarded through PortNet at EDI (exchange of computerized data). Also, ever since the registration of the customs system statement (BADR) on products subjected to MICIEN control, the necessary data for this practice are automatically sent to the Ministry via PortNet in order to check conformity with obligatory Moroccan norms of implementation. The results of conformity control are thus sent to the Customs through PortNet. Support primoexporters A hundred of companies beneficiaries over the horizon Not more than 100 companies benefit from the support program to primo-exporters during the first two editions of 2017 and This number is subjected to rise during the upcoming years, as declared during a seminar on raising awareness organized in July 19 in Casablanca. This program is launched by the State Secretary in Charge of Foreign Commerce in partnership with the ministry of Economy and Finance, CGEM, Maroc Export and ASMEX. It aims at encouraging and following small and medium-sized companies to engage in exports or carry out a regular activity in order to reduce imbalance of the commercial balance. Agenda PortNet Successful shift towards the new platform The announcement was made by the Managing Director of PORTNET S.A. Mr.Jalal Benhayoun during the seminar on the pre-arrival notice of containers aimed for export. It was organized in July 25 th at the headquarters of the CGEM in Casablanca. In fact, PortNet succeeded during the month of July to shift towards a new platform of a new generation. It is deemed the first of its kind in Africa. It is based in two sites located in two cities 100 km far. PortNet franchised a new step within the aim of reinforcing performance, strength and operational reliability of its communal platform. October the 3 rd to 5th 2017: The 6 th edition of the International Conference on single windows agreement on facilitating trade and development of electronic commerce: the role of single windows as a catalyst Accra. Ghana. October 2nd to 6 th 2017: 30 th UN/CEFACT form Rome, Italy. November 23 rd 2017: annual conference of IPCSA Brussels, Belgium. 3 July 2017

4 Topic of the month 21 Notification of the Arrival Notice Good news for importers The innovations of PortNet follow one another but are not alike. The month of July was characterized by a number of good news following the launch of the new service Automated arrival notification of goods to the port». The service has been much awaited for by economic operators, especially importers. This service is a system of instant alerts that notify in advance the importers or the final consignee of the arrival of their goods. The new service responds to a real need since it became operational on July 3 rd in all ports of ANP. Operators of foreign trade are naturally very anxious about the period for which their goods are kept in port. It is worth pointing out that it takes four days between the actual arrival of goods to the port and the beginning of the first phases required to reach the removal phase. Hence, this measures the significance of the new process put forward by PortNet. When celerity goes along with efficiency The notifications that are sent by mail via the PortNet platform specify the identification parameters of goods and cargoes. They refer to the type of the product being transported, the date of arrival, the port, the loading point, etc. These notifications are sent to the final recipients of goods, carriers of the bill of lading or notify party and users of PortNet. For the first time, importers will benefit from a real time supply of information meant to improve and optimize port transit to a great extent. Certainly, this service that we are currently presenting as the most recent of dematerialized services in Morocco allows to anticipate the different steps of clearance and removal of goods, the fact that leads to a better flow of port transit operations and, subsequently, to a considerable decrease in costs as well as the period for which their goods are kept in port. The design and implementation of this new service was facilitated by the participation and the valuable collaboration of the ANP and other actors of port community, mainly, importers that are the principal beneficiaries. Modus operandi First, the algorithm designed by the crews of PORTNET S.A. will go through all the existing «notify» data and suggest a correspondence with the «Operador Imp Exp» table and as well as a note for each suggestion. All of these notify will be stored in a correspondence table. The procedure of sending the notification entails three scenarios. The first scenario is when the new notify is there and has been validated in the correspondence table. A flag is added to the notifications table once the mail is automatically sent. The flag allows making sure whether or not the concerned importer has been notified. The flag also avoids sending the same message more than once. The second scenario takes place when the new notify is in the chart of correspondence without having been validated. In this case, the notification will not be sent until validation of the notify. The last scenario, if the new notify is not in the chart of correspondence, the algorithm starts a search for correspondence before inserting the notify into the appropriate chart. If the score is greater than or equal to 99%, the notification will be sent automatically and the correspondence will be valid. 4 July 2017

5 Interview with a Collaborator 21 What is your mission in PORTNET S.A.? My mission is to identify pending payments and to enter the payments made by checks in the corresponding chart after having completed the verifications of use regarding the identity of the customer and the amount to be paid. Undeniably, all payments are followed by a supporting invoice to be sent to our customers respecting the given deadlines. Besides, I am responsible for responding to complaints made by our customers concerning their situation visà-vis PortNet, by giving them access to the necessary information and, whenever required, show them the different steps to follow. Let s discuss your professional challenges. What are your objectives? It is all about accomplishing my mission in good conditions in terms of quantity as well as quality. My objective is to reach a considerable amount of payments while satisfying all our customers on an equal footing. Above all, and as far as I am concerned, my major challenge is to contribute to the success of the mission of the public service our company is entrusted with, which is - in this case- simplifying procedures and improving the business climate in our country. perform your duties? The mission and constraints I mentioned earlier evoke that my position demands an absolute commitment to accomplish the global mission of our company. In fact, this position requires the availability of the concerned employee, active listening, dialog and persuasion, public service, teamwork, mutual respect with the management office, personnel and customers of PortNet. Hanae ZEJJARI, Administrative and financial officer Have you got any difficulties to be managed in your daily professional life? One cannot refer to difficulties in the narrow sense of the term. However, and similar to any company, there is a number of constraints to be managed. Examples of these constraints are the number of files to be processed on a daily basis, the number of complaints to respond to, and sometimes, the attitude of some customers who try blaming their failure to rectify their situation on our company. However, and fortunately, these are very rare cases that we eventually manage with discretion and persuasion. It is noteworthy that, as all my colleagues, I do not perform my mission alone. Rather, we work as a team that is governed by collaboration and respect. Therefore, in case of a serious difficulty, everyoneincluding the executive management office- is mobilized to reach a convenient solution. What are the required qualities to 5 Juillet 2017

6 Press Review 21 Press Review Now, we integrate more than 70% of the export chain at the PortNet single window in which all operations are nearly dematerialized. We have succeeded in generalizing many services, mainly those related to automatic stopover which is now automated in zero-paper, the materialized removal in both Casablanca and Agadir, and the importing and exporting titles. We do not cease innovation to further enhance our operational performance and the resilience of the PortNet System. Jalal BENHAYOUN - Excerpts from the interview in Aujourd hui le Maroc July 26 th, Aujourd hui le Maroc Jalal BENHAYOUN Managing Director of PORTNET S.A. Containers A new service of announcing Pre-arrival notices Since Monday, June 19 th, 2017, shippers of all export cargoes or their representatives may deliver amply in advance, through PortNet, arrival notices of all export cargoes to the Casablanca port. These notices aim to efficiently elaborate ship loading plans and to better handle export cargoes while keeping track of them as the National Agency of Ports highlights in one release. July 24 th, Médias 24 Cyber attacks Moroccan Ports are on alert None of the ports managed by the National Agency of Ports was harmed by the NotPetya cyber attack. The ANP has put forward some measures so as to protect port information system, especially the PortNet single window. Nevertheless, the agency is still on alert. The technical crews of the agency are mobilized to guarantee the implementation and accomplishment of all security measures. July 3 rd, L Economiste.com Mohammedia The ANP reassures the population about the chemical terminal project In one of its releases, the ANP is aware of the importance of informing the public opinion and reassuring the population of Mohammedia that this public institution in conformity with its CSR policy- would consider all environmental studies recommendations related to the future chemical terminal project of the port of Mohammedia. In order to avoid negative impacts on the environment prior to launching the project, the ANP would implement the appropriate measures for this cause. In conformity with national regulations and with the terms of use for the assessment of the environmental impact of this project, the ANP states that it has launched a public inquiry with the different stakeholders so as to collect and take into account their respective standpoints and observations and, subsequently, adapt the project to the formulated recommendations. July 14 th, H24 6 Juillet 2017

7 Contact us Harbour building of Port of Casablanca, 2 nd floor Port of Casablanca, 20000, Casablanca, Morocco contact@portnet.ma