Advocata...

Until June, it said, incoming parcels were taxed under an informal 'per kilo' system, where agents declared goods as personal effects and paid a flat fee.

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This unofficial arrangement was manageable until a surge in cross-border shipments, driven by platforms like Temu, AliExpress, and eBay, overwhelmed the system.

In response, the Customs scrapped the workaround, informing the public that they are now using the 'correct' instrument. Tax is now levied at the level of individual items. Every parcel's contents must be individually declared by the Harmonised System (HS) code to the Customs. At current volumes, this is impossible. The result translates into severe backlogs, consumer frustration, and growing pressure on Customs officers. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are also suffering, as they often source critical inputs from these platforms.