Transit cargo and bonds in Zambia

Legal terms

The Customs and Excise Act defines removal in bond as moving uncustomed goods by a customs carrier or a person authorised for that purpose. A customs carrier is a person licensed by the Commissioner-General under section 43 to carry uncustomed or in bond goods ⁴.

The Minister may define the roads or routes that uncustomed imported goods must use ⁴. Statutory Instrument 15 of 2005 required goods exported in bond to be moved by a licensed customs carrier and set a five-day exit period for carriers ⁵.

Transit steps

• The clearing agent declares the goods before they reach the border, with invoice, transport document and manifest ^1,2
• The ASYCUDA Processing Fee is paid after the declaration. ZRA gives no amount ²
• Customs issues a release order and a transit document if the declaration is correct ²
• Containers get a customs seal that must stay intact to the final destination ¹
• Customs may inspect goods based on the commodity, importer or mode of transport ¹
• At the exit border, officials check the seals and acquit the transit in ASYCUDAWorld ¹

Who holds the bond

ZRA says the agent handling the transit should hold a bond guarantee, and the goods move under that bond to the border of exit ¹.

Only clearing agents licensed for at least 12 months in the preceding year can do removal in transit or removal in bond. Agents renewing for removal in bond must send surety letters valid for the fiscal year and a surety statement of the amount per station ⁶. ZRA pages read on 24 October 2026 do not publish bond amounts ^6,1.

Regional guarantee and tracking plans

COMESA held a national consultation in Zambia on 25 August 2022 on its Regional Customs Transit Guarantee. COMESA said that in North-South Corridor countries, including Zambia, a transit bond must be raised in each transit country. It said national bonds had tied up large sums of importers, agents and transporters ³.

Zambia's WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement notifications list a Regional Transit Guarantee Scheme and an Electronic Cargo Tracking System within Zambia and along corridors as areas needing assistance. On 25 November 2025 Zambia asked to move the transit deadline from 31 December 2025 to 31 December 2028, citing smart corridors. The database shows the request as not approved ⁷.

In August 2022 TradeMark Africa reported that ZRA planned to introduce an electronic cargo tracking system the following year to address high incidences of transit fraud ⁸. ZRA's current transit leaflet says higher risk shipments may be monitored in real time through the system ¹.

Corridors

A May 2021 presentation hosted by UN-OHRLLS describes the North-South Corridor as running about 2,800 km from Lubumbashi in the DRC to Durban in South Africa, through the Copperbelt ⁹. A 2025 study found northbound cargo took an average of 15 days, 21 hours and 5 minutes from Durban port to Kasumbalesa ¹⁰.