Cargonaut International and Kewill join forces for Import Control System (ICS)

Cargonaut and Kewill to partner from 1 March to offer ICS services across the European Union (EU).

Kewill (LSE: KWL), a leading provider of solutions that simplify global trade and logistics, has announced its partnership with Cargonaut. By working in partnership, the two companies aim to make the advance declaration of consignments to the first country of entry within the EU, which is now mandatory under ICS, as quick and simple as possible for airlines. Both Cargonaut and Kewill are specialized in electronic customs solutions, offering links with local customs authorities to exchange real-time shipment data. As of 1 March, ICS was live for 10 countries: The Netherlands, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria, United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, Poland and Czech Republic. During 2011, this service will be extended rapidly to cover the remaining EU countries.

ICS is an electronic Customs procedure which became mandatory on 1 January 2011 and is designed to improve security by providing advance visibility of shipments into Europe. It replaces an existing paper-based process and requires detailed information on goods to be submitted electronically, prior to arrival within the European Community, in order to facilitate near real-time risk analysis by local Customs authorities.

As each individual EU country has issued separate specifications for ICS, ensuring compliance is a complex task and it is therefore much easier for airline companies to choose one service provider for ICS declarations in all EU countries, who can deal with this complexity.

A considerable volume of air cargo enters the EU territory via Amsterdam Schipol Airport in The Netherlands. Cargonaut has a unique position as the provider of the Cargo Community System at Schipol Airport. Since January of this year, Cargonaut is also the provider of the Cargo Community System in France, and handling almost all electronic airwaybill information for the airlines into their system. Kewill has a strong European Customs platform for Import, Export, NCTS, EMCS and ICS through its KewillCustomsXchange global customs solution, which provides standard interfaces with local customs authorities across Europe. Working together, Cargonaut and Kewill are uniquely placed to deliver strong coverage for ICS handling across Europe by offering a one-stop shop solution.

All countries have their own specific connection setup , including protocols, electronic signatures, formats, etc. Kewill and Cargonaut takes care of this and also maintains connections in line with any future changes, significantly simplifying the compliance process for airlines.

"I am proud to announce the partnership between Kewill and Cargonaut International. Both companies have their own unique position and strengths within the marketplace, but together we can offer the ideal and complete ICS solution for the European Union.", says Ronald de Vries, Vice President – Customs, EMEA at Kewill.

Kewill and Cargonaut will be jointly attending the IATA World Cargo Symposium in Istanbul, 8-10th March 2011.