Clearing & Freight Module
The Clearing & Freight module manages the full lifecycle of a customs clearing engagement — from lodging a declaration to final delivery of released containers.
This module must be enabled by your administrator. If you do not see Clearing in the navigation, contact your system admin to enable the Clearing module and feature flag for your account.
Overview
When goods arrive at a Tanzanian port, a clearing agent must lodge a declaration with Tanzania Customs (TRA), track all required documents, pay duties and taxes, and coordinate container release. This module tracks every step of that process.
The Clearing menu holds Declarations, Clearing Reports, and — when your company doesn't have the Accounting module — the Business Overview report.
The Declarations page shows four counters (Active Jobs, Released, Total Containers, Pending Docs), a search box (declaration ID, Bill of Lading, or customer), and a filter chip for each status. Click a row to open a side summary with document, container and port details, then Open Full Declaration → for the full declaration page (or click Open → on the row).
Declaration lifecycle
A clearing declaration moves through seven stages:
Draft → Lodged → Assessment → Paid → Released → Delivered → Closed
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Draft | Declaration being prepared, documents being collected |
| Lodged | Submitted to TANCIS, Tanzania Revenue Authority's (TRA) customs system |
| Assessment | Under customs review, duties being assessed |
| Paid | Duties and taxes paid |
| Released | Containers released by customs/port |
| Delivered | Cargo delivered to the client |
| Closed | Engagement complete, file archived |
Advancing a declaration
On the declaration page, each stage has a guided action button that captures the specific reference numbers customs paperwork requires, then advances the declaration to the next stage. The date and the person who moved it are recorded for every stage. Fields marked required must be filled before the declaration moves on (TANSAD number; payment reference and date; delivery date):
| From stage | Action | Captures |
|---|---|---|
| Draft | Lodge with TANCIS | TANSAD / Declaration No. |
| Lodged | Submit for Assessment | Assessment Notice No., Assessed Duty (TZS) |
| Assessment | Record Customs Payment | Payment Reference (PRN), Payment Date |
| Paid | Mark as Released | Release Order No., Release Date |
| Released | Confirm Delivery | Delivery Date, Received By, Delivery Note No. |
| Delivered | Close File | — |
When a declaration is marked Released or Delivered, the customer is automatically emailed and/or texted (if email/SMS are switched on for your company in Settings → Integrations and the customer has an email or phone on file) — including the container list and either the release order number and port (Released) or the delivery note number, delivery date, and receiver (Delivered). No manual follow-up message is needed for these two events. Each text message uses one of your company's SMS credits (see Billing →).
Creating a declaration
- Go to Clearing → Declarations and click + New Declaration
- Fill in:
- Customer — the importer. Type to search your customers; if they aren't there yet, + New Customer adds them without leaving the form (needs permission to create customers)
- Bill of Lading and Manifest Number
- Vessel Name and Arrival Date
- Port — Dar Es Salaam, Tanga, Zanzibar, Mtwara, Namanga, or Tunduma
- Invoice Value, Currency (USD, TZS, EUR, GBP, or ZAR), and Exchange Rate
- Container numbers — add each container number and press Enter. If your company also uses Container Tracking, the field suggests container numbers already tracked there; you can still type any number
- A few less-common fields are also on the form if you need them: Declaration ID (auto-generated, editable), Status, Terminal, Importer TIN, Container Count, and Lodgement Date
- Save — the declaration starts as a Draft
The declaration page
The full declaration page has three tabs:
- Overview — the declaration's details and a timeline of every stage with its date and the reference numbers captured there
- Docs — the document checklist (see below), with a count of how many are received
- Containers — the container numbers on this declaration
At the bottom of the page, the next stage's action button sits next to Edit (reopens the form) and Archive (removes the declaration from the list after a confirmation; it isn't permanently deleted).
Document tracking
Each declaration has a built-in document checklist:
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Bill of Lading (Original) | Proof of shipment ownership |
| Commercial Invoice | Establishes goods value for duties |
| Packing List | Details of goods in each container |
| Certificate of Origin | Determines applicable duty rates (e.g. EAC or SADC preference) |
| Import Permit | Required for controlled goods |
| Insurance Certificate | Cargo insurance proof |
| TANCIS Assessment Notice | Customs' duty assessment for the shipment |
| Payment Receipt | Proof of duties/taxes paid |
For each document, upload the actual file (PDF, image, or scan) — the system stores it, timestamps when it was received, and lets you download it again later. Beyond the fixed checklist, you can also attach any number of other documents (e.g. correspondence, permits not on the standard list) as free-form file attachments on the declaration.
Ports and terminals
ERP Tanzania supports declarations at all major Tanzania entry points:
| Port | Type |
|---|---|
| Dar Es Salaam | Seaport — main container terminal |
| Zanzibar | Seaport |
| Tanga | Seaport |
| Mtwara | Seaport |
| Namanga | Land border (Kenya) |
| Tunduma | Land border (Zambia) |
Key terms
TANSAD — Tanzania Single Administrative Document. The official customs entry form lodged with TRA for all commercial imports.
TRA — Tanzania Revenue Authority. The government body that assesses and collects customs duties.
Certificate of Origin — Proves where goods were made. Goods from EAC or SADC countries can attract reduced or zero duty in Tanzania with a valid certificate; for transit cargo, a COMESA certificate matters to the destination country (Tanzania itself is not a COMESA member). See the Glossary →.
Manifest — The shipping company's list of all cargo on a vessel. Each consignment has a manifest number.
Demurrage — Charges incurred if containers are not collected from the port within the free period (typically 7–14 days). Tracking the Released status promptly avoids demurrage costs.
The container numbers you add to a declaration above are just identifiers — they don't calculate demurrage or track milestones. For that, see the separate Container Tracking → module (an early-access feature for Logistics companies). A tracked container isn't attached to a declaration directly, but the Corridor / Container Tracking Report matches the two by container number and fills in the clearance columns from the declaration.
Clearing Reports
Clearing → Clearing Reports (needs report.view) analyses your declarations. Filter by lodgement date range, port, and status, then switch between:
| Tab | Shows |
|---|---|
| Overview | Total declarations (and how many are active), total containers, invoice value and assessed duty in TZS, plus counts by status and by port |
| Stage Aging | The average number of days declarations spend between each stage, and the 20 active declarations that have waited longest in their current stage (amber after 7 days, red after 14) |
| By Customer | Declarations, containers, invoice value, assessed duty, and active count per customer |
| Monthly Trends | Declaration volume, containers and duty for the last 18 months (not affected by the filters) |
| Duty & Taxes | Every declaration with an assessed duty: TANSAD number, customer, assessment and payment references, invoice value in TZS, and duty |
Invoice values are converted to TZS using each declaration's own exchange rate. ⇩ Export to Excel downloads By Status, By Customer, Duty & Taxes and Monthly Trends as one workbook.
Expenses
Clearing companies can record costs under Expenses (in the top menu, or under Accounting if you have it) even without the Logistics or Accounting modules. A clearing expense is a general expense (no job or trip); see Expenses → for the form and approval flow.
Business Overview report
If your company has Clearing but not the Accounting module, you also get a lightweight Business Overview report in place of the full Financial Reports. It's under Clearing → Business Overview (or it's your home page, if you've chosen it as your landing page), and 🖨️ Print Business Overview prints it.
It shows:
- Stat cards — Total Invoiced, Outstanding (Sent + Overdue invoices), Pipeline Value (all quotations except Rejected), Won Value (Accepted + Converted quotations), and Active Declarations (not yet Closed or Delivered)
- Quotation Pipeline — count and value per status (Draft, Sent, Accepted, Converted, Rejected, Expired)
- Top Customers by Invoiced Value — your top 5 by total invoiced amount
- Declarations by Stage — a count per declaration status
- Customer and Vendor counts
If any invoice or quotation is in a currency with no configured exchange rate, a warning banner appears — see Currency Management.
Requires report.view. Once your company also has the Accounting module, this report is replaced by the richer Financial Reports.
Permissions
| Permission | What it allows |
|---|---|
clearing.view | See all declarations and their details |
clearing.manage | Create, edit, advance status, and manage documents |