Circular On Screening Fees Applicable For Unknown Consignments Under The Regulated Air Cargo Agent Regime(RCAR) From 1 July 2010

The Regulated Air Cargo Agent Regime (RCAR) is a security measure implemented in Singapore on 1 April 2008 which focuses on consignments being exported out of Singapore on commercial passenger flights. Under the RCAR, Known Consignments are subject to random screening. On the other hand, Unknown Consignments are subject to full security measures at the airfreight terminals. Charges will be imposed for the application of security measures. For more information on the RCAR and the definitions of “Known” and “Unknown” Consignments, please refer to the website: http://www.spf.gov.sg/rcar/

To facilitate the air cargo industry into the RCAR and phase in the financial impact on the industry, the CAAS and SPF has subsidized the cost of security measures applicable to:

1. Unknown Consignments from 1 April 2008 to 30 June 2010; and
2. Known Consignments and air-to-air transshipments that transit Changi for more than 6 hours from 1 April 2008 to 31 March 2011.

With the expiry of the State subsidy for security measures applicable to Unknown Consignments on 30 June 2010, the Cargo Terminal Operators (CTOs), SATS and CIAS, have set fees to recover the cost of the applicable security measures from 1 July 2010. Please contact the CTOs to obtain information on their fees. The CTOs have been asked to consider the following guidelines when setting the fees:

1. The fees should encourage cargo agents to sign up as RCAs;
2. The fees should be itemized for transparency; and
3. Any introduction or changes to fees should be clearly communicated to the industry at least two months in advance to give sufficient notice to the industry.

Please kindly disseminate the contents of this circular to the attention of all your staff, contractors, customers and visitors.