Brunei introduces new rules for cross-border goods delivery

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File photo for illustration purposes

MIRI: The Brunei Government has announced new protocols and measures on cross-border travel for transport companies and runners including limiting travel time and deploying tracking bracelets to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

All items brought in by transport operators and runners into the country must be kept or quarantined for 72 hours or three days at the respective companies’ premise before they can be delivered to customers, it said in a statement today.

It said the new rules and guidelines were effective from tomorrow and applies to companies registered in Brunei and Malaysia and for runners providing cross-border services or transportation of goods for commercial or personal use.

The new guidelines are meant to support the smooth flow of the supply chain of services and goods, and minimise the negative impact on stakeholders without compromising its efforts in battling Covid-19.

Transport operators, it said, are required to furnish job order sheet documents and were allowed only for point-to-point pickups or delivery and they must return home on the same day .

“The route must be from the fixed pickup location and to place of delivery, without transit or stops, and to return to country of origin on the same day to avoid close contact especially when outside the country,” it said

iMSafe tracking bracelets would be given out to transport operators or runners at control posts for monitoring of the location of transport operators and compliance of the point-to-point conditions while ensuring the operators return to their country on the same day.

Companies registered with the Brunei authorities are allocated specific time for their return journey – from Sungai Tujuh CIQ and Labu CIQ within five hours and from CIQ Ujung Jalan and Kuala Lurah, three hours.

Malaysian transport operators can apply for permit to enter Brunei for delivering perishable goods and the consignment must be escorted by representatives of the government agencies during the entire return trip from the control post to the delivery location and back, the statement said.

For those delivering commodities that do not require permit or non-perishable goods, operators are only allowed to send or pick up it at Inland Container Depot at Sungai Tujuh and Kuala Lurah.

To facilitate checkpoint clearance for transport companies, the Prime Minister’s Department would provide workflow documents to transport companies as guidelines on the conditions and procedures on border-crossing.

On runners without any registered commercial vehicles, the department only allowed those with a registered company to fetch or deliver goods at specific locations at the checkpoint exchange at the respective border and turn back.

All transporters or runners are required to update their respective health status in the self-assessment apps at healthinfo.gov.bn 14 days before their journey.