Job context and environment

The Customs Liaison Officer role involves frequent interaction with suppliers, customers, Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), Petroleum Bulk Procurement Agency (PBPA), and internal staff during document processing. Some stakeholders may be less cooperative, requiring strong communication, follow-up, and coordination skills.

The role requires high attention to detail because customs, taxes, wharfage, and related documentation involve significant financial amounts that must be processed correctly.

Most duties are deadline-driven and require strong time management, dedication, accuracy, and the ability to work under pressure to avoid penalties, operational delays, and compliance issues.

Key activities and responsibilities

HSEQ and safety compliance

The Customs Liaison Officer will be responsible for:

• Applying Safety Management Systems.
• Supporting quality control of petroleum products to ensure they comply with Tanzania quality specifications as required by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS).

Taxes, wharfage, and customs payments

The role will involve ensuring that all taxes, wharfage, and customs-related payments for fuel are processed accurately and on time.

Key responsibilities include:

• Ensuring all fuel taxes are processed within the required timelines.
• Processing manifest comparisons and wharfage payments on time.
• Avoiding penalties caused by late payments.
• Preventing delays in the evacuation of transit parcels.
• Preparing monthly tax forecasts and sending them to Treasury.
• Updating tax forecasts whenever changes occur.
• Assessing taxes and making payments in accordance with customs procedures.
• Ensuring GTL and TTL parcels are not discharged into other depots due to customs delays.
• Maintaining zero penalties for late tax payments.
• Processing additional taxes in line with customs procedures and timelines.
• Claiming overpaid taxes on fuel where applicable.

Transit, transshipment, and customs documentation

The Customs Liaison Officer will closely follow up on transit, transshipment, and customs documentation for Tanzania, DRC, Burundi, Uganda, Rwanda, Zambia, and related GAPCO and TotalEnergies operations.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring completeness of transit and customs documents.
• Maintaining proper customs files.
• Making documents available when required internally, by customers, regulators, auditors, or other relevant parties.
• Coordinating transit loadings by ensuring all documentation is completed on time.
• Following up on all transit trucks to ensure border validation and bond cancellation are completed on time.
• Communicating pending monthly issues and preparing action plans to clear them.

Transit product age reporting

The officer will be responsible for monitoring the loading limit days for each transit parcel.

Main duties include:

• Closely following up on the loading limit day for every transit parcel.
• Sending the transit product age report every Monday to transit customers and the Supply Manager.
• Requesting extensions from TRA at least five days before the limit period expires.
• Avoiding product localization and preventing inconvenience to customers.

Localization of products

The role includes managing customs procedures related to localized products.

Responsibilities include:

• Timely processing of taxes and wharfage on localization.
• Immediate follow-up with TRA for bond cancellation on localized products.

Customs queries and audits

The Customs Liaison Officer will ensure that all customs-related queries are attended to on time.

This includes, but is not limited to:

• Responding to customs queries.
• Supporting customs audits.
• Providing required documentation to regulators, auditors, customers, and internal stakeholders.

Transit customer communication and stock reconciliation

The officer will ensure timely communication of all necessary documents to transit customers so they can confirm and process their own documentation.

Documents may include:

• Outturn reports.
• Certificates of quality and quantity.
• Loading summaries.
• Pump-over reports.
• Other relevant transit and customs documents.

The officer will also:

• Ensure proper reconciliation per vessel with transit customers.
• Complete reconciliation at the end of each vessel uplift.
• Provide all required supporting documents to transit customers.

Notice of intention coordination

The Customs Liaison Officer will coordinate with Depot Managers, Supply teams, and Hospitality Assistants to ensure all Notices of Intention (NOI) for products received at GAPCO and TotalEnergies are approved by TRA.

Responsibilities include:

• Ensuring all NOI documents are received.
• Ensuring NOI documents are properly filed for customs purposes.
• Supporting NOI documentation for hospitality customers.

Licensing and administrative support

The officer will assist the Administration team with pending matters related to the Supply section that may delay the renewal of different licenses.

This may include:

• OMC License renewal matters.
• Pending truck validation issues.
• Other customs or supply-related matters that may affect licensing or compliance.

Records management

The Customs Liaison Officer will maintain all records and communications with TRA and other relevant parties related to trading, exports, transit cargo, and local customs.

Responsibilities include:

• Proper filing of customs records.
• Maintaining communication records with TRA.
• Maintaining records related to exports and transit cargo.
• Keeping local customs documentation organized and accessible.

Other customs and logistics-related duties

The role will also include responsibility for:

• Attending to all other customs-related matters for GTL and TTL.
• EWURA pricing.
• Demurrage computation.
• Stock management for transit customers.
• Processing PBPA, EWURA, and surveyor invoices on DMS.

Candidate profile

The ideal candidate should have:

• A bachelor’s degree in a business-related field.
• At least 5 years of relevant experience.
• Product knowledge.
• Knowledge of customs procedures for importation.
• Strong documentation and records management skills.
• Good understanding of customs, taxes, wharfage, transit cargo, and compliance processes.
• Ability to work under strict deadlines.
• Strong follow-up and coordination skills.
• High attention to detail.

• Applying Safety Management Systems.
• Supporting quality control of petroleum products to ensure they comply with Tanzania quality specifications as required by the Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS).
• Ensuring all fuel taxes are processed within the required timelines.
• Processing manifest comparisons and wharfage payments on time.
• Avoiding penalties caused by late payments.
• Preventing delays in the evacuation of transit parcels.
• Preparing monthly tax forecasts and sending them to Treasury.
• Updating tax forecasts whenever changes occur.
• Assessing taxes and making payments in accordance with customs procedures.
• Ensuring GTL and TTL parcels are not discharged into other depots due to customs delays.
• Maintaining zero penalties for late tax payments.
• Processing additional taxes in line with customs procedures and timelines.
• Claiming overpaid taxes on fuel where applicable.
• Ensuring completeness of transit and customs documents.
• Maintaining proper customs files.
• Making documents available when required internally, by customers, regulators, auditors, or other relevant parties.
• Coordinating transit loadings by ensuring all documentation is completed on time.
• Following up on all transit trucks to ensure border validation and bond cancellation are completed on time.
• Communicating pending monthly issues and preparing action plans to clear them.
• Closely following up on the loading limit day for every transit parcel.
• Sending the transit product age report every Monday to transit customers and the Supply Manager.
• Requesting extensions from TRA at least five days before the limit period expires.
• Avoiding product localization and preventing inconvenience to customers.
• Timely processing of taxes and wharfage on localization.
• Immediate follow-up with TRA for bond cancellation on localized products.
• Responding to customs queries.
• Supporting customs audits.
• Providing required documentation to regulators, auditors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
• Ensuring proper reconciliation per vessel with transit customers.
• Complete reconciliation at the end of each vessel uplift.
• Provide all required supporting documents to transit customers.
• Ensuring all NOI documents are received.
• Ensuring NOI documents are properly filed for customs purposes.
• Supporting NOI documentation for hospitality customers.
• Proper filing of customs records.
• Maintaining communication records with TRA.
• Maintaining records related to exports and transit cargo.
• Keeping local customs documentation organized and accessible.
• Attending to all other customs-related matters for GTL and TTL.
• EWURA pricing.
• Demurrage computation.
• Stock management for transit customers.
• Processing PBPA, EWURA, and surveyor invoices on DMS.

• Strong communication skills
• Follow-up skills
• Coordination skills
• High attention to detail
• Strong time management
• Dedication
• Accuracy
• Ability to work under pressure
• Strong documentation skills
• Records management skills
• Good understanding of customs, taxes, wharfage, transit cargo, and compliance processes
• Ability to work under strict deadlines
• Strong follow-up skills
• Coordination skills

• A bachelor’s degree in a business-related field.
• Product knowledge.
• Knowledge of customs procedures for importation.