B5 International transit

B5.1 Has the country implemented a paperless customs declaration for national transit procedures (inbound transit, outbound transit, inland transit)?

Background

Among issues faced by transit traders under the current international transit procedure in many countries in the region are:

  1. Repetitive submission of a customs transit declaration at entry to every country of transit; and
  2. A security document needs to be registered at every country of transit.

To address the above issues at the national level, the electronic customs system should be developed to facilitate and automate electronic customs transit declarations and other related procedures including inbound, outbound and inland transit. The system should allow a single customs transit declaration to be valid for the whole transit route.

Good Practices

The electronic customs system should have the capability to receive, validate and approve customs transit declarations electronically, covering inbound transit, outbound transit, and inland transit operations. The national transit operations here refer to transports of goods between departure and destination offices within the same country or territory.

With the aim of both securing and facilitating the transit operations, Customs administrations should establish effective information sharing among customs offices and other related agencies en route. This will help monitoring the transit movement, and ascertain whether the goods have been correctly declared for transit and whether the transit procedure has been correctly completed at each stage of the transit route up to the final destination.

An effective exchange of secure information helps gather intelligence, and allows all border agencies involved to take appropriate decisions concerning the applicable control measures. Effective exchange of information reduces the unnecessary administrative burden on both Customs administrations and economic operators.

References and Case Studies

B5.2 Has the country implemented a paperless customs declaration for international transit?

Background

Transit traders face several issues, e.g. repetitive submission of a customs transit declaration at entry to every country of transit, and security document registration at every country of transit. To address those issues, the following could be considered, (a) a single customs transit declaration to be valid for the whole transit route, and (b) a single guarantee to be valid for the whole transit route

The country should implement electronic customs system to also support international transit procedures. Data and information of the customs transit declaration could be submitted and approved electronically at the country of departure and shared across borders with the countries of transit and the country of destination. Relevant data/information of the guarantee could be registered at the country of departure and shared across borders with countries of transit and the country of destination by electronic mean.

Good Practices

The country's customs administration should actively collaborate with dialogue country partners to establish agreements in order to implement single customs transit declaration and single guarantee valid for the international transit route in the region.

Bilateral, multilateral, regional, or international agreements should also focus on the exchange of information, or may be broader in scope, comprising exchange of information as just one part of the agreement. In any event, an agreement to exchange information should consider at least the following guidelines:

  • Agreements/arrangements on transit should envisage obligations for customs administrations to ensure the integrity of the information exchanged, provided by transit operators.
  • Agreements/arrangements should allow for immediate exchange of information electronically, i.e. an explicit request from the customs office to obtain the information should not be required.
  • Agreements/arrangements should enable a guarantee registered at the country of departure, covering the highest duty amount calculated based on the duty rate of each country in the transit route, to be valid and accepted throughout the transit route; and
  • Agreements/arrangements should support a regional/sub-regional format and content of the single guarantee.
References and Case Studies

 

B5.3 Has your country implemented a one stop inspection system by all controlling agencies at the borders at the time of exit/export?

Background

If single stop inspection is done by all controlling agencies at the exporting country and data of the inspection results is shared with the importing country, preferably electronically, it will definitely expedite cargo clearance.

Good Practices

The customs administration works collaboratively with all other controlling agencies in the country to establish and operate a single stop inspection with the support of paperless/single window systems. The country needs to work collaboratively also with dialogue country partners bilaterally, multilaterally or regionally to develop electronic cross-border data exchange capability. The electronic system is established in such a way that the inspection result in the export country can be created electronically, and then sent or shared with the electronic system of the importing country.

References and Case Studies

 

Glossary

  1. “Electronic Customs System (e-Customs)” is an automated Customs administration system with several electronic supporting functions to efficiently facilitate and effectively regulate Customs-related procedures.

    More specifically, key functions of the e-Customs system include: electronic lodgement of Customs declarations using online connections, the use of risk management software application to reduce Customs clearance times and less physical examination of shipments, the automated calculation and e-payment to facilitate collection of duties and taxes, and services to ensure the uniform application of laws and regulations. More...

  2. A core element of any transit system is a mechanism to “guarantee” the transit country that either (i) the goods will indeed leave the country without being put illegally on the market, or (ii) that the corresponding taxes and excises will be paid if ever evidence of the goods leaving the country cannot be produced. For centuries guarantee systems have been devised as an alternative to direct customs surveillance during the transit. More...

  3. “Cross-department one-stop inspection” means the officers of the two (or more) authorities arrive at the same inspection site as scheduled, perform their own duties respectively after opening the boxes, and then jointly carry out inspections. Link #1..., Link #2...