"The battle against corruption and the struggle towards greater trade efficiency, for the benefit of traders and governments alike, will have little chance of victory" without joint efforts, Mr. Rubens Ricupero, Secretary-General of UNCTAD, said today in a key-note address to a Forum on Customs Reform and Modernization convened by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in Brussels. "Customs performance", he stated, "significantly affects the competitiveness of a country´s economy", increasingly so in the global business context.
In some of the poorest countries, revenue from Customs can represent as much as 80% of total Government income. But customs departments are often not equipped to reach the dual objectives of exercising efficient control and keeping trade moving as fast and smoothly as possible.
Onerous and cumbersome procedures still create unnecessary delays and high costs. However, many traders "have made it a personal challenge to avoid official channels, for instance, through the evasion of the payment of duties and taxes, or disrespect for import and export prohibitions or quotas", Mr. Ricupero noted. The rapidity of changes in laws on revenue and trade-related legal matters, including the successive WTO rounds, has added to the burden on customs departments.
The solution lies in the automation of Customs and the use of modern technology. But few developing countries can afford the US$50 million cost of setting-up a new automated Customs system from scratch.
In response to this need, UNCTAD has developed ASYCUDA, a Customs Reform, Modernization and Automation Programme. ASYCUDA is now in place in more than 70 countries, at an average implementation cost of US$ 2 million, excluding equipment and infrastructure. The results are clear - at least a 10% increase in revenue, substantive reductions in clearance times, and improved statistical data to manage fiscal and economic analysis. "We can be proud of these results, which allow UNCTAD to contribute to the greater efficiencies required of all countries in today´s global market place", the Secretary-General stated.
Following the WCO meeting in Brussels (28 - 30 April), a large group of senior customs officials from Africa, Asia and Latin America will travel to Geneva to take part in a presentation of the latest version of the ASYCUDA programme by UNCTAD staff(1).
Transit experts to meet in UNCTAD
UNCTAD intends to expand its customs automation programme to transit operations. As most of these operations worldwide are still monitored by customs officials using only paper documents, it is impossible today to quantify the accumulated damage caused by fraud, corruption and unintentional administrative errors. Transit issues have become an area of interest for a growing number of countries, as regional trade is increasing also in developing countries.
Mr. Ricupero announced in Brussels that, for the first time, experts involved in all aspects of transit transport operations will meet from 5 to 7 May, at UNCTAD in Geneva, to discuss how information technologies can provide increased control and reliability, thus enhancing the credibility of existing transit arrangements.
The experts will examine a two-tier proposal by the UNCTAD secretariat (contained in document TD/B/COM.3/EM.1/2). It proposes that new information technologies be used, firstly, to computerize data-handling tasks undertaken by individual suppliers of transit services, including transport operators, freight forwarders, banks, insurance companies, warehouse operators, Customs and providers of market information; and, secondly, to computerize information exchange between suppliers of transit services for example between port and railway authorities, or with national customs authorities.
