Launch of the ASEAN Single Window Live Operation
The ASEAN Single Window (ASW) live operation was officially launched on 1 January 2018. The five (5) exchange-ready ASEAN Member States (AMS), namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, confirmed readiness and have been ready to accept the electronic data (e-ATIGA Form D) exchanged through ASW gateway for granting preferential tariff duties under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA).
The ASW live operation has offered choices to the traders on utilisation of e-ATIGA Form D, while the hard-copy of Form D is no longer required, in order to be granted with the preferential tariff duty. Proactive and intensive communication among the traders and the respective administrations, such as Customs and Certificate Issuing Agency (CIA), should be strengthened and deepened.
The using of exchanged electronic data to grant preferential tariff duty has indicated a new key milestone for the ASW initiative. The operationalisation of the ASW provides benefits to each AMS in streamlining trade procedures and documentations particularly for the government agencies (i.e. customs and other relevant institutions), and in reducing cost and time of doing business for the traders.
Moreover, the ASW will expedite cargo clearance, further integrate the region's economies, and improve enforcement at the border. Since it operates mainly on the electronic submission, processing, and exchange of cargo clearance data, AMSs will be able to use the ASW both for trade facilitation and improved compliance.
Nevertheless, the complexity of distributed system of National Single Window of each AMS to be integrated under the ASW as a regional platform and the involvement of a wide-range of government agencies and stakeholders have left the outstanding technical issues during the initial stage of live operation. In principle, the ASW has been fully operational in all the five (5) exchange ready Member States which they have confirmed to intensity their efforts to resolve the issues on bilateral basis.
The recent progress of the ASW live operation has increased the confidence of the remaining AMSs to be on-board and remarked to open a vast window of opportunities for ASEAN to enhance paperless regional trading by including more legal operational documents to be exchanged under ASW environment, as a continued process of customs modernisation in ASEAN. This expansion will to include additional documents, including ASEAN Customs Declaration Document (ACDD) and electronic Sanitary and Phytosanitary Certificate (e-SPS), to be exchanged through the ASW gateway in the near future.
All in all, the ASW is one of the most appealing regional trade facilitation initiative to the business community, as an electronic platform that integrates National Single Windows (NSW) of all ASEAN Member States (AMS) to allow the exchange of electronic documents and to further facilitate in expediting the cargo clearance process within ASEAN region.
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The official launch of the ASW live operation was alongside with the Forty-Second Meeting of Technical Working Group on the ASEAN Single Window (42nd TWG-ASW Meeting), which was held on 20-23 February 2018, Surabaya, Indonesia.
