The Workshop on Risk Management and Pre-Arrival Customs Clearance Procedures using Single Window Data
The workshop on risk management and pre-arrival Customs clearance procedures by using Single Window data had been successfully conducted on 7 May 2018, which was attended by the representatives from the Working Group on Technical Matters for the ASEAN Single Window (TWG-ASW), the Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG), and also from the ASEAN Secretariat.
The workshop that was in partnership with the US-ASEAN Connectivity Through Trade and Investment (US-ACTI) discussed the possible use of the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) platform to introduce risk management to support pre-arrival customs clearance in the region by using Single Window data. Besides, the workshop also discussed on: (i) overview of the operationalisation of the ASW system, its benefits and key challenges; (ii) international standards concerning risk management and pre-arrival clearance; (iii) benefits and key challenges of risk management issues and implementing pre-arrival clearance of AMS National Single Window (NSW); and (iv) sharing the best practices on using advance data and information for risk management and addressing security policy.
Facilitating the discussions, US-ACTI's consultant Robert Keller gave a presentation on the principles of risk management and pre-arrival clearance along with examples of their implementation in countries outside the region, where risk management and pre-arrival clearance are critical issues for customs authorities around the world.
The participants discussed these techniques both facilitate trade and allow authorities to focus their investigative resources on consignments that are most problematic, thus improving enforcement. But to do this one needs data to first develop risk profiles and then implement them.
A series of presentations by AMS (Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) about their use of risk management and pre-arrival clearance were following. Indonesia Customs then presented a session on using analysis of single window data to enhance risk profiling, which was well-received by participants. The Indonesian presentation showed the power of using the extensive amount of information that is collected by the NSW and through the ASW to improve risk profiling.
With the successful launch of live operation of the ASW, which is now exchanging electronic Certificate of Origin (e-ATIGA Form D) among Customs administrations of five (5) exchange-ready AMS namely Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, AMS had started to examine their NSW platform in supporting pre-arrival clearance processing and mutual recognition arrangement for unifying both exportation and importation sides, where a greater use of the ASW data to support pre-arrival clearance was indeed encouraged.
The workshop also provided AMS with examples of how to perform risk targeting by managing the cross-border information exchanged through the ASW, prior to arrival of the goods.
The main outcomes and recommendations for solutions for risk management approach for ASEAN, as well as the strategic approach and enhancement of the ASW platform, from the workshop were further deliberated at the meetings of TWG-ASW and other relevant sectoral bodies. AMS highlighted the need of taking advantage of having the data in advance for risk management purposes, regardless the different system being used by each AMS, and were encouraged to commit to standardise the data and information with international standard that would be exchanged under the ASW enabled infrastructure.
