Sri Lanka Customs Chief highlights automation and proposed changes to Export Cargo Clearance Procedu

A major step and a positive development has been initiated by the Sri Lanka Customs under the leadership of Director General Jagath Wijeweera, who assumed duties as the Customs Chief at the beginning of the year.

At a workshop recently organised by the Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) and the Shippers’ Academy Colombo (SAC), the Director General of Customs who believes in the importance of Information Technology (IT), emphasised the need to change and to embrace technology and attitude to make a real difference if one wants to make a real progress in the country.

The DGC acknowledged that over the last two years the information technology capabilities of the Customs has been uplifted by his predecessors, but it has now come to a point where the available systems have to be implemented one by one and operating processes changed to facilitate the trading community, using IT as a tool for various customs functions linking the supply chain.

Speaking at the event, Director General Wijeweera said that he wants to turn a new chapter at the Customs.

“You have heard about ASYCUDA over many years. We have introduced e-payments, direct trader inputs, e-vehicle clearances and e-cargo manifests using the ASYCUDA software but we want more than that from this automation,” he said. “We also know that for trade to flourish and to be competitive we need to have enhanced trade facilitation from the Customs Department using automation as a tool,” he added.

Explaining further the DGC said: “When I looked into this matter after taking over; what I realised was that we have good software and IT processes where we can come forward and help the industry. In fact we have great dedicated and competent IT staff and Customs officers who have done a great job over the last few years by building needed IT systems. The weakness we have had is to implement the changes using these automation facilities. As a result very little procedural changes have happened over the last two years even though we have had success in implementing ASYCUDA. The trade was disappointed and was asking for tangible results from ASYCUDA and to create an environment like in any other developed country where exporters, importers and service providers can get a quality service with less hassle from a Customs Department.”

“I know that the road ahead is challenging, we will have various barriers, but we also know that we have done the hard work. Implementation is going to be tough as we have to change the mindset at Customs as well as the representatives of the trade who have got used to old and sometimes bad habits. Therefore we took a decision, that we start the implementation of change by first facilitating the export sector which is critically important to the national economy. This process will be introduced with a pilot run and will expand to all exporters in June 2013, with both Customs and BOI providing this service to exporters. We are already training and working with the BOI,” he said. Senior Customs officers made presentations to the large audience and explained the steps taken to change the export process. The process change highlighted the key elements of change in handling of full container loads (FCL) and a less than container loads (LCL) for export shipments, they were

nTo process the eCusdec entries without hardcopies and the physical presence of the declarant at the Customs Export Documents Processing Centre by authorising DTI submissions.

•  Accept scanned copies of licenses
• To collect the examination fee along with the other payments in one instance.
• To automate the selectivity for physical examination of cargo.
• To establish an examination point within the port limits or close proximity to the port.

Also speaking at the event was the Secretary General of the JAAF, Tuli Cooray who welcomed this process change which he said was a dream come true for the apparel industry, and he said the work began on this process as far back as the late 1990s.

He said that the JAAF and its logistics committee has dedicated a lot of time to support the initiative taken by the DGC and congratulated the Customs for the bold steps taken to introduce the new system.

Shippers’ Academy Colo-mbo CEO and Chairman of the JAAF Logistics Comm-ittee, Rohan Masakorala highlighted the importance of companies to cooperate with Customs and prepare for this change.

“This change cannot be done only with Customs, but the trade has to understand the importance of it and train its staff to work in a new automated environment where companies can save both time and money and bring in better business efficiency and productivity to compete in the global market.”

He said that the Shippers’ Academy Colombo would be organising training sessions to the industry over the next few weeks. SAGT at the Colombo Port’s General Manager IT, Upul Jinadasa, making a presentation said that they too are working closely with Customs to introduce a new e-clearance system for import containers. He said: “If we move on this positive direction with goals set, the country can modernise the trade facilitation and move towards a paperless environment, which would be an ideal and an important part of the Government’s hub strategy.”

Pix by Upul Abayasekara