Customs saves $1b by converting paper forms to digital
Published:Wednesday | October 16, 2024 | 12:06 AM
Savings of more than $1 billion have been realised by the Jamaica Customs Agency, JCA, over the past nine years by converting most of its processing forms from paper to digital.
Some $126 million per year has been saved by the Jamaica Customs by removal of six paper-based forms under the Automated System for Customs Data, ASYCUDA, first piloted a decade ago, and the implementation of which is still ongoing.
JCA Chief Information Officer Andre Williams said digital transformation of the JCA has not only realised savings but has resulted in a greater level of compliance from stakeholders in the international trading environment.
“There are six of the forms that we have removed (from the customs ecosystem). We have removed in excess of 20 different forms within the form that would have been used in our semi-automated environment. And just to advise, these six forms account for just about $126 million per year based on the number of transactions that are being processed.
“So over the last nine years, we saved in excess of $1 billion just by removing these forms as our requirement …There is indeed a tremendous saving in regard to time, cost, and complexity when it comes to the elimination of paper and optimising our services for greater efficiency and accountability,” Williams said. He was making a presentation at the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Customs Seminar held online.
ASYCUDA is a computerised system designed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development to administer a country’s customs.
Under the system, most paper intensive Customs processes are replaced with online procedures, enabling the JCA’s clients, including customs brokers and shipping agencies, to undertake electronic transactions, including manifest submissions, declarations, and payments.
Williams said a total of 19 other government agencies currently use the ASYCUDA to carry out different rules and functions and to provide services to members of the public, including the Ministry of Finance and Public Service in regard to processing concessions.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Tourism are also users of the services that are provisioned through the ASYCUDA system. In regard to the health and safety aspect of things, we also partner with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health, and other MIIC (Ministry of Industry Investment and Commerce) agencies as well, just to mention a few,” Williams.
The CIO said regarding oversight for sensitive cargo, the JCA extends its services to the Ministry of National Security, the Firearm Licensing Authority, Island Traffic Authority, the Revenue Protection Division, the Financial Investigation Division, and the Integrity Commission.
Williams said many entities have been approved for site inspection, which allows for JCA officers with their tablets to visit locations to review or inspect cargo.
“We continue to empower our officers with wearable technology … what we have seen is a tremendous improvement in regulatory compliance and allowing for faster processing,” he said.
The Customs CIO said this month 91 per cent of commercial cargo had been approved from a documentary review perspective for clearance at JCA ports, which is up from 89 per cent in previous months. “That shows the significance and the impact of the technology that is being used, having the centralised ecosystem, both for customs and the other partnering regulatory agencies,” Williams said.