An ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) will be piloted in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand with a view to facilitating the movement of transit goods by road within ASEAN, according to the ASEAN Secretariat’s press release.
The work of ACTS pilot system, beginning on October 20, 2014, is scheduled to complete within 18 months, followed by testing from April to October 2016.
Three ASEAN sectoral bodies including customs, transport and finance will be involved in the implementation of the pilot system.
The customs sector led by the Sub Working Group on ACTS (SWG-ACTS) will play a leading role in managing and monitoring the implementation of the ACTS. National ACTS Project Teams have been appointed to manage the implementation of the ACTS pilot application at national level.
Meanwhile, the transport and financial sectors will play an equally important role in the implementation of the ACTS.
The application of ACTS will offer significant benefits to the trading and manufacturing sectors as well as acting as a catalyst for harmonisation and modernisation of the ASEAN Customs and Transport environment to meet the objectives of making ASEAN a single market and a production base.
In addition, it will help reduce transaction costs, improve delivery times of transit cargo, provide electronic tracking of transit cargo and expedite the implementation of ASEAN transport facilitation agreements.
A financial support of 3 million EUR has been provided by the European Union under the ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU (ARISE) technical assistance programme to test and develop the software.
The EU also supported ASEAN to hold workshops training procedural manuals for the public and private sector stakeholders involved in customs, transport and international trade.-VNA
The work of ACTS pilot system, beginning on October 20, 2014, is scheduled to complete within 18 months, followed by testing from April to October 2016.
Three ASEAN sectoral bodies including customs, transport and finance will be involved in the implementation of the pilot system.
The customs sector led by the Sub Working Group on ACTS (SWG-ACTS) will play a leading role in managing and monitoring the implementation of the ACTS. National ACTS Project Teams have been appointed to manage the implementation of the ACTS pilot application at national level.
Meanwhile, the transport and financial sectors will play an equally important role in the implementation of the ACTS.
The application of ACTS will offer significant benefits to the trading and manufacturing sectors as well as acting as a catalyst for harmonisation and modernisation of the ASEAN Customs and Transport environment to meet the objectives of making ASEAN a single market and a production base.
In addition, it will help reduce transaction costs, improve delivery times of transit cargo, provide electronic tracking of transit cargo and expedite the implementation of ASEAN transport facilitation agreements.
A financial support of 3 million EUR has been provided by the European Union under the ASEAN Regional Integration Support from the EU (ARISE) technical assistance programme to test and develop the software.
The EU also supported ASEAN to hold workshops training procedural manuals for the public and private sector stakeholders involved in customs, transport and international trade.-VNA
