This Is How Customs And Excise Increases The Smooth And Security Of Trade Flows In ASEAN

Illustration of imported exports (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA Indonesia hosted a meeting of customs administration representatives from all ASEAN Member Countries, namely the 39 th ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Customs (CCC), which took place on 7-9 November 2023 in Bali.

This meeting was held with the aim of exploring various issues of ASEAN Customs administration cooperation, through monitoring the implementation of 15 Strategic Plan of Customers Development (SPCD) discussed by the working group below, namely Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation Working Group (CPTFWG), Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group (CECWG), and Customs Capacity Building Working Group (CCBWG).

Director General of Customs and Excise Askolani conveyed the importance of the role of Customs and Excise in the supply chain of international trade logistics. Customs and Excise is at the forefront of simplifying cross-border trading procedures, reducing trading costs, and accelerating the movement of goods.

On the other hand, Customs is also responsible for supervising and ensuring cross-border security through risk-based assessments and the use of technology, in dealing with potential threats and the circulation of dangerous/illegal goods.

Askolani said that to balance these two things, collaboration, technology, transparency, and capacity building, while continuing to build partnerships with other government agencies, speech partners, and the private sector.

"Finding the right balance will encourage economic growth, regional security, and create a prosperous ASEAN regional area," said Askolani in a statement Thursday, November 9.

During the meeting, all ASEAN Member State delegates were actively involved in discussions on customs procedures and trade facilitation, compliance and enforcement in the customs sector, as well as capacity building in the customs sector.

The meeting also emphasized the importance of close partnerships between ASEAN and its present talk partners such as Australia, Japan and Korea, to discuss opportunities for cooperation, particularly in the field of increasing customs administration capacity.

Meanwhile, the delegates also supported ASEAN's efforts to strengthen the integrity and effectiveness of trade customs and facilitation procedures, as well as the security of trade supply chains in ASEAN.

Several customs cooperation achievements discussed at the 39th CCC meeting included the first, the implementation of the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2022 in 10 ASEAN Member States and preparing a 2022 AHTN review.

Furthermore, as well as the implementation of the ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS) in 6 ASEAN Member States with an increase in the number of ACTS movements since direct operations and efforts to gradually expand the implementation of ACTS in other ASEAN Member States.

Furthermore, there was the signing of the ASEAN Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) (AAMRA) by 10 ASEAN Member States and the first phase preparation of the AAMRA trial in 6 ASEAN member countries that were ready, including Indonesia.

The next achievement is the exchange of electronic documents through the ASEAN Single Window (ASW), such as the ASEAN Customs Declaration Documents (ACDD) and the ATIGA e- Certificate of Origin (e-COO), including efforts to completely switch to e-Form transmission by the end of 2023, replacing copies of the ATIGA e-COO print.

In addition, there is also the exchange of intelligence information and preparations for the implementation of the ASEAN Joint Customs Control. Then, there is the implementation of capacity building activities to enrich customs knowledge and administrative skills in various fields.

These achievements mark ASEAN's strong commitment to strengthening customs cooperation to encourage trade facilitation, through increasing cross-border security cooperation and economic growth in Southeast Asia.

By continuing to strengthen this framework of cooperation and a strong spirit of collaboration, ASEAN is confident and ready to overcome challenges in the future and accelerate sustainable economic growth in the region.