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by Channa Kasturisinghe

The procedural changes in the cargo import clearance section of the Customs Department will come into force by the end of this year, Deputy Director General of Customs, S. Jayatillake told the Daily News.

The changes would be introduced as part of the reforms proposed by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) report.

Mr. Jayatillake said that although there was a slight delay in the implementation of the process, the streamlining operations of the Customs Department to suit the needs of the trade is an essential requirement of the country, today.

"The `long rooms' where documents regarding sea and air cargo import clearance are processed, should be streamlined to ensure speedy movement of cargo as about 94 percent of the total revenue of the customs are derived from this section. As a Government revenue organisation our responsibility is to facilitate trade by using efficient cargo clearance systems," Mr. Jayatillake said.

He said the Department had discussions with the Government, business chambers and other stakeholders and identified the issues which are necessary for drastic changes.

"We have to be aware of the concerns of the Government and the stakeholders. Among their foremost concerns are increasing revenue, using efficient cargo clearance systems, improve surveillance, provide correct statistics and management information, reducing lead-time and maintaining computerised voluntary data-base, Mr. Jayatillake said.

He said special attention has been given to maintain the integrity, transparency and amendment of customs laws and regulations.

"We have already held a mutual dialogue with the concerned parties to amend customs laws and regulations including valuation schemes, anti-dumping laws and other related laws according to the WCO requirements.

The Customs has also discussed the re-engineering of the clearance procedure. It is identified in two ways: the `Front-End Procedures' which is immediately encountered by the industrial sector and stakeholders and `Back-End Procedures which proceeds within the Customs.

"We have to critically review front-end procedures to identify opportunities for improvement. Simplifying clearance procedure eliminating unnecessary steps, organising focus groups with the import and export sector, setting up of a one-stop walk up counter, providing special services to customers with a proven track record are some of the areas we have identified", he said.

It is equally important to use an intelligence based cargo selectivity system to save time and money in the clearance procedure," Mr. Jayatillake said.

He said at present about 50 percent of the cargo verification is done physically.

"Risk assessment and risk based cargo selectivity is the most efficient and modern system of examining cargo. It would help us save much time and money," Mr. Jayatillake said. 

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