EDB to streamline export procedure

Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Export Development Board will streamline export procedure in three stages to improve the Doing Business Ranking of Sri Lanka.

Export Development Board Finance Director M.D.K. Mendis speaking at the “Improving Doing Business Ranking of Sri Lanka” seminar at the Central Bank on Saturday said this will be done initially with tea and apparel sectors.

Phase two will develop the simplified documents sharing common data base to minimize processing time. Finally the Export Data Input (EDI) system will be developed.

The process will be simplified by providing common data sharing and, modern e-technology facilities, expanding services of agencies of One Stop Shop OSS and other service providing agencies and developing IT facilities with the support of ICTA.

Mendis said investors have to go to ten places wasting time to get things done at present as service providers are scattered causing inconvenience, undue delays, high volume of documents, low productivity and high transaction cost.

The objective of OSS is to speed up document processing, minimize inconvenience, improve productivity, avoid undue delays leading to enhance competitiveness of Sri Lankan exports.

The OSS facilitates exporters to submit documents to a single entry point and to fulfill all export related regulatory requirements under one roof.

Inadequate diversification is another reason for the low business ranking and the EDB will diversify its product range through value addition via branding in order to make Sri Lanka exports a US$ 20 bn industry by 2020.