High-tech customs system helps traders
High-tech customs system helps traders
Automated customs systems installed at 11 border checkpoints across the country have been declared a success by senior project staff.
The Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) enables busin esses and traders to pay customs duties on imported and exported products via the internet, saving both time and money and making customs clearance more efficient.
Senior officials of the Customs and Trade Facilitation Project (CTFP) under the Ministry of Finance's C ustoms Department met to evaluate the introduction of the system in Vientiane yesterday.
A senior project staff member said the system had been installed at 11 international border checkpoints throughout Laos and a new customs office was set to be built in 2014.
“The installation of the automated system has produced positive outcomes in relation to customs declaration services at checkpoints and has also offered faster service for importers and exporters,” he said.
Deputy Minister of Finance, Mr Santiphab Phomvihane, who is also CTFP Board Committee Chairman, said the system was part of the government's policy to modernise and industrialise Laos ahead of Asean Economic Community integration in 2015.
Designed by the UN Conference on Trade and Development, ASYCUDA is an integrated customs management system for international trade and transport operations created for a modern automated environment.
The meeting was chaired by Mr Santiphab and Customs Department Director General, Mr Athsaphangthong Siphandone, with representatives from the World Bank and Asian Development Bank in attendance.
vientiane times
