Jamaica Customs makes modernization strides

   The Jamaica Customs Agency is scheduled early this year to begin using a new computer system to process shipments at the Port of Kingston.
   The Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), which features a web-enabled, single window for filing all customs-related documents and automatically calculates duties to minimize errors, is designed to simplify import/export transactions and reduce processing time. More functionality will be rolled out over the next two years.
   Officials estimate the system, which was developed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and is being implemented at a cost of $4 million, will help boost revenue between 10 to 20 percent just from improved compliance, given the success experienced in 80 other nations where it has been implemented.
   ASYCUDA offers an enhanced e-mail platform, which allows customs to attach a declaration and forward to other agencies for further action.
   It also enables faster processing of declarations by enabling customs to immediately start processing a declaration as soon as a payment is registered at the bank without the need to wait for the physical documents to be submitted.
   ASYCUDA is funded with help from the Inter-American Development Bank.
   Jamaican officials say ASYCUDA and the new Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) program are important as the island nation makes logistics a centerpiece of its economy. Faster customs processing of transshipped cargo through free trade zones is necessary to make Kingston a desired freight hub. 
   Jamaica Customs last year completed the development of its AEO program to include compliance and security validations of participating companies.
   AEO programs are encouraged by the World Customs Organization as a way to improve cargo security and speed trade. Companies that demonstrate strong internal controls can avoid routine cargo inspections and compliance audits. The program offers traders more predictable customs clearance, especially when goods are shipped between countries that recognize each other’s AEO programs so that imports and exports receive the same treatment.

This article was published in the April 2015 issue of American Shipper.