Customs automation
Friday, 4 January 2008
THERE are areas where timely reforms including specially full automation, can lead to very substantial increases in revenue collection of the government. One such area is the customs administration which is by far the single biggest revenue earner. But its outmoded prevailing mode of conducting customs procedures, manually, makes a huge difference in revenue collection from the various manipulations and corruptions which have become an integral part of this system. Thus, many billions of takas are lost to the government from retaining this outdated system notwithstanding that the stakeholders themselves have been pressing hard for doing away with the manual system by introducing automation fully in customs procedures.
Some businesses have vested interests involved in retaining the present system because it enables them to evade full payment of various customs duties or paying them in proportion to the imported commodities. The public employees in the customs department themselves also form part of these interest groups in many cases. They visualise automation as threatening their dominance of the system and in getting bribes. But generally businesses have no objection to such automation because they are of the view that the introduction of the same will actually help them with hassle free operations at various entry points to the country and spare them from making underhand payments as 'speed money' to get their goods cleared quickly or from overpaying duties from the purposeful wrong evaluations of duties on imported goods.
Thus, automation of customs have multiple prospects. First, it should lead to a big rise in the collection of revenues for the government. The operations of honest and scrupulous business operators would become easier from proper introduction and enforcement of the system. The costs of doing business have fallen significantly last year from the efficiency gained in handling cargoes at Chittagong port. Business costs will further come down, notably, after the switch over to automated customs. For example, the present annual earnings of the Chittagong Customs House is some Taka 110 billion. The same can go up fairly soon to Taka 150 billion or Taka 200 billion provided reforms are carried out in the customs administration and automation is fully introduced and enforced in every tier. Automation is likely to decrease the prevailing complex and bureaucratic customs procedures dramatically. There are now some 45 complex manual procedures to be followed that create inordinate delays in the clearance of goods. The same also hazard the proper valuation of the goods for customs purposes. The same will come down to 25 such procedures with the introduction of automation and lend both speed to the entire process and much accuracy and fairness in evaluation of duties.
Thus, it is possible to increase revenue earnings by 80 to 100 per cent in a short span of time by opting for the automated procedures. But the automated procedures alone will not achieve the intended outcome. While the opportunities for indulging in corruption by customs officials will be considerably checkmated by the application of automation, the same will not become entirely impossible. Therefore, coupled with automation, other measures such as giving of greater responsibility to honest and efficient officials, will also have to be ensured. At the same time, there are shortages of employees also in some areas of the customs administration and the same must be taken care of with new recruitment. On the whole, a truly transparent and accountable system of customs operation on a day to day basis, should be tried to be set up for getting the maximum dividends from automation.
Some businesses have vested interests involved in retaining the present system because it enables them to evade full payment of various customs duties or paying them in proportion to the imported commodities. The public employees in the customs department themselves also form part of these interest groups in many cases. They visualise automation as threatening their dominance of the system and in getting bribes. But generally businesses have no objection to such automation because they are of the view that the introduction of the same will actually help them with hassle free operations at various entry points to the country and spare them from making underhand payments as 'speed money' to get their goods cleared quickly or from overpaying duties from the purposeful wrong evaluations of duties on imported goods.
Thus, automation of customs have multiple prospects. First, it should lead to a big rise in the collection of revenues for the government. The operations of honest and scrupulous business operators would become easier from proper introduction and enforcement of the system. The costs of doing business have fallen significantly last year from the efficiency gained in handling cargoes at Chittagong port. Business costs will further come down, notably, after the switch over to automated customs. For example, the present annual earnings of the Chittagong Customs House is some Taka 110 billion. The same can go up fairly soon to Taka 150 billion or Taka 200 billion provided reforms are carried out in the customs administration and automation is fully introduced and enforced in every tier. Automation is likely to decrease the prevailing complex and bureaucratic customs procedures dramatically. There are now some 45 complex manual procedures to be followed that create inordinate delays in the clearance of goods. The same also hazard the proper valuation of the goods for customs purposes. The same will come down to 25 such procedures with the introduction of automation and lend both speed to the entire process and much accuracy and fairness in evaluation of duties.
Thus, it is possible to increase revenue earnings by 80 to 100 per cent in a short span of time by opting for the automated procedures. But the automated procedures alone will not achieve the intended outcome. While the opportunities for indulging in corruption by customs officials will be considerably checkmated by the application of automation, the same will not become entirely impossible. Therefore, coupled with automation, other measures such as giving of greater responsibility to honest and efficient officials, will also have to be ensured. At the same time, there are shortages of employees also in some areas of the customs administration and the same must be taken care of with new recruitment. On the whole, a truly transparent and accountable system of customs operation on a day to day basis, should be tried to be set up for getting the maximum dividends from automation.