RP pushes Asean Customs integration

The Philippine government is pushing for the integration of importation processes of Customs agencies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) through the creation of a single window system in the region by 2012.

Bureau of Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales said the government is supporting the proposed ASEAN Single Window (ASEAN-SW), which aims not only to expedite and synchronize importation among countries in the region but also lower transaction costs.

During the first meeting of ASEAN-SW Steering Committee at the Pan Pacific Hotel in Manila, Morales said the integration of Customs agencies in the region is expected to "minimize transaction costs and complexity of international trade for business while maintaining efficient and effective levels of government control."

"The Single Window is a system which enables the single submission of data and information, single and synchronous processing of data and information and single decision making for Customs release and clearance," he said, adding that the first stages and documentation for the project have been completed over the relatively short period of two years.

Deputy Commissioner Alexander Arevalo, former commissioner of BOC, was unanimously elected by the body to serve as chairman of the steering committee for the next two years.

In the Philippines, the Single Window System is already being implemented after a memorandum of agreement was signed last year between the Department of Agriculture and Department of Finance.