Government Information Service

by Emmanuel H. Joseph
Government Information Service

On Monday, 26th January, 2009, the Customs and Excise Division of Dominica joined the global customs community in celebrating International Customs day. As part of the celebrations to commemorate the day, the Division also officially launched the Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA) project and officially opened its new project office at the Woodbridge Bay, Fond Colé.

International Customs Day is a day set aside by the World Customs Organisation to give special recognition to Customs Officers around the world, highlight tremendous contributions of custom officers in protecting the borders of their respective countries in facilitating trade and in the collection revenue to enable governments to provide goods and services to their citizens. The theme for the week of activities is “Customs Reform – A Journey Together”. According to Comptroller of Customs, Adolphus David, the theme was chosen mainly because Customs was undergoing a series of changes.

“This theme was chosen because we are presently in the mode of reform and modernisation. In this reform, the focus is on strengthening the management and administrative capacity of the Customs and Excise Division and thereby, improving our ability to deliver services to our clientele.”

Mr. David stated that a team has already been set aside for the implementation of the ASYCUDA World Project comprising of the Director of Customs, a Project Manager, three (3) experienced custom officers, three (3) ICT specialists and one (1) administrative secretary. These will be guided by consultants from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Funding for the project was made possible by the World Bank and by the European Union Funding under the Medium Term Public Sector Reform Project. Approximately three hundred and twenty thousand East Caribbean dollars (XCD$320 000) was spent on reconstructing the new office while over eight hundred thousand East Caribbean dollars (XCD$800 000) has been spent so far on furniture and equipment. The total cost is approximately seven hundred and sixty-seven thousand US dollars (USD$767 000).

Mr. David went on to say that the reform programme was not just limited to the ASYCUDA World Project and when completed would cost around three million EC Dollars.

“The reform programme is much broader in scope. It will encompass changes in structure. It will impact on our systems and processes. It will enhance our relationship with the business community and the public at large and build capacity to carry out our responsibilities. The entire customs reform project is expected to last for a period of two (2) years and is estimated to cost in the region of three (3) million dollars.”

Also addressing the ceremony was Prime Minister, Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit. In his address, the Prime Minister reiterated his Government support for the project and hailed Dominica as the first English speaking Caribbean Country to implement the ASYCUDA World Project.

“Government is fully supportive of the reform and modernization of Customs and considers it a priority area in the thrust to improve our trade competitiveness. We have to date invested significant time and finances in seeking to ensure that the reform process goes smoothly and quickly.

We have invested in the migration to ASYCUDA World and this gives us the opportunity to become the first English speaking Caribbean country to successfully implement ASYCUDA World. This we hope will become the cornerstone on which new procedures and processes can be implemented that will transform our Customs into a more competent and innovative organization, capable of delivering quality service to all of its clients. This part of the project has also created opportunities for training and development of staff.”

The Prime Minister’s full address can be found here.

The ASYCUDA World Project, when implemented, is anticipated to provide faster clearance for cargo consignments, improve revenue control and collection and generate up-to-date and accurate customs trade statistics for informing policy decisions.

The project is part of Government’s overall strategy to improve the competitiveness of the trade system in Dominica and is being assisted by UNCTAD. The purpose of this project is to increase operational capacity of the Customs administration through the introduction of a modern computerised system (ASYCUDA World). It will improve Dominica’s capacity to monitor trade flows, enhance Government revenues and customs controls, formulate economic and fiscal policies and facilitate trade.

ASYCUDA is a computer based programme for reforming customs administration. It aims at speeding up customs clearance through the introduction of computerisation and simplification of procedures, thus minimising administrative costs in particular. It also aims at increasing customs revenue by ensuring that all goods are declared, that duty calculations are correct and that duty exemptions, preference regimes, et cetera are applied correctly.

It is hoped that the new ASYCUDA World software will be fully operational at Customs headquarters at Woodbridge Bay Port by August, 2009 and at the Customs offices in Melville Hall and Canefield Airports, the Ferry Terminal in Roseau and the Customs Office in Portsmouth by March 2010.