Singapore, June 6 (VNA) - The Directors-General of Customs of ASEAN member nations met in Singapore from June 4- 6 to discuss the advancement of customs integration and harmonisation in the bloc.
The delegates stressed the need to expedite the ratification of the ASEAN Agreement on Customs, and the finalisation and signing of Protocol 2 (Designation of Frontier Posts) and Protocol 7 (Customs Transit System) to the ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit. They also noted that issues pertaining to the long-term sustainability of the ASEAN Single Window project need to be further explored.
The meeting appointed Thailand as the Chair of the AHTN Task Force for 2013-2015.
The ASEAN Directors-General of Customs reviewed the work of the ASEAN customs working groups. These include the Coordinating Committee on Customs, chaired by the Philippines ; the Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation Working Group, chaired by Singapore ; the Customs Enforcement and Compliance Working Group, chaired by Malaysia ; the Customs Capacity Building Working Group, chaired by Brunei Darussalam; and the ASEAN Single Window Steering Committee, chaired by the Philippines .
They noted, key achievements during the past year include the implementation of the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) 2012/1 by all 10 ASEAN Member States, completion of the ASEAN Single Window Pilot Project Component 2 (Scaled Down), and the commencement of the ASEAN Customs Transit System component under the ASEAN Regional Integration Support by the EU Programme.
The customs working groups also developed best-practice documents to support customs modernisation and reform in ASEAN.
The meeting held a series of consultation sessions with the customs administrations of China , Japan and the Republic of Korea , and the World Customs Organisation to strengthen Customs-to-Customs partnerships in the region.
In addition, the meeting held a joint consultation with the US- ASE AN Business Council, the Conference of Asia-Pacific Express Carriers, and the ASE AN Federation of Forwarders Associations, to strengthen Customs-to-Business partnerships in the region.
Vietnam News Agency
