SWIFT
– A Transformative Approach towards Ease of Doing
Business
D.S.MALIK*
As part of the Government's initiatives for improving
the Ease of Doing Business, several facilitation measures are being taken by
the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) in last two years. In line with the Budget announcement
made by the Union Finance Minister and as part of the “Ease of Doing Business”
initiatives, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) launched the Customs’ SWIFT (Single Window
Interface for Facilitating Trade) Clearances Project with effect from 1st
April 2016.
SWIFT will
help India to improve its ranking in World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2016.
India now ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the Ease of Doing Business,
moving-up four places from last year’s (2015) adjusted ranking of 134.
The Customs’ SWIFT enables
importers/exporters to file a common electronic ‘Integrated Declaration’ on the
Indian Customs Electronic Commerce/Electronic Data Interchange (EC/EDI) Gateway
i.e. ICEGATE portal. The Integrated Declaration compiles the information
requirements of Customs, FSSAI, Plant Quarantine, Animal Quarantine, Drug
Controller, Wild Life Control Bureau and Textile Committee. It replaces nine
separate forms required by these 6 different agencies and Customs. With the
roll-out of the Single Window, CBEC has also introduced an Integrated Risk
Management facility for Partner Government Agencies (PGAs),
which will ensure that consignments are not selected by agencies routinely for
examination and testing, but based on the principle of risk management.
It will also help the participating
agencies in handling their respective work areas (related to human and animal
health, bio-safety and environment safety) more effectively. With this
development today, Indian Customs is amongst the few select countries in the
world that have functional Single Window clearances, inclusive of multiple PGAs and integrated risk based selection.
Implementation of Single Window is
by far one of the most complex systems integration efforts that have been
taken-up by the Directorate General of Systems. To introduce the Single Window
and the ‘Integrated Declaration’, IT Systems of both the Government Departments
and private sector agencies had to be changed. The whole exercise has been
coordinated well and all this was made possible due to unstinting efforts put
in by the officers of Directorate General of Systems and Single Window team.
The Single Window system is a
crucial implementation of trade facilitation measure for goods’ clearances at
the country’s points of entry and exit. Efficiency in the import and export
procedures would save large sums of money for the importers and exporters due
to reduced trade-related costs and delays. By requiring all participating
Government agencies to publish Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and
timelines, the Committee of Secretaries headed by the Cabinet Secretary has set
benchmarks and goals for all related Regulatory Agencies. In order to work
collaboratively with the agencies and industry stakeholders, port and central
level Customs’ Clearance Facilitation Committees (CCFCs)
have been established to simplify and streamline their inter-agency procedures
and documentary requirements for import and export of cargo.
According to the Chairman, CBEC, Shri Najib Shah, the time and
cost associated with import and export clearances has been a matter of concern
for the Government. In order to reduce the transaction costs and decrease cargo
release time, a number of steps have been initiated by the Central Board of
Excise and Customs (CBEC) in last two years. A significant leap in this
direction is the launch of the Customs’ Single Window clearances. Shri Shah added that there was strong willingness and
support from all stakeholders for the Single Window project. The Department’s
outreach program and enthusiastic private sector participation helped the
department to launch the project in a timely manner.
How will SWIFT help:
· It will provide a single
point interface for clearance of import goods.
· Replaces 9 separate
documents with one Integrated Customs Electronic Declaration
· Facilitates trade by
reducing Dwell Time & improving Ease of Doing Business
· Reduces Documentation
& Cost of Clearance
· Brings 6 participating
Government agencies on a single platform
· Eliminates need for
tax-payers to interact separately with these agencies.
SWIFT
will indeed go a long way in order to take the new trade facilitation
initiatives of the present Government to new heights in times to come.
*******
*D. S. Malik is
Additional Director General in PIB.