Greater Mekong Subregion

This proposed cooperation modality is aimed at harmonizing customs formalities at common borders of GMS countries. As the infrastructure programs in GMS involving the creation of major road, water, rail, and air networks achieve significant economic impacts, and as the concomitant policy changes bring on greater integration among the countries, it is essential that these be complemented with measures to facilitate the movement of goods and people at borders. Among these are (a) single-stop inspection, (b) single-window inspection, and (c) coordination of hours of operations. These measures increase the efficiency in the flow of goods and people, reduce waiting time and transactions costs, and further raise economic activities.

Single-stop inspection means joint control by juxtaposed countries' customs authorities through shared facilities. The officials of the countries with common border assist one another in the performance of their duties. These authorities carry out inspection jointly and simultaneously. Where local configuration does not allow the installation of physically adjacent back-to-back frontier control posts, the control officers from one Country shall be allowed to perform their duties in the territory of the other Country, or the concerned countries may delegate their inspection and control competence to each other's officials.

Single-window inspection means all border crossing controls and inspection such as customs, foreign exchange, medico-sanitary, veterinary, phytosanitary, technical standards, and quality control shall be carried out simultaneously by the respective competent authorities (customs, immigration, police, trade, agriculture, health departments) under one location.

It is proposed that the customs cooperation modality involving (a) single-stop inspection, (b) single-window inspection, and (c) coordination of hours of operations be pilot tested in selected GMS common borders with the eventual intention of replicating these across all borders. It is possible that Thailand could provide one common border since it has 6 borders, or the pilot-test could be borders along the East-West Economic Corridor. A matrix of these borders is attached. The pilot testing may only involve single-stop inspection and coordination of hours of operations. However as soon as other authorities are drawn into the cooperation and the initial single-stop inspection initiative evaluated, the modality shall include single-window inspection as well. It is important to ensure as far as possible that these three cooperation modalities are simultaneously implemented in order to capture the optimum benefits.

Tasks:

• Selecting common borders for pilot testing: The GMS countries select at least two common borders for the pilot test initially of the single-stop inspection.
  
• Agreeing on common and shared Customs physical facilities: Following the Kyoto convention, where common facilities can be agreed upon, these should be the means of the cooperation and where facilities are yet to be built there should be a selection of one physical location for the facilities.
  
• Carrying out simultaneous inspection where different agencies are involved if the cooperation includes single-window inspection.
  
• Identifying documentation and procedural steps involved in Customs administration (e.g., declaration to release).
  
• Harmonizing procedures and documentation.
  
• Coordinating hours of operation
  

Component Activities:

• Bilateral conferences
  
• Monitoring of tasks
  
• Training of Customs and agency officials on tasks
  
• Joint controls
  

Resource Requirements:

• Technical staff support
  
• Equipment
  
• Travel-related costs
  
• Advisory and consultancy services
  
• Cross-visits of Customs officials to observe operations in the pilot areas
  

Timetable (tentative):

• 3-5 months set-up in pilot borders (including bilateral agreements binding the exercise)
  
• 12 months of operations following the tasks
  
• 2 months for consolidation and completion of monitoring and evaluation of the pilot testing
  
• 3 months for working out details of replication
  

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Cooperation Modality #2: Improvement of Transparency of Customs Practices

This cooperation modality is aimed at deepening and widening the accessibility of information on all Customs Practices, Procedures and Documents of the GMS countries. This means improving the quality of the customs practices in accordance with the Kyoto Convention (2000) and expanding the information about these through more vehicles of dissemination. Ultimately these customs practices shall be universally accessible in English (but available in individual country languages as well), internally consistent among the GMS countries, and satisfy the principles and standards set by the Kyoto Convention (2000). The transparency of these practices assures that these will be stable, consistent, and not subject to varying interpretations, discretion, and arbitrariness. This in turn will lead to improved movement of goods across GMS and elsewhere.

• Listing and reviewing individual country Customs procedures, requirements, and documentation.
  
• Jointly and collaboratively developing documents and forms that adhere to the Kyoto Convention (2000) based on systematic examination of current practices.
  
• Identifying mechanisms for explaining the procedures, requirements and documentation to those using Customs services including trading companies, freight forwarders, shipping lines, banks, small and medium businesses, etc.
  
• Exploring the use of electronic based technology in disseminating information on Customs procedures, requirements, and documentation.
  
• Examining the consistency of the Customs procedures, requirements, and documentation with initiatives carried out by the ASEAN, APEC, and other business forums on the subject.
  

• Encounters with the private sector through chambers of commerce and other non-government organizations
  
• Seminars and workshops
  
• Training of Customs officials on tasks
  
• Joint activities with other agencies with border responsibilities for common procedures, requirements, and documentation
  

• Technical staff support
  
• Advisory and consultancy services
  
• Hardware and software equipment
  

• 4-6 months in preparing an inventory of country-specific Customs procedures, requirements, and documentation based on existing laws and in-country experiences
  
• 2-3 months of mutual exchange of inventory of these practices and interaction among the GMS countries
  
• 12 months of actual development of procedures, requirements, and documentation covering a whole range of Customs functions, i.e., inward processing, outward processing, drawback, certificates of origin and other documentation
  
• 2-3 months of encounters with the private sector on the new Customs practices.
  

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Cooperation Modality # 3: Adherence to the Kyoto Convention (2000)

This cooperation modality is aimed at developing and supporting mechanisms for Risk Management among the GMS Customs authorities. The revised Kyoto Convention 2000 recognizes new developments in the field of customs administration that necessitate the reduction of time consuming work of full inspection of goods. This is also related to the simplification of practices which is addressed in Cooperation Modality #2. The new developments especially in information technology and expansion of trade imply that customs work will involve less comprehensive inspections and more of selective inspection based on accurate information of the goods being transported, the transport carriers, history of the traders and forwarders, and the route of the goods, among others. An effective use of risk management among the GMS countries will require shared information given that there will be cross-border movement of goods subject to the customs and other formalities in the transit countries.

• Building a national database of importers, exporters, carrier, agent, etc, the origin and routing of the goods, and prohibition or restrictions
  
• Documenting various risk profiles in a Customs territory including risk area, assessment of risk, counter-measures taken or to be taken, subsequent action, results and evaluation of the effectiveness of the action
  
• Formulating a GMS-wide database system at which these national databases can be shared to improve risk management across all the countries
  

• Data entry of profiles found in the archives of Customs territory based on GMS format and structure
  
• Training of Customs officials designated as responsible for customs control
  
• Seminars and workshops
  
• Selected joint customs controls based on limited national and GMS-wide database systems
  

• Technical staff support
  
• Hardware and software
  
• Advisory and consultancy services in database development
  
• Travel and related resources
  

• 3-4 months to arrive at common GMS format
  
• 12 months of database development and implementation
  
• 3-4 months of evaluation of the system for risk management
  

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Back Appendix 2	Next Inception Meeting of Trade Facilitation Working Group