Nepal : South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation
The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation Program will contribute to Nepal''s national goals of promoting and diversifying exports, and help the country fulfill its commitments to the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization and related international standards on customs. The Government of Nepal has requested a concessional loan in various currencies equivalent to SDR15,341,000 ($21 million) from ADB''s ordinary capital resources to help finance the program, together with a technical assistance grant of $1 million.
Project Details
-
Project Officer
Hayashi, Tadateru
South Asia Department
Request for information -
Country/Economy
Nepal -
Modality
-
Sector
- Industry and trade
| Project Name | South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation | ||||
| Project Number | 50254-002 | ||||
| Country / Economy | Nepal |
||||
| Project Status | Closed | ||||
| Project Type / Modality of Assistance | Technical Assistance |
||||
| Source of Funding / Amount |
|
||||
| Strategic Agendas | Inclusive economic growth Regional integration |
||||
| Drivers of Change | Governance and capacity development Partnerships Private sector development |
||||
| Sector / Subsector | Industry and trade / Industry and trade sector development - Trade and services |
||||
| Gender | No gender elements | ||||
| Description | The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation Program will contribute to Nepal''s national goals of promoting and diversifying exports, and help the country fulfill its commitments to the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization and related international standards on customs. The Government of Nepal has requested a concessional loan in various currencies equivalent to SDR15,341,000 ($21 million) from ADB''s ordinary capital resources to help finance the program, together with a technical assistance grant of $1 million. | ||||
| Project Rationale and Linkage to Country/Regional Strategy | The transaction technical assistance is needed to help strengthen Nepal's Department of Customs'' capacity to execute reform measures captured in the policy matrix of the program, which are in turn the strategic priorities of the 4-year national strategy, the Customs Reform and Modernization Strategies and Action Plan (CRMSAP) 2017 -2021, with which the program is fully aligned. The TA and the policy-based loan are both included in the Country Operations Business Plan: Nepal, 2017-2019. | ||||
| Impact | |||||
| Project Outcome | |
|---|---|
| Description of Outcome | |
| Progress Toward Outcome | TA has become effective on 15 August 2017. |
| Implementation Progress | |
| Description of Project Outputs | |
| Status of Implementation Progress (Outputs, Activities, and Issues) | Three individual national consultants have been engaged to support the implementation of TA activities. Preparatory activities for the engagement of a national consulting firm have also started. |
| Geographical Location | Nation-wide |
| Summary of Environmental and Social Aspects | |
|---|---|
| Environmental Aspects | |
| Involuntary Resettlement | |
| Indigenous Peoples | |
| Stakeholder Communication, Participation, and Consultation | |
| During Project Design | The stakeholders are trade-related public and private sector entities, represented in the Customs National Trade Facilitation Committee (CNTFC), including: Ministry of Finance, other trade-related government ministries (Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Agricultural Development, Ministry of Industry), banks, manufacturers, producers of agricultural goods, traders, freight forwarders, customs agents, among others. Consultation sessions have been held continuously in Kathmandu and the field locations since 2014. At the field locations, local chambers of commerce, manufactures, cooperatives, customs clearing agents, and freight forwarders were visited in addition to local government offices. Following the initial consultation, a number of stakeholder consultations have been held as part of the project review missions of TA 8442 at an interval of 4-6 months. In November 2016, a national consultation session workshop was organized, inviting these public and private sector representatives. While the workshop's primary aim was to discuss the draft Customs Reform and Modernization Strategies and Action Plan (CRMSAP), 2017-2021, the agenda included discussions on the CRMSAP reform areas to be supported by ADB's policy-based lending. Major reform actions to be supported by the Program were confirmed, together with endorsement of the CRMSAP design. |
| During Project Implementation | The TA is being implemented over 30 months starting August 2017. The executing agency is the Department of Customs (DOC). The DOC prepared a Work Plan for the TA implementation and formed a program implementation framework, headed by its Deputy Director General (Management), supervising five thematic task forces of: (i) coordination; (ii) legislation; (iii) automation; (iv) risk management; and (v) organization and development. |
| Business Opportunities | |
|---|---|
| Consulting Services | A combination of individual consultants and a consulting firm will be engaged for the implementation of the technical assistance. Individual consultants will be engaged by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) using individual consultant selection and, where relevant, on output-based partial lump-sum contracts. For the development of the Nepal Customs Automation System sub-systems, a national consulting firm will provide a team of consultants. The firm will be engaged by ADB using quality- and cost-based selection method and output-based partial lump-sum contract. The firm should specialize in information technology. |
| Procurement | N/A |
| Responsible ADB Officer | Hayashi, Tadateru |
| Responsible ADB Department | South Asia Department |
| Responsible ADB Division | Regional Cooperation and Operations Coordination Div, SARD |
| Executing Agencies |
Asian Development Bank 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Philippines Department of Customs Tripureshwar, Kathmandu, Nepal |
| Timetable | |
|---|---|
| Concept Clearance | - |
| Fact Finding | - |
| MRM | - |
| Approval | 24 Jul 2017 |
| Last Review Mission | - |
| Last PDS Update | 27 Mar 2019 |
TA 9346-NEP
| Milestones | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Approval | Signing Date | Effectivity Date | Closing | ||
| Original | Revised | Actual | |||
| 24 Jul 2017 | 15 Aug 2017 | 15 Aug 2017 | 29 Feb 2020 | 28 Feb 2021 | 29 Apr 2021 |
| Financing Plan/TA Utilization | Cumulative Disbursements | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADB | Cofinancing | Counterpart | Total | Date | Amount | |||
| Gov | Beneficiaries | Project Sponsor | Others | |||||
| 0.00 | 1,000,000.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 1,000,000.00 | 17 Jun 2022 | 881,938.90 |
Project Data Sheets (PDS) contain summary information on the project or program. Because the PDS is a work in progress, some information may not be included in its initial version but will be added as it becomes available. Information about proposed projects is tentative and indicative.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) recognizes that transparency and accountability are essential to development effectiveness. It establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced.
The Accountability Mechanism provides a forum where people adversely affected by ADB-assisted projects can voice and seek solutions to their problems and report alleged noncompliance of ADB's operational policies and procedures.
In preparing any country program or strategy, financing any project, or by making any designation of, or reference to, a particular territory or geographic area in this document, the Asian Development Bank does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.
| Title | Document Type | Document Date |
|---|---|---|
| South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation: Technical Assistance Report | Technical Assistance Reports | Jul 2017 |
| South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation Customs Reform and Modernization for Trade Facilitation : Project Data Sheet (Nepali Translation) | Translated PDS | Sep 2017 |
Safeguard Documents See also: Safeguards
Safeguard documents provided at the time of project/facility approval may also be found in the list of linked documents provided with the Report and Recommendation of the President.
None currently available.
Evaluation Documents See also: Independent Evaluation
None currently available.
Related Publications
None currently available.
The Access to Information Policy (AIP) establishes the disclosure requirements for documents and information ADB produces or requires to be produced in its operations to facilitate stakeholder participation in ADB's decision-making. For more information, refer to the Safeguard Policy Statement, Operations Manual F1, and Operations Manual L3.
Requests for information may also be directed to the InfoUnit.
Tenders
| Tender Title | Type | Status | Posting Date | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Facilitation Specialist - Customs Automation Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| Trade Facilitation Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| Risk Management Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| National Web Administrator - System Administrator | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| National Web Administrator - Customs Automation Assistant | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| Lead Capacity Development Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| E-Customs Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| Customs Capacity Development Specialist | Individual - Consulting | Closed | ||
| Consulting Firm | Firm - Consulting | Closed |
Contracts Awarded
Procurement Plan
None currently available.