Establishment of the Customs Single Window for Trade Facilitation in ASEAN

Work to support regional economic integration

The project provided technical assistance to member countries of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the ASEAN-EU Programme for Regional Integration Support (APRIS) in the establishment and pilot implementation of the ASEAN Single Window, as mandated by ASEAN leaders at their 10th Summit, Bali, October 2003.

The ASEAN-EU APRIS programme was tasked to act as a catalyst for developing a regional approach for regional cooperation, as established by ASEAN; contribute to the preparation of proposals for possible agreement by ASEAN bodies and/or development of new actions; assist with streamlining ASEAN’s coordination mechanisms and information dissemination system; and assist with actions identified through the EC-ASEAN dialogue.

In this context, the project was designed to support the integration — and, in particular, the regional economic integration — process in ASEAN by facilitating access to relevant experience and know-how, including from the EU, while contributing to strengthened EU-ASEAN relations and EC-ASEAN dialogue. Specifically, the project aimed to ensure the implementation of APRIS' component on Development of Guidelines for establishment of the Single Window throughout ASEAN.

Under this project, with assistance from the ASEAN Secretariat and the Project Team, an agreement was drafted and adopted to establish and implement the ASEAN Single Window; a conceptual model of the ASEAN Single Window was developed as the common environment in which this would operate and communicate; a 'National Single Window' (NSW) was defined as a model system common to all ASEAN Member Countries, enabling the single submission of data and information, the single and synchronous processing of data and information, and the single decision making for customs release and clearance of cargo; Technical Guidelines and more elaborate Technical Documentation were developed to assist ASEAN Member Countries in implementing the concepts on a national basis; and after thorough preparatory work, the testing of pilot NSWs in the Philippines and Thailand commenced, as well as a pilot application of ASW between and among the two countries commenced (July 2006 – ongoing). 

Project brief

Title: Establishment of the Customs Single Window for Trade Facilitation in ASEAN
Location: Multi-country
Sector:
Economy, Regulation & Agriculture
Client: EU
Start: Sep 2004
Duration: 24 months
Status: Completed