EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

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EAST AFRICAN COMMUNITY

• THE EAC CUSTOMS UNION
• KENNETH BAGAMUHUNDA
• DIRECTOR CUSTOMS EAC
• GRAND REGENCY HOTEL, NAIROBI
• June, 29TH 2005

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• Background
• Customs Union is entry point to economic
  integration process
• Protocol was concluded and signed in March 2004
• Ratified by the Partner States in December 2004
• Came into effect on 1st January 2005

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EAC Customs Union

• One Customs territory
• common external tariff (CET)
• Program for elimination of internal tariff
• removal of non tariff barriers
• common rules of origin.
• common standards of products produced and imported

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Characteristics cont.

• common and harmonized trade policies creating one
  trading bloc
• common export promotion mechanism within the
  Community
• common Customs Management Act (EAC -CMA)
  applicable in the Partner States

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• BASIC TENETS OF EAC CU
• Uniform and systematic nomenclature- Harmonized
  Commodity Description and Coding System
• Production and exchange of customs and trade
  information
• Uniform standard system of valuation
• Simplification and harmonized trade documentation
  

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• Tenets cont.
• Simplification and harmonization of customs
  formalities/procedures
• Standard transit control
• Common procedures for the establishment and
  operation of export promotion schemes
• Prevention, investigation and suppression of
  customs offences
• Harmonized information system to facilitate
  sharing of customs and trade information

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• Broad aspects of EAC CU
• Communication of customs and trade information
• Trade facilitation
• Simplification, Standardization and harmonization
  of trade information and documentation
• Export promotion
• Trade dispute mechanism

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• Application of ICT in customs
• Focus of Customs modernization programs
• Improve revenue
• Facilitate trade
• Social protection
• National security
• Investment promotion
• Export promotion
• Trade data

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• Legal frame work of e-Customs under EAC
• EAC Customs Management Act-
• IT application in Customs formalities
• Allow users of Customs Computerized systems
• Accessibility
• Registration
• Offences by users

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• Status of ICT applications in EAC
• UGANDA TANZANIA
• Asycuda version 2
• Asycuda
• KENYA
• Boffin
• Trade X/ Guinde

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• Customs areas identified for ICT application
• Transit monitoring
• Risk management ( risk profile, risk analysis
  intelligence analysis)
• Post clearance audit systems
• DTI/ EDI- self declaration and assessment
• Valuation - GATT Valuation
• Inventory Control- Warehousing and transit sheds

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• Processing of goods declaration
• Tariff and documentation control
• Revenue accounting
• Trade statistics
• MIS
• Electronic payments
• Release notification
• Bond management systems/ electronic bond
  retirement

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• Benefits
• enhanced customs control
• reduced cargo clearance times
• closer cooperation and rationalization of
  activities with other border control agencies
• uniform application of customs legislation
• increases transparency and predictability for the
  business sector
• reduced exercise of officer discretion

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• benefits
• enhanced management information
• efficient revenue collection and accounting
• accurate and timely trade statistics
• effective deployment of human and technical
  resources
• accurate information for risk management and
  post-clearance audit purposes

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• Challenges
• Regional oriented
• developing a harmonised ICT policy and legal
  framework for the Partner States
• creating an electronically connected trade
  community in the region
• traders, banks, shippers, warehouse operators,
  guarantors, regulatory agencies
• infrastructure impediments
• narrow focus of the functional scope of customs
  from the regional perspective

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• National challenges
• slow rollout of applications to customs stations
• few trained officers in IT fields
• parallel manual and automated systems

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• challenges
• Lack of integrated and interfaced IT systems
  between stakeholders and Customs e.g. banks,
  handlers/brokers and traders
• Slow adaptation to IT technological advances
• Structural duplication in IT planning and
  implementation

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• Way forward
• Harmonized customs computerization policy
• Develop an EAC Customs computerization strategy
• Integrated information exchange network-
  interconnectivity
• Joint border infrastructure
• Integration of applications for the various tax
  heads under international trade

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• Training
• IT applications and
• customs technical fields
• Mainstreaming the existing systems within the
  regional framework
• In-house ICT systems
• Off-the shelf solutions
• Harmonised EAC customs procedures

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• Specific initiatives
• Integrated regional transit cargo monitoring
  system
• Joint border programmes/ control
• EAC classification, valuation and administrative
  rulings system

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• Interconnectivity of customs systems
• systems audit and quality assurance in customs
• Capacity building

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• ASANTE SANA
• EAC SECRETARIAT ARUSHA
• JUNE 2005