Customs Department aiming to improve efficiency with the Maritime Single Window System

The Comptroller of Customs hopes the full implementation of the Maritime Single Window system will improve efficiency at the Deep-Water Harbour. Raju Boddu spoke during a program on ABS Radio on Tuesday.

A maritime single window enables all information required by public authorities concerning the arrival, stay, and departure of ships, people, and cargo to be submitted electronically via a single portal, without duplication. The department, however, is looking to partner with investors to share the cost of its implementation.

“Right now, we have been scouting for financial assistance. Looking at a program, I have a fair idea of who could be the contractor, a government entity out of Korea. I have some ideas. Still, it’s in a very young stage of formulating the concepts and all that,” Boddu said.

He plans to approach fund managers during the upcoming annual World Customs Organization meeting.

He also spoke about the Customs Data system, saying that while the automated system ASYCUDA has assisted in reducing data inconsistencies and preventing data corruption, there are some challenges.

“From time to time, the system gets refined and other functionalities will be added. Very recently, last year, we had an upgrade of this system itself to the latest version. So now it can provide online payments, but we have some issues with the paying banks and receiving banks. So, we are sorting it out,” he said.

He also takes pride in the role the information technology team plays in the process.

“The approach we have adopted at Customs in modernizing through leveraging technology is that we did not go for big contracts paying huge sums of money. It is done entirely internally by our own IT technicians. For example, there are a lot of camera editions that are coming.”

Another top priority for the department is to step up patrols in the country’s territorial waters to curb criminal activities.

“When I see nearshore port patrolling all these fishing boats. What are they bringing in? We don’t know because, under the law, our local fishing boats are not subject to customs checking when they come in. So, what they bring in and what they are taking out, nobody knows. And if you see the sporadic incidents of little crimes that are reported, they are happening in small boats.”

He pointed out that the department needs to be fully equipped with its own canine unit rather than relying on joint operations with the police.

“Even that also, I’m trying with all our partners. Anybody that could fund that kind of a program. I’m still working on that. We need about four to six dogs so that they can be put effectively in very important areas. And a lot of crime can be managed that way.”