by B. Roach
“It will improve efficiency, revenue performance and improve border control”
Comptroller of Customs Bishop Dr. Melroy Meade
The Customs and Excise Department even here in Montserrat has always been a leader in the use of information technology. Comptroller of Customs Bishop Dr. Melroy Meade has every intention and expects that the system upgrade to ASYCUDA World “provide more efficiency…and our officers I believe will enjoy working with this new system…”
The Comptroller was speaking in mid-July of this year when two Customs officials visited Montserrat on assignment to, as in their own words, “…be computerizing a lot of the Customs functions…we’ll be giving access to the system…”
One of these officers was David Wright of the UK who has worked for UNCTD (United Nations Counsel Trade and Development) for the last 20 years. “We develop software which we give to the Customs department to enable them to computerize…”
There two of them and other is Terrence Leonard, a St. Lucian who also works for UNCTD and is the regional project manager for ASYCUDA projects for the region, dealing with the Overseas Territories Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), Anguilla, and Montserrat. He said that both he and David were, “looking at a multi country program involving the three countries in setting up the ASYCUDA world system…”
Terrence explained that the system is. “basically trying to create efficiency and effectiveness,” not only the customs system but, “the entire trade supply chain to make the whole process easier for importers and exporters, traders on the whole, coming into and out of Montserrat.”
In addition, as Comptroller Meade told members of the Montserrat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), when he echoed the ASYCUDA experts, the upgraded system will hopefully, “also see improved revenue performance by the department.”
David Wright & Terrence Leonard
They all said that the system would also afford better border control, “because of the fact that the system will be based more on risk management,” instead of an archaic way, things “will be operating in a more systematic way.”
“Montserrat cannot be left behind or ought not to be left behind,” Bishop Meade said. Testing of the system will begin soon and is likely to be fully implemented by January 2011.
He admitted that Montserrat had fallen a bit behind, but with the official experts coming to the island, and given the dates and timing with regard to implementation, he said, “we will be able to speed up the whole action to and to move things so that we can reach the target date.”
“Obviously we would want to make the whole process easier and more comfortable for our stake holders – we are in a evolving world and of course Customs has to be dynamic if we are going to be able to keep in touch with the persons around us and the same time be compatible with what’s happening globally,” the Comptroller concluded in July.
The officials said when all of the system come together it will provide much better information to increase productivity and revenue for the island. “…for your investors as you rebuild the economy -people who are interested in investing in your country more and more they need an interface that will work as a single platform where that type of information resides so they can interface on a single platform and instead of jumping from government department to government department…”
The Customs experts said they also had the responsibility to advise government “on the impact of his new system,” on how connecting up the government department into the system. so it will become one large ecommerce trading community.
85 countries around the world are already using the same customs IT system, ASYCUDA, represent a formidable opportunity for using the Internet to make international trade simpler and cheaper whilst also making international markets more accessible to enterprises from developing countries.
ASYCUDAWorld is used for assessing declarations on imported and exported goods. The system promises to significantly improve the Customs IT system. It will allow Customs administrations and traders to handle most of their transactions – from Customs Declarations to Cargo Manifests and Transit documents – via Internet.
