ASEAN Customs Transit System ACTS v. 2019 Background The ASEAN - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

ASEAN Customs Transit System ACTS

• v. 2019

Background

• The ASEAN Customs Transit System, or ‘ACTS’ has been developed by

ASEAN Member States, with the technical assistance of EU‐ARISE.

• The origins of ACTS are in Protocol 7, ‘Customs Transit System’, of the

ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit.

• This was agreed and signed by Governments in 1998.
• See ACTS Information Portal: https://acts.asean.org

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AMS Cooperation in using ACTS

Effective communications

• Networked connections between participating AMS
• Fast and efficient messaging between offices

Agreement on mutual assistance

• Sharing information between participating AMS
• Full control of transit movements in conformity with

national laws

• Cooperation in recovery of any lost revenue

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Agreed Standards

• Standard format guarantees, given by banks
• Amounts to cover the maximum Customs debt in countries of transit
• Recoverable, if necessary, in the appropriate country of transit

Guarantees

• Strict standards to establish and then to monitor the reliability and

suitability of Authorised Transit Traders Registration and authorisation of transit operators

• To meet requirements on vehicle or container construction and suitability

and set specifications for seals, recognised in each country of transit Means of transport and security seals Standard Customs operational procedures

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ACTS Network

External connections: Trader portal National ACTS Core Applications ACTS network for communication between the Member States and the Central Services.

Information exchange (IE) messages AMS transit Trader AMS transit Trader AMS transit Trader

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Customs roles

Irregularities

Diversions and non‐arrival Enquiry and recovery

Transit and transit movement termination

Transit offices Office of destination

Commencing transit movements

Declaration submission Validation and acceptance Release to transit

Administration

Trader registration Guarantee management Risk controls

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ACTS transit operators

• The transit transport operator (the legal entity) using

ACTS is the ‘Principal’, as defined in Protocol 7.

• The Principal is responsible for the transit movement, in

terms of meeting the conditions of Customs approval and any liabilities

• ACTS transit declarations are made by persons (‘the

declarant’), specifically authorised by the Principal such as: ‐

• Owners or partners of the business;
• Employees of the Principal; or
• Customs brokers or freight forwarders, acting as representatives
• f the Principal.

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ACTS Authorised Transit Traders (ATT)

• Customs procedures to facilitate transit movements by

registered ACTS transit operators are in two categories, called:

• Normal procedure; and
• Simplified procedure
• Simplified procedures are available, on application, to

approved transport operators given the status of ACTS ‘Authorised Transit Trader’.

• Gaining ‘ATT’ status requires a Customs evaluation of the

applicant’s transit business standing and proven record of reliability.

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ATT Simplifications

• As an example, an ATT can be exempted from the need to

present goods at the Customs office of departure and to commence transit movements direct from pre‐authorised places of loading without any need for routine Customs examinations.

• ATT’s are approved by participating Member States, for

either:

• Simplified transit departure procedures within that State,
• for Simplified destination procedures within that State, or
• Both departure and destination, within that State

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Customs offices of transit

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• Registers the transit declaration
• Decides and conducts appropriate control measures
• Releases to transit and monitors movement
• Ends the transit movement with final write‐off

Office of departure Office of departure

• Validates the transit movement at border
• Decides on allowing passage

Offices of transit Offices of transit

• Registers consignment’s arrival
• Decides and conducts appropriate control measures
• Reports to office of departure as necessary to finalise the transit movement

Office of destination Office of destination

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ACTS Transit System

ACTS access and messaging between Customs Offices

Country 1. Country 2 Country 3 Office of Destination Office of Departure

Advance Notice of Transit ‐ ATR & AAR Electronic Messages Confirm Arrival and Release

TAD‐ Transit Acc Doc

Prescribed route Set time to complete transit

What if the transit is not routine?

Circumstances can lead to situations such as:

• Late arrivals ( not within the set time interval)
• Diversions in route or destination (unavoidable or

intended)

• Incidents in transit (accidents, breakdowns, or theft/loss)
• Unexplained failure to arrive at destination

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Enquiries and recovery

• Enquiry procedures are initiated in the absence of ‘Arrival

advice’ and ‘Control result’ messages within the set time interval.

• The Principal is advised that evidence must be produced to

show the transit was completed correctly.

• Without a satisfactory response, the recovery procedure is

commenced, to claim and recover duties and taxes from the Principal or Guarantor.

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Pilot Phase A, B and C

• Pilot A in MST and CLV (6 weeks):
• 6 January – 14 February 2020
• Execution of 21 Business Scenarios by MST and CLV
• Pilot B in MST and CLV (3 weeks):
• 27 January – 14 February 2020
• Selected private sector participants moving goods in MST and CLV under existing Customs procedures while submitting and

processing movements under ACTS procedure as well (Parallel Run)

• Final connectivity checks, configuration and old data cleanup:
• 17 ‐ 29 February 2020
• Final system and connectivity checks, configuration, old data cleanup will be performed
• Pilot C in MST and CLV (8 weeks):
• Tentatively 2 March ‐ 24 April 2020
• Go Live! Event tentatively first week of Pilot C
• Selected private sector participants moving goods between CLV and TH under ACTS procedure only
• Seamless switch to full Live Operations tentatively right after

end of Phase C on 24 April 2020

Role of National Transport Agencies

• On‐going supervision of transport preparations under ACTS Pilot
• Issuing / revoking goods vehicle cross‐border permits
• Monitoring of progress of ACTS Pilot from transport aspect
• Resolution of transport‐related problems

Role of NTTCC

• Inter‐agency coordination of preparations for ACTS Pilot
• At national level
• Transmission of goods vehicle cross‐border permits to Host Countries
• Receipt of acknowledgement from Host Countries
• Follow‐up of non‐acknowledgements

ASEAN GVCB Permit

Free movement for trucks and drivers

• Standard technical specifications for trucks
• Protocol 4 AFAFGIT
• 500 trucks per ASEAN country
• Protocol 3 of AFAFGIT
• Controlled by ASEAN Goods Vehicle Cross Border Permit
• Mutual recognition of driving licences, registration

certificates and operator licences

ASEAN GVCB Permit Sticker

AMS Flag: Colour Specification may follow the United Nations Pantone (PMS) Color Specifications for International Flags 2013; otherwise, leave to national discretion.

(www.embassyflag.com/unflagcolors/unflagcolors.pdf)

ASEAN emblem: As adopted in the ASEAN Charter Blue : Pantone 286 Red : Pantone Red 032 Yellow : Pantone Process Yellow Font Colour:

• Black. RGB Mode

Red : 0 Green : 0 Blue : 0 background Colour: RGB Mode Red: 247 Green: 150 Blue: 70 Optional Barcode: Barcode Specification: 128B (standard bar code widely used in shipping and packaging, and can represent numbers 0‐9, alphabetic characters A‐Z and a‐z) Frame is for indication purpose only, to be omitted when barcode is not printed.

11.8 cm 11.5 cm

Border Transport Control Procedures

Procedural controls by Transport officials at borders:

• Verification of documents held on vehicle
• As per protocol 4 of AFAFGIT
• ASEAN Goods vehicle cross‐border sticker
• ASEAN Goods vehicle cross‐border permit
• Vehicle registration certificate
• Certificate of inspection
• Consignment note

Role of Private Sector

What will be expected of private sector (principals / declarants)

• Participate in ACTS training
• Register as principal with Customs
• Apply for ASEAN GVCB Permit
• Obtain guarantees for duties and taxes at risk
• Arrange for electronic submission to ACTS of transit declarations
• Submit correct electronic transit declaration to ACTS
• Participate in integrated border management events

ACTS Possible Future

• Exploring possibility for expansion of routes / border posts and other ports
• Use of ACTS for in‐country transit, based on national legal framework
• Use of ACTS for two country cross‐border transit, based on bilateral

agreements / MoUs

• Addition of advanced tracking technologies, e.g. RFID, GPS
• Inclusion of multiple loading and unloading points along the transit route
• Inclusion of other modes of transport: rail and river

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Next steps

• National ACTS project team and liaison officers
• Internal ACTS instructions (use ACTS guidelines and manuals)
• Appointing offices/officers for specific role in ACTS implementation
• Alignment of national legislation (e.g. for use of ATT simplifications)
• Additional meetings with transporters / traders and their associations,

as well as with banks and insurance providers

• Public call to transporters/traders/freight forwarders/customs brokers

interested to become ACTS principals

• Additional training for customs and transport officials and
• ther stakeholders

ACTS Information Portal : https://acts.asean.org

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Thank You

ASEAN Regional Integration Support by the EU (ARISE) Plus

ASEAN Secretariat

• Jl. Sisingamangaraja 70A, Jakarta 12110 – Indonesia

Tel: (+62 21) 726 2991, 724 3372 ext. 852 Fax: (+62 21) 739 8234 E‐mail: ariseplus@asean.org