The Honduran Customs Administration is launching the “Paperless Customs” project in the import modality in Puerto Cortés, where almost 90 percent of maritime traffic is handled. The initiative will be gradually developed in the other customs offices, the agency of the Central American country reported today (07.09.2021).
The move will allow the integration and digitization of physical documents for a digital review process at the important Central American port, located on the northeast coast of the Caribbean.
In this way, the use of paper and the number of physical files of the different customs procedures and processes that are carried out every day will be progressively eliminated, in order to create a digital archive that allows for the facilitation, acceleration, simplification and reduction of costs in the processes of entry and exit of goods.
El National Director of Customs Operations, Marco Tulio Abadie, explained that the Paperless Customs Project consists of two phases.
" primera stage It is the control of digitalized documents that support the Single Declaration of Central America (DUCA) and of all documents that arise at the time when the customs official carries out the physical-documentary or documentary review; and the raising of inventories in electronic formats and communications to the declarant by electronic means." Regarding the second phaseAbadie stated that “the aim is to use electronic devices to carry out the reception by the on-board check when goods enter warehouses, performing the comparison electronically considering the weight and number of packages of the cargo received in accordance with the cargo manifest. Likewise, the automation of the traveller's declaration is intended, with the support of companies dedicated to the international transport of travellers.”
Abadie clarified that the The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), through the Regional Trade Facilitation and Border Management Project, donated a batch of technological equipment to the Customs Administration, which consists of 10 high-end tablets, which will be used to receive the electronic file in the merchandise dispatch process.
“We support the modernization of customs through the use of technology to streamline the processes for the passage of goods. This will allow companies to receive their products in less time, become more competitive and generate more opportunities for the population,” he said. Rod Thompson, Director of the Office of Economic Growth, USAID Honduras.
Number of trainings
In order to publicize the project and its use through the Customs School, Honduran Customs reported the number of training sessions carried out:
- Training to 312 people from the technical and regulatory customs area of the northern zone and personnel involved in customs clearance at the Customs of Puerto Cortés.
- Training to 908 people belonging to external entities such as the Honduran American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham), Cargo Consolidators, Honduran Association of Shipping Companies and Representatives (AHCORENA) and Chamber of Transportation, Gamma Ray Operator Personnel, Border Police, Anti-Drug Police assigned to border posts, National Migration Institute, Merchant Marine, National Port Company, Warehouse Personnel of the Central American Port Operator (OPC), Members of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Cortés, National Federation of Customs of Honduras (FENADUANAH), National Association of Industrialists of Honduras (ANDI), Maquiladoras, Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Tegucigalpa.
- Training to 1.220 people under the modalities virtual and in person.
Aduana News is the first Argentine customs newspaper to launch its digital version. With 20 years of experience, its publications and initiatives aim to provide the most relevant knowledge on customs issues in order to contribute to safe trade in the region.
