The general director of the National Customs Authority of Panama, Tayra Barsallo and the Minister of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, Andrés Valenciano, held a meeting on January 19 to review the progress of the works of the Binational Integrated Control System at border crossings between both countries.
Both officials agreed that these works will serve as an example for customs and will allow for a revolution in processes, but for this to happen, all those involved must be willing to implement a real change of attitude, where paradigms are broken with the firm purpose of providing a clear, efficient and coordinated service stripping away the sovereign roots of each country.
At the meeting the technical team of CCosta Rica reported that the construction of the Integrated Control Center in Paso Canoas has already been awarded and that they are about to begin work. They gave details of the pending tenders and also suggested calling a technical meeting between both countries to standardize the processes of all the actors involved in border procedures.
Meanwhile, the head of Panama Customs, Tayra Barsallo, together with the deputy logistics director, Juan Pablo García, spoke about the progress of the works in the three border points: Paso Canoas, Río Sereno and Guabito, where several tenders have already been issued and works awarded for the design, construction, audits, process assessment and regulatory framework.
Costa Rica noted the importance of formally establishing the Binational Coordination Committee which is led by the customs authorities of both countries and will finalize in the coming weeks the technical meeting to standardize the processes, Panama also proposed using as a frame of reference the results report from the Dispatch Time Study, which was recently carried out under the coordination of the World Customs Organization and SIECA.
The Integrated Control Centre will allow for the verification and supervision of the legal conditions for the entry and exit of persons, luggage, transport units, goods and vehicles carried out by entities stationed at the border points of both countries.
The border project for both countries is financed by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and in Panama it is led by the National Customs Authority, through the so-called Customs Logistics Integration Program (PILA), which aims to ensure traceability on fiscal routes, modernize processes, technology, infrastructure and fiscal and parafiscal control equipment in the three most important border crossings with Costa Rica: Paso Canoas, Guabito and Río Sereno (figure).
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.
