Customs is the institution responsible for border controls for both people and goods, for facilitating trade and collecting tariffs and other taxes. Each country determines the scope of the powers that customs have based on its needs, and also determines the technological tools that it will use to achieve the greatest efficiency and effectiveness in the functions of Customs.
The responsibility of Customs is to prevent threats of different kinds from affecting the State, including: terrorist threats, smuggling, tax fraud or money laundering. Given these premises, the success of the Customs Office is essential. project “Invisible Shield” which contemplates the creation of the Customs Monitoring, Control and Video Surveillance Center (CMCVVA), since it will be possible to concentrate all the information on monitoring, control and scrutiny of cargo and people, subject to the jurisdiction of the country.
This will concentrate the results of different technological systems such as images from non-intrusive inspections carried out by scanner equipment and video surveillance cameras in customs premises, as well as the traceability of land cargo transport through RFID antenna systems, the results of radiation portals, among others.
Risk analysis and identification
In order to be more competitive and provide a safe service free of illicit trade, the CMCVVA will be a tool to guarantee an objective and modern review process that enshrines an information and intelligence integration strategy, which leverages technological, physical and human resources.
In terms of technological resources, integrating the monitoring systems of different units allows for a more collaborative team, which will share information with officials from the institution as well as from other security and international bodies. In this regard, for example, the project includes the provision of scanners at strategic points in the country as well as at port terminals, integrating public and private investment, concentrating in one place the review of images in real time which can be analyzed and potential cases determined; this review is fed by risk analysts and national and international alerts, as well as by groups formed by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in different countries, which request the review of maritime cargo in particular, but also land cargo and air cargo, which now with the pandemic have increased the volume of movements.
This concentration of information will allow for the simplification of customs procedures and faster clearance of goods, which translates into compliance with the principle of trade facilitation through effective customs control. Procedures will also be uniform, complying with customs practices promoted by the Revised Kyoto Convention and other instruments and tools developed by the WCO, in terms of the SAFE Framework of Standards, Compendium of Risk Management, Compendium for Coordinated Border Management, and others.
Human resources, especially the Risk Management team, are tasked with defining the context, assessing the risk, determining the procedure to be executed, creating an environment for exchange of communication and consultation, as well as supervision and review as part of their organizational activities. This human team must comply with the standards of integrity and transparency in the public service (Arusha Declaration) to carry out its functions effectively, and must go through a recruitment process based on capabilities and experience. Therefore, transparency is essential to achieve trust among peers, the reliability of the different work teams and to combat corruption.
Another element to consider that introduces the “Invisible Shield” project is that the implementation of this CMCVVA also includes collaboration between customs and companies, since many of the equipment such as radio frequency identification (RFID) antennas and scanners will be installed in specific places along the country's fiscal routes, both public and private, in addition to the fact that the readers have access to all countries that are part of the Guatemala Protocol, that is, the Central American Economic Integration System, so that traceability will be achieved for cargo transport during its journey along the fiscal routes through the RFID system and through the different borders through which they transit. The use of this technology can be taken advantage of in the risk analysis of the cargo, since the transmission will be in real time. Likewise, this CMCVVA is part of a more ambitious project consisting of the Customs Logistics Integration Program (PILA), which is carried out between the borders of Panama and Costa Rica, of which this Monitoring Center is an integral component and part of the Loan Agreement with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for trade facilitation and modernization of the border crossings of Paso Canoas, Río Sereno and Guabito. This IDB project consists of financing in the order of 75 million dollars for the modernization of the borders.
Director General of the National Customs Authority of Panama
