“We hope to solve the problems on the link within the year but implementation can wait until next year,” Biazon said.
The E2M is the heart of the agency’s automation project, which intends to curb corruption and for the Philippines to be at par with its regional peers. The said system, which is still in its initial phases of implementation, hopes to cut the time needed for the import and export processing, and improve trade facilitation.
The NSW, on the other hand, is the localized version of the international system that allows traders to submit documents at a single location or entity, which in this case, involves the import permits.
“We have to solve it soon because Asean [Association of Southeast Asian Nation] Single Window will be implemented next year, so we need to have our systems ready,” Biazon said.
The service provider of the NSW, Crowne Agents, cannot immediately link its systems with the E2M after its operator, Unisys, threatened to void the warranty that it gave the government for its operations. The NSW had been scheduled to be launched in July but it has to be called off due to warranty issues with Unisys.
The BOC will have to issue a Customs Administrative Order to set up guidelines for the connectivity of the two systems. The agency will then hire another service provider to connect the two systems.
Both steps are still under way.
Once completed, the NSW system will interconnect initially 10 government agencies issuing import permits. There are a total of 40 agencies that issue import permits.
Under the initial launch, the BOC is applying the government-to-government model of the NSW that involves both automated and manual processes. The automated process only involves the electronic printing of import permit application and automated release of the permit while submission and processing will be done manually. The agencies involved, in turn, issue a barcode that will be submitted to the NSW, which will be used by the agencies to validate if the documents are authentic or not, including the payment of fees.
Among the agencies that will be included in the electronic issuance of the import permits include the Bureau of Product Standards, National Food Authority, Sugar Regulatory Administration, Board of Investment, Bureau of Animal Industry, Bureau of Food and Drugs, Philippine Economic Zone Authority (Peza), the BOC and the Bureau of Internal Revenue.
Peza applications, on the other hand, will have to be submitted directly to Peza-accredited value-added service providers instead of passing through the NSW system.
Currently, the Department of Agriculture and the Board of Investments have successfully interfaced with the NSW system.
