New software promises to speed up customs processes

Ed Richardson
NEW CUSTOMS software promises to make doing business with the developing world much easier.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (Unctad) is launching a new Web-based version of its customs automation system, ASYCUDA, which will allow customs administrators and traders to handle most of their transactions - from customs declarations to cargo manifests and transit documents - via the Internet.
The new e-customs platform, dubbed Asycuda
World, will be particularly useful to developing countries, where poor fixed-line telecommunications are a major problem for e-government applications, according to Unctad.
ASYCUDA is used in nearly 30 African countries, including South AfricaÕs neighbours Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Namibia.
The platform does away with the need to maintain permanent connections with a national server, something that is especially important for countries with unreliable telecommunications. Where telecommunications are more reliable, the traditional Web approach can be used.
It is also claimed to be powerful enough to accommodate the operational and managerial needs of customs operations in any developed country.
ASYCUDA is currently used to process an average of 15 million customs declarations in about half the worldÕs developing and transition economies each year, saving their customs administrations and traders some 50 million work hours annually, according to UNCTAD estimates.
ASYCUDA typically costs less than $2 million (R22,4m), while countries developing their own systems have sometimes paid up to $20 million (224m) before finally turning to ASYCUDA for a solution that worked, according to Unctad.