Vietnam Launches Single Window System To Cut Customs Clearance Time

By Minggu Simon Lhasa BANGKOK, Sept 9 (Bernama) -- Vietnam on Wednesday became the fifth Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member state to launch the single window system. In a statement here Wednesday, ASEAN Secretary-General, Le Luong Minh, said the launch signified its commitment to the bloc's economic integration and community building process. "The national single windows are prerequisites of the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) and plays a vital role in meeting the trade facilitation objectives of the governments which are to reduce clearance times at the border," he said. Le said this at the opening ceremony of Vietnam's National Single Window Implementation and Technical Connection to ASW in Hanoi on Tuesday. Lee said the implementation of the ASW would promote the harmonisation of standards and conformance procedures, including enhancing intra-ASEAN preferential rules of origin procedures. It would facilitate coordination and partnership among Customs administrations, the integration and transparency of Customs procedures, the sharing of Customs intelligence for improved and modernised risk management, and other concrete goals of the ASEAN Customs Vision 2015, he said. The National Single Window is a system which enables a single submission of data and information; a single and synchronous processing of data and information; and a single decision-making for customs release and clearance. --BERNAMA