Hanoi (VNA) -The municipal Customs Department on October 16 officially started piloting anautomated customs management and supervision system of imported and exportedgoods at the Noi Bai International Airport.

The department will apply information technology to exchange and updateinformation with businesses operating in warehouses and ports to monitor thegoods from locations under customs supervision.

The management and supervision of goods transported by air will be based oninformation before flights, with goods automatically assigned numbers linked toimport and export declarations.

Warehouse firms will then have to send information about the goods with theassigned numbers to the customs office.

The warehouse of Noi Bai Cargo Terminal Services JSC (NCTS) will be thefirst unit implementing the pilot system. The Aviation Logistics Corporation(ALSC) and Air Cargo Service of Vietnam Joint Stock Company (ACSV) willjoin the pilot in November to ensure all cargoes at Noi Bai InternationalAirport are automatically managed in the system.

The department also said 48 airlines operating at the airport sent documentscertifying registration in the national aviation customs single window as wellas information about passengers, luggage and flight crew. The information willhelp implement e-customs procedures and risk management on transit flights.

The department has cooperated with the General Department of Customs and thethree warehouse firms to receive information on goods transported by theairlines.

The General Department of Customs received information from nine internationalairports through the national aviation customs single window.

Tran Quoc Dinh, Deputy Director of the municipal Customs Department, said thesystem would automatically send information to warehouses to take cargo whichcompleted customs clearance procedures. This could help warehouses returngoods, saving time as well as providing timely and accurate information toprevent fake documents.

“The system is expected to shorten time and costs on completing customsclearance procedures while enhancing goods management to avoid trade fraud,smuggling and ensuring national security,” Dinh said.

He added that it would also help customs offices manage inventories atwarehouses.

Nguyen Cong Binh, Deputy Director of the General Department of Customs, saidthe system will operate in accordance with international standards, helpingfacilitate trade and import-export activities.

“The electronic airway bills (eWAB) will help airlines and businesses meet withstandards of the Montreal 1999 Convention to change paper documents with e-bills,thus shortening time and costs as well as improving competitiveness,” Binhsaid.-VNA