“The progress made so far is okay, Uganda is moving towards an environment where trade moves faster if the process of establishing the national Electronic Single Window is finalized next month.” said, Ambassador Julius Onen, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade, Industry and cooperatives, during a steering committee meeting held in Kampala.
The $5m project funded by Trade Mark East Africa (TMA) has registered steady progress in terms of project implementation by the seven pilot organization/institution selected to pilot the implementation.
Christian Byamugisha who represented the Project Implementation Team, reported that URA has provided necessary environment for ICT infrastructure development and for that matter the ICT infrastructurehas been approved to be capable to handle the Electronic Single window technology. URA has also upgraded the Asycuda platform to effect E-tax payment among other progresses.
Uganda Export Promotions Board (UEPB) which is charged with the responsibility of managing membership registration by capturing data of traders, Byamugisha said, piloted its online electronic registration portal on the 2nd of June, 2016 with 30 members registered. Through this platform, traders will beable to apply for electronic certificate of Origin online and the same certificate will be approve or signed online without a trade having to queue for the same. In addition UEPB is also finalizing the incorporation of the certificate of destination online among other progresses.
For the case Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) Byamugisha said UNBS has integrated the E-portal and E-tax to sort out payment challenges.For example, inspection and laboratory testing fees payment have been integrated into URA’s Asycuda platform. The National Drug Authority on the other hand has progressed in constituting the online certificate of import, export permits which come as a result of drug registration online While MAAIF is on course because it is finalizing the constitution of crop certificate and re-export form online among others activities.
The Uganda National Electronic Single Window is meant to facilitate easy trade by reducing paper work required among local traders during import and export trade by integrating different institution and agencies requiring such documentation into a single e-portal where trades can do most of the documentation online.
The Commissioner for External Trade, Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives, Silver Ojakol said the Uganda National Electronic Single Window is meantto reduce by 30% on transaction costs and time associated with processing documentation for selected imports and exports at key trade regulatory agencies in Uganda.
He said Uganda like many other developing countries, the business community involved in international trade has to regularly prepare and submit large volumes of information and documents to governmental authorities to comply with import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements.
This information and documentation, Ojakol said, often has to be submitted through several agencies, each with their own specific (manual or automated) systems and paper forms. These extensive documentation requirements, together with their associated compliance costs, constitute serious challenges to both the government and the business community and constitute non-tariff barriers to the development of intra-regional and international trade. Data capture is also duplicated as the same information is provided to different Government Agencies at various points of the importation/exportation clearance process.
The National Electronic Single Window (NESW) Single Window System, he said is a trade concept whose implementation allows traders to simultaneously submit information requirements for trade regulatory documents, such as: customs declarations; applications for import and export permits; certificates of origin; and trading invoices, through a single online electronic portal/window.
Source: Business Week

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