In the past few years CAS has been working on the introduction of paperless procedures for import and export and the implementation of the IT systems used across the European Union to enable electronic exchange of information at both the national and regional levels. This major project has been funded by EU pre-accession funds and is today almost complete.

As a first step, CAS looked at what needed to be done to create conditions for the implementation of the systems under the framework of a project funded by the EU called “Technical Assistance for Establishing the Institutional Framework for the Implementation of the Automated Import System (AIS) and Export System (AES)”.

Among other things, a legal framework for paperless business was developed in alignment with the EU framework, and the Customs Law of Serbia was harmonized with the Union Customs Code (UCC) to a large extent. Communication materials were designed to raise awareness within the business community of the new paperless processes.

In June 2023, supported by the Customs and Monopolies Agency of Italy, Serbia’s Ministry of Finance and CAS started working on the development of three IT systems: the Automated Import System (AIS), the Automated Export System (AES) and the Customs Decision System (CDS). A consortium of several companies was contracted to implement the systems. This involved developing updated functional specifications for the CDS, AIS, and AES and their subsystems in accordance with national requirements, designing systems architecture, and updating data models in line with the latest version of the EU Customs Data Model.

One major concern was the integration of the IT systems with the New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) and the Electronic Customs Clearance Gateway (ECC GW), which is the interface used for communication between CAS and external subjects (traders, declarants, etc.).

Currently, CAS is working on the integration of the systems with the “Integrated tariff management system” (ITMS) which helps manage tariff affairs on imported and exported goods. This integration will enable declarants to calculate Customs duties and obtain information on measures to be taken when importing or exporting goods, among other things.

The development of the IT systems did not require significant legislative changes. Serbia’s Ministry of Finance and CAS, together with EU experts, had only observed minor inconsistencies between Serbian Customs Law and EU regulations which were not an obstacle to implementation of the AIS/AES/CDS systems. Nevertheless, amendment proposals have been drafted and will soon be discussed.

CAS is currently finalizing rulebooks related to Annexes A and B of the Union Customs Code (UCC) which outlines the common data requirements for the exchange and storage of information between Customs authorities and economic operators, and details provisions on the data elements required for Customs declarations and notifications.

Economic operators were consulted during the development of the AIS/AES/CDS systems through various workshops and seminars. In November 2023, a large-scale event was organized to present the project and to discuss the concept of “eCustoms” and its implications.

In anticipation of Serbia’s accession to the EU, CAS is conceptualizing an “IT Landscape” which brings together IT systems operating at the national level, IT systems operating at the EU level and IT systems operating both at the national and central level, depending on the services provided. The IT Landscape will support the electronic exchange of information with economic operators and other government authorities.

In the last couple of years CAS has also updated existing IT systems and created new ones with the objective of digitalizing all Customs procedures in accordance with the highest European standards. A couple of these systems are presented below.

The European Union New Computerised Transit System (NCTS) is the name given to the application which facilitates electronic declarations processing among parties to the Convention on a common transit procedure, namely the 27 EU Member States, the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein and Switzerland), Türkiye, North Macedonia, Serbia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine. The NCTS has been in use since 2005 and has been updated several times. The most recent updated version, NCTS P5, was deployed in Serbia in January 2024. The launch was preceded by meetings with brokers and logistics and economic operators to explain the forthcoming changes. Training was also provided to Customs officers.

The Serbian Postal Service receives electronic information from other Postal operators, and an application has been developed to enable CAS to receive and analyse this information. This will enable electronic information exchange between CAS and the Serbian Postal Service, including pre-arrival data. Training has been conducted with Customs officers on the use of the new system and tests are ongoing.

Serbia’s Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure is leading the development of the National Single Electronic Window, that requires integration of all border regulatory agency IT systems and the harmonization of data requirements and formats. The project started in January 2020 and is projected to end in December 2025.

Serbia has implemented the ATA Carnet, the document most widely used by the business community for international operations involving temporary duty-free admission of goods. An application called the ATA Carnet System has been developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)[1] for Customs to process and manage digital Carnets, and CAS is currently working on its deployment.

More information
vlacicb@carina.rs                                                                                                                                                       

[1] See https://mag.wcoomd.org/magazine/wco-news-104-issue-2-2024/digitization-of-ata-carnets/