In 1981 the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) received a request from the secretariat of the Economic Community of Western African States (ECOWAS) to help them compile foreign trade statistics in their member States. After an initial evaluation it became clear that this would require Customs clearance offices to be involved since they are the source of much statistical information on trade.
Taking advantage of advances in information technology UNCTAD proposed a Customs software system which would be modular, adaptable and configurable so that it could be used in difficult environments requiring only a small number of trained maintenance staff.
UNCTAD succeeded with the assistance of some member States to develop such a system, which is now commonly known under its name ASYCUDA.
Today ASYCUDA is the leading system for Customs modernization worldwide. The ASYCUDA software is today the core component of comprehensive, Integrated Customs Information Systems in more than 80 countries. The main objective of the programme is to help countries facilitate trade by strengthening the Customs administrations´ capacity to carry out their operations by using modern and reliable systems.
ASYCUDA accelerates Customs clearance and simplifies procedures through computerization. This cuts costs for businesses and shortens the time it takes to process goods. Governments gain from improved control of Customs, increased revenue and availability of reliable and timely statistical information.
The ASYCUDA Business Strategy follows the founders’ strategic objectives:
- ASYCUDA should assist Customs Administrations’ modernisation and reforms, by supporting both facilitation of legitimate trade and efficiency of Customs clearance controls.
- ASYCUDA must implement harmonized codes, international standards, simplified procedures etc. The expected basic outputs are a uniform application of the Customs law and regulations, a better command on the collection of duties and taxes, and the availability of timely and accurate statistics.
- ASYCUDA should fit the requirements of all Customs operations worldwide: A unique, parameterised system, which brings a vast economy of scale, allowing UNCTAD to propose very cost-effective solutions. Country-specific requirements must be fulfilled provided they are not incompatible with objective 2. In addition, any specific enhancement of ASYCUDA must maintain the functional and technical coherence of the system.
- ASYCUDA is provided by UNCTAD at no cost . The implementation of the system is carried out through UNCTAD Technical Assistance projects, comprising general support activities, training, documentation and/or specific product developments on a cost-recovery [non profit] basis.
- ASYCUDA products should match highest quality standards of the industry. In order to do so, the ASYCUDA software will make use of latest reliable technologies available on the market .
The implementation of these strategic concepts has led to the development of three major versions of the software product, ASYCUDA Ver. 1, ASYCUDA Ver. 2 and ASYCUDA Ver. 3 (ASYCUDA++), and the current development of ASYCUDAWorld.
ASYCUDA is a computerised customs management system which covers most foreign trade procedures. The system handles manifests and customs declarations, accounting procedures, transit and suspense procedures.
ASYCUDA generates trade data that can be used for statistical economic analysis.
The ASYCUDA software is developed in Geneva by UNCTAD. It operates on micro in a client server environment under UNIX and DOS operating systems and RDBMS Software.
ASYCUDA takes into account the international codes and standards developed by ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation), WCO (World Customs Organization) and the United Nations.
ASYCUDA can be configured to suit the national characteristics of individual Customs regimes, National Tariff, legislation,…
ASYCUDA provides for Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) between traders and Customs using EDIFACT (Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport) rules.
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