Common border control plan for BIMP-EAGA
KOTA KINABALU:
The Royal Malaysian Customs has proposed’ a common border control in line with the international customs policy of facilitating global trade. The proposal was among the resolutions adopted during the Second Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) Heads of Customs Meeting here yesterday. Director General of Customs Malaysia Datuk Seri Hj Abd Rahman Bin Hj Abd Hamid said the Royal Malaysian Customs (KDRM) also proposed an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) status on companies which meet customs procedures giving them deferred payment, exemption from physical inspections and other advantages. Abd Rahman was speaking at a press conference before the meeting aimed at discussing customs activities in Brunei, Kalimantan, Maluku and Irian Jaya (Indonesia), Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan (Malaysia) and Mindanao and Palawan (Philippines). The meeting was officiated by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa HajiAman at the Pacific Sutera Harbour here yesterday. According to Abd Rahman, AEO is a programme under the Business Highway concept introduced by KDRM and expanded to other countries through Mutual Recognition Agreement, and KDRM has discussed the matter with Japan Customs to implement the concept together. “The KDRM also proposed an electronic-Vehicle Information System (e-VIS) which is a system to control foreign cars driven into Malaysia and linked to all entry points to ensure the cars do not exceed the 90 days allowed period,” he said. Abd Rahman also said that the meeting will deliberate on matters arising from the first meeting which was on streamlining and simplifying Customs, Immigration, Quarantine and Security (CIQS) procedures as well as the Implementation Strategy on the BIMP-EAGA Customs Action Plan which were formulated during the Third BIMP-EAGA CIQS Task Force Meeting last year, held in Davao, Philippines and Pontianak, Indonesia, respectively. “The meeting will also discuss the identified programmes pertaining to the CIQS under the BIMP—EAGA Roadmap and Action Plan namely to simplify cross-border CIQS issues and make the rules, regulations and procedures (RRPs) more transparent. “It is also to identify specific issues and practices and proposed areas of simplification, entry point-to-entry point as well as to develop a simplified, improved and time- bound system in processing documents at identified entry points,” he said. Apart from that, Abd Rahman said member countries will share their best practices in relation to customs trade facilitation procedures ‘and security and also take into consideration matters to be raised by the BIMP-EAGA Business Council (BEBC) after consultation with traders and port users. He added that the presentation by the World Customs Organization (WCO) on ‘Capacity Building’ and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) on ‘CIQS Initiatives’ in the meeting would promote cooperation among Customs administrations of BIMP-EAGA members. “This meeting will be the best platform for us to work towards reducing bureaucratic barriers and removing obstacles that would dampen the evolution of an acceptable system of Customs administration in all members of this sub-regional grouping,’,’ he said. Also present were Head of the Philippines Customs and Chair of the BIMP-EAGA CIQS Cluster Napoleon Morales; Head of Brunei Darussalam Customs Hj Mohd Abduh Bin Datuk Seri Setia Hj Abd Salam; Head of Indonesian Delegations Muhammad Wahyu Purnomo; Head of Malaysian Delegations Datuk Hj Mohd Khalid Yusof; and representatives from World Customs Organization (WCO), Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Australian Agency for International Development (AUSAID).
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