- Funding Programme
- Year
- 2021
Technical support for the preparation of the national customs single window in Cyprus
The Commission helped the Cyprus Customs design and develop its national application of the “EU Single Window Environment for Customs” - a flagship initiative of the European Commission. The Single Window will enable businesses and traders to provide data in a single portal in each Member State, thereby reducing duplications, time and costs. Customs and other authorities will then be able to collectively use this data, to coordinate the clearance of goods and have a clearer overview on the level of the goods that are entering or leaving the European Union.
Context
The mission of the Cyprus Customs and Excise Department is to protect the society and the environment, facilitate trade and effectively maintain the supply chain while ensuring effective customs control and supervision in order to fight fraud and illicit trade. Customs is responsible for the application and enforcement of the Union and the National Customs legislation. In cooperation with other border agencies, it is also in charge of the enforcement of legal acts that apply to the cross-border movement of goods.
In the context of trade facilitation and expedited processing, the development of a National Customs Single Window (NCSW) which comprises the submission of all required documents/permits, is essential and in line with the Customs National Strategic Planning.
The NCSW facilitates the work of border authorities and improves their collaboration. Compliance efforts affect the cost and speed of trade and produces an impact on various areas of the economy. Currently, the economic operators may have to submit for instance a certificate multiple times to several services. By using the NCSW the certificate will be submitted only once. Moreover, the electronic submission of the certificate will contribute significantly to a paperless environment and reduce the number of fraud cases and errors.
By improving the quality of offered services with the economic operators and stakeholders in general, Customs will be able to offer a personalised, faster and reliable support. This will have a positive spill-over effect in various economic sectors, such as traders and citizens, the public sector, which will all benefit from more economical, time efficient and accessible services.
Support delivered
The technical support resulted in the production of the following deliverables:
- Technical analytical report on the capacity of Cyprus Customs to develop its NCSW.
- Report on the business requirements and technical specifications for the NCSW of Cyprus
- A roadmap and implementation plan for the NCSW of Cyprus
- Training materials and training sessions for the staff of the Cyprus Customs.
Results achieved
The project helped the Cyprus Customs achieve the following results:
- Preparedness of Cyprus Customs for development and implementation of NCSW;
- Increased capacity of the Cyprus Customs staff for the implementation of NCSW.
In the long run, the technical support should contribute to:
- Facilitation of trade and streamlining customs and border processes and procedures;
- Improving e-services and reducing administrative burden;
- Improving date availability and data analysis;
- Improving customs controls and supervision;
- Optimising the collaboration between customs authorities and other border agencies.
More about the project
You can read the final report here: