News
The Customs and Tariff Bureau of Japan’s Ministry of Finance’s (MOF) and the Trade Facilitation Working Group, a unit under its Council on Customs, Tariff, Foreign Exchange and Other Transactions, held a meeting recently to discuss how the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) system can be improved to become more popular in Japan.
The fifth meeting convened on Sept. 8, 2011, focused on the discussion on what efforts can be made to upgrade the AEO system.
In respect to import-related matters, it was suggested the requirements for providing financial security when AEO importers use the AEO declaration system be eased.
As for exports, the meeting proposed the formalities for changing details on export permissions be streamlined if the compliance of shippers is guaranteed.
Regarding relaxation of regulations in supply chains, views were exchanged on simplifying the customs-clearance procedures for re-exporting and re-importing commodities.
MOF’s Customs and Tariff Bureau and Customs jointly established the working group on trade facilitation in April 2011 to have academic experts and representatives of private international logistics service providers hold discussions on addressing the medium- and long-term challenges that Japan is facing in making trade activities smoother.
The working group is responsible for setting a course for the following four subjects by accepting ideas from the Customs and Tariff Bureau and hearing opinions from business operators and organizations that are engaged in international logistics.
The four subjects are as follows?1) introducing a paperless customs-clearance system for the future, 2) discussing what AEO system Japan should have, 3) promoting faster trade-related formalities, such as acquiring cargo manifest information at an earlier stage and encouraging computerization and 4) facilitating trade in Asian nations.
