Improving Customs Transit Systems
In the Islamic Countries
3
Introduction
Reduced costs of intercontinental transportation enabled industries and traders to globalize
their operations and to locate production facilities at those places in the world where conditions
are favorable, not necessarily close to the markets. As a consequence, the various supply chain
activities are performed in different parts of the world, and transit of consignments has an
important role in these activities.
Global supply chains are actually complex networks, which consist of many different
stakeholders, including shippers, deep-sea carriers, port operators, and customs organizations
and operations like export, transit, and import.
The world is moving persistently toward a single, global market. Purchasing, production, and
distribution to the markets take place where the most significant benefits can be achieved.
Trends, such as the increasing scale of operations, specialization, and customer-oriented
production, proceed relentlessly. Due to commoditization, containerization, and economies of
scale, transport and transit costs are in decline. As a result, global transport flows have grown
spectacularly in the last two decades. Recent developments in the financial markets have caused
a decline, but in any case, container transport volumes are connected with the global economy.
Furthermore, the dynamics in shipping is progressively impacted by the globalization of supply
chains because businesses are operating on a global scale and demand a global service package.
Furthermore, the dynamics in shipping is progressively impacted by the globalization of supply
chains because businesses are operating on a global scale and demand a global service package
that includes transit.
Customs is a rapidly changing environment that is gradually shifting frommanual processes and
independent tasks to trade facilitation and integrated transit solutions. Following the business
needs, the governments may no longer offer standalone applications restricted to the client’s
requirements; on the contrary, the transit systems need to be modernized and be open to future
extensions according to the current short and longer-term trends.
Today, the supervisionmodel of customs and border control agencies, in case of Customs Transit
Regime, are still focused on the entry and exit processes corresponding with the entry or exit of
consignments subject to customs control regimes. Both customs organizations and economic
actors have organized themselves accordingly. Recent developments, like transit
regionalization, exchange of data, single transit declarations and transit guarantees, the AEO-
framework and the WCO SAFE Framework describing potential reuse of improved upstream
controls have vastly impacted in the reduction of costs and time for transit operations.