Single Window Systems
In the OIC Member States
29
requests and collect the approvals and no longer have to submit different data sets. This trend
can be observed in the Cameroun second generation Single Window, and in the Singapore
Single Window – see This single form approach yields benefits for the users, but it
also allows supports integrated risk management.
2.1.5 Cross-border Expansion
The past years have seen an increase in bilateral, regional and multilateral initiatives for data
exchange and regional Single Window (RSW). Previously Single Windows had a national
orientation, focusing on supporting national regulatory processes and national agency
collaboration. Regional initiatives aim for the exchange of structured and unstructured data
across the borders.
The drivers for these cross-border exchanges are i) pre-arrival information submission,
customs or manifest, ii) cross-border exchange of certificates, and iii) cross-border exchange of
transit information.
Examples of Regional initiatives are:
 The ASEAN Single Window (ASW) 22. Launched in 200723 pilot test was completed in
2013 by seven of the 10 ASEAN MS. The scope of the pilot test was the exchange of 2
documents: the intra-ASEAN certificate of origin (ATIGA Form D) and ASEAN Customs
Declaration Document (ACDD). It is also planned to add a common commercial
manifest to this set.
 EU Customs Single Window which launched as a pilot project the EU Single Window –
Common Veterinary Entry Document (EU SW-CVED) in 2012 and entered into
production in December 2014. In a second phase four more certificates and permits
will be included;
 The Eurasian Economic Community (EEAU) aims to establish an “integration
information system” for information purposes and exchange of data24
 Bilateral sub-regional projects for electronic exchanges of Certificates of Origin in the
UEMA (Senegal and Cote d’Ivoire) and CEMAC (Cameroon and Congo).
The cross-border exchange of information can be on a peer-to-peer (country to country) basis,
or like in case of ASEAN and EU Common Single Window, through a central “hub” (centralized
connectivity layer).
22 For a summary on this initiative see: ASEAN, ASEAN Single Window. Lowering the Costs of Trade through Faster Customs
Clearance, unde
(accessed January 2017
23 The ASEAN SW is based on the ATIG and the ASEAN SW Agreement signed in 2005. The first technical and legal working
group met in March 2007
24 The EEAU Treaty contains a Protocol that can be read as a blueprint for a regional SW and a working party has been set up