Najib Shah, Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, told customs commissioners that paperless trade will help reduce transaction costs, in accordance with the Digital India programme.
He said at the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) of director general commissioners of customs in Goa that administrations should focus on automation and single-window clearance, while reminding them that customs administrations in India began automating workflow over 30 years ago, The Times of India reported.
He added that incorporating the idea into the supply chain would “be a game changer resulting in enormous benefits for international trade”, encouraging the “digital handshake with every stakeholder”, encouraging the 100-odd customs heads, representing 30 Asian and 21 European countries, to make customs the foremost enabler of environments heading paperless trade.
Shah further stressed the need for collaboration between customs and tax authorities, with India already having a policy of sharing data between customs, excise, service tax and direct taxes.