AIDA (A.I.D.A.)

AIDA (Automazione Integrata Dogane ed Accise) is the information system set up by Italy's Customs Administration to control the complex customs operations and automate the submissions of the declarations in an integrated manner. The procedures that involve the exchange of data have been redesigned taking advantage of simplifications deriving from ICT and including the online interactions with the information systems of the other administrations involved in customs clearance operations to simplify further the procedures and increase the efficiency of controls. Cooperation among administrations, recommended by OMD and CEFACT/ONU and highlighted in eGovernment plans, includes also the exchange of information derived from the internal management procedures.

Policy Context

The Customs Administration deals with international trade. It is a member of the World Customs Organization, which is the organization that promotes the world wide harmonization of customs activities, and 169 countries are members of it. The Customs Administration has the institutional responsibility of the safeguard of citizens and the community budget; encourage trade and competition among companies; guarantee equal treatment of trade operators, applying correctly and appropriately the community regulations. The activities of the Customs Administration follow the regulations and laws of the EU, and the development strategies of the services are defined with other bodies of the community. The Customs Administration has the responsibility of controlling and collecting customs duties, curbing the smuggling of goods, weapons and drugs, curbing counterfeiting and the entry on the European market of products that can be dangerous for the health of citizens and of plants and animals in extinction. The importance of the activities pertaining the Customs Administration are highlighted by the high number of Customs related activities in the EU. Every year two billion tons of goods are moved through the ports and airports of the EU, which is equivalent to 19% the world trade. Every year the Customs in the EU handle over 120 million customs declarations, controlling over 15 million documents and performing 5.6 million controls. In particular, every year the Italian Customs check about 11 million customs declarations, over 500 thousand excise declarations and about 60.000 chemical tests are performed by the laboratories. The tax receipts assessed in customs related activities are 45 billions of euros per year. Among the projects of the European Commission, e-Europe aims at extending to all citizens of the European Union the benefits of the information society and promoting the EU traders on the world market.

Description of target users and groups

Customs authorities, Treasury authorities, traders, freight forwarders, terminal containers operators, customs intermediaries.

Description of the way to implement the initiative

The methodology adopted has involved both internal and external users during the system tests in order to understand the progress and share the results. A laboratory called “Customs Virtual Office” was been set-up to test the different operative situations. According to a predefined action plan Customs employees from both Central and peripheral offices performed computer simulations with other public administrations and traders to test and to stress the new functionalities. AIDA has been designed including the following: - A parallel “electronic” process and the redesign of the procedures and the related activities based on the need and opportunity to simplify processes based on ICT; - Modifications and solutions within e-government so that the information systems of the involved administrations can exchange (on-line controls of the documents attached to a customs declarations, uniform controls- single-window approach); - training/information on line; integration with "e-learning" platform so that training courses for personnel are constant in time and quick, use of a knowledge base system " so that information on procedures is easily available to users along with updates; - access to the information system in order to uses the services and information provided.

Technology solution

The system was designed so that all transactions between trade operators and the Customs administration, including excise operations, can be performed via network, using the single-window to access the available on-line services for citizens and companies. During the transition phase, (before the new system has become fully functioning) for many services alternative access points have been created to aid those users who lack knowledge and/or equipment to access the system via network. Another component of the AIDA system, which will have a multi-channel access, is the help desk, set up for “external” users, trade operators and citizens, to access the services and for Customs employees for problems related to the system or related to their tasks. For the employees of the Customs administration and traders there is an e-learning and Knowledge Base service integrated in the system. All these help desk services are part of a system which is used to improve constantly in real time all the services based on suggestions and requests of users.

Main results, benefits and impacts

The information system A.I.D.A. has adopted in advance e-customs guide lines. The automation of customs related activities, combined with a single-window approach, has drastically reduced time, transaction costs and number of operations favouring trade and promoting competition among companies. The activities that require information belonging to other public administrations (authorizations, certificates, etc..) are performed with interoperability criteria based upon agreements with the involved administrations in order to directly access their information systems. Web services: - Submission of the application to obtain the permission to access the Customs information system and the creation/management of the certificate for the electronic signature: in real time. - Authorization to use the electronic filing system to present declarations to Customs offices within the same day of the application submission - Customs clearance for all Customs operations (export, import, transit, ordinary and simplified procedure): all the exchange of messages are managed in real time. Electronic Submission of documents: - Import and export declarations, temporary importation and exportation, transit, entry in the customs warehouses: average overall time required in 95% of the cases is less than 60 seconds. - Cargo manifest of goods: average overall time in 98% of the cases was less than 60 seconds. - Consumption Declarations of methan gas and electric power: average overall time in 96% of the cases was less than 60 seconds. - Query on debit account for information on the balance account and the last movements: average overall time in 98% of the cases was less than 30 seconds. - Intra community listings of purchases and sales (INTRASTAT declarations): average overall time in 96% of the cases was less than 60 seconds. Queries: - Transit status and operation itinerary tracking - Customs tariff codes and rules. Tax related information and national and EU trade policies - Excise validity codes: S.E.E.D. database - Exchange rates for international currency - VAT validity codes and dates The data entered in the information system during customs operations, like the quantity and quality of goods, value, means of transport, country of origin and destination are used to monitor and analyze trade flow and it is sent via network to other interested parties like the National Institute of Statistics and the Treasury.

Return on investment

Return on investment: Not applicable / Not available

Track record of sharing

The project AIDA enabled the Customs administration to explore new solutions as far as organization, technology, regulations, training and information are concerned, which were also shared by other administrations both national and international. In particular, the use of a methodological approach which was used for this project and many of the solutions adopted such as the single-window were proposed in the EU as an example for e-customs. In Italy, the Cadastre and Land Property used the same approach for the analysis and review of the procedures and they choose the workflow management technology as the key element for the development of the applications. The administration of the State Monopoly recently used the same approach for its project concerning the organization analysis and review. The know-how acquired in the management of this project was used in other projects set-up together with Member States of the European Union and/or out of the EU. For example, the twinning project with Morocco, which will last two years, and comprises the setting up of a large number of activities apt to modernise and simplify the customs and trade procedures, in order to improve international trade exchanges including countries of the European Union. Similarly the twinning project with the Customs administration of Slovak republic comprises the review of the organization and training programmes for the customs’ employees. Lastly the project with the Moldova Republic which comprises technical assistance and training for risk analysis procedures. Other examples of shared best practice and use of the know-how gained through the AIDA project can be highlighted from the projects between the Customs administration and Macedonia and Bulgaria.

Lessons learnt

Lesson 1 - It is highly important to analyse, design and set-up a project, like the one in our case, with a general view considering three main aspects: organization, regulations and new technologies, bearing in mind that information and training programmes of the people involved plays an important role in ensuring the success and functioning of the project. Organisation, regulations and technology have the very same importance and hence one must not predominate over the other two aspects and equity among these three aspects must be maintained. Lesson 2 - Organization analysis for procedures, setting-up appropriate prototypes (based on the results of the procedure analysis) and testing them in a virtual office laboratory has enabled the administration to plan steps appropriately and work on a gradual, hence “soft” implementation of the applications. Lesson 3 - Involving all those concerned in this project enabled the administration to analyse needs and to reduce the opposition to changes. Scope: International