Streamlining of procedures as part of the CORA measures

 

 

• The procedures to be carried out by the operators for the clearance of the merchandise will be grouped, shortening processing times and deadlines, and the controls of the merchandise will be carried out at the same time and place.

• The VUA, a pioneering project within the EU, will mean cost savings for operators estimated at 1,660 million euros

• After an initial pilot project in the ports of Barcelona, Bilbao, Tenerife and Vigo, the Single Window will be extended based on the technical availability of the operators in the sector.

 

February 12, 2016.- The Tax Agency has launched the Single Customs Window (VUA), a pioneering project in the European Union that reinforces effectiveness and generates significant cost savings for the various agents involved in the foreign trade chain thanks to a concentration of procedures and controls to be carried out at the time of clearance of the merchandise. Specifically, it is estimated that after three years of applying the VUA, economic operators will obtain cost savings estimated at 1.66 billion euros.

The One-Stop Shop is part of the package of measures to streamline administrative procedures promoted by the Commission for the Reform of Public Administrations (CORA) and has had the participation of the Ministries of Finance and Public Administrations; Economy and Competitiveness; Health, Social Services and Equality; Agriculture, Food and Environment; and Development, with the Tax Agency being entrusted with the coordination and implementation of the measure.

The VUA aims at the clearance of goods at Customs by creating computer tools that allow for greater coordination between the different border inspection services, anticipating control and greatly reducing clearance costs, since the controls and inspections carried out by Customs or other agencies will be carried out in the same place and at the same time, avoiding the costs and time involved in having a container subjected to physical examination more than once.

From a management perspective, the VUA groups together the procedures that now have to be followed in the departments of several ministries and, therefore, will also allow for shorter processing times and deadlines, unify and consolidate forms, and reduce paper documentation related to goods subject to foreign trade, since all the agencies involved in border control will share and anticipate the information available for customs clearance through computer systems created for this purpose.

 

Advantages for operators

For foreign trade operators, the implementation of the Single Window will allow for better planning of import operations, by being able to present import documents and obtain information on the certificates required for each operation in advance.

In addition, operators will benefit from savings in time and cost of goods being held in Customs, as well as in the costs derived from cargo inspection. Coordinated positioning ensures joint review by all administrations, which simplifies container movements.

They will also obtain additional savings in the processing of the clearance of goods, by being able to reuse, whenever the legislation allows it, the documentation presented to the different agencies.
All of this will facilitate an improvement in the competitiveness of our operators in the community market, which will allow them to attract new commercial operations to the benefit of the competitiveness of Spanish ports, where customs and para-customs procedures will be carried out with savings in costs and time.

 

Gradual implementation

The Single Customs Window was launched on 20 January with a series of pilot projects at the maritime customs offices in Barcelona, Bilbao, Tenerife and Vigo-Marín. VUA will become more widespread at the end of February, depending on the technical availability of the operators themselves.

On the other hand, and although these first steps of the Customs Single Window project will be focused on maritime container traffic, part of the improvements implemented, and in particular the possibility of submitting a pre-declaration ('Pre-DUA') before the effective arrival of goods, already benefit all types of operators and traffic. Both the Tax Agency and the other affected bodies are committed to making the necessary adjustments to fully extend the effects of the VUA to all types of goods at a national level.