Panel to oversee single info window
THE NATIONAL committee on logistics development yesterday gave the green light to the establishment of a unit for management and development of a single window linking electronic information for imports, exports and logistics.
Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak said the Customs Department had been instructed to undergo organisational restructuring to cope with the additional tasks for the development of an electronic information-exchange system between the private and public sectors in the country and overseas that met international standards.
“In regard to the national single window, the Customs Department will act as the intermediary to connect information domestically and overseas, particularly in the Asean region. This will have an impact on the World Bank’s ranking [of Thailand] for ease of doing business,” he said.
The planned subcommittee will also monitor and assess public agencies’ progress in cutting red tape in trade of strategic products including sugar, rice, rubber, frozen products and hazardous items.
Cutting red tape
The Public Sector Development Commission will make proposals for reducing state procedures involving imports, exports and logistics through electronic and paperless procedures, while considering solutions to legal or regulatory obstacles, and the budget, which will be forwarded to the national committee for logistics management.
The national committee for logistics management also agreed in principle with Volume 3, 2017-21, of the draft strategic plan for development of Thailand’s logistics system.
The plan aims to upgrade the logistics system as a way of making Thailand the regional centre for trade, services and investment, while enhancing business competitiveness by adding value from|innovation in supply chains,|technologies and logistics management.
Based on the draft, Thailand’s trade facilitation will also be upgraded to international standards, while support factors such as personnel, private-sector networks, and evaluation systems will be developed.
Last year in the agricultural sector, 10,458 networks connecting businesses among provincial cooperatives were established, while in the manufacturing sector, 319 operators were developed and logistics costs worth about Bt2.94 billion were reportedly saved.
