Verified

Customs cuts paper trail in push for faster trade

Sri Lanka began cutting the paper trail at its borders yesterday, launching digitally signed customs declarations in a bid to speed up cargo clearance and tighten oversight, with importers accounting for over 60 percent of total imports already registered.

The Paperless Customs Declaration System takes a key stage of border clearance online, advancing a wider effort to ease trade procedures and connect government agencies through a National Single Window.

Some 1,144 importers have registered for the system, according to the official announcement, giving the rollout substantial coverage at its launch on October 1.

Under the new requirements, paperless declarations at Customs’ Long Room are mandatory, with importers and declarants required to submit declarations and supporting documents bearing valid digital signatures. Manual submissions will no longer be accepted under this process, Customs said.

The immediate change removes the need for traders and customs brokers to visit declaration counters to hand over bundles of paperwork. Declarations, invoices, packing lists, bills of lading, permits and other supporting documents are submitted electronically through ASYCUDA, where officers review them and raise any queries.

Authorities expect the shift to make clearance faster and more transparent. Digital signatures also allow changes made to declarations after signing to be identified, providing a safeguard against document manipulation and helping reduce opportunities for fraud and corruption.

Deputy Minister of Economic Development Nishantha Jayaweera, who inaugurated the system, described it as an essential step towards the National Single Window. He noted that the wider reform would allow traders to submit regulatory documents through a single digital entry point, addressing the need to deal with multiple agencies during cross-border trade.

The launch follows sustained pressure to resolve weaknesses in Customs’ digital infrastructure.

Earlier in July, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake called for urgent procedural reforms, legislative updates and faster digital integration after a review of persistent inefficiencies and technological bottlenecks.

That review also examined the National Single Window, with concerns over slow adoption and gaps in the ability of agencies’ systems to work together.

The latest rollout follows a paperless declaration pilot introduced in August 2025 for selected Authorised Economic Operators and a declarant, allowing digitally signed documents to be submitted through ASYCUDA World without physical submission at the Declaration Directorate.

An earlier step involved obtaining cargo information through ASYHUB, which connects shipping lines, freight forwarders, ship operators, port authorities and Customs. Registration of cargo documents through that platform became mandatory on May 7, 2025, enabling Customs to receive container information before, or close to, arrival at the port, according to the launch announcement.

The declaration system was implemented jointly by Sri Lanka Customs, Lanka Sign and the Revenue Administration, Reforms and Innovation Bureau attached to the Presidential Secretariat.