Moldovan Customs will launch the electronic declaration procedure for import transactions, which will be implemented in border crossing points, ‘Sculeni’ and ‘Tudora’. Economic agents that will choose electronic import will save time and have two times less expenses than in case of paper declaration, Moldovan Customs says.

Electronic import declaration follows successful application of electronic export declaration that has been in use since last year. The procedure itself has been launched by the Customs since November 2013 and is becoming steadily popular among exporters and customs brokers.

The E-customs offers many obvious advantages for both the Customs and the customers. Filing electronic declarations saves time and money that would be spent for going to the internal customs post, data can be recorder more easily and checked afterwards if needed, the declaration is processed quickly and securely, there is no contact with the customs officer that enhances the transparency of the whole process.

Moldovan Customs estimates that by 2016 almost 50% of all the declarations will be done through e-customs and roughly 9 million Euro would be saved in this timeframe by the exporters and customs brokers.

The initiative aims to replace paper-based customs procedures with electronic operations, thus creating a more efficient and modern customs environment. Its objectives are to increase the competitiveness of Moldovan exporters, reduce the cost of doing business and facilitate trade.

On European level, the proposal to introduce e-customs has been adopted by the EC in 2005, in order to improve information exchange between border agencies and secure the EU external borders.