Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) and Australian Peak Shippers Association (APSA) representatives will be meeting with KPMG representatives on 4 April 2017 to support the "Digitising Origin Data Study"
KPMG has been engaged by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP), in partnership with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to identify options for streamlining the processes to issue origin documentation, and the use of this data in the Free Trade Agreements that Australia is a party to, for example, the China-Australia FTA (ChAFTA). The DIBP-Single Window team have contacted FTA / APSA as representatives on the National Committee on Trade Facilitation's Single Window Working Group.
The Digitising Origin Data Study will be conducted over the period March to June 2017. KPMG is planning to conduct a number of one-on-one interviews with key stakeholders, with options being explored to conduct an industry forum/roundtable and distribution of a short survey. In the latter stages of the study, KPMG will also prepare case studies that focus on the experiences of key areas of the exporting/importing sector with the fulfilment of origin data requirements.
To ensure that the study identifies options that are practical and genuinely address the issues affecting exporters and importers, KPMG is seeking to consult with respective peak bodies and industry associations with an export/import focus, and businesses who have direct experience with the use of origin documentation under the ChAFTA or with other Free Trade Agreements more generally.
To support this exercise, FTA / APSA are requesting the following information from members:
current process for requesting, issuing and presenting origin document for border crossing;
key 'pain points', such as process inflexibilities for the above, and suggestions for mitigation;
technological solutions (such as a proposed expansion of the DIBP's Import Permit Verification System) for the attestation or authentication of origin data and subsequent electronic exchange of such data with foreign trading partners; and
whether there are any legal constraints (including privacy/confidentiality considerations) for the transmission of origin data from authorised bodies to the DIBP and then onto trading partners.
PLEASE share your views and experiences to pzalai@FTAlliance.com.au
Paul Zalai – FTA / APSA