have seen Press references to the "streamlining" of import Customs
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procedure shortly to be introduced at London Airport. Is this likely to result in the speeding of Customs clearance at docks or inland container depots?
AYou refer to a system shortly to be introduced at London Airport and later to be installed at Gatwick, Prestwick, Stansted and other airports as international air cargo traffic builds up.
A coded translation of details from an improved type of air waybill enables information relating to a cargo consignment— whether in Tokyo or San Francisco—to be transmitted electronically, via a communications satellite. Information detailing the amount of Customs duty, purchase tax and other charges payable on any specific consignment will be received almost instantaneously. When the original documentation is in order a proportion of the imported goods will be cleared by Customs before their arrival.
The system depends on the regular updating of -status files-. Discrepancies between expected and actual arrival of goods will be identified and automatic tracing action taken.
This EDP (Electronic Data Processing) Customs clearance system is expected in the long run to apply to all documentation relating to the movement of goods both into and out of the UK. The system is likely to be adopted on a worldwide scale with enormous benefits to rapid movement of goods across frontiers.