COMMUNITY LISBON PROGRAMME: A PAPERLESS
ENVIRONMENT FOR CUSTOMS AND TRADE (15380/05, 15381/05)
Letter from the Chairman to Rt Hon Dawn
Primarolo MP, Paymaster General, HM Treasury
Thank you for your Explanatory Memoranda 15380/05
and 15381/05, which Sub-Committee A considered at their meeting
on 14 March and decided to hold under scrutiny.
The Sub-Committee note that your Explanatory
Memoranda do not contain any details about the likely costs associated
with the proposed changes. The Sub-Committee would like further
clarification on both the likely financial costs and the potential
operational difficulties associated with any implementation of
these proposals.
15 March 2006
Letter from Rt Hon Dawn Primarolo MP to
the Chairman
Thank you for your letter dated 15 March 2006
in which you requested further details on financial costs and
potential operational difficulties relating to the proposed changes
to the Customs Code.
IMPLEMENTATION COSTS
HMRC has estimated costs for Multi-Annual Strategic
Plan (MASP) related projects and I attach a table showing these
under category headings. The table indicates which projects relate
to which categories and I hope this will be more meaningful than
the project names alone.
I must stress that these are high-level estimates
based on discussions with HMRC's IT supplier on a requirement
that is not yet fully established. These estimates are therefore
subject to change as we go through the project lifecycle. Each
project will be subject to a robust business case and the HMRC
approvals process and no investment decision will be taken until
the business case is authorised. Delivery of the projects is scheduled
between 2005-06 and 2012-13.
POTENTIAL OPERATIONAL
DIFFICULTIES
The implementation of the EU Programme of Change
will be via a series of Commission sponsored projects which together
form the EU's MASP. Each Member State will be responsible for
delivering the national element of each new system with the EU
delivering common components. These are a complex set of changes
but they are achievable as long as they are properly planned and
managed. It is also essential that a full programme of consultation
is undertaken with UK customers to ensure they are fully aware
of the operational considerations and potential impact. The UK
has a strong recent record of delivering complex information technology
changes within EU specified timescales. A good example is the
New Computerised Transit System (NCTS), which was introduced in
2003 and now has 100 per cent take up.
HMRC will submit each of the MASP projects to
a robust change management lifecycle process that will identify
the key risks and issues and ultimately deliver fully costed delivery
options. UK trade will also be engaged in all aspects of systems
development to ensure overall impact on their commercial investment
paths is fully understood and catered for.
In order to progress these projects the UK needs
to be in possession of full technical specifications from the
EU. HMRC has made it quite clear to the Commission that we require
three years from production of the requirements to full implementation.
This line is supported by other Member States and provides us
with sufficient time to assess the impact on the current infrastructure
and identify dependencies. In particular we need to recognise
the ability of the trade to invest and upgrade their systems within
the same time frame.
The EU implementation timetable requires delivery
of all the projects within the same, or similar, timescales. This
will raise a number of capacity and cope-ability issues for HMRC
which will be managed under a carefully planned programme of change
which will maximise opportunities and minimise risk.
25 May 2006
Annex A
|
| MASP—Categories & Projects
| Estimated Costs between 2005-06 and 2012-13
|
|
EU-wide Import Control systems:
Import Control System
Auto Import System
| £8 million |
EU-wide Export Control systems:
Export Control system 1
Export Control system 2
Auto Export system
| £10 million |
EU-wide Standardisation:
SAD Harmonisation
Authorised Economic Operators
MASP Trader Database
Postal Programme
EORI (TIN)
EU Administrative Penalties
Single Authorisation
| £14.5 million |
Improved Customer Service:
International Trade Single Window
EU Single Access Portal
EU Common Info Portal
EU Single Window Link
EU Binding Decisions Extensions
| £11 million |
Community Transit System Improvements:
NCTS 3.2
NCTS XML Channel
NCTS Upgrades
| £2.5 million |
Risk Management:
Pre-Arrival/Pre-Departure Messages
Risk Management Framework
| £5 million |
Business Process Re-engineering to Facilitate Simplified Electronic Processes:
Centralised Clearance
Guarantee Changes
Special Procedures
Simplified Procedures Changes
Residual Customs Code Changes
| £8.5 million |
| TOTAL ESTIMATE | £59.5 million
|
|
| 
