THE ‘SINGLE WINDOW” PROJECT FOR EXPORT-IMPORT OPERATIONS WILL BE REALIZED IN TURKMENISTAN

United Nations Development Program together with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) realizes in Turkmenistan the “Single Window” project for export-import operations.

The project, initiated by the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan, is aimed at the facilitation of the trade procedures, the process of registration and movement of export and import goods. The project is a continuation of the initiative “Introduction of the integrated customs information system ASYCUDA in Turkmenistan”. It is ASYCUDA, after successful piloting and putting into operation, that will be the basis of the “Single Window”.

The “Single Window” system is an online portal that allows parties to carry out all the necessary procedures for registration of export-import operations, including obtaining the appropriate certificates, permits and licenses from a single point. The information on the cargo and its necessary documents will be entered once, which ensures high efficiency in the actions of the state institutions participating in the portal. The “Single Window for export-import operations” in Turkmenistan provides participation of 16 ministries and departments. Indeed, the “Single Window” serves as the accelerator of arrangement of work of the ministries and departments participating in the foreign trade. It should be noted that the “Single Window’ concept, which is a proofed tool for facilitation of the trade procedures, can be applied in many other branches, other than foreign trade.

In order to launch the portal, a significant work will be carried out to develop proposals for reforming the legislation of Turkmenistan, many procedures will be revised or abolished, and the product nomenclature will be unified, according to the report. The basic legal document in the development of such recommendations will be the Law of Turkmenistan on Electronic Document and Electronic Document Management. It is the document that introduce the concept of the ‘Single Window” in the national legal practice.

Recently Turkmenistan gained an observer status in the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this regard, the “Single Window” is an integrated part of the Trade Facilitation Agreement – one of the foundational legal documents of the World Trade Organization. Relying ion support of the international development institutions, Turkmenistan creates with confidence the basic technological and legal conditions for the successive work with WTO and creation of the favourable treatment for foreign trade.

Piloting of the “Single Window for export-import operations” project «in Turkmenistan will take place over the next two years, and in 2023 the system will be put into operation.