MOSCOW: The customs authorities of Serbia said that customs has integrated its offices in a New Computerized Transit System (NCTS) and will connect with the system of joint EU transit this year.
This was made possible thanks to the project ‘Modernisation of the Customs System of Serbia’ which was funded by the EU with EUR 2.2 million as part of the European assistance package to the Serbian government aimed at modernisation of state administration and strengthening of administrative and operative capacities of the customs service.
The transit procedure has so far been based on paperwork which caused long delays of goods and increased transport costs while the use of NCTS starting from January 21 should also improve the risk analysis on border crossings, the authorities stated at the press conference on Thursday.
The computerised transit system will reduce the costs and accelerate the transit process, minimise delays and make it possible for the Serbian economy to become more competitive on the global market, Director of the Customs Administration Milos Tomic said.
Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to Serbia Oscar Benedict said that the project lasted 27 months and that apart from the financial assistance, Serbia had experts who placed their experiences at its disposal.
Serbia is aware of its obligations and it has made considerable progress in terms of customs cooperation with neighbouring countries, alignment of laws with EU regulations and implementation of the laws, Benedict said.
