This chapter describes Tajikistan’s progress in creating an enabling environment for international trade. It shows the improvements in matters of simplified documentation requirements, the reduction and streamlining of fees and charges, and more inclusive mechanisms for trade community involvement. It also analyses the advances made in expanding trade and customs portals to create a Single Window and the challenges faced by Tajikistan despite the progress made. Finally, it addresses the way forward with strategic recommendations to address the remaining challenges in improving the country’s trade facilitation performance, particularly on information availability and cross-border co-operation.
Trade Facilitation in Central Asia
5. Tajikistan
Abstract
Tajikistan would benefit from easier availability of trade-related information and advance rulings
Since 2017, Tajikistan has made the greatest relative improvement in Central Asia. It has made progress especially in the areas of fees and charges, trade community involvement, streamlining of processes and simplification of documentation requirements (Figure 5.1). It performs well compared to regional peers on governance and impartiality, fees and charges, and the streamlining of trade processes and documentation, though advance rulings, appeals procedures and information availability challenge Tajikistan’s TFI performance. Its trade facilitation efforts are in line with those of other lower middle-income economies.
Figure 5.1. Tajikistan’s trade facilitation performance since 2017
Note: 2 is the maximum score. Central Asia includes information for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Legend: A - Information availability, B - Involvement of the trade community, C - Advance rulings, D - Appeal procedures, E - Fees and charges, F - Documents, G - Automation, H - Procedures, I - Internal border agency co-operation, J - External border agency co-operation, K - Governance and impartiality.
Source: OECD TFIs database.
Tajikistan has made important progress along dimensions related to its Single Window. Similar to Kyrgyzstan, Ready4Trade’s Info Trade Portal showcases advancements in predictability and transparency (Box 5.1). This is accompanied by gradual improvements in pre-arrival processing, information availability, online feedback mechanisms, transparency-boosting measures, streamlined government processes (i.e., acceptance of copies instead of originals), international standards usage, use of electronic payment systems, and electronic data interchange. The authorities have improved and simplified procedures for the inspection and storage of perishable goods and a separate clearance release process for both perishable and manufactured goods – especially important, as Tajikistan imports over 50% of its agricultural products (World Bank, 2022[1]).
Tajikistan has taken gradual steps to strengthen inter-agency mechanisms in support of domestic border agency co-operation. These include the development of inter-agency collaboration mechanisms, regular meetings to develop strategies and oversee the implementation of border agency co-operation, significant efforts in the co-ordination of data requirements, documentary controls, and inspections, increased co-ordination of computer systems for the exchange of data, and shared infrastructure and equipment use at border posts. National legislation now allows for cross-border co-operation, co-ordination, exchange of information and mutual assistance with border authorities in neighbouring economies and other trading partners.
Box 5.1. Tajikistan’s Single Window
Tajikistan launched its concept of the Single Window programme in 2008, with the system operating as a pilot until 2020, gradually increasing the provided services by including more actors. Today, 11 government agencies are involved in the functioning of this system, targeting three main areas: administrative regulation, health protection, and environmental safety. The agencies are responsible for issuing 22 permits for export, import, and transit in an electronic form. Several other structures take part in the Single Window programme, such as the Tax Committee under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, laboratories, banks (National Bank of Tajikistan and “Alif Sarmoya” Bank) and the customs agency.
The public site swcustoms.tj contains information about the Single Window, its structure, its legal basis and the involved government agencies, though there are few user guides provided and they exist in just one language: Tajik or Russian, but not both, with no English versions for the guide documents and videos. Registered users can access portal.swcustoms.tj, enabling firms to submit and manage their documents in three languages (Tajik, Russian, and English), which guarantees a more transparent and inclusive approach.
The Single Window includes four modules:
Trader Portal: can be used by economic operators (business), customs brokers, and authorised operators (AOs) inputting data and supporting documents on behalf of the economic operator.
Agency Portal: can be used by AOs of the Single Window agency to generate reports on processed applications, notify users of application updates, request additional information, manage examinations, request payments, etc. The agency operation can obtain permits or certificates submitted by a trader or a customs broker. The agency co-ordinates applications for a specific expert or independently administers applications for permits or certificates submitted by a trader or a customs broker.
Administration Portal: used to administer all registered users (i.e., create new users, brokers and AOs), to generate business reports and to administrate reference data.
Registration Portal: for firms to register and create their account.
Moreover, users can also benefit from the information centralised and presented on the website https://tajtrade.tj/ of the Tajikistan Trade Portal. It provides an overview of the steps required for 28 export and 30 import procedures, including the type of required documents, the costs, the duration of the administrative process and the applicable laws. If the legally set deadlines for responses are exceeded, requests are automatically validated by the administration.
Despite improvements on many dimensions, Tajikistan remains below the Central Asian average overall. Its automation, information availability, and advance rulings require the most urgent action. It has made few advancements in the automation and digitalisation of border processes, in particular. Appeal procedures and border agency co-operation continue to be challenging, with limited progress observed since 2017. Tajikistan’s advance rulings are insufficiently disseminated, thereby hampering uptake among traders. It could also do better in publishing more comprehensive information online on trade-related legislation (i.e., ensuring publication in advance covers all trade-related regulations, comprehensiveness of user manuals, operation and timelines of enquiry points, etc.). Partially as a result, the UNECE is working with Tajikistan on developing its National Trade Facilitation Roadmap 2019-2024 to pursue a time-bound vision, goals and prioritised activities (UNECE, 2021[5]).
The government should provide more accessible trade information, streamline appeals procedures, and establish continuous improvement systems
Tajikistan’s TFI scores indicate that its information availability is deficient compared to regional peers. Among the TFI indicators, information availability has one of the greatest impacts on exports of middle and low-income countries (World Bank Group, 2018[6]). Publication and availability of information on clearance for exporting and importing were ranked first as issues faced by SMEs, while large firms appear to be more concerned with issues relating to transparency of controls and inspections. Tajikistan has increased the availability and user-friendliness of export- and import-related information that traders need across a wide range of areas, but more can be done to make the material and appeals procedures more comprehensive and accessible. For instance, the government could look at how France has created a digitalised single contact point for trade questions and centralised customs-related information (Box 5.2). The government should publish all trade-related legislation and regulations online on customs and other border agencies' websites and rewrite user manuals. The authorities can enhance the comprehensiveness of user manuals and ensure their inclusion on the Single Window and relevant websites. The implementation of trade information portals and the publication of plain language guides to requirements – a focus of early support – is particularly important to enable SMEs to comply with border agency requirements (with which they typically have much less experience than larger firms, and fewer resources to investigate) and to take advantage of release simplifications. Moreover, research indicates that these improvements are a potential catalyst for e-commerce (OECD, 2019[7]).
Appeal procedures emerge as another challenge for Tajikistan, so further efforts are warranted to improve the operation of the advance rulings and appeal procedures systems. The operation and timelines of enquiry points, awareness-raising efforts on advance rulings systems and appeal procedures processes and outcomes, and a focus on avoidance of undue delays would all improve predictability, transparency, and trade activities. Agencies should intensify the dissemination of information to traders and stakeholders on the advance rulings systems and further their efforts to improve the transparency of appeal procedures and outcomes.
To continue advancing consistent and efficient customs and border procedures, Tajikistan could consider expanding the acceptance of copies and simplify requirements that are unduly time-consuming or costly for traders. It should map out requirements to ensure import and export procedures allow for electronic processing and it should gradually introduce and expand digital pre-arrival submission of information and processing. Like the rest of Central Asia, Tajikistan should look to introduce an automated risk management system and continue implementing and expanding the AO programme. Its Single Window should integrate interconnected or shared computer systems and real-time availability of pertinent data among domestic agencies.
Box 5.2. France’s facilitation measures for importers and exporters
France Sésame
In 2021, the government of France launched the France Sésame1 platform to facilitate administrative procedures at the borders by providing a digitalised single contact point for both public and private users. France Sésame is a common project of the Directorate General for Customs and Indirect Taxation, the Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control, and the Directorate General for Infrastructure, Transport and the Sea. The services on offer cover a large spectrum of trade-related questions, including simplified and fully digital customs clearance, appointment booking, uploading, importing, and managing files online, direct messaging with the relevant customs control point, notifications about the state of processes, and centralised information availability on the required controls, standards and criteria established by different legal sources. Moreover, it provides single digital contact point at the borders for the three ports of Le Havre, Marseilles, and Dunkirk in order to manage the controls (e.g., veterinary, phytosanitary, compliance with standards and EU criteria on organic farming, etc.) to be carried out on imported goods.
Certificate of Origin (CO)
While the France Sésame platform eases the tasks of the importers, France is also conducting trade facilitation project for exporters. Originally launched in 2002 by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Paris Île-de-France, the CO is a unified customs document providing the relevant information such as the seven criteria needed to identify goods and determine their customs regime and the corresponding taxes that are to be paid upon export in case of the absence of a free trade agreement. The service is integrated into a dedicated Single Window website common to the different regional CCIs, marking a commendable centralisation effort. While the deliverance of the certificate is an exclusively digital process, the French customs administration still requires exporters to present a printed version of it, though relevant entities have committed to switch the entire process to a dematerialised exchange of information in 2023.
Source: (ICC, 2022[8])
References
[4] Customs Service of the Cabinet of Minister of the Republic of Tajikistan (2023), Single Window for External Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan (State information system), https://portal.swcustoms.tj/en/login (accessed on 20 September 2023).
[3] Customs Service of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tajikistan (2021), State’s unitary undertaking “Single Window”, https://www.swcustoms.tj/ (accessed on 20 September 2023).
[8] ICC (2022), Challenges and opportunities of digitalisation of international Trade. White paper 2022., ICC France, https://www.icc-france.fr/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/ICC_France_WhitePaper_.pdf.
[2] Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Tajikistan (2023), Tajikistan Trade Portal, https://tajtrade.tj/ (accessed on 20 September 2023).
[7] OECD (2019), The critical role of trade Facilitation in supporting economic diversification and structural reforms, OECD Publishing, https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/development/aid-for-trade-at-a-glance-2019_f57c8757-en.
[5] UNECE (2021), Digital and Sustainable Trade Facilitation, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2022-01/ECE_TRADE_467E.pdf.
[1] World Bank (2022), Tackling food insecurity in Tajikistan, https://blogs.worldbank.org/europeandcentralasia/tackling-food-insecurity-tajikistan (accessed on 25 July 2023).
[6] World Bank Group (2018), Contribution and Effectiveness of Trade Facilitation Measures, https://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/sites/default/files/Data/reports/tradefacilitation_literaturereview.pdf.
Notes
Note
← 1. From the phrase “Open sesame!” found in Antoine Galland's version of the story “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves”