Itinerary_RationaliseDocuments

Cross-border movement of goods requires various documents and forms to be filled out, submitted, exchanged and delivered between the different parties according to the requirements of the stakeholders. A few examples of documentary requirements of a trade transaction are: These trade documents and the data elements they contained are defined and prescribed by national and international regulatory requirements in fields such as health, consumer protection, safety, tax and revenue, trade policy, environment and security.
 * Government authorities require information on the type, value and origin of the goods, and on the importer and exporter.
 * Documents are issued to attest that the goods have been checked and that they may entry the territory.
 * Banks require documents to initiate and execute payment.
 * Transport companies require and issue documents to attest the type of goods transported.

Document requirements as trade barriers
As a consequence, traders and their intermediaries face multiple document requests. Completing, submitting and exchanging documents are often complex processes that require time and money. The reduction and simplification of these is therefore a key aspect of trade facilitation reforms. The World Bank Doing Business Study, for example, uses the number of documents requested as an indicator of the barriers to trade in a given country. A US journal quotes a practitioner as saying that a typical cross-border transaction involves filling in 35 documents and contacting 25 parties (__source and UNCTAD figures from 2003?__).

Opportunities for simplifying the document and data flow
A reduction in data and document requirements can lead to simplification of document and data flows through improvements in administration (an example is Customs transit requirements than can be reduced by using a bilateral transit system). Also more efficient processing and exchange of data and documents between private parties and government authorities through the use of information technology for computer-supported processing, and the harmonization and standardization of documents can bring improvements.

In order to identify these opportunities, it is important to first understand the whole documentary process, from the origin of the requirements to all manifestations at the traders' end, and to identify who and which procedures and businesses are involved. Business Process Analysis is a useful tool in efforts to reduce documentary and data requirements.

Next Step: Learn about trade documents and what they are used for.

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