Back
GIMOP (Customs Modernization Project)
The Customs Undersecretariat aims to modernize the Customs Administration to make it more effective and efficient. The factor accelerating this change is our country becoming party to the Customs Union with the European Union in 1996. Our Administration has experienced some challenges, including increases in trade volume and changes in types of traded goods, complicated by smuggling. It is inevitable to modernize Customs Administration using computer technologies, instead of solving these problems with conventional manual methods. Therefore, studies have been initiated to establish a modern organization to support our exporters and importers who are competing in the Customs Union.
First, it is aimed to spread and revise the Customs Automation Project (GİBOS), which was initiated in 1988 and implemented in five customs offices. It was necessary to change this project, which has a closed system structure due to rapid changes in the computer technologies (dependent on Computer Hardware and Operating System), especially because of amendments to harmonize our legislation with the Customs Union and European Customs Legislation. Financial support has been provided for this project comprising studies on modernization and automation of all C-customs offices from the World Bank; and the project has been included in "Public Financial Management Project" by the World Bank.
Objectives of the project are as follows:
-to ensure more effective tax collection
-to provide better service to the trade community
-to ensure selective but more effective customs control
-to ensure uniform implementation of customs legislation
-to ensure more effective human resources management
-to ensure more effective and rapid production of foreign trade statistics
In studies carried out together with the World Bank, the SOFIX Customs software was offered by Douan Export, which French Customs Administration is also a partner through the provision of a loan.
The software named “BİLGE” has been adapted to include TIR-Transit Control, Incentives, Data Bank of Smuggling, Free Trade Zones, Passenger Transactions, Foreign Trade Statistics, according to Turkish Customs user demands. The implementation of BİLGE was initiated at the pilot site in July 1998.
BİLGE is a software developed using Relational Data Base Management System in a Client/Server architecture using object-oriented library in accordance with EU Customs Legislation.
With the advantage of Client/Server architecture, the following features are provided: Communication, data security, access facilitation, high processing performance, modularity and expandability. BİLGE comprises sub-systems for Summary Declaration, Warehouse Management, Tariff and Accounting.
Structure of the Customs Automation Project has three components: Headquarters, Regional and Local Customs Directorates. A pilot area has been selected from Istanbul Regional Directorates where 70 percent of export and import transactions are processed under this structure. An Electronic Data Processing Center founded within Atatürk Airport Customs Directorate has been linked to Customs Undersecretariat, Department of Communication and Data Processing as the regional center. The pilot application has been implemented successfully in Atatürk Airport Customs Directorate since July 1998. Totally 86 customs directorates and 16 customs regional directorates have been automated as of June 2005.
An international bidding for the deployment of the project throughout Turkey was opened; and the modernization deployment contract was awarded to a joint venture between KoçSistem and Sun Microsystems on 04.01.2000.
The client/server based LANs have been connected one another to establish Wide Area Networks (WAN) or Customs Intranet in the customs sites automated. Servers will operate under SUN Solaris Operating System; and all applications, including BİLGE software will utilize Oracle RDBMS. When the project is completed, on-line and real-time transformations of more than 99.5 percent of export, import and transit transactions will be made.
Network has been widely operated interactively with external systems to store and process data, especially in export and import declarations of customs brokers. An X.400 network will be established for the customs partners to enter the Network system and to use EDI (in EDIFACT standards). Small partners having neither Customs nor EDI Translator software will be able to transfer the declaration data in EDIFACT standards to the Customs computer on www.customs-edi.gov.tr