Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY INTRODUCTION Rwanda Revenue Authority in its modernization program embarked on procuring a new Customs system in order to ensure that there is improved service provision to its stakeholders 2

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY OBJECTIVES OF UP GRADE To encourage fast clearance and cost of doing business Promote e-commerce and e-clearance Increase transparence in cargo clearance Ensure effective Revenue collection 3

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY PRE-PILOT PHASE In order to ensure successful implementation of the new Customs System Asycuda World, it was paramount that we engage stakeholders before the piloting phase to ensure that their interests are adequately represented. 4

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY INTER AGENCY COORDINATION After various site visits and meetings a committee was set up(steering Committee meeting);  Comprising all leading agencies involved in the supply chain  Nominated focal persons 5

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT  Ensure that they have the right infrastructure  Identification of right procedures  Design capacity building plan  Discuss on potential impacts and how to mitigate them  Discuss the roles of each party in order to have a supportive environment 6

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY FUNCTIONALITIES OF THE CUSTOMS SYSTEM  Electronic submission of Supporting Documents  Electronic Receipt generation of the Air Manifest  Electronic Notification of Release status to Warehouse Operators  Online delivery and billing system for Permits and Licenses  Electronic Payment of duties and taxes  Messaging system between stakeholders  Accessing the system at any given point

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY FUNCTIONALITIES (CONT..)  Mobile access to declarations  Access to declarations online and Integrated release from all government agencies  Integration of other Customs Management Systems i.e Risk Management and Valuation database  Easy Access to Statistical Data  Integration to RADDEX Data

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY BASE FOR ELECTRONIC SINGLE WINDOW In order to achieve the Intended objectives it was important to have a Single Window whereby trade related information and/or documents can be submitted once at a single entry point.

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY ROAD MAP TO KICK OFF Full Time Project Team composed of:  A Project Manager  A Technical Adviser to the Project ( Expert(s) on Asycuda World)  Full - time local Customs Expert(s)  Full - time local IT Expert(s)  A Full time financial expert(s) with e - payment skills.

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS Before piloting awareness campaigns were conducted through:  meetings and private dialogues with stakeholders in the supply chain  Used media like TV, radio and news papers  Sensitized the benefits of the new system  Clarified system interdependence to allow own control 11

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY IMPLEMENTATION PHASE We began with a few sites to avoid the following:  Too much pressure that may arise from the business community  Be able to rectify the problems that may arise easily  Provide time to clear backlog in the old system paving way for migration to the new one 12

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY CHALLENGES  Lack of Infrastructure by stakeholders i.e Faster Networks  Low responsiveness to change  Skills gap among stakeholders  Had two systems running parallel due to migration to the new system 13

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY HOW WE OVER CAME THE CHALLENGES  Carried out massive trainings to users  Stakeholder engagement was paramount  We could easily get feed back were to improve to meet user needs  Deployed officers with knowledge in Functionality of the new system to address problems that could arise  Focused on user issues to make the system user friendly  Political will on policy level

Taxes for Growth & Development RWANDA REVENUE AUTHORITY THANK YOU FOR YOUR KIND ATTENTION