Project ‘APEC paperless trading demonstration

- electronic transmission of the SANCRT

message’

- Findings -

Major Findings

The project identified major barriers to achieving paperless trading, categorised under broader headings of:

technical considerations;

legal considerations;

financial information;

Government issues; and

non-Government issues.

Key Documents

Four key documents identified as the main restrictions to full electronic transmission of a basic ‘set’ of documents, and as critical to achieving paperless

trading:

the Bill of Lading;

the Health Certificate;

the Certificates of Analysis; and

Inspection Certificates.

Suggested Solutions

The suggested solutions to achieve practical paperless trading proposes three fundamental approaches:

convert existing documents into an electronic form;

provide information in an electronic form to better suit the specific requirements of trading economies; and

seek alternative information routes or practices.

Recommendations

Recommended TPT-WG23 endorse the findings and encourage economies to consider the following when developing future paperless trading related projects:

- converting existing documents into an electronic form;

- providing information in an electronic form to better suit the specific requirements of trading economies; and

- seeking alternative information routes or practices