The Hindu Business Line : Fast-track EDI implementation

ONE OF THE strategies highlighted in the supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09 to double India's share of global merchandise trade by 2009 is to simplify procedures and cut transaction costs. A key element of this effort is the time-bound introduction of Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) system for export-import documentation, wherein 75 per cent of all transactions would come under its purview in six months. The policy statement also had a quality adjunct for the creation of a mechanism to facilitate speedy redress of grievances of trade and industry. Much to the chagrin of sections of the trade and user groups, the implementation of the EDI programme is taking an indeterminably long time, caught as it is between those who want it and those who do not.

Trade experts describe EDI as a good package for lowering transaction costs for exporters, provided it is implanted fully. Many senior government functionaries feel the EDI's slow pace is not as much because of a software glitch as one of management, especially of people, at the interface points. User groups are somewhat polarised, in the form of solutions providers and tech-savvy exporters, on the one hand, and, on the other, the small exporters, who find it much more economical and easier to have the documentation done through the EDI service centre at Customs points, and who want manned Help Desks at Customs Houses to solve problems quickly. Those working on systems, having put in place such successful networks as ICEGATE (electronic gateway) in January 2004, through which 60 per cent of the documents is now filed across the country, also feel that more dedicated manpower at Custom Houses may ensure better connectivity, especially if more members of the trade have to be induced to file documents online.

A Customs Department estimate is that something like 12,000 documents are now being put through the EDI system daily, and another 7,000 through ICEGATE, with usage by Mumbai and Chennai Customs touching 40 per cent. It is believed that this will pick up steam as more members of the trade upgrade their own infrastructure to let them file documents online. User groups say that while EDI has to become a little more trader-friendly, both at the port and the Customs ends, awareness of its speedy and efficient documentation among members of the trade too has to grow. This, however, does not mean that EDI implementation per se should not be put on the fast-track. The flip side of the dilemma is that documentation at the ports is still largely done manually. Supporting agencies such as shipping lines and Customs House Agents need to be sensitised to the usefulness of EDI systems. But for this to happen, EDI has to come into full play, and the authorities should seriously consider holding awareness programmes for the exporting community, particularly to convince the sceptics to adopt EDI, even in its current form.

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