Other Activities

Customs Regulation Database Technical Assistance

A TCP technical assistance team working in partnership with Sri Lanka Customs has created a searchable database of customs-related laws, regulations and procedures; selected and edited Departmental Orders; eleven user guides; a Harmonized System 8-digit schedule of tariff rates; a facility linking any HS 8-digit item to relevant acts and regulations; a Customs Department password-accessible DOPL database; a searchable database of summaries of classification decisions by the Customs Nomenclature Committee; and a tax calculator to estimate total taxes imposed on imports. The total tax calculator may be the only one of its kind on the web.  The Customs Regulation Database was presented to the public in January 2007 and was completed in July.  The TCP technical assistance team also created a Sri Lanka Customs Users Blog to complement the CRD and increase communications and information flow between Sri Lanka Customs and users of customs services.  This blog is probably the first application of a blog relating to a government service in Sri Lanka.) The CRD can be found in the Sri Lanka Customs website www.customs.gov.lk ; the customs users blog address is www.slcustomsclients.com

This CRD activity was the result of a series of discussions with the Sri Lankan private trading community in 2003 and 2004 and reviewing WTO requirements for customs administration – specifically the publication of customs regulations and procedures – which highlighted the need for technical assistance to Customs to compile, organize and digitize the full set of Customs rules, regulations and procedures and make the information available on the Sri Lanka Customs website.

The TCP economic advisor, Dr. James Mudge, initiated the CRD activity in a proposal to the the Director General of Customs who welcomed the proposal.  Implementation of the Customs Regulation Database Technical Assistance (CRD) started when Dr. Mudge, along with the Sri Lankan Team Leader assembled a group of Sri Lankan former senior customs officials, other CRD support staff and competitively selected an ICT firm.  The TA team included a US Customs expert on short-term assignment to advise Sri Lanka Customs and the TA team. As the development of the CRD substantive content proceeded, the advisor and CRD Team Leader held regular coordination discussions with senior Sri Lanka Customs Officials.

CRD has the following key features:

FastPath Activity - Study and Benchmarking of Sri Lanka’s Supply-Chain Management Practices

In a logistics chain, direct costs such as transportation, warehousing, handling, and port charges are usually transparent. Indirect (hidden) costs due to unnecessarily high inventories, stock-outs, obsolescence, delays, or poor truck utilization, often go unaddressed even though they may make up a significant part of the logistics cost. The World Bank estimates 25-27 days are required to import or export from Sri Lanka, which is unusually high for a coastal country. Several clusters supported by TCP view these issues as important to their long-term competitiveness.

In response, Nathan Associates Inc., with support from USAID, has developed a computerized tool for assessing transport logistics chain performance. FastPath consists of a diagnostic process and toolbox that identifies and quantifies logistics chain performance and inefficiencies in terms of time, cost, and reliability. This process and supporting tools constitute a screening process that assesses the relative importance of any suggested problem in a transport logistics chain in a systematic, quantified fashion and provides a shippers perspective on the performance of the transport/logistics chain. It identifies and prioritizes specific areas for improvement with credibility and transparency so that all stakeholders can participate in modifying the analysis and arrive at a mutually acceptable result.

The activity began with Resident Advisor Jagdesh Mirchandani meeting with the Chairman, Sri Lanka Ports Authority. Following this, a team of stakeholders comprised of representatives from a) TCP’s export oriented clusters, b) Sri Lanka Freight Forwarding Association (SLFFA), c) Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF), d) Sri Lanka Ports Authority and e) Department of Transport and Logistics Management at University of Moratuwa was assembled to participate in the activity. Expatriate consultants Mr. Peter Cook, Mr. Mauricio Posada, Ms Paola Pedroza and Mr. Julian Barona Motlak and TCP Resident Supply Chain Advisor Jagdesh Mirchandani participated in the activity.

The kick-off meeting for examining Sri Lanka’s import & export logistics chain, referred to as the FastPath activity, was held on October 31, 2006 following the arrival of the expatriate consultants. Attendees at the workshop included representatives from Industry (tea, rubber, spices, coir, apparel, logistics, freight forwarders), Colombo Port, Customs, and Academia. Prior to the Workshop, the Resident Advisor met with the Director General of Customs who appointed the Deputy DGC in charge of automation as the Customs representative on the FastPath stakeholder team. Following the Workshop, data collection of the FastPath activity commenced. This included the preparation of questionnaires, Internet and literature research, scheduling and conducting a series of interviews with members of the private sector and government officials (e.g. port, customs, railways, highways, transportation).

Additional meetings were held in the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2007, where a) information gathered through interviews and independent research and b) the analysis and findings were reviewed with the stakeholders.  Critical feedback from these stakeholder team meetings has been incorporated into the final analysis and report.  The FastPath report, which benchmarks Sri Lanka against its competition and recommends improvements in areas such as Transport and Logistics Infrastructuire and Services, Colombo Port import/export procedures and Import/Export customs processes, is being currently finalized and will be released this month.

World Economic Forum

TCP obtained technical assistance form the World Economic Forum on a cost-shared basis for the Senior Economist WEF, Dr. Irena Mia and the Senior Communications Manager Ms. Ciara Browne to visit Sri Lanka in November 2006. They worked with the Institute of Policy Studies, Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, The Central Bank of Sri Lanka and other interested institutions to explain the methodologies used in compiling the Global Competitiveness Report and how it is used in other countries as a tool to improve the policy debate on competitiveness and related reform issues. A seminar attended by 50 males and 10 females from the private and public sectors was held on November 10, 2006 to share the findings of an analysis of Sri Lanka’s rankings in GCR 2006/2007.

Ceramics:

• Factory productivity improvement program launched with a grant of US$24,044; 83 senior, mid-level and line staff trained in industry best practices and quality and productivity improvement techniques
• Setting up of a Center of Technical Excellence for Ceramics in Sri Lanka with a grant of US$73,000 to facilitate all testing as well as R&D and training facilities for the Industry

Gems and Jewelry Cluster:

• Increasing the quality, image and branding capacity of the Facets Show in 2005 through a grant of US$42,375 for purchase of showcases and other items. The grant strengthened and improved Facets -- in 2006, no of foreign exhibitors increased 40% and local, 3%; and numbers of foreign buyers increased 15% and local, 20%.
• Implementing a training program for new entrants to the industry will be conducted by the Gem and Jewellery Institute from April to July 2007 with a grant of US$12,495. All successful trainees will be placed within lapidary companies and the company and employee will remit funds to GJI to begin a revolving training fund.

Tea:

• Funding of US$14,000 provided to acquire new vacuum packaging technology for bulk tea and do field-testing. Benefits achieved include extending the shelf life of bulk-packaged tea, minimizing transportation costs, safeguarding against theft, improving versatility and improving ease of handling. Information on vacuum packing was disseminated to the industry during the quarter

Tourism:

• A guide-training handbook developed through a TCP Small Grant of US$ 11,118 called Wildlife of the Dry Lowlands was published and officially launched at the TCP conference room in the presence of USAID officials, Tourism Cluster Chairman, representatives of Hoteliers Association, officials of Sri Lanka Tourist Board, the Department of Wildlife Conservation and the Forest Department.

Spice:

• Funding of US$18,460 provided to the Spice Council to develop a Model Spice Processing Village
• Strengthening value chain of handloom and reed industry and improving the livilihood of rural women through grant to Selyn Exporters of US$13,934

Various clusters:

• Funding of US$ 13,760 provided to organize a job-placement fair for the disabled; fair brought 100 job seekers and 35 employers together and matched 37 job seekers with jobs.
• Funding of 7,519 provided to the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) to establish a library and computer help desk within its office