New digital platform successfully launched in Kazakhstan to improve Customs processing at the China-Kazakhstan border

22.01.2024

In order to speed up, simplify and automate the processes of customs clearance of transit cargo at the border of the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Kazakhstan, a Pilot was launched in December 2023 for the implementation of Tez Customs, a new digital platform designed for the automatic submission and issuance of transit declarations for goods transported by rail along routes China - Central Asia and China - Europe. 

The project was initiated and implemented by the State Revenue Committee of the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Kazakhstan (SRC) together with JSC NC Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (KTZ) and Global DTC, a member of PSA International, a leading global port operator and trusted supply chain partner to cargo stakeholders. 

This solution ensures transparency and helps speed up and simplify customs procedures and is an important step that brings Kazakhstan closer to strengthening its position as a transit hub in Eurasia. The Tez Customs platform automates the paperless customs transit process, including the preparation of preliminary information, automatic registration and issuance of transit declarations. At the same time, the SRC information system receives automatic information about the arrival and departure of containers, and the railway system receives electronic notification about the release of the declaration and the completion of transit, which allows for the further dispatch of cargo without providing paper declarations. 
On 9 December 2023, a Pilot was launched on the Altynkol-Saryagash route in the direction of the Republic of Uzbekistan. During two days, 109 transit declarations have been processed and issued automatically at the Altynkol station, and for all declarations, transit was successfully completed at the Saryagash station.

Next, the Pilot was introduced on the Dostyk-Brest Northern route on 27 December 2023. Within the same day 52 transit declarations have been issued and received electronically by the Customs of the Republic of Belarus to facilitate the completion of the transit.

Initial results from the Pilot show that the new Tez Customs platform enables a faster and smoother electronic transit declaration process, facilitating timely release by Customs within 30 minutes. The pilot will continue until it is put into industrial operation and a general decision is made by the EAEU countries involved in transit.

Tez Customs is one of the modules of the DTC Digital Trade Corridor platform. The DTC platform is designed to provide seamless digital document flow for multimodal transport and stimulate the development of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR). The platform will ensure the digitalization of document flow for all participants in the TITR countries - China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey. 

“We are grateful for the opportunity to invest, and the support received in Kazakhstan. It is encouraging to see the new digital platform improving Customs clearance processes, and we look forward to sharing more best practices in trade, logistics and digitalisation with Kazakhstan to help accelerate the development of the Middle Corridor”, said Wee Tan Yeong, CEO of Global DTC.