A. General Information
EU SEED (Systematic Electronic Exchange of Data) +
Indirect Tax Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo Customs Service
Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova
Customs Administration of Montenegro
Customs Administration of North Macedonia
Customs Administration of Serbia
Indirect Tax Authority of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Kosovo Customs Service
Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova
Customs Administration of Montenegro
Customs Administration of North Macedonia
Customs Administration of Serbia
B. Lessons Learned
The overall objective of SEED+ system is to enhance border management in the Western Balkans, overcoming the inefficiencies in the management systems at the crossing points that resulted in complicated and time-consuming procedures for legitimate trade flows.
The overall objective of SEED+ system is to enhance trade facilitation and regional economic integration by enabling regular and systematic data exchange among all CEFTA AP5 stakeholders as stipulated by the CEFTA Additional Protocol 5 and its Technical Annexes.
The need to enhance border management in the Western Balkans, fostering the cooperation and the sharing of information among customs administrations
Pre-arrival information, customs declaration verification, intelligence related processes, overall business processes related to the border management.
Full interconnectivity and interoperability of the CEFTA TRACES NT with the SEED+ Nodes shall be established, securing the compatibility and interoperability with the EU systems and standards to the maximum extent. Both systems should also be interoperable with the existing Parties systems and other related systems, in particular e-Phyto, EU RASFF and EUROPHYT (interfaces are already developed within EU TRACES), so that data must be entered only once, while the systems have to be organized in a way to disseminate and share all required data to the appropriate stakeholders.
CEFTA TRACES NT (built on EU TRACES NT) enables the certification, generation, and processing of phytosanitary, veterinary, and pharmaceutical certificates. It also enables the exchange of rapid exchange of information on non-compliant consignments for animals and goods (food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy similar to EU RASFF and EUROPHYT). Customs SEED upgraded to Customs SEED establishes additional data exchange links, upgrading customs SEED modules and improving regional customs risk management.
SEED system, supporting increased communication among different customs administrations in the region, contributes to improved data exchange with positive impact on intra-regional trade flows. The final beneficiaries of the SEED+ Action are Ministries of Trade, Customs, Veterinary, SPS and Public Health Administrations of the CEFTA Parties. SEED and SEED+ systems are instrumental for operationalization of the Additional Protocol 5. They shall provide for regular and systematic data exchange among all CEFTA AP5 stakeholders as stipulated by the CEFTA Additional Protocol 5 and its Technical Annexes, whilst harmonizing related legal and regulatory requirements among CEFTA, but also with EU. CEFTA economic operators will therefore benefit from: - significant reduction of the wating times at Border Crossing Points/ Common Crossing Points, - simplification of inspection, - reduction of formalities, - reduction of costs. Additionally, all companies involved in intra-CEFTA trade will also benefit from the AEO schemes.