Thailand has recently established a fully digitalised express customs processing service, as it hopes to expedite the entry and declaration processing of food and beverage imports at its various checkpoints.
This new express system is being overseen by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and it will swiftly inspect and release imported goods including foods and beverages through Thai checkpoints with the need of nothing more than a single ID card from the person-in-charge, according to a statement from Thai FDA.
The use of ID card will smoothen the process but will only allow the person who was named in the import application to receive the goods.
The system will process all declarations via e-Submission and will issue automatic authorisation for the imported goods to enter the country. This is expected to save time, paperworks and manpower while at the same time streamline operations to be in line with Thailand 4.0 digital transformation strategy.
Thailand is the world’s 13th largest food and beverage producer and exporter, and in Asia, it is ranked 4th with F&B exports totalling US$44.7 billion in 2022.
Despite the leading position, Thailand is known for its bureaucratic red-tapes and delays in various custom checkpoints due to poorly planned systems and infrastructures. The new processing service is expected to help alleviate some, if not most of the issues faced at checkpoints.
