JBMS FAQs
What is the Joint Border Management System?
A single shared computer system that will replace both the New Zealand Customs Service (Customs) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s (MAF) aging computerised border clearance systems, CusMod and Quantum.
What are the benefits of JBMS?
Industry will benefit because the Joint Border Management System will:
- enable industry to access and electronically submit all border clearance documents once, rather than to multiple agencies
- collate separate agency fees for one consignment to enable a single fee payment
- provide more certainty, earlier, about the clearance status of border transactions
- result in faster, more transparent and more efficient movement of goods through the supply chain
- support participation in international trade facilitation initiatives.
Travellers will benefit because the Joint Border Management System will:
- provide the operational infrastructure for recent trans-tasman initiatives approved by the government including automated passenger processing and the pre-arrival x-ray screening of passenger baggage
- speed up the clearance of low-risk international travellers, thereby enhancing the passenger experience.
The government will benefit because the Joint Border Management System will:
- safeguard border services and secure current Crown revenue.
- mitigate the risk of failure associated with aging systems, preventing disruption, and additional costs to trade and passenger services.
- enhance management of border risks by providing better tools for predicting threats, monitoring trends, and targeting high-risk transactions.
- deliver more accurate, coordinated, and consistent information to border agencies.
- enable Customs and MAF to give trading partners fast and accurate assurance about the safety of goods leaving New Zealand.
What is CusMod?
Customs manages New Zealand’s border by risk screening all people, goods and craft entering or leaving New Zealand, and administers a wide variety of government interests including duty collection, drug enforcement and immigration processing.
CusMod is Customs’ intelligence-based risk management computer system. It receives and processes advance passenger, goods and craft information to support facilitation of legitimate trade and travel, and intervention planning for movements assessed as a potential risk. It captures the core data for development of New Zealand’s merchandise trade statistics and provides services and data to 20 other government agencies.
What does Quantum do?
MAF manages the biosecurity risks posed by people, goods, and craft crossing the border. Quantum is the core computer system MAF uses to process import applications, record inspection data, and support enforcement activities. While adequate for transaction processing, Quantum does not have risk profiling and targeting capability. MAF depends on CusMod to screen import entries for biosecurity requirements and alert them to high-risk goods.
Why do MAF and Customs need to replace their border operating systems?
Both CusMod and Quantum are over 12 years old and there is an increasing risk of failure due to age. The systems are not meeting the needs of New Zealand’s importers and exporters and lack the flexibility to respond to the changing border environment.
For Customs, a simple ‘upgrade’ of CusMod is not possible, as its technology architecture, hardware, operating system, and software are dated and are becoming increasingly unsupported worldwide.
For MAF, though Quantum provides basic transactional capability, it does not provide risk profiling or intelligence capabilities, or the capability to support the strategic outcomes such as Trade Single Window or streamlined trans-Tasman travel. Upgrading Quantum to deliver the additional functions would be extremely risky (ie might not work) and expensive.
In addition, currently industry must interact with multiple systems at the border with different levels of complexity. For instance, Customs, MAF, and the New Zealand Food Safety Authority have separate requirements for the lodgement of import declarations, many of which require the same information. This causes unnecessary compliance costs on the supply chain and industry frustration. A single more flexible system will bring efficiencies to the international supply chain, and enable improved targeting to manage more types of security and biosecurity risk.
Why do you need to build a new single system – can’t each agency upgrade their existing system for less cost?
Analysis during an earlier phase of this project found that both agencies would be best served by the development of a single, shared system. This option has the potential to deliver better and more coordinated services and capability, more efficiently, than each agency separately investing in its own capabilities. Also, the capital cost and increased operating and compliance costs would be greater if two systems were built.
So replacing CusMod and Quantum with a single, shared system will avoid maintenance and replacement costs for two separate systems and is consistent with the government priorities to:
- reduce compliance costs
- improve public sector productivity
- ensure Customs and MAF staff work more seamlessly together at the border.
How long will it take to develop and implement JBMS?
Full implementation of the system will be split into two separate ‘tranches’ over a four year period. The majority of industry benefits would be delivered in Tranche 1.
What happens now that Government has received the business case?
The JBMS business case has been considered by Government, and approval given to develop a request for proposal (RFP) for Tranche 1, subject to decisions on funding to be made as part of Budget 2010. An RFP seeks detailed submissions from information technology providers on how they would deliver the system along with firm costs. If approval to proceed is received in the Budget, Customs and MAF expect to be able to issue the RFP in May 2010.
We would then need to evaluate responses to the RFP, and recommend a preferred solution to Government, including costs. If Government decided to proceed with the solution, we expect implementation of the new system would start in January 2011.
What will JBMS cost?
A request for information (RFI) process was conducted in March 2009. An RFI provides a draft system design and requirements to information technology providers, and seeks feedback, potential solutions, and indicative costs. Responses were used to confirm the design and establish an estimated cost range. For business case development purposes the capital funding requirement for the full system was estimated to be in the range of $100 million – 130 million. Detailed information in regard to this planning level estimate and associated operating costs is commercially sensitive.
However, we will not know what the actual cost would be until we finalise costings for each tranche. If we receive budget approval to issue the RFP (see question above), this will happen after we have evaluated responses and identified a preferred solution — anticipated to occur in about October 2010.
If capital and operating costs are higher than estimated then we will have to reassess value proposition for the system.
What will Tranches 1 and 2 deliver?
Stage 1 is the ‘Enhance’ phase. CusMod and Quantum will remain operational but work will be done to establish the new system infrastructure and the address the following business needs:
- Implementation of the registration and lodgement components of the Trade Single Window
- Replacement of failing technologies
- Introduction of improved risk management and intelligence tools
- Conversion of MAF passenger processes into CusMod to support the trans-Tasman passenger facilitation initiatives.
Stage 2 is about fully retiring CusMod and Quantum and delivering the remaining business functions of the proposed system. These include:
- implementation of a payments system and reference library to complete the Trade Single Window
- upgrade of hardware and software throughout both agencies
- implementation of better enforcement processes
- development and implementation of performance and feedback processes
- development of resource management tools to ensure resources appropriately target risks.
What will happen if the Government does not approve funding?
A minimum investment will still be required to mitigate the risks of CusMod failure and move MAF passenger processing to CusMod (to support the Government’s commitment and investment in facilitated trans-Tasman travel).
What is the cost to Industry?
Cargo clearance services (and associated intelligence functions) are currently subject to cost recovery from importers and exporters via transaction processing fees and/or cargo inspection fees.
Based on existing cost recovery policy, implementing the new system would require an increase in fees recovered from importers and exporters for cargo clearance services. The estimated share of ongoing operating costs of the new system that are attributable to the delivery of improved cargo clearance services (including the Trade Single Window) is approximately 50 percent.
Customs and MAF are currently reviewing their cost recovery policies and fees. This includes initial consultation with industry on options for recovering costs resulting from the Joint Border Management System, and reporting back to Government on industry’s views.
The proposed options are detailed in the Review of Biosecurity Border Clearance Charges 2009 Discussion Paper.
MAF and Customs invite comment on the possible future implications of the Joint Border Management System outlined in the discussion paper, and submissions can be made up until 4 February 2010.
Legislation requires consultation over specific proposals for fee increases. If Government approves Tranche 1, specific proposals can be expected to be put to stakeholders sometime between June 2011 and March 2012.
Cost recovery for the Joint Border Management System would not start till Tranche 1 is implemented – expected to be around July 2012 at the earliest. Tranche 2 would not begin for a least another two years and is subject to the government approving full implementation.
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