The Bureau of Customs (BOC) has lifted on June 6 the implementation of scheduled transaction windows in its electronic-to-mobile (e2m) system, Customs deputy commissioner for Management Information System and Technology Group (MISTG) Dr. Dennis Vladimir Reyes told PortCalls.
Pilot-testing of the scheduled transaction windows began on April 25 as part of “mitigating measures given the condition of e2m.” The e2m has suffered frequent technical glitches, delaying lodgement of entries and subsequently delaying cargo clearance.
With the transaction windows, lodgment of entries was restricted to between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m.; BOC operations from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.; manifest submission from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.; and scheduled system maintenance and backup from 11 p.m. to 11 a.m.
READ: E2m scheduled transaction windows in place for 2 more weeks
The initiative was widely decried by stakeholders who said it severely limited the time for processing and clearing of shipments.
Reyes said they decided to lift the adoption of the scheduled transaction windows because BOC now possessed data on the types of transactions clogging up the e2m, which was what the windows aimed to discover.
Meanwhile, BOC has also started subscribing to a virtual cloud environment to distribute e2m processes among multiple servers.
Reyes said cloud subscription was a way to stabilize the e2m while the agency remained barred by a Manila court from replacing or upgrading its computer system following an injunction filed by a bidder.
Image courtesy of Mister GC at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
