As part of our drive for continual service improvement, Singapore Customs (SC) conducts and participates in surveys to measure our customers’ satisfaction on their interactions with us. In 2011, SC sought the views of its trading industry partners through the Trader’s Satisfaction Survey and Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey. We have heard the feedback, and wish to thank all respondents for sharing their valuable feedback and suggestions.
We will continue to streamline our procedures and processes with the objective of making trade easy, fair and secure. If you have any further feedback, we welcome you to email it to customs_client_relations@customs.gov.sg.
The 2011 Traders’ Satisfaction Survey (TSS) conducted from July to August 2011 aims to measure our customers’ satisfaction and their general impressions on five areas: Customer Responsiveness, Transparency, Review of Rules and Regulations, Ease of Complying with Customs’ Regulations, and Pro-Enterprise Orientation.
Compared with the previous survey conducted in 2009, the 2011 TSS shows an increase in the overall Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) (on an 8 point scale) and scores for all areas. The percentage of respondents who rated their overall satisfaction as 7 and above on an 8 point scale has also increased.
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Overall Customer Service Index |
% of respondents give a rating of |
|
5.0 and above (on an 8-point scale) |
7.0 and above (on an 8-point scale) |
|
2009 |
6.51 |
93.6% |
54% |
|
2011 |
6.76 |
93.4% |
67.6% |
Pro-Enterprise Orientation (PER) 2011 Result
The Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey is commissioned by the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE) and involves a total of 26 agencies. For more information on the results of 2011’s PER, please click here.
SC has been ranked 11th out of 26 government agencies in the 2011 Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey. This is an improvement from the 16th position attained in 2010. However, this year, SC achieved a Pro-Enterprise Index of 75.74, a drop from last year’s 76.48.
The scores for all five components making up the Pro-Enterprise Index are as follows
|
Components |
Y 2010 |
Y 2011 |
Y-o-Y Change |
|
Compliance Cost |
73.83 |
78.11 |
Improvement |
|
Review of Rules |
75.33 |
77.24 |
Improvement |
|
Transparency |
75.33 |
76.12 |
Improvement |
|
Customer Responsiveness |
78.44 |
73.02 |
Decline |
|
Pro-enterprise Orientation |
76.89 |
74.21 |
Decline |
The component with the greatest improvement was “Compliance Cost”, indicating SC’s efforts in reviewing its rules and consulting the public for these revisions.
We Heard You
We would like to thank all the survey respondents for their valuable feedback and suggestions, and would like to assure all respondents that we have considered all the individual feedback submitted through the surveys. This year, we have instituted many changes after studying the results and feedback from the Trader’s Satisfaction Survey and Pro-Enterprise Ranking Survey. We append below the summary of responses to the common feedback and suggestions received.
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Feedback |
We Heard You |
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Training and Courses
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“I wasn’t aware of the courses and trainings that Singapore Customs have in place for traders like me” |
We have launched two new training programmes - SC 100 Basics of Every Declarant and SC 200 Strategic Goods Control Programme in Jan 2012. These programmes are organised by modules to enable participants to sign up for either individual modules or as a package. Traders are able to select the modules that are most relevant to their area of work, or choose to sign up for the package for more in-depth training.
For more information on these courses, please click here.
We have also launched the Guide to Custom’s Procedures, the e-learning platform which traders may assess at no cost here. This course aims to familiarise traders with the Basics of Customs’ Procedures.
Going forward, we will be launching a series of online courses which traders can assess at no cost.
We will continually review the courses and training content to improve the quality of training available to traders.
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“The courses and training provided are not customised to my needs” |
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“There is a long waiting list for the courses. I am unable to get a placement.” |
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Engagement |
“I am not informed on changes in regulations or new announcements from Singapore Customs as I do not receive the circulars” |
To keep the industry informed of any changes in procedures or regulations, Customs Circulars and Notices are issued to traders. Some traders may not receive the circulars if their contact information such as fax number and email addresses are not updated.
Companies may update their contact details here. In addition, TradeNet users can update their contact information at the same portal by selecting ‘ORA Registration’, under the ‘Manage DA’ tab.
Traders may sign up to SC’s mailing list to receive email circulars relating to topics of their interest here.
In addition to circulars, traders may also look out for announcements on our website, or click here for the latest circulars.
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Procedures and Processes
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“I find the refund process too long and tedious” |
TradeNet Version 4.1 allows cancellations of un-utilised permits, to allow for auto-procession of such cancellations.
Traders can now submit an application to cancel a payment permit provided:
i) it has not been used for cargo clearance; and
ii) the application is submitted before 23:59:59 hours of the same day of approval.
For more information on changes to TradeNet Version4.1, please click here.
We will continue to monitor the trend in refund applications and further fine-tune the processing rules.
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“The process for license and scheme application is too long” |
TradeFIRST was launched in 2011. It is a one-stop assessment framework that makes trade easy, fair and secure.
TradeFIRST supports our trade facilitation and compliance efforts by enabling SC to assess a company holistically, based on a single set of assessment criteria applied across all schemes.
With this framework, we will be able to proactively partner traders in improving their systems and processes by designating an Account Manager (AM) to each company assessed under TradeFIRST.
This integrated risk management approach and partnership with trade will raise the compliance and supply chain security standards of companies, resulting in reduced regulatory cost and greater facilitation for traders.
For more information on TradeFIRST, please click here.
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Control List |
“I would like to see the relaxation of control for less sensitive strategic items” |
Singapore adopts the EU’s export control list which is an amalgamation of the four multilateral export control regimes, namely the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), the Australia Group (AG), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
We regularly review the Strategic Goods Control (SGC) list in an expeditious manner in order to facilitate trade. Following the recent updates of the four multilateral export control regimes’ lists, we have reviewed the SGC control list, to incorporate deletions or relaxation of controls of some items in Singapore’s export control list first, while pending the finalisation of the revised EU’s export control list.
In this regard, the Strategic Goods (Control) (Amendment) Order 2011 has been published and will take effect on 1 Jan 2012. The Amendment Order incorporates selected updates adopted by the four multilateral export control regimes.
For more information, please click here.
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