Nepal national single window : towards a paperless trade regime

Abstract

<p>The Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific (CPTA), which entered into force on 20 February 2021, is a UN treaty deposited with the Secretary General of the United Nations. The treaty aims at accelerating the implementation of digital trade facilitation measures for trade and development. Nepal is not yet a party to the treaty, but it has been making efforts, mostly unilaterally, to digitalize trade processes and create a paperless trade regime. The most important of these has been the progress made in the establishment and operationalization of the Nepal National Single Window (NNSW). The COVID-19 crisis has further expedited the implementation of a paperless trade regime. However, advancement in the implementation of paperless trade in Nepal has generally been within the border, mostly excluding the cross-border exchange of data and documents. The NNSW system allows the exchange of cross-border documents and data, and hence should be exploited. Making the current administration of paperless trade seamless and expanding it to cover paperless trade will require legislative reforms, institutional strengthening, harmonization and standardization of data and documents, and proactive engagement in bilateral and regional forums to develop cross-border paperless trade systems. Importantly, acceding to the CPTA could support and strengthen Nepal’s paperless trade system. </p>