Government surveys to expose quality of service; 53% satisfied with customs services

A rate of 52.3% of customs users said they are "very satisfied" with customs services, according to findings of a survey made public on Monday by general manager of the Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration, Abderrazak Al Mossadaq.

The survey, conducted with 1,018 customers, including 726 enterprises, and 391 customs-clearing agents, also finds that 28% of the polled are "satisfied" with these services, with variations according to the kind of services.

"Customs control procedures" were deemed satisfactory by 88% of those polled, while "goods checking methods" were described as satisfactory by 90%. 93% of respondents said they are satisfied with the customs-clearing duration (that presently stands at 40mn) and 85% were satisfied with "the use of customs-clearing halls and areas."

The survey also covered airports customs, with less than 5% out of the 10,862 polled passengers (5,231 at arrival terminals and 5,631 at departure terminals) saying they have encountered difficulties.

Meantime, Morocco will launch an e-customs system dubbed BADR (Automated Base of Customs Online) to grant users easier access from any internet-connected computer, the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII) said.

The new system is based on computer technologies like those used in e-commerce, which grant customers and customs agents simple access to data with the means of a simple internet browser, without having to move to ADII offices, Director General of the administration, Abderrazak El Mossadeq, said at a press conference Monday.

The project will be developed over three phases and four years.