Australia, Singapore to try out paperless commerce using Blockchain

The Australian Border Force, Singapore Customs and IMDA, as well as industrial groups and financial institutions will participate in the trial.

The Australian Border Force (ABF) has started a trial with Singapore agencies to test digital verification systems in an effort to make cross-border trade easier and paperless for businesses.

ABF is Australia’s frontline police agency and customs service. It is an operationally independent body within the Internal Affairs portfolio.

The process, in line with the Australia-Singapore Digital Economy bilateral agreement, was launched on November 23 with Singapore Customs and IMDA (Infocomm Media Development Authority) of Singapore.

According to the ABF, the project is the first to use blockchain technology for the exchange of intergovernmental documents. It was developed by experts from Australia and Singapore at UN / CEFACT (United Nations Center for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business).

“The ABF welcomes the opportunity to further collaborate with Singapore to improve cross-border trade between our countries,” said Commissioner Michael Outram. “In addition to our international efforts, this initiative will incorporate paperless commerce and the secure digital exchange of business information as part of the future architecture and design of a one-stop shop for Australian commerce.”

The trial will test digital verification platforms on both the Intergovernmental Ledger (IGL) developed by ABF and IMDA’s TradeTrust for electronic business documents. Companies and regulators will provide feedback on their experience in verifying certificates of origin with the two systems, with the aim of reducing administrative costs and increasing business efficiency.

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Australian Industry Group, as well as Singapore’s financial institutions, including ANZ, will take part in the process, which supports the recently announced Australian Government Simplified Business Agenda, an initiative to reform and digitize processes. of commercial compliance.