NTA pilot tests integrated trade platform in June
MANILA, Philippines – The National Tobacco Administration (NTA) is one of the pilot agencies for an integrated trade facilitation platform.
NTA said the platform will help streamline and digitalize trade-related processes nationwide.
Belinda Sanchez, NTA Administrator, said the agency’s inclusion in the National Single Window–Integrated Trade Facilitation Platform (NSW-ITFP) will improve efficiency, and will accelerate the issuance and processing of its regulatory documents.
To aid in the platform’s pilot testing in June, NTA formed its Agency Counterpart Team, serving as the primary coordinating body and focal point for all onboarding activities.
NTA will coordinate with the NSW-ITFP Secretariat under the Department of Finance and the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Project Management Team for data provision, process review, implementation activities and capacity-building initiatives.
“The inclusion of the NTA in the initial phase of the project underscores the agency’s role in the Philippine trade system, particularly in the regulation of tobacco products,” NTA said in a statement.
“The onboarding will improve operational efficiency, strengthen regulatory compliance, and support the government’s broader digitalization and trade facilitation efforts,” it added.
READ: Tobacco agency asks LGUs’ help vs cigarette smuggling
The initiative aligns with the Anti-Agricultural Economic Sabotage Act that mandates the establishment of a national single window for the trade of agricultural and fishery products, including the trade of tobacco products.
The DICT started implementing the NSW-ITFP in line with Executive Order No. 482 issued in 2005, which created the National Single Window Task Force to advance trade facilitation nationwide.
The DICT and TradeX Network Inc. signed a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) agreement in December last year for the development and implementation of the integrated trade platform.
The NSW-ITFP aims to streamline, harmonize and automate the processing of trade-related documents among Trade Regulatory Government Agencies.
It will serve as a single digital entry point for regulatory requirements to promote transparency, reduce red tape, accelerate cross-agency transactions and improve the ease of doing business. /pai
