SINGAPORE CUSTOMS SHOWED FURTHER IMPROVEMENTS IN PRO-ENTERPRISE EFFORTS

Singapore Customs (SC) has been ranked 2nd out of 24 government agencies in the 2007 Pro-Enterprise Survey commissioned by the Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE). This is so far the best score yet since the start of the annual survey in 2004 - SC was ranked 11th in 2004 and moved up to 3rd place consecutively in 2005 and 2006. This year, SC achieved a Pro-Enterprise Index of 86.7, an improvement over last year’s 82.8. The index score was also significantly higher than the average index of 73.3 for all the 24 agencies surveyed this year. In addition, the scores for all five components making up the Pro-Enterprise Index improved from 2006 as follows: – Components Y 2006 Y 2007 Y-o-Y Change Compliance Cost 84.5 85.0 Improvement Review of Rules 81.3 85.7 Improvement Transparency 87.7 90.5 Improvement Customer Responsiveness 79.1 86.3 Improvement Pro-enterprise Orientation 81.1 86.0 Improvement The component with the greatest improvement was “Customer Responsiveness”, indicating that SC’s efforts in engaging customers to better understand their needs and expectations and to create an environment conducive to business made an impact. SC was among the top five agencies that clinched the ACE Awards for 2007 presented during the BlueSky Gala Dinner on 20 July 2007 at Sentosa Cove. Responding to the positive results, DG Teo Eng Cheong said: “I would like to congratulate everyone for achieving this award for SC. It is an honour to be part of this great team. To be able to consistently remain in the top three positions over three years says a lot about this organisation. This reflects our commitment towards our vision and mission. We are guided by our strong and clear vision to be an active and valuable partner to the trading community. Although SC is ultimately a regulatory agency responsible for the integrity of the trading system, we do not regulate mindlessly. We regulate with the aim to support Singapore as a trusted and efficient trade hub. This requires smart regulations, customer-centric procedures and good judgement of our officers. All of us play a role in this, whether you are the frontline officer facing the customers, the enforcement officer facing the offenders, or the HQ officer drawing up new policies. Every decision you make and every action you take, determine if we move a step closer to or further away from our vision. Based on the results of the surveys over the past three years, it is clear that we have moved towards our vision.” For more details, read the media release by Action Community for Entrepreneurship (ACE)