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Terminal-Level Compliance Control Framework

At terminal level, the Customs and Global Trade compliance control framework is structured around a clearly defined Administrative Organisation and Internal Control (AO/IC). This umbrella document outlines how the terminal is organised from a governance, staffing, and internal control perspective, ensuring that the necessary competencies, roles, and responsibilities are in place to meet all customs and excise compliance obligations.

An essential foundation of the compliance approach is the identification and definition of the terminal's business activities and the products handled. This includes mapping all operational processes receipt, storage, processing/manufacturing, and dispatch and understanding whether these activities involve goods under customs bond or excise duty suspension. This detailed scoping ensures that all applicable customs and excise licenses are in place and correctly aligned with the terminal's actual operations. It also supports accurate product classification and licensing compliance.

The AO/IC document serves as a foundational requirement for obtaining and maintaining customs and excise licenses. It describes the organisational setup and control measures across key functions, including:

  • The Customer Services and Customs team, responsible for day-to-day customs declarations, EMCS processing, and direct liaison with customs and excise authorities.

  • Operations, which ensures the correct handling, storage, and administration of goods under customs or excise control.

  • The Management Team, accountable for ensuring the overall integrity of the terminal's control environment, adequate resourcing, and escalation of compliance issues when needed.

  • The Compliance Officer, who plays a central role in maintaining the effectiveness of the compliance framework. This role involves overseeing adherence to customs and excise obligations, coordinating the AO/IC review and update process, monitoring internal controls, conducting compliance reviews, and acting as a key point of contact for both internal stakeholders and external regulatory authorities.

To operationalise the AO/IC, the terminal maintains a comprehensive set of detailed procedures and work instructions, governing all relevant customs and excise processes. These documents are managed through a document control system that ensures they are current, version-controlled, and accessible to authorised personnel. This ensures consistency, clarity, and traceability in how procedures are executed and maintained.

To ensure consistency, oversight, and evidence-based compliance, the terminal makes use of a dedicated compliance control software platform, BzCtrl. This tool supports the full compliance lifecycle, including documentation, workflow visualisation, automated control execution, exception handling, learning capture, and interdepartmental collaboration. It plays a key role in governance and audit readiness. BzCtrl provides a full suite of governance functionalities, including:

  • Centralised documentation and process flow mapping

  • Execution and monitoring of automated internal controls

  • Logging of findings, learnings, and follow-up actions

  • Collaboration tools for effective coordination among teams

  • Dashboards and reporting features to support compliance oversight

Through the integration of a robust AO/IC framework, formalised procedures, strong compliance leadership, and a digital governance platform, the terminal ensures that customs and excise requirements are continuously met, risks are effectively managed, and regulatory licenses are maintained.

The order entry and execution process at the terminal is governed through a Terminal Management System (TMS), OpenTAS, which serves as the central operational platform for planning, executing, and recording all product movements and related activities. This system is interfaced with the Customs Management System (CMS), ensuring that all relevant data flows such as product types, quantities, movements, and timing are automatically and accurately transferred to support customs and excise compliance. This integration enables the correct, timely, and complete registration of products and related operations in the TMS to be seamlessly translated into accurate customs declarations and excise records in the CMS. This digital interface minimises the risk of manual error, enhances data integrity, and ensures that all movements subject to customs or excise control are fully traceable and compliant with applicable regulations.



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