U.S. patent application number 10/505509 was filed with the patent office on 2006-04-20 for customs inspection and data processing system and method thereof for web-based processing of customs information.
Invention is credited to Tarek Sultan.
Application Number | 20060085201 10/505509 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 27765975 |
Filed Date | 2006-04-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060085201 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Sultan; Tarek |
April 20, 2006 |
Customs inspection and data processing system and method thereof
for web-based processing of customs information
Abstract
A multi-user, multi-organization web-based system for processing
customs information is provided. The system includes a server
device connected to a communication network and having a
communication server module for communicating over the network. The
server device receives a declaration pertaining to a consignment,
including identification of specific goods in the consignment and
predetermined parameters of the consignment. The server device
further includes an application program module that verifies the
declaration, conducts a risk analysis of the received information,
calculates an amount of customs duty and taxes for the consignment,
and determines whether or not to initiate an inspection process
based on the risk analysis. A computer-implemented method for
processing the customs information is also provided. The method
includes the steps of receiving a declaration pertaining to a
consignment, and verifying the declaration. Also included are the
steps of conducting a risk analysis of the received information,
calculating an amount of customs duty and taxes for the
consignment, and determining whether or not to initiate an
inspection process based on the risk analysis.
Inventors: |
Sultan; Tarek; (Kuwait,
KW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
David M Klein;Shearman & Sterling
Intellectual Property Docketing
599 Lexington Avenue
New York
NY
10022
US
|
Family ID: |
27765975 |
Appl. No.: |
10/505509 |
Filed: |
February 25, 2003 |
PCT Filed: |
February 25, 2003 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/US03/05711 |
371 Date: |
August 18, 2005 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60358695 |
Feb 25, 2002 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
705/31 ;
705/331 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/08 20130101;
G06Q 40/123 20131203; G06Q 99/00 20130101; G06Q 40/02 20130101;
G06Q 10/0831 20130101; G06Q 40/12 20131203 |
Class at
Publication: |
705/001 |
International
Class: |
G06Q 99/00 20060101
G06Q099/00 |
Claims
1. A web-based system for processing customs information,
comprising: a server device connected to a communication network,
said server device having a communication server module for
communicating over said network; said server device receiving a
declaration pertaining to a consignment, including identification
of specific goods in said consignment and predetermined parameters
of said consignment; and said server device including an
application program module that verifies said declaration, conducts
a risk analysis of the received information, calculates an amount
of customs duty and taxes for said consignment, and determines
whether or not to initiate an inspection process based on said risk
analysis.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein said inspection process is
initiated, said application program module causes said server
device to re-calculate the amount of said customs duty and taxes if
there is a consignment discrepancy.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein said application program module
causes said server device to record said consignment
discrepancy.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein said application program module
causes said server device to accept payment from said user.
5. The system of claim 4, wherein said server device issues a
clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and taxes
for said consignment.
6. The system of claim 1, wherein said inspection process is
initiated, said application program module causes said server
device to accept payment from said user if there is no consignment
discrepancy.
7. The system of claim 6, wherein said server device issues a
clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and taxes
for said consignment.
8. The system of claim 1, wherein said inspection process is not
initiated, said application program module causes said server
device to accept payment from said user.
9. The system of claim 8, wherein said server device issues a
clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and taxes
for said consignment.
10. The system of claim 1, wherein said risk analysis includes
identifying, analyzing and evaluating a risk.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein said risk analysis further
includes comparing said risk against target criteria.
12. The system of claim 10, wherein said risk analysis further
includes comparing said received information with target
criteria.
13. The system of claim 11, wherein a system administrator defines
and updates said target criteria.
14. The system of claim 1, wherein said application program module
causes said server device to retrieve price information from a
reference price database in order to calculate said amount of
customs duty and taxes for said consignment.
15. The system of claim 1, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a manifest
document.
16. The system of claim 1, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a shipping
invoice.
17. The system of claim 1, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a customs
declaration.
18. The system of claim 1, wherein a customs department initiates
an inspection process.
19. The system of claim 1, wherein said inspection process is at
least one of a random inspection, a sample inspection, and a full
inspection.
20. A web-based system for processing customs information,
comprising: a server device connected to a communication network,
said server device having a communication server module for
communicating over said network; a client-user device including a
client application module for communicating over said network with
said server device and submitting a declaration pertaining to a
consignment, including identification of specific goods in said
consignment, and predetermined parameters of said consignment; said
server device receiving said declaration; and said server device
including an application program module that verifies said
declaration, conducts a risk analysis of the received information,
calculates an amount of customs duty and taxes for said
consignment, and determines whether or not to initiate an
inspection process based on said risk analysis, wherein said server
device accepts said calculated amount of said customs duty and
taxes from said client-user device.
21. A computer-implemented method for processing customs
information, comprising the steps of: receiving a declaration
pertaining to a consignment, including identification of specific
goods in said consignment and predetermined parameters of said
consignment; verifying said declaration; conducting a risk analysis
of the received information; calculating an amount of customs duty
and taxes for said consignment; determining whether or not to
initiate an inspection process based on said risk analysis.
22. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
re-calculating the amount of said customs duty and taxes if said
inspection process is initiated and there is a consignment
discrepancy.
23. The method of claim 22, further comprising the step of
recording said consignment discrepancy.
24. The method of claim 23, further comprising the step of
accepting payment from said user.
25. The method of claim 24, further comprising the step of issuing
a clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and
taxes for said consignment.
26. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
accepting payment from said user if said inspection process is
initiated and there is no consignment discrepancy.
27. The method of claim 26, further comprising the step of issuing
a clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and
taxes for said consignment.
28. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
accepting payment from said user if said inspection process is not
initiated.
29. The method of claim 28, further comprising the step of issuing
a clearance document after said user pays said customs duty and
taxes for said consignment.
30. The method of claim 21, wherein said risk analysis includes
identifying, analyzing and evaluating a risk.
31. The method of claim 30, wherein said risk analysis further
includes comparing said risk against target criteria.
32. The method of claim 30, wherein said risk analysis further
includes comparing said received information with target
criteria.
33. The method of claim 31, wherein a system administrator defines
and updates said target criteria.
34. The method of claim 21, further comprising the step of
retrieving price information from a reference price database in
order to calculate said amount of customs duty and taxes for said
consignment.
35. The method of claim 21, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a manifest
document.
36. The method of claim 21, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a shipping
invoice.
37. The method of claim 21, wherein said information pertaining to
said consignment includes information obtained from a customs
declaration.
38. The method of claim 21, wherein a customs department initiates
an inspection process.
39. The method of claim 21, wherein said inspection process is at
least one of a random inspection, a sample inspection, and a full
inspection.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE OF RELATED APPLICATION
[0001] This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.
119(e) of the filing date of provisional patent application Ser.
No. 60/358,695 filed Feb. 25, 2002, which is incorporated herein by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to customs
inspection and data processing systems and, more particularly, to a
system, method and computer program product for processing (e.g.,
viewing, pricing, storing, retrieving, editing, summarizing,
analyzing, reporting) customs information over the Internet from
any remote location at any time.
[0004] 2. Description of the Background Art
[0005] There has always been a strong demand for timely, consistent
and reliable customs information in order to, for example,
accurately levy customs duties and taxes on imported goods, from
any remote location. Recently, the demand has been growing.
[0006] Several countries of exports have numerous points of entries
and remote customs offices. Customs officials at remote customs
offices have in the past attempted to verify a declared price of a
consignment against previous consignments of identical or similar
goods from the same country of export that are made at or about the
same time as the new consignment. Very often, however, consignments
cannot be found in the customs local database. The customs
officials would therefore have to locate prices, which is time
consuming and can create unacceptable delays in customs clearance.
Even when previous consignments are found, it is usually necessary
to update the price of the previous consignment in the local
database based on the commercial level and quantity of the new
consignment, thereby creating substantial data inconsistencies in
available customs information that may be critical to a customs
official in the decision making process.
[0007] Customs offices generally use communication mediums, such as
dedicated satellite links, lease lines, etc., and support
alternatives to communicate with other or multiple remote customs
offices and the trading community. These communication mediums are
very expensive, and burdensome to operate and maintain. For
example, when a customs office experiences problems with its
system, onsite technical support is almost, always required. For
larger countries and large user-communities (e.g., United States of
America, Russia, etc.), such technical support is more expensive
than the services.
[0008] Lastly, current customs information processing systems lack
the necessary integration of those aspects of a customs-based
enterprise to provide current and reliable customs information,
when and as needed, to enable a customs official or office to
control its overall operation.
[0009] These features are desirable and are not implemented or
available in conventional customs information processing
systems.
[0010] Therefore, notwithstanding the available customs information
processing systems, there remains a need in the art for a customs
inspection and data processing system for reliably processing
customs information over the Internet from any remote location at
any time.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0011] A primary object of the present invention is to overcome the
deficiencies of the prior art systems described above by providing
a customs inspection and data processing system for processing
(e.g., viewing, pricing, storing, retrieving, editing, summarizing,
analyzing, reporting) customs information over the Internet from
any remote location at any time.
[0012] It is another object of the present invention to provide a
customs inspection and data processing system that is a strong and
stable foundation for security and scalability.
[0013] It is yet another object of the present invention to provide
a customs inspection and data processing system that can be
designed to adapt to new developments.
[0014] Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a
customs inspection and data processing system that is a rich and
extensible foundation for building sophisticated customs clearance
applications that integrate with existing back-end systems.
[0015] Another object of the present invention is to provide a
customs inspection and data processing system that allows users to
have real-time analytics, and control and risk management.
[0016] The present invention achieves these objects and others by
providing a web-based system for processing customs information
comprising a server device connected to a communication network and
having a communication server module for communicating over the
network. The server device receives a declaration pertaining to a
consignment, including identification of specific goods in the
consignment and predetermined parameters of the consignment. The
server device further includes an application program module that
verifies the declaration, conducts a risk analysis of the received
information, calculates an amount of customs duty and taxes for the
consignment, and determines whether or not to initiate an
inspection process based on the risk analysis.
[0017] The present invention further achieves these objects and
others by providing a web-based system for processing customs
information comprising a server device connected to a communication
network and having a communication server module for communicating
over the network, and a client-user device including a client
application module for communicating over the network with the
server device and submitting a declaration pertaining to a
consignment, including identification of specific goods in the
consignment, and predetermined parameters of the consignment. The
server device receives a declaration, and an application program
module verifies the declaration, conducts a risk analysis of the
received information, calculates an amount of customs duty and
taxes for the consignment, and determines whether or not to
initiate an inspection process based on the risk analysis. The
server device accepts the calculated amount of the customs duty and
taxes from the client-user device.
[0018] Further, the present invention achieves these objects and
others by providing a computer-implemented method for processing
customs information, comprising the steps of receiving a
declaration pertaining to a consignment, and verifying the
declaration. Also included are the steps of conducting a risk
analysis of the received information, calculating an amount of
customs duty and taxes for the consignment, and determining whether
or not to initiate an inspection process based on the risk
analysis.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0019] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and
form part of the specification, illustrate various embodiments of
the present invention and, together with the description, further
serve to explain the principles of the invention and to enable a
person skilled in the pertinent art to make and use the invention.
In the drawings, like reference numbers indicate identical or
functionally similar elements. A more complete appreciation of the
invention and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be
readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference
to the following detailed description when considered in connection
with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
[0020] FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of the application
architecture for a customs inspection and data processing system
according to the present invention.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a customs inspection
and data processing system according to the present invention.
[0022] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a
customs inspection and data processing system according to the
present invention.
[0023] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating details of a Cargo
Control Module of the customs inspection and data processing system
of FIG. 3.
[0024] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating details of a
Declaration Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3.
[0025] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating details of an
Inspection Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3.
[0026] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating details of a Revenue
Accounting Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3.
[0027] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating details of a Risk
Management & Selectivity Module of the customs inspection and
data processing system of FIG. 3.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0028] In the following description, for purposes of explanation
and not limitation, specific details are set forth, such as
particular networks, communication systems, computers, terminals,
devices, components, techniques, data and network protocols,
software products and systems, enterprise applications, operating
systems, enterprise technologies, middleware, development
interfaces, hardware, etc. in order to provide a thorough
understanding of the present invention. However, it will be
apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention may
be practiced in other embodiments that depart from these specific
details. Detailed descriptions of well-known networks,
communication systems, computers, terminals, devices, components,
techniques, data and network protocols, software products and
systems, enterprise applications, operating systems, enterprise
technologies, middleware, development interfaces, and hardware are
omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present
invention.
[0029] To facilitate a complete understanding of the present
invention, the description of the preferred embodiment is arranged
within the following sections:
[0030] 1. GLOSSARY OF TERMS
[0031] 2. APPLICATION ARCHITECTURE
[0032] 3. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE AND COMPONENTS
[0033] 4. OPERATION OF SYSTEM AND MODULES
[0034] 5. CONCLUSION
1. Glossary of Terms
[0035] The following terms are used throughout the detailed
description:
[0036] Hyperlink. A navigational link from one document to another,
or from one portion (or component) of a document to another.
Typically, a hyperlink is displayed as a highlighted word or phrase
that can be selected by clicking on it using a mouse to jump to the
associated document or documented portion.
[0037] Internet. A collection of interconnected (public and/or
private) networks that are linked together by a set of standard
protocols (such as TCP/IP and HTTP) to form a global, distributed
network. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the
internet may be an intranet, public network, private network, and
the like. While this term is intended to refer to what is now
commonly known as the internet, it is also intended to encompass
variations which may be made in the future, including changes and
additions to existing standard protocols.
[0038] World Wide Web ("Web"). Used herein to refer generally to
both (i) a distributed collection of interlinked, user-viewable
hypertext documents (commonly referred to as Web documents or Web
pages) that are accessible via the internet, and (ii) the client
and server software components which provide user access to such
documents using standardized internet protocols. Currently, the
primary standard protocol for allowing applications to locate and
acquire Web documents is HTTP, and the Web pages are encoded using
HTML. However, the terms "Web" and "World Wide Web" are intended to
encompass future markup languages and transport protocols which may
be used in place of (or in addition to) HTML and HTTP.
[0039] Web Site. A computer system that serves informational
content over a network using the standard protocols of the World
Wide Web. Typically, a Web site corresponds to a particular
internet domain name, and includes the content associated with a
particular organization. As used herein, the term is generally
intended to encompass both (i) the hardware/software server
components that serve the informational content over the network,
and (ii) the "back end" hardware/software components, including any
non-standard or specialized components, that interact with the
server components to perform services for Web site users.
[0040] HTML (HyperText Markup Language). A standard coding
convention and set of codes for attaching presentation and linking
attributes to informational content within documents. During a
document authoring stage, the HTML codes (referred to as "tags")
are embedded within the informational content of the document. When
the Web document (or HTML document) is subsequently transferred
from a Web server to a browser, the codes are interpreted by the
browser and used to parse and display the document. Additionally,
in specifying how the Web browser is to display the document, HTML
tags can be used to create links to other Web documents (commonly
referred to as "hyperlinks").
[0041] HTTP (HyperText Transport Protocol). The standard World Wide
Web client-server protocol used for the exchange of information
(such as HTML documents, and client requests for such documents)
between a browser and a Web server. HTTP includes a number of
different types of messages which can be sent from the client to
the server to request different types of server actions. For
example, a "GET" message, which has the format GET <URL>,
causes the server to return the document or file located at the
specified URL.
[0042] URL (Uniform Resource Locator). A unique address which fully
specifies the location of a file or other resource on the internet.
The general format of a URL is protocol://machine
address:port/path/filename. The port specification is optional, and
if none is entered by the user, the browser defaults to the
standard port for whatever service is specified as the
protocol.
[0043] The terms "user," "official," "inspector," and "office," are
all used interchangeably. However, while the terms are used
interchangeably, with respect to access of data and system
functions, some customs officials or offices may have different
privileges such that, for example, the customs information from one
customs office is not accessible by any other customs office.
Further, each customs office can set privileges for its "users"
with regard to their ability to enter, access, edit, and/or view
data.
2. Application Architecture
[0044] The customs inspection and data processing system according
to the present invention provides a rich and extensible foundation
for building sophisticated customs clearance applications that
integrate with existing back-end systems. The architecture is based
on the Microsoft .NET Framework. Accordingly, it is easy to extend
the platform by choosing from a large number of available
integrated third-party solutions or having developers customize
tools to meet specific business needs. In either case, the present
invention is designed for building tailored, scalable customs
clearance solutions that optimizes the user experience, and
provides business managers with real-time analytics and control of
their on-line businesses.
[0045] FIG. 1 illustrates a functional block diagram of the
application architecture for a customs inspection and data
processing system according to the present invention. The
application architecture 100 includes layers 10, 12 and 14. Layer
10 comprises a Management Center module that allows system
administrators to configure system resources and manage
applications, databases and Web servers.
[0046] Layer 12 comprises four main modules or sub-systems: a
Business Analytics System 12a, a Profiling System 12b, a Targeting
System 12c, and a Business Processing Services System 12d. Each
system is designed to be easily customized to meet specific
business needs. A detailed description of the Business Analytics
System 12a and Business Processing Services System 12d will now be
given.
[0047] A. Business Analytics System 12a
[0048] Biz Analytics Services analyze data in the operational data
store to refine the view of the customer with respect to empirical
transactional, segmentation, and additional profiling data. The
Services Optimizer operates upon this refined data to plan,
develop, deliver, and manage the broad intelligence communications
plan to make it available to Biz Services. The Services Optimizer
links directly with Biz Services to execute a series of steps when
needed.
[0049] The User Interaction Services are a delivery vehicle for the
services, targeting, and a means for collecting interaction data.
That data is fed back to the operational data store to be used by
the Biz Analytics Services applications to refine the business view
of the customer and to manage the ongoing operational plan and
national objectives.
[0050] All collected data is sent to the Operational Data Store
(ODS). The Biz Analytics Services analyzes and refines the data.
The Service Optimizer together with the Biz Services process the
refined data to further provide the interaction data to the user
and provide the intelligence required for the system operation.
This is a cyclic process where data is collected from users and
then refined data is forwarded to the user per request.
[0051] B. Business Processing Services System 12d
[0052] The Business Processing Services System 12d includes Cargo
Processing Services, Declaration Processing Services, Revenue
Accounting Services, Risk Management Services, Inspection
Processing Services, and Customs Tariff Services.
[0053] Action services are software infrastructure that defines and
links one or more stages of a business process, thereby running
them in logical sequence to complete a specific task. Action
services divide processing into stages (e.g., abstractions that
describe a category of work). They also determine the sequence in
which each category of work is performed. Each stage of an action
service contains one or more action service component that can be
configured to work with the unique requirements of the system. For
example, a typical Customs Declaration Processing action service
may include a Traders Information stage, a Payment stage, and an
Inspection stage.
[0054] An action service component supports a standard set of
interfaces that can be invoked in a uniform fashion during the
execution of an action service. Action service configuration files
define action services. The action service specified by the file is
created and run by an action controller object.
[0055] The action service architecture allows for new action
service components (e.g., actors) to be created and "plugged into"
existing action services, often replacing an existing action
service component and altering the original processing being
performed by that action service. A common example of this action
service components replacement is the action service that is
executed to calculate the customs duties, taxes and charges while
the declaration is being processed for the completion of the
declaration transaction.
[0056] Several action service components designed to calculate
duties and taxes may be included. It will be appreciated by those
skilled in the art, however, that these components merely
demonstrate the duties tax stage of the payment action service, and
do not necessarily perform duties and tax calculations in
accordance with the specific duties and tax requirements and law.
These services or use tax component software should be customized
to meet the needs of a specific customs office or country.
[0057] Additional action services can be developed to meet the
specific needs of a business. The architecture of the action
services makes it very easy to insert additional action service
components into existing action services.
[0058] Action services are used in a variety of capacities
throughout the present invention to, for example, process
transactions, select personalized content for display, and process
direct mail jobs. Action service is a software infrastructure that
executes a sequence of components. Each component is a
custom-tailored .NET object designed to perform operations on some
part of a service document. The action controller coordinates the
interaction of the action service components (e.g., Actors) by
passing the service document from one component to another.
[0059] Action services are used to model many processes and include
cargo processing, which is handled by the Cargo Processing Actors;
declaration processing, which is handled by the Declaration
Processing Actors; revenue accounting, which is handled by the
Revenue Accounting Actors; inspection processing, which is handled
by the Inspection Processing Actors; customs tariff, which is
handled by the Customs Tariff Actors; and declaration selection,
which is handled by the Declaration Selection Framework (DSF)
Actors. These action services automate manifest, declaration,
revenue collection and inspection processing in the customs
clearance environment.
[0060] The DSF action services automate the selection of
declarations for inspection for risk management purposes. A set of
components can be combined into action services to support either
architecture. In addition, new components can be created to extend
the capabilities of the action service architecture as explained
above.
[0061] Several action service features that provide flexible
customs clearance process handling, easier clearance procedure
maintenance, more flexible duties, tax and exemption handling, and
greater efficiency in action service loading and execution include
high-precision currency handling, multiple customs clearance
process handling (Customs Control Procedures), duties, Tax and
Exemption handling, action service pooling, and dynamic action
services.
[0062] i. Cargo Processing Services
[0063] Cargo processing services include loading journey details
and house bills, verifying delivery orders and no objection
certificates (NOCs). The cargo processing action services divide
cargo processing into stages that describe a category of work.
Thus, a typical cargo processing action services may include a
Journey Information stage, a Manifest Process stage, a House Bills
Creation stage, an Authorizing slot agent stage, and a Delivery
Order creation.
[0064] ii. Declaration Processing Services
[0065] Declaration processing services verify the declaration
document, capture invoice details, analyze risk against the target
criteria payment services, and calculate the amount of customs duty
and taxes.
[0066] iii. Inspection Processing Services
[0067] Inspection processing services are a collection of business
intelligence that can be staged or organized to fulfill specific
requirements of the inspection process. The process includes
reporting the inspection of the consignment, and producing details
of collecting penalties and fees for the inspection, and the goods
seized.
[0068] iv. Revenue Accounting Services
[0069] Revenue Accounting services are related to the collection of
revenue from various income sources, such as tax, duty, deposits,
fines, penalties, or the like. The Revenue Accounting service
divides revenue collection into stages that describe a category of
work. Thus, a typical revenue collection service may include an
Invoice Generation stage, a Payment Process stage, and a Customs
Receipt generation stage. The various stages of revenue collection
starts with an importer declaring his/her consignment, receiving
customs invoice, and making payment and other related
activities.
[0070] v. Risk Management Services
[0071] Risk Management System is a systematic application of
management procedures and advanced decision support that provides
customs with the necessary information to deal with consignments
that pose a risk. The Risk Management System executes dynamic
business rules that are evaluated for calculations, decision making
support, complicated business processes evaluation and
customization of dynamic business rules, etc. Risk management
includes action services such as intelligent data scans, data
mining, etc.
[0072] The Risk Management & Selectivity optimizer consolidates
and analyzes data to derive information. The Risk Management
Process involves identifying, analyzing and evaluating a risk for a
submitted declaration. The decision support system improves customs
and tax revenue while deterring fraud and criminal activity, in
addition to control contraband and substandard goods.
[0073] vi. Customs Tariff Services
[0074] Customs Tariff services organize the tariff items, customs
duties, taxation, exemptions and charges. Commodities are
identified by an HS code. The Customs Tariff system helps maintain
the HS codes and tariff details. HS codes are harmonized system
codes (e.g., a code that is given to every item that is imported).
An HS code is a combination of sections, headings, chapters and
items.
[0075] vii. Administration Services
[0076] Administration services handle the system-wide services of
managing user profiles, organizations profiles, groups, tariffs,
etc. Administration services also include action services to define
new currencies, locations, types and exchange rates to the
application. It is responsible for day-to-day administration, and
deals with user management, access control and other look-up
functions, such as the maintenance of the HS codes, shipping
agents, etc.
[0077] Layer 14 includes a SQL server (Data Warehouse), and LDAP,
ODBC and SQL server (Profiles).
[0078] Referring to FIG. 1, other applications and tools 16 are
included in the application architecture 100. For example, an
Installation Program packages and unpacks Web sites and settings so
that they are easily deployed. A Business Process Services
management provides business managers with the necessary management
tools to, for example, update customs tariffs and profiles, manage
risks (e.g., target declarations based on goods and/or traders),
and analyze customs clearance information for risk management and
selectivity for inspection and revenue effectiveness.
[0079] In addition to the above, the following administration
tools, as illustrated in Table 1, are provided for maintaining
installation: TABLE-US-00001 TABLE 1 Task/Tool Operation SQL
Enterprise Manager Manages System's databases IIS snap-in Manages
Web servers Windows 2000 Active Directory Manages Windows 2000 user
Users and Computers accounts, computer accounts, and security and
distribution groups Windows 2000 Event Viewer Views event logs
Windows 2000 System Monitor Collects and views real-time computer
performance data Windows 2000 Backup Wizard Backs up IIS metabase,
Windows 2000 Registry settings, and System files Windows 2000
Restore Wizard Restores IIS metabase, Windows 2000 Registry
settings, and System files
3. System Architecture and Components
[0080] FIG. 2 illustrates the logical architecture for a customs
inspection and data processing system according to the present
invention. The logical architecture is based on the Microsoft .NET
architecture which supports many different physical configurations
and highly scalable web applications. The logical architecture is a
multi-tier application with host, systems and business-to-business
integration. The integration supports batch and real-time
connectors.
[0081] Referring to FIG. 2, the highly scalable logical
architecture 200 includes a client-user device 20 and a server
device 24, which are adapted to communicate over a communications
network 22, such as the Internet.
[0082] The client-user device 20 may include a client application
module (not shown), which may be, for example, a web browser (e.g.,
Microsoft's Internet Explorer). The client-user device 20 may be a
desktop, WebTV, or any type of computing device that allows a user
to interactively browse the Internet 22 via the web browser. The
web browser may include software that runs on the client-user
device 20 and displays web pages on the World Wide Web. The web
browser displays information on the client-user device 20 by
interpreting HTML code that is used to build web pages on the World
Wide Web.
[0083] Generally, web pages display graphics, sound and multimedia
files, hyperlinks, files that can be downloaded, and other internet
resources. The coding in the HTML files tells the web browser how
to display the text, graphics, links and multimedia files on the
web pages. The HTML file that the web browser loads to display the
web page does not actually contain the graphics, sound, multimedia
files and other resources. Instead, it contains HTML references to
those graphics and files.
[0084] In an implementation described herein, the server device 24
includes a communication server module and an application program
server module. The communication server module acts as a web server
and communicates with the client-user device 20 over the Internet
22. The application program server module includes software
applications, such as the MicroClear ASP.net web application.
[0085] Among other things, the server device 24 hosts the user
interface (XML/XSL and ASP.NET pages) and lightweight .NET objects
called by the ASP.NET pages, and provides the logic that requests
data from the SQL servers, which provide the data store and
management. The server device 24 is maintained by a service
provider that handles hardware and software upgrades,
troubleshooting and maintenance. Since the service provider handles
the tasks of upgrading, troubleshooting and maintenance, users need
not worry about these tasks. Further, since the MicroClear
application is maintained on the server device 24, users spend less
time with system crashes, upgrades and installation
difficulties.
[0086] In the multi-tier software hierarchy model of the server
device 24, each tier provides specialized services that minimize
the impact of changes to, for example, the presentation, business
logic and database. A brief description of the Presentation
Services Tier 24a, Business Logic Tier 24b and Data Access Tier 24c
will now be given.
[0087] The Presentation Tier 24a is responsible for delivering data
for each requested HTML page by marrying dynamic data generated by
lower levels with static graphical templates.
[0088] The Business Logic Tier 24b contains the bulk of the
processing logic of the application. The Business Logic Tier 24b is
based primarily on the Microsoft .NET Framework, thereby making it
is easy to extend the platform by choosing from the large number of
integrated third-party solutions available, or by having the
developers customize tools to meet their business needs.
[0089] The Data Access Tier 24c is also based on the Microsoft .NET
Framework, and acts as an interface between the Business Logic Tier
24b, and the database server 26 and other applications 28. A
database server module of the database server 26 includes data
structures that define how the user or organization databases are
set up and how information is stored in and retrieved by the
system. The Data Access Tier 24c serves two main purposes: 1)
eliminates all database-specific information from being spread
throughout higher-level tiers, and 2) provides translation between
the domain object model and database relational model.
4. Operation of System and Modules
[0090] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an embodiment of a
customs inspection and data processing system according to the
present invention. There are different privileges and roles for
each user/participant (e.g., system administrator, customs office,
importer) of the customs inspection and data processing system. For
example, the system administrators 30 are responsible for
rebuilding the system with new functionalities (Configuration
Manager); managing user profiles, organizing profiles, etc.
(Security Administration/Administration Module) in step S302;
creating new duty calculation formulas or editing existing ones
(Configuration Manager), and updating tariff data (Customs Tariff
Module) in step S304; managing risk management, defining new risk
criteria, and managing revenue/customer accounts in step S306; and
defining new currencies, locations, measuring units, etc. (Biz.
Administration) in step S308. In summary, among other things,
system administrators define users, organizations, employees,
groups, etc.; and assign roles, user IDs and passwords. Users can
view and manage only those modules for which they are
authorized.
[0091] If a system administrator needs to verify a declared price
of a consignment, the present invention has an interface to the
Customs Inspection and Audit Process Utilizing On-Line Global
Pricing System (ICS), U.S. Provisional Application 60/294,248 filed
May 31, 2001, which is incorporated herein by reference. A pricing
request can be sent to the ICS via an external interface to the
system, and the information can be retrieved online from the ICS
price database.
[0092] Similarly, agents/importers 32 and customs officials 34 have
different roles in the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, an
importer 32 registers his/her manifest document (Cargo Module) in
step S320, and submits his customs declaration (e.g., a local
customs document) (Declaration Module) to the customs department in
step S322. A customs official then verifies the declaration
document (Declaration Module) in step S340, and performs risk
analysis and duty calculations (Risk Management Module) in step
S342. If an inspection is required, an inspection process is
initiated or requested (Inspection Module) in step S344. If there
are no discrepancies or an inspection is not required, then payment
bills are issued (Revenue Accounting Module), inspection findings
are reported (Inspection Module), and revenue accounting
information is updated (Revenue Accounting Module) in step S346. If
there are no discrepancies, then the importer makes duty payments
(Revenue Accounting Module) in step S324.
[0093] Each role above is realized using specific aspects and
several task oriented modules such as the Cargo Module, Declaration
Module, Risk Management Module, Inspection Module, Revenue
Accounting & Selectivity Module, Tariff System and
Administration Module (e.g., the Business Processing Services
System 12d of FIG. 1).
[0094] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow diagram of the Cargo Control
Module of the customs inspection and data processing system of FIG.
3. Steps S320 through S322 of FIG. 3 are illustrated in FIG. 4, and
are realized by the Cargo Control Module. The Cargo Control Module
deals with the registration of arriving cargo. This assists carrier
agents with keeping track of the goods and issuing delivery orders
for importers. The Cargo Control Module has several action services
that deal with specific areas, such as journeys (e.g., captures
voyage details), manifests (e.g., manifests registration), house
bills (e.g., provides goods details), delivery orders, and NOCs.
The manifest registration process results in the creation of a
manifest registration number (MRN). A delivery order (DO) is also
created in this module.
[0095] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating details of the
Declaration Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3. Steps S322 through S324 and steps S342 through
S344 of FIG. 3 are illustrated in FIG. 5, and are realized by the
Declaration Module. The Declaration Module enables importers and
clearing agents to request and receive necessary customs clearance
for their goods.
[0096] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention is efficient and customer-oriented, and affords
all users with many options. For example, the importer can submit
his declaration in advance without invoice details before his goods
arrive, and upload the invoice details later. A customs bill
document can be generated, and the bill can be submitted to the
customs department for clearance of the goods. Once the declaration
is submitted, the Risk Management Module handles the risk matters
on-line based on certain defined criteria, and decides on the
status of the declaration (i.e., RED, YELLOW, GREEN channel). If a
risk is found, an inspection request is sent to the Inspection
Module.
[0097] A Revenue Tracking Module calculates the revenue, and any
acceptable means of payment (e.g., cash, check, money order, credit
card, user account maintained with the customs department, or the
like) can be rendered. The customs bill is produced at the customs
office for verification, and the customs office verifies the bill
against the manifest for any discrepancies. If in compliance, a
document is issued for the release of the goods.
[0098] The customs official can view the declaration submitted by
the agent/importer along with the status of the declaration after
it has undergone the risk management process. A declaration having
a RED channel status denotes that the declaration has to undergo
the inspection process. A YELLOW channel status denotes that the
declaration is incomplete or other information is required. A GREEN
channel status denotes that the declaration is satisfactory;
however, an inspection can be initiated if warranted.
[0099] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating details of the
Inspection Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3. Steps S344 through S346 of FIG. 3 are illustrated
in FIG. 6, and are realized by the Inspection Module. The
Inspection Module deals with the inspection process involved in
customs clearance. The inspection process assists customs officials
or inspectors with tracking and reporting inspection cases. The
Inspection Module may be shared by other organizations within the
same module. Once the declaration form is properly completed and
submitted (in the Declaration Module), an inspection process can be
initiated by the customs official at anytime.
[0100] The inspection may be conducted if there is a risk factor or
upon an inspection request. The inspection process is coupled with
the Risk Management & Selectivity (RMS) Module. If a risk is
detected in the RMS Module, an inspection request is forwarded to
the Inspection Module. Three types of inspections are provided, and
include random, sample and full inspections. In a random
inspection, goods are selected randomly based on the criteria
defined in the risk management. In a sample inspection, a sample of
the goods is inspected; and in a full inspection, the entire goods
are inspected.
[0101] FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating details of the Revenue
Accounting Module of the customs inspection and data processing
system of FIG. 3. The Revenue Accounting Module manages revenues
generated from a variety of income sources in step S702. The system
collects, tracks, reimburses and manages the revenue generated
from, for example, duties, taxes, excises, fines, deposits, other
charges, etc. After a declaration is submitted, the system
calculates the duties, taxes and other fees based on the value of
the goods and its classification. Each successful and completed
transaction will have a revenue figure assigned to it (step S704).
The Revenue Accounting Module keeps track of the payments
throughout the life of the transaction.
[0102] FIG. 8 is a flow diagram illustrating details of the Risk
Management & Selectivity (RMS) Module of the customs inspection
and data processing system of FIG. 3. The RMS Module facilitates
the optimization of high and low level customs processes, risks and
resources. The RMS Module may be customized based on specific risk
management procedures, criteria and strategies adopted by a host
country. Risk management involves taking measures to continually
improve the effectiveness of work performed by customs
inspectors.
[0103] A customs department primary goal is to find imports that
are non-compliant. In order to ensure compliance, the declaration
and accompanying documentation are reviewed in step S802. The RMS
Module scans through the declarations submitted for any risk, and
determines the status of the declaration (e.g., RED, YELLOW or
GREEN channel) in steps S804 and S806. If a risk is found, an
inspection request is sent to the Inspection Module indicating the
appropriate steps to be taken (steps S808 and S810). If no risk is
found, duty payment is required for clearance in step S812.
[0104] The risk management process consists of four key steps: (1)
define risk and target criteria, (2) analyze and assess risk, (3)
prescribe risk target action, and (4) track and report. Risk
management for customs is an evolutionary process, and business
processes should be updated accordingly in order to accommodate the
RMS Module.
[0105] The Configuration Manager allows users to promptly change
the workflow of an existing system, and update their business
processes according to their needs. It is an intelligent business
service provider that supports and satisfies business requirements
customization. New business rules and duty calculation formulas can
be defined or edited using this feature. The system can be build
from scratch using this tool with hardly any coding.
[0106] The features of the Configuration manager include
re-building workflow transition, introducing new action service
components, defining new actions or editing existing ones, and
changing page designs, defining/editing duty calculation
formulas.
[0107] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention may comprise other task oriented modules. For
example, the Customs Tariff Module is a way of organizing and
managing tariff items, customs duties, taxation, seasonal duties,
exemptions and charges. The Tariff System defines sections,
chapters, headings, items, various import duties such as customs
duty (as per the rules of each country), seasonal duty, customs
recording fees, special taxes on imported food and agricultural
products, taxes according to the mass of the goods, excise tax,
etc.
[0108] The Administration Module manages the allocation of
system-wide services to authorized users. It also maintains and
administers the system's reference tables, such as user profiles
tables, organizations profiles tables, groups, etc. The
Administration Module can define new types (e.g., Bill types, DO
types, etc.), new locations and new measuring units that are used
in other modules. System administrators implement security, and
only authorized individuals are provided with a user account.
[0109] The Business Administration section allows new currencies,
locations, measuring units, types and exchange rates into the
system. Since the system supports multi-currency, exchange rates
play an important role during duty payment in the Revenue
Accounting Module.
[0110] In the Trade Information & Statistics Module, trade
information and statistics are generated from the system
operational data store (ODS) according to certain criteria of
interest to customs and the international trade community. This
information is composed of a variety of reports. In addition to the
standard reports, the system provides the ability to create
user-defined reports as well as a user-defined query functionality
to meet specific requirements.
S. CONCLUSION
[0111] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention helps countries modernize, re-engineer, and
energize their customs clearance and associated trade process. It
aims at speeding up customs clearance through the introduction of
highly secured web-based computerization and simplification of
procedures, thereby minimizing administrative costs.
[0112] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention provides functionality to ease the process of
internationalization, and supports multi-language, multiple
currencies, various date formats, etc. The present invention is
built on a 16-bit UNICODE compliant in order to support
non-alphanumeric characters. The application architecture is
flexible and easily adaptable.
[0113] The intelligent risk management system supports advanced
decision making, track non-compliance, and enhance revenue
collection by ensuring that (1) all goods are declared, (2)
duty/tax calculations are correct, and (3) duty/exemptions,
preference regimes, etc. are correctly applied and managed. The
customs inspection and data processing system of the present
invention can be customized to restructure and adapt to new customs
operation processes easily. In addition, it aims at producing
reliable and timely trade and fiscal statistics to assist in the
economic planning process as a by-product of the customs clearance
process.
[0114] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention revolutionizes the process of customs clearance
for the trading and customs community. All customs processes and
transactions are accessible via secured and encrypted internet
access. These capabilities extend services to anyone who has access
to the Internet, as no special software or hardware, other than a
standard internet connection, is required to access and process
customs information (e.g., perform transactions and other customer
service processes). Companies are allowed to process almost all of
their paperwork online, eliminating prior art systems and providing
greater efficiencies and customer service.
[0115] The customs inspection and data processing system of the
present invention is a comprehensive and integrated customs
modernization, control, and advanced decision support system.
Additionally, the present invention takes full advantage of
Microsoft .NET Platform and Windows 2000 Platform, including
support for the Microsoft Active Directory service, .NET Enterprise
Servers and .NET Platform technologies (e.g., Common Language
Runtime, C# and Web Services).
[0116] The system, method and computer program product of the
present invention can be implemented on any wired or wireless
communication medium, including, but not limited to, satellite,
cellular, wireless or hardwired WAN, LAN and the like, public
communication network, such as the internet, and private
communication network, such as an intranet. The design architecture
of the system enables the system to easily integrate with any
hardware platform, operating system, and most desktop and
enterprise applications. The system is platform, network, and
operating system agnostic.
[0117] The system, method and computer program product of the
present invention supports a wide range of data and network
protocols, including native support for IP, XML, HL7, WAP, I-mode,
G3 and other industry standard data and network protocols. The
client and client application modules of the system, method and
computer program product of the present invention can be
implemented using any operating system, and associated hardware
including, but not limited to, Palm OS, Microsoft Windows CE, Unix,
Linux, VMS, IBM, Microsoft Windows NT, 95, 98, 200, ME and XP, and
the like.
[0118] The systems, processes and components set forth in the
present description may be implemented using one or more general
purpose computers, microprocessors or the like, programmed
according to the teachings of the present specification, as will be
appreciated by those skilled in the relevant art(s). Appropriate
software coding can readily be prepared by skilled programmers
based on the teachings of the present disclosure, as will be
apparent to those skilled in the relevant art(s). The present
invention thus also includes a computer-based product which may be
hosted on a storage medium and include instructions that can be
used to program a computer to perform a process in accordance with
the present invention. The storage medium can include, but is not
limited to, any type of disk including a floppy disk, optical disk,
CDROM, magneto-optical disk, ROMs, RAMs, EPROMs, EEPROMs, flash
memory, magnetic or optical cards, or any type of media suitable
for storing electronic instructions, either locally or
remotely.
[0119] The foregoing has described the principles, embodiments, and
modes of operation of the present invention. However, the invention
should not be construed as being limited to the particular
embodiments described above, as they should be regarded as being
illustrative and not as restrictive. It should be appreciated that
variations may be made in those embodiments by those skilled in the
art without departing from the scope of the present invention.
[0120] While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has
been described above, it should be understood that it has been
presented by way of example only, and not limitation. Thus, the
breadth and scope of the present invention should not be limited by
the above described exemplary embodiment.
[0121] Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the
present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It
is therefore to be understood that the invention may be practiced
otherwise than as specifically described herein.
* * * * *