The Royal Oman Police, represented by the Directorate General of Customs, recently won the Sultan Qaboos Award of the best integrated government project for proficiency in e-government services for its Bayan project which is a mini electronic government programme consisting of three main systems.

Firstly, an Integrated Customs Management System (ICMS), including all procedures, customs operations etc.

Secondly, an Electronic Single Window, through which all permits and licenses can be obtained from government bodies related to customs work,

Thirdly, a Risk Management System, which is concerned with the analysis and assessment of cargo data through three tracks, physical inspection in red, checking documents in yellow, releasing the goods without customs interdiction, in green.

Since its launch in July 2015, the Bayan system has contributed to this integrated system, which includes 35 sub-systems facilitating the flow of goods and trade between Oman and the world in a fast and smooth manner, by facilitating the process of obtaining permits from government agencies (where required), in a typical period of 24 hours. Bayan simplifies the customs clearance process through an integrated electronic system that encourages prior clearance, such as making of the customs declaration and payment of customs duties in addition to obtaining electronically, any required permits, before the arrival of goods to the Sultanate. Bayan also includes a ‘one stop for inspection’ by all the concerned authorities within two hours only. Previously, the clearing and release of similar consignments took months.