World Customs Organisation to Outsource IT Services

The World Customs Organisation (WCO), an inter-governmental agency, is set to deliberate on the prospects of outsourcing and offshoring of IT services in customs operations in member countries when it meets on Thursday.

Being held for the first time in India , the fifth Information and Communication Technology (ICT) conference-cum-trade show on April 6-8 2006 here will be inaugurated by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in the presence of Infosys Technologies mentor NR Narayana Murthy and Wipro chairman Azim H Premji.

A customs department official said that 250 to 300 delegates, including 100 from overseas, would discuss the role of ICT in meeting the growing tasks of customs administration and streamlining the international trade supply chain.

"The 3-day conference will discuss the latest trends in ICT for customs and explore ways and means to outsource and offshore IT services in the 21st century.

"With increasing globalisation of trade and goods, about 170 member countries of the WCO will identify the opportunities and challenges for the management of customs IT," the official said.

Organised by the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), the conference-cum-exposition will bring top IT hardware/software vendors and heads of customs on a single platform to network and draw plans to implement the best IT practices.

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