Good news for Filipino MSME exporters who are eyeing the Southeast Asian market and its trade partners can now have a handy tool at their disposal with the ASEAN Tariff Finder, a free online platform that provides detailed information on customs and trade in the region.
The tariff finder is a valuable resource for empowering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in particular, as MSMEs can save time and resources in their transactions since all needed trade-related information is readily available on the website.
This includes information on customs and trade regulations, rules of origin, market access requirements, Harmonized System (HS)-based product codes, taxes and duties, and import formalities.
The online portal is designed to enable enterprises to maximize the benefits from concluded or upgraded free trade agreements (FTAs), including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, ASEAN+1 FTAs, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and bilateral FTAs concluded by ASEAN member states. The ASEAN Tariff Finder can support users who wish to explore the markets and import requirements for their products in more than 160 destination countries.
Using the ASEAN Tariff Finder, traders can simply enter the country of origin, the destination, and the product of interest. Immediately, they have the commodity code and insights into tariffs, rules of origin, and customs and trade regulations for destination countries.
According to the ASEAN Secretariat, all nomenclatures in the ASEAN Tariff Finder are available in English and reflect the currently applied customs tariffs. The user may use HS product codes, keywords, free texts or the nomenclature tree view to find trade-related information.
The ASEAN Tariff Finder offers information on the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) duty rates, tariff quotas and suspensions, preferential duty rates for goods originating in the ASEAN member states, as well as additional duties levied upon importation. Furthermore, it provides information on turnover taxes such as value added Tax (VAT) or sales taxes, excise duties, or other taxes and charges levied before goods are released.
All country datasets contain a detailed country overview; general requirements relevant for all products; specific requirements for certain products; identification of documents required for customs clearance and market access; and detailed descriptions of the measures with translation of possible forms from the original language into English.
The ASEAN Tariff Finder was launched on August 19, 2023 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Meeting-ASEAN Business Advisory Council Consultation.
To utilize the finder, the company must register to receive an email with a link with which to activate the registration. Once registered, the user can start searching for goods and obtaining trade-related information.
Access to the tool is free of charge for all businesses located within the region. Registration may be done at tariff-finder.asean.org.
Meanwhile, the ASEAN Secretariat is seeking feedback on the platform’s effectiveness in order to guide decisions on the tool’s future development. To participate, click https://forms.gle/6NiJ79p2tCrq1E638. The survey will be open until April 26, 2025.
