In October, OMV Deutschland GmbH went live with an integrated solution for the Excise Movement and Control System (EMCS). Based in Bavaria, the petroleum company now becomes a pioneer for the industry, since many companies are only using simple web-based, non-integrated solutions to handle the new electronic customs processing system. The consulting and software company Implico has now integrated the EMCS functionality into the OpenTAS Terminal Management and Automation System at OMV.
OMV has deployed OpenTAS since 1999 for the automation of loading and shipping processes and has used the latest version 4.5. from June 2010. The solution developed by Implico was certified by the German customs authorities for use with EMCS in March and enables the fully-automated handling of EMCS processes.
EMCS is an electronic haulage and monitoring system for the cross-border transportation of goods subject to excise duty within the European Union. This also includes petroleum products. The system replaces the previous paper-based procedure. The "Administrative Accompanying Document" (AAD) is now replaced by the "electronic Administrative Accompanying Document" (e-AAD), which enables shipping to be handled more efficiently. Another advantage is that both the companies involved and the customs authorities can use EMCS to monitor the movement of goods in real-time. Deployment of the system will be mandatory from January 2011.
In the future, cross-border shipments in Germany must be registered via a customs web portal or with certified software like OpenTAS. Compared to web-based solutions, however, integrated packages such as OpenTAS offer immense advantages. The automated transfer of loading data to the customs authorities (via a certified interface) considerably improves data security while also increasing efficiency by making 24-hour operation possible. Nor do any new, manual work processes need to be introduced for shipping offices. Finally, an all-in-one system is also considerably cheaper to run.
The employees at the OMV refinery at the Burghausen depot are now benefiting from the seamless integration of EMCS workflows into their terminal management system. The electronic registration with customs takes place immediately after loading and contains all of the data relevant for excise purposes. The e-AAD – plus reference code – is then returned rapidly to the loading point, thus providing the approval for the transportation. This means that drivers can leave the delivery point within a short space of time after loading. Fully-automated execution of EMCS operations is currently in its pilot phase and the go-live is planned for the end of November.
The A-1 fuel jet is being used as the pilot product for fully-automated electronic customs handling in OpenTAS. Step by step, this system will be extended to cross-border shipments of all petroleum products. The second German OMV depot at Feldkirchen is planned to switch over to the automated EMCS procedure before the end of the year.
For more information, please visit www.implico.com.