On 1 July 2009, the ‘Safety and Security Amendment’ came into effect in the European Union, establishing principles for customs control on goods brought in or out of the EU’s customs territory.

Consequently, the Estonian Tax and Customs Office (ETCB) was required to bring its information systems into compliance with the European Commission DG TAXUD Multi-Annual Strategic Plan (MASP). The goal of the MASP is to increase the efficiency of customs processes, eliminate paper documents, and improve the safety and security of citizens. In connection with the MASP, all member states were required to implement national electronic customs systems and interface them with pan-European systems to exchange, in real time, electronic customs information on traders and the movement of goods.

The MASP systems for the ETCB were developed by Cybernetica, who used its extensive experience to create a unified software- and system architecture to build the various systems upon. The software runs on J2EE platform; it is modular, scalable, and equipped with Web-based user interfaces for officials and customers. The heavy integration of subsystems allows automating many work processes and improving the control over the movement of goods. Key features of the system can also be used over X-Road (a national data exchange layer), enabling enterprises to integrate their customs activities with existing business processes. In addition, the software is integrated with other ETCB information systems such as risk analysis, work order processing, electronic permits, and managing of revenues and guarantees.

Cybernetica completed the work on schedule, and on July 1, 2009, Estonia launched the international customs information systems ICS (Import Control System), ECS (Export Control System), NCTS phase 4 (transit data exchange system) and EORI (a unified EU database for uniquely identifying economic operators for customs procedures); as well as updates to the customs declaration processing system COMPLEX. Notably, Estonia was one of the few of the 27 member states to launch the systems on time (together with Latvia, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Spain, and Portugal).