Customs handling and sustainable development of enterprises

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to present the essence of customs handling in the context of sustainable development of enterprises and to discuss its selected instruments of a pro-ecological nature, i.e., e-customs services. Thus, with a view to achieving this objective, the research hypothesis has been formulated as follows: the so-called pro-ecological solutions for handling customs administrative procedures, being familiar with them and their practical application, not only influence the facilitation of export and import transactions, but can also stimulate sustainable development management of enterprises. The article includes a theoretical part, as well as a practical one, in which examples of e-customs services offered in customs handling and benefits resulting from their use are indicated. The findings of the considerations of the paper are presented in the conclusion. The research was based on descriptive and comparative analysis, preceded by a review of sources from the subject literature. In the author’s opinion, transferring selected elements of customs handling from traditional processing to the model which takes advantage of modern information and communication technologies (ICT) helps companies to implement the idea of sustainable development. Information technologies play a key role in reducing the negative impact on the environment, and their development has created numerous new opportunities for customs handling, which are used by customs authorities with increasing success. It is important that over the coming years, the development of e-services for customs handling is continued, thus not only contributing to an improvement of the quality of business services but also the implementation of other aspects that are also crucial from the point of view of sustainable development of enterprises.