Automated System for Customs Data
The Automated System for Customs Data is a computerized system designed by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to administer a country's customs. In 2004 there were more than 50 operational project with expenditures exceeding US$7 million. It is the largest technical cooperation programme of the UNCTAD covering over 80 countries and 4 regional projects.
Currently there are three different generations of ASYCUDA in use: ASYCUDA 2.7, ASYCUDA++ and ASYCUDA World. All of them were built using different paradigms and solutions available at the time of conception, being ASYCUDA World the most recent one and less used so far (early 2009).
UNCTAD premise was to build a computer system to assist customs authorities (or their local equivalent) all over the world to automate and control their core processes and obtain timely, accurate and valuable information to support government projections and planning.