str. 5The Governments of Brunei Darussalam,the Kingdom of Cambodia,the Republic of Indonesia,the Lao People's Democratic Republic,Malaysia, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, the Republic of the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore, the Kingdom of Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam,Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) (hereinafter collectively referred to as "Member States"or individually as "Member State");
RECOGNISING the role of electronic commerce (ecommerce) in driving economic growth and social development in the ASEAN region;
VALUING the contribution of e-commercein enhancing connectivity and sectoral cooperation in the ASEAN region as embodied in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025 as adopted on 22 November 2015;
BUILDING upon Article 5(Facilitation of the Growth of Electronic Commerce）ofthee-ASEANFramework Agreement signed by ASEAN Leaders on 24 November 2000 in Singapore;
ACKNOWLEDGING the important contribution of ecommerce in facilitating cross-border trade and investment, and in significantly lowering the barriers to entry and operating costs for businesses, particularly Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises;
EMPHASISINGthe importance of coordination and cooperationamong MemberStatestoadvancethe
development and use of e-commerce in the ASEAN region; and
RECOGNiSING the need to facilitate cross-border ecommerce transactions in the ASEAN region to maximise the benefits of regional economic integration,
For the purposes of this Agreement:
- (a) ATISA means the ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement;
- b) Computing facilitiesmeans computer servers and storage devices for processing -or storing information for commercial use;
- Electronic authentication means the process of testing an electronic statementor claim in order to establisha levelofconfidence in thereliabilityof that statement or claim;
- (d) Electronicsignaturehasfor eachMemberState the meaning set out in its laws and regulations;
- (e) GATSmeanstheGeneralAgreementonTradein Services;
- Juridical person means any legal entity duly constitutedorotherwiseorganised underapplicable law of a Member State, whether for profit or otherwise， and whether privately-owned or governmentally-owned, including any corporation,
trust, partnership, joint venture, sole proprietorship or association;
- (g) Juridical person of another Member State means a juridical person which is either:
- i) constituted or otherwise organised under the law of that other Member State, and is engaged in substantive business operations in the territory of that Member State or any other Member State; or
- in the case of the supply of a service through commercial presence, owned or controlled by:
- 1 natural persons of that Member State; or
- (2) juridicalpersonsof that otherMember State identified under subparagraph (i);
- (h) A juridical person is:
- (i) owned by persons of a Member State if more than 50 per cent of the equity interest in it is beneficially owned by persons of that Member State;
- controlledby persons ofaMember Stateif suchpersons havethe power tonamea majority of its directors or otherwise to legally direct its actions;
- affiliated with another person when it controls, or is controlled by, that other person; or when it and theotherperson arebothcontrolledbythe same person;
- Natural person of another Member State means a natural personwhounder thelawof that Member State:
- is a national or citizen of that Member State; or
- i has the right of permanent residence in that Member State,where both that Member State and the Member State in which the person supplies servicesrecognise permanent residents and accord substantially the same treatment to t theirrespective permanent residents as they accord to their respective nationals in respect of measures affecting trade in services;
- (j) Personal information means any information, including data, about an identified or identifiable individual; and
- k Trade administration documents means forms issued or controlled by a Member Statewhich must be completed by or for an importer or exporter in relation to the import or export of goods.
str. 5The objectives of this Agreement are to:
- (a) facilitate cross-border e-commerce transactions in the ASEAN region;
- b) contribute to creating an environment of trust and confidenceintheuseofe-commerceintheASEAN region; and
- ? deepencooperationamongMemberStatesto further develop and intensify the use of e-commerce to drive inclusive growth and narrow development gaps in the ASEAN region.
str. 51. This Agreement shall apply to measures adopted or maintained by a Member State that affect e-commerce. 2. This Agreement shall not apply to government procurement.
str. 51. Nothing in this Agreement shall derogate from the Kue sapun as saqan e jo suoaiao pue suau busixa other relevant ASEAN agreements1 to which it is a party. 2. In the event of any inconsistency between this Agreement and any other relevant ASEAN agreement, that ASEAN agreement shall prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.
str. 51. In the development and promotion of e-commerce, the role of each Member State shall be geared towards providing an enabling legal and regulatory environment, providing a conducive and competitive business environment, and protecting the public interest. 2. The legal and regulatory frameworks in each Member State to support e-commerce shall take into account internationally adopted model laws, conventions, principles or guidelines. 1 The ATISA shall be deemed to be a relevant ASEAN agreement under this paragraph regardless of the date ofen try intoforce of theATISA. 3. Each Member State shall encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution to facilitate the resolution of claimsovere-commercetransactions. 4. Member States shall endeavour to recognise the importance of the principle of technology neutrality and recognise the need for alignment in policy and regulatory approaches among Member States to facilitate cross border e-commerce.
str. 6- Each Member State shall cooperate in areas including:
- (a) Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure;
- (b) education and technology competency;
- C online consumer protection;
- e-commerce legal and regulatory frameworks; d
- (e) electronic transaction security, including protection of online personal information;
- electronic payment and settlement;
- (g) trade facilitation;
- h) intellectual property rights;
- competition;
- D cybersecurity; and
- (k) logistics to facilitate e-commerce. 2. Each Member State shall undertake the following cooperation initiatives, as appropriate:
2. (a) sharing gof information and experiences, and identifying best practices;
3.
str. 7b implementing programmes or projects to provide assistance to Member States to enhance their domestic regulatory frameworks in supportof ecommerce and topromotebroader application of ecommerce; and
4. establishing cooperation mechanisms among competent authorities S to facilitate prompt investigation and resolution of fraudulent incidents related to e-commerce transactions and other matters agreed to by Member States.
str. 7EachMember State shall expand the use of electronic versionsof trade administration documents andfacilitate theexchangeofelectronicdocumentsthrough theuse of ICT consistent with the provisions of the ASEAN Agreement on Customs signed on 30 March 2012 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and other international agreements on paperless trading to whichMember States are parties.
str. 7- (a) Except in circumstances otherwise provided for underitslawsandregulations,aMemberState shall not deny thelegal validity of a signature solely onthebasisthatthesignatureisinelectronicform. - Note: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar shall not be obliged to implement subparagraph (a) for a period of five years after the date of entry into force of this Agreement.
str. 8- (b) Each Member State shall maintain or adopt, as soon as practicable, measures based on international norms for electronic authentication that:
- i) permitparticipantsinelectronictransactionsto determine the appropriate authentication technologies and implementation models for their electronic transactions;
- ii do not limit the recognition of authentication technologies and implementation models; and
- permitparticipantsinelectronictransactionsto have the opportunity to prove that their electronic Ctransactionscomply with that Member State's laws and regulations with respect to authentication. - (C) Notwithstanding subparagraph (b), each Member State may require that, for a particular category of electronic transactions, the method of authentication meet certain performance standards orbecertifiedbyanauthorityaccreditedin accordancewith thelaws andregulationsof that Member State. - (d) Each Member State shall encourage the use of interoperableelectronicauthentication.
str. 9Online Consumer Protection
- a) Member States recognise the importance of adopting and maintaining transparent and effective
consumerprotectionmeasuresfore-commerce as wellas othermeasures conduciveto the development of consumer confidence. - (b) Each Member State shall provide protection for consumersusinge-commercethataffordsasimilar level of protection to that provided for consumers of other forms of commerce under its relevant laws, regulations and policies. Note: Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar shall not be obliged to implement subparagraph (b) for a period of fiveyears after the date of entry into force of this Agreement. - (c) Member States recognise the importance of cooperation between their respective competent authorities in charge of consumer protection on activities related toe-commerce in order to enhance consumerprotection. 4. Cross-border Transfer of. Information by Electronic Means
- (a) Member States. recognise the importance of allowing information to flow across borders through electronic means, provided that such information shall be used for business purposes, and subject to their respective laws and regulations. - Member States agree to facilitate cross-border ecommerce by working towards eliminating or minimising barriers to the flow of information across borders, including personal information, subject to appropriate safeguards to ensure security and confidentiality of information , and when other legitimate public policy objectives so dictate. - Subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall not apply to financial services and financial service suppliers as defined in the Annex on Financial Services of GATS. 5. OnlinePersonal InformationProtection
- (a) Each Member State shall adopt or maintain measures to protect the personal information of the usersofe-commerce. - b] A MemberStateshall notbeobliged toimplement subparagraph (a) before the date on which that Member State enacts laws or regulations to protect the personal information of e-commerce users. - C In the development of personal information protection measures,each Member State shall take into account international principles, guidelines and criteriaof relevant international bodies. 6. Location of Computing Facilities
- (a) Member States recognise that each Member State may have its ownregulatoryrequirements regarding the use of computing facilities, including requirements that seek to ensure the security and confidentiality ofcommunications.
str. 11- b) Member States agree not to require, subject to their respective laws and regulations, a juridical person ofanother Member State and its affiliated companies to locate their computing facilities in their respective territories as arequirement for operating a business in their respective territories. - (c)Subparagraphs (a) and (b) shall not apply to financial services and financial service suppliers as
definedintheAnnexonFinancialServicesof GATS.
str. 11Member States recognise the importance of:
- (a) building the capabilities of their national entities responsible for cybersecurity including through the exchangeofbestpractices;and
- using existingcollaboration mechanisms to cooperate on matters related to cybersecurity.
str. 11Member States recognise the importance of safe and secure, efficient, and interoperable e-payment systems while takingintoaccountthereadinessofeachMemberStatein terms of capacity, infrastructure, and regulation of e-payment systems. 2. Each Member State shall encourage theuse ofsafe and secure, efficient, and interoperable e-payment systems to facilitatee-commerceinaccordancewithitslawsand regulations.
str. 11Member States recognise the importance of efficient cross-border logistics. 2. EachMemberStateshallendeavourtolowerthecost and improve the speed and reliability of supply chains.
str. 12Each Member State shall regularly engage with relevant stakeholders,including the private sector,academic institutions, international organisations, and other relevant partners, to promote the exchange of information and generate feedback, inputs or proposals on the development of e-commerce.
str. 12Each Member State shall maintain, or adopt as soon as practicable, laws and regulations governing electronic transactions taking into account applicable international conventions or model laws relating to e-commerce.
str. 121. Each Member State shall publish as promptly as possible or, where that is not practicable, otherwise make publicly available all relevant measures of general application pertaining to or affecting the operation of this Agreement. The form of publication shallincludeonline publicationwhere feasible. 2. Each Member State shall respond as promptly as possible to requests by another Member State for specific information on any of its measures of general application pertaining to or affecting the operation of this Agreement.
str. 12Articles XIV and XIV bis of GATS are incorporated into and made part of this Agreement, mutatis mutandis.
str. 131. TheASEANProtocol onEnhancedDisputeSettlement Mechanism signed on 29 November 2004 in Vientiane, La0 PDR, or its successor, shall apply to the settlement of disputes concerning the interpretation or implementation of this Agreement. 2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to Article 6 (Cooperation).
str. 131. The ASEAN SeniorEconomic OfficialsMeeting(SEOM) shall oversee the implementation of this Agreement.SEOM shall tasktheASEAN CoordinatingCommitteeonElectronic Commerce (ACCEC) to coordinate, monitor and review the implementation of this Agreement incollaborationwith other ASEAN sectoral bodies, with the support of the ASEAN Secretariat. 2. SEOM shall regularly update the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting on the status of implementation of this Agreementbased on thestatusreportssubmitted byACCEC.
str. 13MemberStates shallundertake ajoint review²of this Agreement no later than three years from the date of entry into forceofthisAgreementandeverythreeyearsthereafter, unless otherwise agreed by Member States. Such review shall include considering the need for additional commitments under thisAgreement. 2This review shall include,but not be limited to,paragraphs4 and6 of Article 7 (Facilitating Cross-BorderE-Commerce),asmutuallyagreedbyMemberStates.
str. 14The provisions of this Agreement may be amended by mutual agreement of the Member States in writing.
str. 141. This Agreement shall enter into force upon the deposit of the instruments of ratification, approval or acceptance by the Member States with the Secretary-General of ASEAN. 2. The Secretary-General of ASEAN shall promptly notify the Member States of the deposit referred to in paragraph 1. 3. This Agreement shall be deposited with the SecretaryGeneral of ASEAN, who shall promptly furnish a certified copy thereof to each Member State. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments, have signed this Agreement. ofJanuary in the Year Two Thousand and Nineteen, in a single original copy in the English language.