RIYADH: The Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority recently incorporated Robotic Process Automation technology to automate its operations to ensure customer services are delivered in record time “in accordance with the highest global quality standards,” according to Hijer Al-Badrani, the vice governor of information technology and digitalization. As part of its initiatives to harness AI technologies and solutions in all areas, the authority’s new technology, called the Digital Officer, represents a paradigm shift to improve digital services. الموظف الرقمي "زياد".. ينضم إلى فريق عمل #الزكاة_والضريبة_والجمارك . pic.twitter.com/9m93PvTiO4 — هيئة الزكاة والضريبة والجمارك (@Zatca_sa) December 27, 2022 Al-Badrani told Arab News that the authority successfully started using RPA technology to carry out traditional manual work by the customs operations center, such as sorting, data entry, and identifying reliable shipments, while staff focus will shift to tasks that require cognitive work. He noted that the Digital Officer has many advantages, notably optimizing time by accomplishing tasks simultaneously, reducing human error, and raising productivity by automating tasks. According to Al-Badrani, one of the most important goals achieved by RPA technology was to increase productivity, noting that employees would take an average of 20 minutes to handle some transactions, while “through RPA the same work is completed in 14 seconds.” HIGH LIGHT The Digital Officer has many advantages, notably optimizing time by accomplishing tasks simultaneously, reducing human error, and raising productivity by automating tasks. One of the clear advantages of the technology is the automation of services that consume staff time and effort, freeing them from their traditional recurring tasks; he explained that this enables them to focus their potential on other work. Al-Badrani affirmed that the launch of the Automated Operations Technology Project is part of the Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority keeping pace with technical development taking place in the Kingdom as the most advanced G20 country in digital competitiveness. The authority is a partner in national digital transformation as part of Vision 2030, and this is reflected in the robust digital infrastructure that enables it to meet various challenges and respond quickly to unforeseen circumstances. ZATCA is constantly exploring new ways to improve the efficiency of its operational work, speed up procedures, and the RPA has been instrumental in achieving these objectives. Al-Badrani concluded that there is no defined life span for service provided via the technology, but that “advances in this technology should be pursued and upgraded to the latest versions available on the global market.”