MNTR carries the purpose of harmonizing the regional disciplines on transparency to trade. Practicing regulatory transparency that act as fundamental catalyst in commerce that will enable the development of economic, cross-border investment and trade, and integration between country all over the globe.

The MNTR contains the trade and customs laws and procedures of all AMSs and trade-related information which are: (i) tariff nomenclature; (ii) MFN tariffs, preferential tariffs offered under this Agreement and other Agreements of ASEAN with its Dialogue Partners; (iii) rules of origin; (iv) non-tariff measures; (v) national trade and customs laws and rules; (vi) procedures and documentary requirements; (vii) administrative rulings; (viii) best practices in trade facilitation applied by each Member State; and (ix) list of authorized traders of AMSs.

The categorized information that has being form as parts of the National Trade Repository (NTR) are define in Article 13 of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.