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Issue: WCO News 77
Operation Cosmo – the first ever global WCO operation on strategic goods
Flash Info
...As part of its Strategic Trade Controls Enforcement (STCE) Project, the WCO organized an unprecedented law enforcement operation to detect and prevent illicit trafficking of strategic goods in international supply chains. The operation, which went under the code name of ‘Cosmo’, brought together 89 WCO Member Customs administrations and their national partners to coalesce around the goals of international security and non-proliferation. Operation Cosmo benefited from the support of the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Office network and of the Organization’s international part...
Issue: WCO News 78
New book provides insight into the economic benefits of implementing a single window system
Flash Info
...The adoption of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in December 2013 at the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Ministerial Conference held in Bali, Indonesia, was a landmark achievement for the global trade community. The so-called ‘Bali Package’ marked an end to trade negotiations that had dragged on for over a decade. In a broader context the agreement breathed new life into the WTO’s style of multilateralism, which many had started to doubt due to the persistent deadlocks in trade negotiations experienced in previous years. ...
Issue: WCO News 79
New book examines existing collaborative mechanisms aimed at protecting the environment in a more efficient way
Flash Info
... The WCO is among the impressive range of contributors from policy, enforcement and academic circles who contributed to the 2015 volume of the Palgrave Studies in Green Criminology, titled ‘Environmental Crime and Collaborative State Intervention.’ The book sheds light on how collaborative networks form in the context of the fight against environmental crime, and what opportunities they offer for all stakeholders. ...
Issue: WCO News 80
Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement added to WCO Comparative Study on Preferential Rules of Origin
Flash Info
...The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement was signed on 4 February 2016. It aims to establish a more seamless trade and investment environment through commonly-agreed rules and the promotion of transparent laws and regulations, providing greater certainty for businesses, reducing costs and red tape, and facilitating participation in regional supply chains. The TPP is the first of the so-called ‘mega-regional’ free trade agreements (FTAs), a term which refers to deep integration between countries, or regions with a major share of world trade and foreign direct investment (FDI)...
Issue: WCO News 82
A new module in ASYCUDA speeds up the processing of relief consignments
Flash Info
...In major humanitarian crises, whether natural disasters or complex emergencies, many relief goods are delayed by Customs. Sometimes these items are only released months after their arrival, and, in the worst-case scenario, may never reach the affected population. The reason for such delays is that Customs authorities are often not adequately prepared to process the large amount of relief items that usually arrive in a disaster stricken country within a very short period of time. The case of the Philippines after Typhoon Haiyan struck in November 2013 gives an idea of the volumes invo...
Issue: WCO News 83
Image format standardization: a revolution in the making
Flash Info
...Non-intrusive inspection (NII) technology is now being used by Customs administrations around the world to increase the efficiency of their inspection capability, and speed up the clearance process. It consists of various technologies with different capabilities that are able to identify specific goods and materials during the inspection process. Among them are high-energy cargo scanning systems, which allow the screening of different modes of transport such as cars, trucks, railway wagons and sea containers, as well as personal luggage, packages, parcels and other mail through either X-ray...
Issue: WCO News 84
Pre-loading advance cargo information: latest status update
Flash Info
...In October 2010, a bomb was found by police in the United Kingdom (UK) aboard a UPS plane after detailed information was passed through intelligence channels. Tests revealed that if the cargo plane’s journey had gone to schedule, the device – in a package addressed to a synagogue in Chicago – would have gone off in midair over the eastern seaboard of the United States (US). The device found in the UK was one of two discovered. The other was at Dubai International Airport on a FEDEX plane. The device found in Dubai had travelled on two passenger planes without being detected. Both ...
Issue: WCO News 85
Save the date!
Flash Info
... WCO Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Trade Mis-invoicing 23 May 2018, Brussels, Belgium The Conference is being organized by the WCO at its Headquarters, bringing together Members of the WCO and other relevant stakeholders to share their experiences and to discuss how they can cooperate and work in tandem to counter illicit financial flows (IFFs) and trade mis-invoicing. The morning session will focus on the assessment of both phenomena and on methods of detection, with a particular focus on unit price analysis and mirror ...
Issue: WCO News 86
More WCO tools to assist revenue collection to be launched soon
Flash Info
...The WCO’s Revenue Package (RP) is nearing the completion of its third phase, which will see the launch in June 2018 of a number of new tools and material for Customs administrations. The motto of the RP is “fair and efficient revenue collection,” the objective being to strengthen the capacity of Customs administrations to identify and collect all revenue that is legally due. This requires Customs, and the business community, to have deep technical knowledge of the building blocks for establishing duty liability – namely, Customs valuation, classification, and preferential ori...
Issue: WCO News 81
Council 2016
Dossier
...Directors General of Customs gathered at WCO Headquarters from 14 to 16 July 2016 to endorse the work done by the Organization covering the period July 2015 to June 2016, and to chart the way forward in the months ahead. This dossier touches on the WCO’s main areas of work – compliance, facilitation, tariff and trade affairs, and capacity building – and presents the progress made and initiatives taken in each of these areas over the 12 month period. It also reports interesting events that occurred during the Council. ...
Issue: WCO News 87
Rules of Origin Facilitator: a new tool to help MSMEs benefit from tariff preferences
Flash Info
...  There are currently over 400 free trade agreements and preferential trade arrangements in place worldwide, which establish lower rates of Customs duties for certain goods provided that specified origin criteria are met. However, many companies ignore the fact that they can claim tariff preferences, or, if they do know that such schemes exist, they do not understand how to verify that the goods they buy or sell are eligible for preferential treatment. As a result, many potential beneficiaries pay the tariff that applies to goods originating in countries that are not part...
Issue: WCO News 88
WCO and EU jointly support the application of the Harmonized System in Africa
Flash Info
... Uniting Africa with a common trade nomenclature is the goal of a new European Union (EU) funded programme being conducted by the WCO. The 41-month programme, called “Harmonizing the classification of goods based on WCO standards to enhance African trade,” focuses on the development of organizational and technical capacities for the uniform implementation and application of the WCO’s Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System – generally referred to as the “HS” – and further includes assistance relating to the implementation...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
From the WCO drawing board to Customs strategic plans: is the nCEN Programme taking Customs by storm?
Flash Info
...When it all began, in 2013, the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) application was only used in one country which needed a tool to collect, store, analyse, and disseminate law enforcement information efficiently in order to establish robust intelligence capabilities. . In the first year after its release, eight countries began using the application, and, as time went on, others followed suit. Today, nCEN has been deployed in 35 Customs administrations, and concrete plans are in place to increase this number to 50 by the end of 2020. The fast growth in the number of nCEN coun...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Post-clearance audit: two new publications for Customs authorities
Flash Info
... Fraud Detected Through Post-Clearance Audit and Its Techniques This publication brings together information on various fraud cases discovered though post-clearance audit (PCA) in 2022. It explains how the fraud was committed and how auditors examined information in order to reveal the facts. The focus is on providing information-gathering techniques (what financial accounts to look at in the accounting books, what business documents to check in the taxpayer’s office and what questions to ask taxpayers i...
Issue: WCO News 74
Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Project: a new component of the WCO Compliance and Enforcement Package
Flash Info
... One year ago, the WCO Secretariat launched a Strategic Trade Control Enforcement (STCE) Project as directed by the WCO Enforcement Committee and in response to calls for technical assistance from WCO Members. The Project’s anniversary marks a good opportunity to take stock of what has been accomplished so far, and what remains to be done. Strategic goods are defined as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), conventional weapons, and related items involved in the development, production or use of such weapons and their delivery systems. Anot...
Issue: WCO News 77
Update on the WCO Revenue Package
Flash Info
...New tools have recently been developed as part of the WCO’s Revenue Package, which collates all material relevant to improving revenue collection and compliance levels. Diagnostic Tool on Tariff Classification, Valuation and Origin Work and Related Infrastructure; and Guidelines on Customs Infrastructure for Tariff Classification, Valuation and Origin (Members only) The aim of this new material is to provide a road map and self-assessment mechanism which will help WCO Members to assess their current level, identify weakn...
Issue: WCO News 78
Tribute to Professor Hironori Asakura
Flash Info
...2 July 2015 marked a sad day on the WCO calendar when the international Customs community learned of the passing of Professor Hironori Asakura, one of the founding fathers of the WCO’s Harmonized System (HS), at the age of 87. His relationship with the WCO dates back to 1968. Professor Asakura held several positions within what was then the Nomenclature Directorate, which became the Nomenclature and Classification ...
Issue: WCO News 79
New WCO guide for updating preferential rules of origin
Flash Info
...Goods classification and origin determination of goods are closely interlinked. Typically, the requirements for determining origin are specified for individual products or product categories identified according to their respective Harmonized System (HS) code. Classification of goods is, therefore, of the utmost importance in establishing which Rules of Origin (RoO) apply to a good. Moreover, in many cases, the RoO to be applied will refer to a change in tariff classification (CTC) at chapter, heading or subheading level, a criterion which requires correct classification of the final...
Issue: WCO News 81
Members of the WCO engage on e-commerce, security, coordinated border management, illicit trade, and revenue at the July 2016 WCO Council Sessions
Dossier
...During the 126th/127th Sessions of the WCO Council, which took place in July of this year, Heads of Customs administrations representing the 180 Members of the WCO engaged on many critical topics, such as e-commerce, security, Customs-Police cooperation, Customs-Tax cooperation, protection of cultural heritage, and revenue. In this article, I take up each of these topics in turn. E-commerce The changing trade landscape is a dramatic development for Customs, especially the growth in e-commerce and the associat...
Issue: WCO News 80
WCO releases new instrument on transfer pricing and Customs valuation
Flash Info
...An important new instrument was finalized at the April 2016 session of the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation (TCCV). The instrument is Case Study 14.1, illustrating a specific scenario where Customs took into account transfer pricing information in the course of verifying the Customs value, which should benefit Customs authorities and business alike. Transfer pricing refers to the price for goods and services sold between controlled or related legal entities. Multinational companies determine a transfer price in order to allocate profits among their different parts, which in turn...
Issue: WCO News 82
New global HS standard enters into force
Flash Info
...The new edition of the WCO Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature entered into force on 1 January 2017. The changes in HS 2017 encompass 242 sets of amendments relating to a wide range of products and product groups, including: fish and fishery products; forestry products; antimalarial products; substances controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention; hazardous chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention; persistent organic pollutants controlled under the Stockholm Convention; ceramic tiles; light-emitting ...
Issue: WCO News 83
Dossier: Sweeping away corruption through collective action
Dossier
...In the dossier section of this edition of the magazine, we have chosen to focus on the use of ‘collective action’ to fight corruption, an expression which arose out of a concern to find an innovative approach to address integrity-related issues. ...
Issue: WCO News 84
New instrument on royalties and licence fees
Flash Info
...An important new instrument was finalized at the May 2017 session of the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation (TCCV). The instrument, Advisory Opinion 4.17, deals with a scenario where royalties have been paid by a franchisee to a franchisor for the use of the brands and system connected to the operation of stores under a franchise agreement. Under Article 8.1(c) of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Customs Valuation, the Customs value of imported goods should include royalties and licence fees related to the goods being valued that the buyer must pay, eithe...
Issue: WCO News 85
WCO to place a spotlight on “disruptive technologies” in April 2018
Flash Info
...A whole day will be devoted to “disruptive technologies” at the meeting of the WCO’s Permanent Technical Committee (PTC) that is scheduled to take place from 16 to 20 April 2018. Delegates will discuss, in detail, the potential benefits, risks and impact of technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, machine learning, virtual reality, the Internet of Things, robotics and biometrics, on the work of Customs. Moreover, they will examine a Study Report compiling all relevant work already done on these topics under the auspices of the WCO Virtual Working Group on the F...
Issue: WCO News 86
Global Montreal Protocol Award
Flash Info
...Applications for the Global Montreal Protocol Award are now being accepted. Eligible nominees include Customs and enforcement officers or their respective organizations. Nominees must have successfully prevented illegal or unwanted trade in hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) as well as equipment or products containing or relying on the use of these chemicals. Both groups of chemicals are widely used as refrigerants and foam blowing agents: HCFCs contribute to ozone layer depletion and global warming. They will gradually be phased...
Issue: WCO News 87
New version of the TRS Guide
Flash Info
...  The WCO has released a new edition of the “Guide to Measure the Time Required for the Release of Goods,” known as the Time Release Study (TRS) Guide. An update of the TRS software and its User Manual will follow in the coming months. The WCO Time Release Study is an internationally accepted strategic tool to measure the actual time taken for the release and/or clearance of goods – from the time of arrival until the physical release of cargo – as well as the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures relating to imports, exports and transit movements of go...
Issue: WCO News 88
Mapping informality
Flash Info
...The Global Informality Project is a research project aimed at collecting studies on informal practices and structures around the globe. Launched in 2014, the database is available online at www.in-formality.com and is searchable by region, country, keyword or type of practice. More than 250 scholars from 70 countries have already participated in the Project by submitting their work to the online platform, enabling readers to better comprehend the unwritten rules, or “ways of getting things done”, in their countries or region. ...
Issue: WCO News 89
Small Island Economies: the WCO’s renewed focus
Flash Info
...The WCO’s initiative on “Small Island Economies” (SIEs) was launched in June 2018 with the aim of providing the Customs administrations of such economies with tailor-made capacity building and technical assistance that would help them to curb illicit trade and smuggling more effectively, while facilitating trade flows and reducing the costs of doing business across borders. Various challenges There is no formal definition of SIEs, their “smallness” often referring to the size of their population, th...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
UNODC-WCO Container Control Programme: 15 years old and still going strong
Flash Info
...Identifying shipments containing prohibited or smuggled goods is somewhat like searching for the proverbial “needle in a haystack” for Customs officers. Let’s keep this image in mind: modern container ships are like massive “haystacks,” each carrying up to 20,000 containers. It’s the same with planes: while the volume of goods they carry is less impressive, it is still substantial, and the rise of e-commerce has generated fleets of all-cargo aircraft carrying thousands of individual parcels across the globe. Aware of these challenges, the WCO and the United Nations Office...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
WCO Revised Arusha Declaration: putting integrity back in the spotlight
Flash Info
...Since the late 1980s, WCO Members have been drawing and sharing lessons from their experiences in combating corruption and promoting integrity. They identified various factors that effective national Customs integrity programmes must address, and consolidated them into 12 and later 10 factors[1] in the Arusha Declaration Concerning Good Governance and Integrity in Customs, which w...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Controlling general aviation: WCO mapping tool nearing completion
Flash Info
...In early 2019, and in partnership with the European Union, the WCO launched the COLIBRI Project to assist Customs administrations in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Africa in im...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
WCO Cargo Targeting system gets upgraded
Flash Info
...The WCO has released an upgraded version of its Cargo Targeting System (WCO CTS). This enhancement has been made possible thanks to financial support provided by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, and assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Whilst the software retains the same features, it presents them in a new and intuitive way that enhances the user experience. This new version also future-proofs the System for the coming years by strengthening its security and making it easy to adapt to the evolving needs of Customs adm...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
The WCO launches its new strategic planning cycle
Flash Info
...In December 2019, the WCO Policy Commission clearly expressed the need to strengthen the linkage between the WCO Strategic Plan, a document that sets the objectives and concrete targets to be met by WCO Members over a three-year period, and the Environmental Scan, which offers an annual view of the main global trends currently impacting Customs’ operations or which could affect them in the future. In addition, through various WCO working bodies, Members have sought the use of a forward-looking methodology to prepare more effectively for the upcoming challenges and opportunities facing the...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
WCO launches new IPR-related tools
Flash Info
...The WCO Secretariat recently developed two new intellectual property right (IPR)-related tools: the Training Handbook on Legal and Practical Measures Against Offences Relating to Intellectual Property Rights and the IPR Self-Assessment Tool. They supplement the Model Legislation, the IPR Diagnostic Tool and the Handbook for Customs Officers on Risk Indicators: Factors for Intellectual Property Infringement. ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
The COLIBRI Geoportal: a mapping tool for enforcement
Flash Info
...At the start of 2019, in partnership with the European Union, the WCO Secretariat launched the COLIBRI Project to help administrations responsible for enforcement in Latin America, the Caribbean and West Africa to implement effective controls in general aviation. General aviation covers all civil aviation other than commercial activities (sports and leisure aviation, private aviation, business aviation and aerial work). Behind the project lies the recognition that the law enforcement authorities find it very difficult to carry out effective controls on small aircraft and detect the u...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Operation STOP II: Key trends
Flash Info
...In 2020, the WCO Secretariat ran the first ever Operation STOP initiative to assist Customs enforcement services in enhancing their capacity to control the medical products which are generally used to diagnose or treat COVID-19. An article listing the achievements of the Operation was published in the 94th edition of WCO News in February 2021. That year saw the worldwide launch of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, and the Secretariat t...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
WCO COVID-19 Project: results and way forward
Flash Info
... When COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, the Government of Japan decided to provide funding to the WCO Secretariat to ensure Customs administrations had at their disposal comprehensive guidance material and tools to effectively respond to such disruptive events and could receive assistance if needed. The WCO COVID-19 Project was born. This article provides an overview of what was achieved during the past two years. In June 2011, Heads of Customs at the WCO Council session adopted a “Resolution on the Role of Customs in Natural Dis...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Programme Global Shield: a look into new activities planned for the next three years
Flash Info
... Following the signature of two new grant agreements with the European Union and the US Department of State, new activities have been scheduled under Programme Global Shield (PGS) for the next three years (mid-2022 to mid-2025) for the benefit of all WCO Members. Launched in 2010, PGS is an initiative aimed at building Customs capacity to monitor the licit movement and counter the illicit trafficking and diversion of explosive precursor chemicals and other components of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). The threat posed by IEDs is a global pr...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
To read: WCO Trendspotter Study on Customs-Related Commercial Fraud
Flash Info
...The WCO has published its first Trendspotter Study, with the aim of identifying trends in commercial fraud involving trade in goods. The Study was written by a project team with the assistance of experts from Customs administrations, and was funded by Korea Customs. The Trendspotter methodology was developed by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) for the rapid assessment of emerging drug-related trends. It aims, in particular, to make it possible to study phenomena for which we do not have a precise set of data and “involves the co...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Operation Arena Blanca: Customs administrations of the Americas and Caribbean region mobilize to counter IED production
Flash Info
...The threat of an improvised explosive device (IED) attack is a global problem. Although not a recent phenomenon, the use of IEDs in modern warfare and by terrorist groups has grown exponentially in the 21st century. Part of the reason that IEDs are so prevalent is that they are cheap and relatively easy to manufacture. They can be made from a range of materials, including commercially available chemicals such as ammonium nitrate and potassium chlorate – two chemicals used in the production of fertilizers. Most of the attacks carried out with IEDs have a cross-border compone...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Supporting trade integration in Africa: two new publications under the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme
Flash Info
... Comprehensive Comparative Study on applicable rules of origin in the East and Southern African (ESA) region The ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Measuring to learn, innovate and continually improve
Dossier: measuring performance
...Everywhere I have been these last few months, I have seen new technologies being deployed, new practices being implemented, and new projects being launched with the objective of transforming ideas into concrete results to serve the public interest. Customs is truly a world of change. In order for those dynamics to be perceived, to demonstrate that positive changes are happening, and shed light on the need for adjustments, as well as to ultimately improve decision-making in government, we need to measure results, outcomes and impact. Managing and measuring performance has many ...
Issue: WCO News 77
Global Trade and Customs Journal, the premier journal for international trade practitioners
Flash Info
...The Global Trade and Customs Journal (GTCJ) is celebrating its 10th year of publication. In its first decade, the Journal focused its work on the issues facing int...
Issue: WCO News 78
Project INAMA: enhancing Sub-Saharan Customs’ capacity to fight illegal wildlife trade
Flash Info
...In October 2014, the WCO launched a new project aimed at enhancing Customs’ capacity to counter wildlife trafficking by ensuring that all trade in wild plants and animals, and any products derived from them, is legal in terms of the implementing provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), as well as under any relevant national legislation. Named INAMA, a word which means ‘wild animals’ in the language of the Zambian Bemba tribe, the project is not the first wildlife-focused initiative undertaken by the WCO. In fact,...
Issue: WCO News 79
Digital Customs, the opportunities of the Information Age
Dossier
...The world is turning digital, faster than we could have imagined, and public administrations are also moving online just as fast. Information and Communications Technology (ICT) is everywhere in today’s Customs workplace. From the use of ICT in office automation, to the use of the Internet to publish and disseminate information, to the use of automated clearance systems to make declarations, perform risk management, undertake validation and processing, and eventually to issue approvals, ICT has transformed the way that Customs and governments operate. During the last Sessions of th...
Issue: WCO News 80
Some thoughts on illicit trade
Dossier
...Much has been said about illicit trade and over the years many articles touching on this subject have been published in this magazine covering, amongst others, drugs, tobacco, ivory, counterfeiting, cash and dual-use goods. In this edition we put the spotlight on some lesser known illicit trade issues such as cultural goods, small arms, fisheries crime, and illicit pesticides, in an endeavour to share pragmatic ideas and ways that can help us to devise strategies in which to confront these existing menaces. In this article I will be taking stock of what we have achieved together in t...
Issue: WCO News 82
Data analysis: seizing opportunities for effective border management
Dossier
...Data is generated by every economic activity, including by the movement of goods and people. In fact, the convergence of several technologies is accelerating the generation of data. According to experts, the volume of data continues to double every three years as information pours in from digital platforms, wireless sensors, virtual-reality applications, and billions of mobile phones. In addition, data storage capacity has increased, while its cost has plummeted. Data scientists now have unprecedented computing power at their disposal, and they are devising algorithms that are ever more sop...
Issue: WCO News 83
Integrity: what we have learned and what we still need to learn
Dossier
...By the very nature of their activities, Customs administrations are vulnerable to various sorts of corruption – from the payment of a bribe to large-scale fraud. Since the adoption of the Arusha Declaration in 1993, which was later revised in 2003, the WCO has developed several tools to help its Members identify or monitor corruption risks, implement relevant measures, and develop anti-corruption strategies. Moreover, the WCO also carries out various types of missions at the request of its Members, such as integrity assessment missions, missions to provide guidance on the introduct...
Issue: WCO News 85
WCO to launch an e-learning portal for the private sector
Flash Info
...On 1 May 2018, the WCO will launch the “WCO Academy,” an online platform where representatives from the private sector will be able to access e-learning courses, webinars, books and news. The WCO has already developed 23 Customs-focused e-learning courses covering more than 500 hours of e-training on major international instruments, topics and concepts that contribute to enhancing the work of Customs officers from across the globe, directly at their work place. It is now making specific courses available to private sector professionals, which have been suitably adjusted to meet their ne...
Issue: WCO News 86
WCO launches its online academy for the trade community
Flash Info
...The brand new WCO e-learning portal aimed at building the Customs skills of trade professionals is now live. Courses currently address the following topics: Harmonized System (five sector specific courses) Agriculture & Agrifood Chemicals Industry & Construction Textiles Art & Jewellery WCO Data Model (two courses) Managers Practitioners Customs Valuation (two courses) Valuat...
Issue: WCO News 81
Tariff and Trade Affairs
Dossier
... Cross-cutting activities: Revenue Package and Advance Rulings The WCO continued to assist its Members in the implementation of the Revenue Package which provides guidance and good practices for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of revenue collection. WCO experts conducted a national and a regional seminar to promote the Revenue Package and Advance Rulings. The national seminar was held in Swaziland to assist the country’s Revenue Authority in implementing an advance ruling system for classification...
Issue: WCO News 87
Support for humanitarian aid: WCO successfully concludes the innovative C-RED project
Flash Info
...  © UNMEER Back in 2016, t...
Issue: WCO News 88
New WCO Strategic Plan in the pipeline
Flash Info
...Every Organization, whether public or private, national or international, must have a Strategic Plan, in other words a roadmap for achieving its objectives. When such a document is missing, or not reviewed regularly, each element of an Organization tends to work on its own, sometimes regardless of the wider goals that the Organization is seeking to achieve. The WCO is no exception, and its Secretariat needs a strategic plan to carry out the Organization’s day-to-day activities along the right lines, whilst ensuring that the efforts of its staff are fully focused on the achievement of iden...
Issue: WCO News 89
WCO releases new Customs tools to advance gender equality and diversity
Flash Info
...Gender equality and diversity has been part of the WCO capacity building agenda since 2013. In continuing its efforts to promote the advancement of gender equality and diversity in Customs, the WCO launched a number of new tools and initiatives in the past year. Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool (GEOAT) Launched in 2013, the GEOAT enables Customs administra...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
WCO Data Model: understanding the WCO’s key data harmonization and standardization tool for cross-border regulatory processes
Flash Info
...The availability of quality and timely electronic data in a standardized and harmonized manner underpins the effective use of information and communication technologies (ICT) for modern border procedures. Some of the common challenges relating to data requirements for various Customs and border clearance processes include redundancy, proprietary or bespoke standards, poor structure and definition, and fragmented or excessive data requirements. To that end, the WCO Data Model (DM) has been developed as a compilation of clearly structured, harmonized, standardized and reusable sets of ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
BACUDA: supporting Customs with data analytics
Flash Info
...WCO Members asked the Secretariat to place a new focus on the development of guidance and capacity to support the use of data analytics. As one of the responses, a team of experts was put in place under a project called BACUDA. The project’s name is an acronym, which stands for “BAnd of CUstoms Data Analysts.” It is also a Korean word that means “to change.” Indeed, the aim of the project is to help Customs administrations in embracing analytical tools and methodologies, a major move for many. BACUDA team members are all data experts with whom the Secretariat has been colla...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Where there’s a way, there’s a will: how the WCO builds capacity to implement strategic trade controls
Flash Info
... It is often said that where there is a will there’s a way, but the reverse can also be true: improving Customs administrations’ capacity to understand and implement regulations might influence their willingness to make commitments. By developing and disseminating methods and tools to make strategic trade controls effective and efficient, the WCO may actually increase the chances that Customs administrations are willing to build control capacity in this domain. This article looks at the WCO approach to capacity building in the domain of strategic trade con...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
WCO Secretariat launches the COVID-19 Project
Flash Info
...WCO Secretariat has launched a COVID-19 Project to assist Customs administrations in dealing with unpredictable and disruptive events such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to the Government of Japan, which is providing financial support for the project, the Secretariat aims to develop guidelines, based on various scenarios, which Customs should follow to ensure effective and efficient disaster management and supply chain continuity. ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Project TENTACLE: enhancing law enforcement capacity to tackle money laundering and terrorism financing
Flash Info
... Project TENTACLE, led  by the WCO Secretariat and funded by the U.S. Department of State – Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (DoS INL) -, aims to raise awareness of money laundering activities and schemes in the Customs area, as well as to augment the enforcement capabilities of Customs, financial intelligence units (FIUs) and police services. A joint effort with the Egmont Group for FIUs and with INTERPOL, Project TENTACLE focuses its efforts on money laundering and terrorism financing in Asia, Latin America, Africa, Ea...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
WCO launches new online services
Flash Info
...The WCO recently launched a new online platform, WCO Trade Tools (www.wcotradetools.org), which offers a single point of access to: the 2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017 Editions of the Harmonized System (HS), together with their Legal Notes, Explanatory Notes and Classification Opinions; more than 350 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) along with their Preferential Rules of Origin and Product-Specific Rules of Origin; and instruments developed by the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, such as ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Discover the WCO Trade Tools
Flash Info
... Harmonized System (HS) HS 2022 and the last four editions of the HS (2002, 2007, 2012 and 2017) Advanced search engine Legal Notes, Explanatory Notes* and Classification Opinions* A history tool tracking the evolution of HS codes at subheading level across different editions* Option to add comments, tags, save searches and create folders which are accessible through the homepage and in the user’s personal area* ...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Unlocking potential: latest news and testimonials about the Career Development Programme
Flash Info
...It takes time and dedication for Customs officers to become familiar with WCO tools, instruments and recommended practices in the course of their daily work. First, there are numerous amounts of them. Second, some are highly technical, and getting to grips with them requires training from WCO staff or experts. In addition, in some areas (such as leadership), benefiting from the work of the WCO goes beyond simply acquiring knowledge: officers are asked to participate actively through practical exercises and role play, and even to open up to others. ...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
New introduction course on the HS
Flash Info
...A new e-learning course introducing the concepts and elements of commodity classification according to the Harmonized System (HS) has been published on CLiCK!, the WCO learning platform for Customs officers. It complements the “HS Advanced” course which zooms in on individual sections, chapters and headings of the HS, providing detailed information, examples of products, and plenty of exercises. Entitled “HS Foundation”, the course is designed to be completed within approximately 6 hours and consists of th...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
A new tool for IP rights holders
Flash Info
...A Rights Holders’ Corner has been added to the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) CENcomm Group, the secure communication tool developed by the WCO Secretariat to enable law enforcement officers to exchange information on goods infringing IPR or posing a danger to people’s health and safety. Such groups, all based on, and part of, the CENcomm web-based communication system, were initially created to facilitate data exchange during high impact enforcement operations but some are also used on a long-term basis. This is the case of the IPR CENcomm Group which was used during Operati...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
New e-learning module on Internal Affairs
Flash Info
...An e-learning module on Internal Affairs was released in January 2023 on CLiKC! – the learning platform developed by the WCO for Customs officers. The course was first released in English, but will be available in French, Portuguese, Arabic and Spanish by the end of March 2023. The WCO’s Revised Arusha Declaration[1], which lists the ten key factors that must be taken into account in a national Customs integrity programme, declares that “the prevention and control of corru...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
The WCO Fellowship Programme is modernizing
Flash Info
... The Fellowship Programme will combine online and in-person activities from September 2023 onwards. Already used for several activities, the method is expected to be cost-effective and to provide Fellows with an equally rewarding experience. As with the rest of the world and other sectors, COVID-19 had a massive impact on business continuity at the WCO, and the Secretariat had to adapt to work with Customs administrations entirely remotely, including when providing technical assistance. As the remote working methods proved to be effective, some a...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
WCO launches its Performance Measurement Mechanism
Flash Info
... A common approach to performance measurement The WCO has developed many self-assessment tools over the years, to enable Customs administrations to determine where they stand with respect to the adoption of WCO standards and recommended practices, to monitor how the Customs clearance service is being carried out, as well as to measure the impact of reforms and programmes on border processes. For a long time, however, there was no tool to assess Customs efficiency and effectiveness in a comprehensive manner, an...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
WCO published a Study on the Digitalization of the Certificate of Origin
Flash Info
...In 2022, the WCO Secretariat sent a questionnaire to the Organization’s Members to gather information on certification of origin processes and the digitalization of the certificate of origin (CO). Eighty-four Customs administrations responded, and a Study on the Digitalization of the Certificate of Origin, containing an analysis of the information received, was published in December 2023. Digitalization is a relatively easy concept to understand. It is the process of converting information into a digital format – in other words, into bits and bytes. A digital version of ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Enhancing performance measurement systems using the WCO PMM: the experience of the Eswatini Revenue Service
Dossier: measuring performance
...In 2023, when developing its 2024-2027 Strategic Plan and mapping out its vision for the future and how it was going to get there, the Eswatini Revenue Service (ERS) undertook an analysis of its environment, operations and processes. Four core strategic areas were consequently formulated in the Plan, each having specific priorities and objectives: Employee Experience, Digitalization, Trade Facilitation and Enforcement, and Client Experience and Education. The ERS Performance Management System was examined in light of this decision. A key finding was that performance metrics within th...
Issue: WCO News 77
API and PNR: two key words on the global security agenda
Dossier
...  In this article, I would like to share my thoughts on Customs’ use of Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which is a vital tool in deterring the threat of terrorism and organized crime, while facilitating international travel.   Terrorism: an ongoing threat Recent violence in several regions show that terrorism continues to be a major concern for the international community. Terrorism is increasingly global in nature and frequently has cross-border implications...
Issue: WCO News 78
Overview of Russia’s Training Centre for NII System experts
Flash Info
...© chingraph – fotolia.com The Russian Customs Academy...
Issue: WCO News 79
Malaysia launches new information system
Dossier
... The Royal Malaysian Customs Department is working on a new information system, known as uCustoms, which will enable effective information-sharing, streamlined procedures, and genuine collaboration among all agencies involved in the clearance process. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department is working on a new information system, known as uCustoms, which will enable effective information-sharing, streamlined procedures, and genuine collaboration among all agencies involved in the clearance process. Customs administrations ...
Issue: WCO News 80
Testing Customs enforcement practices: the ambitious agenda of the COPES Project
Dossier
...The ambitious goal envisaged by the creators of the WCO COPES Project was to initiate a dialogue reflecting on the working methods used to combat fraud, from the identification of an offence to the storage of seized assets, including reporting, collecting and preserving evidence. In addition to the fact that not all Customs administrations enjoy the same prerogatives and the same ability with respect to enforcement, every country deals with infringements of the law using its own specific procedures. In other words, the procedures and practices for investigating, identifying and prose...
Issue: WCO News 82
Data analysis for effective border management – the Canadian experience
Dossier
...Effective border management requires the identification of people and goods, and the collection and analysis of relevant information at the earliest possible point in the travel and trade continuum. The “business” of modern border management organizations has evolved, and is now driven by the active use of advanced data. Customs organizations collect and hold vast amounts of data on travellers and goods. As a result, we must embrace an organizational culture that is equally driven by sound principles of information management so that we may truly take advantage of the large amoun...
Issue: WCO News 83
Anti-corruption Collective Action: the logical next step for Customs
Dossier
... This article outlines the case for Customs administrations to use ‘Collective Action’ to fight corruption and, by doing so, improve Customs policy and its implementation, increase duty and tax collection rates and support government anti-corruption efforts, while creating a fair business environment. This may all sound quite ambitious, but it is also arguably the logical next step for Customs. The WCO has long recognized the deleterious effects of corruption in Customs, and the imperative to take action to prevent, detect and deter its occur...
Issue: WCO News 84
Dossier: Council 2017
Dossier
...Directors General of Customs gathered at WCO Headquarters from 6 to 8 July 2017 to endorse the work done by the Organization covering the period July 2016 to June 2017, and to chart the way forward in the months ahead. This dossier touches on the WCO’s main areas of work – compliance, facilitation, tariff and trade affairs, and capacity building – and presents the progress made and initiatives taken in each of these areas over the 12 month period. It also reports interesting events that occurred during the Council. ...
Issue: WCO News 85
A few words about the theme of the year
Dossier
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat chooses a theme that is relevant to the international Customs community. The slogan chosen for 2018 is “A secure business environment for economic development.” Under this banner, Members of the WCO are encouraged to look at how they can create an environment for businesses that will foster their participation in cross-border trade, and, ultimately, how they can best serve their people and empower their entrepreneurs. Not only is it important for governments to support specific interventions for businesses to flourish, it is equally important to lo...
Issue: WCO News 86
Save the date!
Flash Info
...WCO PICARD Conference, Malatya, Turkey, 9 to 11 October 2018 A Call for Papers was disseminated in February 2018 inviting practitioners, academics and anyone with a keen interest in Customs to submit any research that has been done on one of the following topics: securing the business environment; data analysis; trade facilitation; cross-border e-commerce; connectivity in Customs; and Customs and the fourth industrial revolution. The research work selected by the WCO will be presented at the Conference. More info...
Issue: WCO News 81
Procedures and Facilitation
Dossier
... Capacity building delivery More than 100 national or regional events have been organized to support WCO Members in implementing the Organization’s existing instruments and tools covering various important Customs-related areas, such as risk management, authorized economic operator (AEO) programmes, transit and the Single Window (SW), as well as the use of the Time Release Study (TRS) and accession to the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC). WTO Trade Facilitat...
Issue: WCO News 87
Dossier: Council 2018
Dossier
...  Directors General of Customs gathered at WCO Headquarters from 28 to 30 June 2018 to endorse the work done by the Organization covering the period July 2017 to June 2018, and to chart the way forward in the months ahead. This dossier touches on the WCO’s main areas of work – compliance, facilitation, tariff and trade affairs, and capacity building – and presents the progress made and initiatives taken in each of these areas over the 12 month period. It also reports interesting events that occurred during the Council.   ...
Issue: WCO News 88
SMART Borders: a few words about the theme of the year
Dossier
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat chooses a theme that is relevant to the international Customs community and its partners. The slogan chosen for 2019 is “SMART borders for seamless Trade, Travel and Transport.” An apt theme as the world increasingly moves towards working smarter, using smart technologies, setting smart goals, and even living in smart cities. ...
Issue: WCO News 89
WCO and SECO begin collaborating to further boost trade facilitation
Flash Info
...The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the WCO have launched their first joint comprehensive capacity building programme to deliver capacity building and trade facilitation assistance in Bolivia, Colombia, Peru and Uzbekistan over the next four years. Through this initiative, both organizations hope to reduce overlap and duplication, while strengthening the harmonization of working methods. Funded by SECO and managed by the WCO, the initiative is called the “Global Trade Facilitation Programme” (GTFP), the term “Global” referring to the growing demand fro...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Dossier: Council 2019
Dossier
...Directors General of Customs gathered at WCO Headquarters from 27 to 29 June 2019, as part of the annual Council Sessions, to consider and endorse the enormous amount of work done by the Organization from July 2018 to June 2019, and to provide strategic direction as well as chart the way forward in the months ahead. This dossier touches on the WCO’s main areas of work – compliance, facilitation, tariff and trade affairs, and capacity building – during the period under review, and presents the progress made and initiatives taken in each of these areas, including interesting ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Career Development Programme marks its 10th year
Flash Info
...The Career Development Programme (CDP) celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2019. Funded by Japan Customs, it offers on-the-job training to mid-managerial level Customs officers during a 10 month stint at the WCO Secretariat under the supervision of experts in different areas. So far, 95 officials from 61 Customs administrations have participated in the initiative driven by the opportunity to enhance their professional skills and knowledge, in order to better serve their respective administrations, enabling them to efficiently achieve national goals in the area of international trade....
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Some 1,000 Customs officers have already benefited from the WCO Fellowship Programme
Flash Info
...Since its launch in 1985, the WCO Fellowship Programme has run a total series of 80 sessions, enabling 950 participants from 143 Customs administrations in developing countries to acquire sound knowledge on internationally recognized Customs techniques and practices, and to bolster their management capacities in order to develop their administrations’ modernization efforts. Acknowledging the numerous benefits of this Programme, participants flock in ever increasing numbers year on year to enrol on the Programme. ...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Certification of origin: latest trends
Flash Info
...The WCO Secretariat has published an update of the Comparative Study on certification of origin, the previous version of which was issued in 2014, in order to take into consideration new trends both on non-preferential and preferential origin… With regard to non-preferential rules of origin, the increasing use or acceptance of electronic certificates of origin (e-CO) is highlighted. The countries issuing the most e-COs are China, the United Ki...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Environmental enforcement: overview of WCO latest and future activities
Flash Info
...As part of the WCO Environment Programme, the WCO Secretariat is working to solidify the role of Customs in environmental matters. Customs administrations are regularly reminded of the importance of implementing the various environmental agreements in force, existing training material is updated and new material developed, exhaustive capacity building is provided, and enforcement operations are organized. But more still needs to be done to ensure the implementation of the various environmental agreements. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned in 2019 that a “poi...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
BODATA: a new platform for Customs data analysts
Flash Info
...Niger Customs has developed, with the support of the World Bank, an online collaborative platform for use solely by Customs staff with expertise in the field of Customs data analysis. The platform, called “BODATA”, aims to establish a network of professionals who support each other, collaborate and discuss their experience of using data analysis tools within their respective administrations, thus strengthening their knowledge. Following its launch in March 2021, the platform creates a framework in which participants can assist each other in the development of compu...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
The OIE calls on Customs officials to increase vigilance against African swine fever
Flash Info
...Several countries around the world are facing the devastating effects of the African swine fever (ASF), a deadly pig disease of viral origin. The virus can travel from one country to another through people carrying infected pigs or contaminated pork products or clothing. Customs officials can play a key role in preventing the spread of the disease by setting up effective controls. By doing so, not only are they safeguarding animal health, but also food security and the global pork industry. What is African swine fever (...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
CLiKC! – A goldmine of learning opportunities for Customs officers
Flash Info
...A wide range of online courses, e-learning modules, videos and webinars are made available to Customs officers via CLiKC!, the WCO learning platform. Thousands of officers have already registered on the platform. Below is an overview of what CLiKC! currently offers, and what is in the pipeline. ...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
New guide on human capital management
Flash Info
...The workplace has undergone several radical changes in the past few years. According to literature, the traditional Human Resource Management (HRM) function has evolved to include new responsibilities such as an increased attention paid to people’s wellbeing. People are now seen as a ‘’Capital’’ rather than a ‘’Resource’’. Human Capital Management (HCM) is more demanding, and its implementation requires adopting a specific toolset (methods, techniques, models) and acquiring a specific skillset (knowledge, understanding, abilities). To provide guidance to Customs administra...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
A new tool to assess capacities in the enforcement area
Flash Info
...The WCO COPES Programme aims to initiate a dialogue reflecting on the working methods used to combat fraud, from the identification of an offence to the storage of seized assets, including reporting, collecting and preserving evidence. It does not advocate a particular means of enforcing legislation or managing seizures, but presents a range of methods and practices currently used for investigations and prosecutions that is flexible enough to fit all existing administrative or legislative arrangements. The name of the programme is the acronym of the first tool developed by the WCO in...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
WCO Secretariat develops a dashboard for PCA
Flash Info
...Post-clearance audit (PCA) includes a preparation phase during which data from various sources is collected and then analysed, especially import and export declaration data. The aim is to obtain a comprehensive overview of the auditee’s business structure and, on this basis, identify and analyse specific risk areas of the auditee’s systems. An audit plan would then be drafted, specifying the audit objectives and scope, as well as the methodologies to be used. This audit preparation is generally an abductive process in which, prior to obtaining the auditee’s data by contacti...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
A guide to developing HS skills
Flash Info
...Classifying goods in the Harmonized System (HS) requires specific knowledge and skills, and, in some cases, a thorough understanding of the rules that govern it. While machine learning technology has enabled the development of various classification tools, these “are designed to assist classification and not to perform classification. So, it stands to reason that the results they produce will only be as good as the people who use them[1]”. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
WCO Council adopts three HS Recommendations
Flash Info
...Three HS Recommendations were adopted by the WCO Council in June 2023. These Recommendations relate to expected amendments and invite Parties to the HS Convention to insert new subheadings in their national statistical nomenclatures as an interim measure until the next version of the HS enters into force on 1 January 2028. ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
The updated 2023 version of the STCE Implementation Guide is available
Flash Info
...A new version of the WCO Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Implementation Guide was published in December 2023. Annex I, which provides a list of countries and the non-proliferation and trade control regimes they have committed to, has been updated. The same applies to Annex III – strategic commodities listed in this Annex have been aligned on the 2022 edition of the Harmonized...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
India’s trade facilitation journey: viewed through the lens of the National Time Release Study
Dossier: measuring performance
...International trade has long played a crucial role in promoting economic development and fostering poverty alleviation among the least developed and developing economies. Countries, economic groupings and the World Trade Organization (WTO), recognizing the beneficial impact of fair and equitable international trade, have been pursuing various initiatives to promote international trade. One such initiative is the successful negotiation and ongoing implementation of the WTO’s Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), encompassing “simplification, modernization, and harmonization of export and i...
Issue: WCO News 77
Challenges and opportunities of passenger data systems
Dossier
...Physical inspection of a traveller and a travel document is nowadays only part of the border controls on passengers arriving by air, or any other means of transport. In an increasing number of countries, the rest of the border control process relies on secure electronic data sent before the arrival of the passenger in the country of destination. It all began in July 1988, when the United States (US) government invited, for the very first time, representatives from the airline industry to come together to discuss a new idea – that providing them with information about passengers whi...
Issue: WCO News 78
Latest accessions to WCO instruments
Flash Info
... ...
Issue: WCO News 79
The United Kingdom’s journey towards a modern declaration management service
Dossier
...As far back as 1971, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise (HMC&E) – as it was then – was looking at how computers could be beneficial to the Customs process. The growth in air traffic and the need to clear goods quickly in the United Kingdom (UK) prompted the development of the London Airport Cargo Electronic Data Processing Scheme (LACES). It was originally an automated system for processing import consignment data, and was the world’s first Customs computer service. An in-house information technology (IT) development initiative along similar lines, but for the maritime envi...
Issue: WCO News 80
Risk management: an upgraded version of the nCEN now available
Dossier
...The WCO digital toolbox contains an extensive variety of instruments and tools to help Customs incorporate information and communications technology (ICT) into their daily work, one of which is the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) application. It has been almost three years since the first version of the nCEN was launched by the WCO, and the application is now used in 20 countries around the world. Drawing on these years of experience, the WCO has developed, in cooperation with all nCEN user countries, a new version of the nCEN application which better addresses the needs ...
Issue: WCO News 82
Border management modernization in New Zealand forges ahead
Dossier
... The New Zealand Customs Service is getting closer to completing a major modernization project, called the Joint Border Management System. The system has two key components: the development and implementation of the New Zealand Trade Single Window; and advanced risk and intelligence capability, including new tools to provide sophisticated data mining, risk rating, and pattern analysis. In February 2015, the New Zealand Customs Service (NZCS) updated WCO News readers on the progress of the (NZD) $104.1 million Joint Borde...
Issue: WCO News 83
Fighting corruption through partnership: the Uruguayan experience
Dossier
...In 2008, a huge corruption scandal involving officials from the public sector and representatives from the private sector shook Uruguay’s foreign trade community, as well as its international trading partners: 11 Customs officials working at Carrasco International Airport and 25 Customs brokers were found guilty of receiving and paying backhanders. This event marked a watershed for the Uruguayan Customs Administration (DNA), publicly and starkly displaying its weaknesses as an institution. It dealt a heavy blow to the DNA’s public credibility, forcing it to take a hard look at it...
Issue: WCO News 84
Reflections on the six areas of work identified by WCO Members as a priority
Dossier
...At the December 2016 WCO Policy Commission session in Moscow, Russia, Members asked the WCO Secretariat to identify the priorities it would focus on. Six areas of work were identified, based on the outcomes of WCO regional meetings: trade facilitation; e-commerce; security; Customs-tax cooperation; illicit financial flows; and performance measurement. The Council, at its July 2017 sessions, agreed with this work programme. In this article, I take up each of these topics in turn. Trade facilitation The WTO Tra...
Issue: WCO News 85
China’s AEO Joint Incentive Programme
Dossier
...In October 2016, a pan-governmental initiative called the AEO Joint Incentive (AJI) Programme was launched in China. Under the new scheme, companies which have met pre-determined standards under the existing AEO programme and have been certified by China Customs as “Advanced Certified Enterprises” (ACE) will be entitled to enjoy as many as 49 facilitation measures provided by China Customs and other government departments. At present, there are about 3,000 ACEs, accounting for about 33.1% of national import and export volumes in China. The AJI Programme involves some 40 governmen...
Issue: WCO News 86
WCO steps up efforts to promote gender equality and diversity
Flash Info
...According to a WCO survey from 2016, gathering approximately 60 responses from WCO Members, on average around 36% of officers employed by Customs administrations are women, with figures varying from 8% to 60% depending on the country. Moreover, the statistics showed that on average around 30% of senior management positions are held by women. These figures indicate that in terms of equal representation in Customs administrations, there is still room for improvement. Promoting gender equality and diversity within Customs is not just a question of fundamental rights, but also a prerequi...
Issue: WCO News 81
Capacity Building
Dossier
... Four areas of activity The WCO continues to provide capacity building (CB) assistance to WCO Members around the world. Highlighted below is a sample of the initiatives taken for each of the specific areas of activity outlined in the WCO Organizational Development Package: Strategic Advisory Support and Delivery; Human Resource Development; Integrity; and Stakeholder Engagement. Strategic Advisory Support and Delivery This activity der...
Issue: WCO News 87
Reflections on the areas of work identified by WCO Members as a priority
Dossier
...At the 2017 Council Sessions, Members endorsed six priorities that the WCO Secretariat would focus on: trade facilitation, e-commerce, security, Customs-tax cooperation, illicit financial flows, and performance measurement. At the June 2018 session, they reviewed the progress related to this work programme and charted the way forward. While doing so, they also discussed possible new areas of work and established a new priority: the revision of the WCO’s revised Kyoto Convention. In this article, I take up each of these topics in turn. ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Serbia’s accession to the common transit procedure has become a real game changer
Dossier
...The Republic of Serbia is geographically located on the trade routes connecting Western and Central Europe to the Southeast region of Europe, especially the countries of the Western Balkans, as well as Turkey, and further away, the countries of Western Asia. To facilitate trade operations and especially transit through the country, the Serbian government is in the process of revitalizing all traffic connections, with special attention being given to roads and railroads. As part of this endeavour, a new transport corridor, funded by the World Bank and called “Corridor X,” is under constr...
Issue: WCO News 89
Light aviation, a new line of work for the WCO
Flash Info
...The WCO and the European Union (EU) are partners in a new project called “COLIBRI,” which aims to build the capacity of Customs administrations to control general aviation on routes between Latin America, the Caribbean and Africa, as well as between the EU and these regions. Background What we know as general aviation comprises all civil aviation activities other than commercial transport: sport or leisure aviation, private aviation, business aviation and aerial work (search and rescue, aerial spraying, m...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Reflections on WCO Members’ priorities
Dossier
...At the 2019 WCO Council Sessions, Members endorsed a new Strategic Plan for the 2019-2022 period, comprising nine priorities that the WCO Secretariat should focus on: Coordinated Border Management, Safety and Security, the Revised Kyoto Convention, E-Commerce, the Harmonized System, the Capacity Building Strategy, Performance Measurement, Integrity, and Digital Customs and Data Analytics. In this article, I will take up each of these topics in turn, explaining what we have recently done in these areas, and what is yet to come. Coordinated ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
WCO Environmental Scan: a strategic resource for Customs administrations
Flash Info
...Taking stock of the global trends affecting trade is critical for Customs administrations who have to adapt constantly to industry and consumer practices as well as to emerging risks. To help WCO Members understand the social, political, economic, technological and legal developments as well as the impact that these developments could have on the way Customs operates, the WCO Secretariat has been producing a document for the last 10 years known as the “WCO Environmental Scan.” In 2019, a stronger focus was put on explaining how Customs could respond to the emerging trends, and li...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Dossier COVID-19: Working with you through these challenging times
Dossier
...When it was announced by the World Health Organization (WHO) that COVID-19 had become a pandemic, the WCO Secretariat’s management team quickly sprang into action, listing the urgent tasks to be done to support Customs administrations in managing the crisis and developing a business continuity plan. Supporting Customs administrations A dedicated webpage was created on the WCO...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
WCO applies new approaches to measuring corruption and integrity
Flash Info
... The WCO has taken several steps to strengthen performance measurement culture among Customs administrations. These have included looking at how performance measurement can be applied to fighting corruption. This article looks at the new approaches to measuring corruption and integrity which have been adopted by the WCO Secretariat team in charge of the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme, and what lessons can be learned from their experience so far.   Launched in January 2019 with funding from the Norwe...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
New documents added to the WCO E-Commerce Package
Flash Info
...The WCO Council adopted the final documents missing from the WCO E-Commerce Package at its December 2020 Session. The documents are three Annexes to the Framework of Standards on Cross-Border E-Commerce Technical Specifications entitled “Reference Datasets for Cross-Border E-Commerce”, “Revenue Collection Approaches”, and “E-Commerce Stakeholders: Roles and Responsibilities”. ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
EIA launches Global Environmental Crime Tracker
Flash Info
...The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), a non-governmental organization dedicated to combating environmental crime, has developed the first public-domain online platform collating data on seizures, arrests and prosecution records which contextualize the dynamics of the illegal wildlife trade. The tool uses data collected from publicly available information, including government reports, enforcement agency press releases and non-governmental and academic papers. News media coverage in several languages as well as information provided by partner NGOs is also used to paint a pictu...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Leveraging the gamification of learning
Flash Info
...Gamification can be defined as the use of game principals in non-game contexts, including to deliver knowledge and know-how. For example, acquiring points and completing series of tasks or activities to advance to the next level may be used in contexts other than gaming to provide fun and stimulation for the learner. The Korea Customs Service (KCS) and WCO Regional Training Center in Korea (RTC Korea) constantly pondered how to enhance learner engagement by breaking away from conventional ways of delivering knowledge. In 2021, as it was no longer possible to deliver face-to-face trai...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Evaluating the impact of training activities: overview of the WCO Secretariat’s proposal
Flash Info
... Most Customs administrations devote a significant portion of their resources to training and competency development activities. The development and delivery of training also feature among the core activities of the WCO.[1] But how can these training activities be assessed to find out whether they are producing the expected results and impact? This very issue was raised at the 2021 session of the Capacity Building Committee, where the WCO Secretariat was requested to develop a comprehensive and consistent evaluation model t...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
A symposia series on greening the HS
Flash Info
... Greening the HS is on the agenda, but how best to do it? To find answers to this question, the WCO is organizing a series of five symposia from October 2022 to January 2023. You may join the events either in-person, at the WCO headquarters in Brussels, or online via zoom. Participation will be free and interpretation offered in English, French and Spanish. The key tool for the identification and classification of goods at the global level is the Harmonized System (HS). The pandemic, the climate crisis, other environmental issues such as the accu...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
An overview of existing closed user groups on the CENcomm
Flash Info
...  Several closed user groups (CUGs) have been set up in CENcomm, the WCO’s secure, web-based communication system. They aim at enabling information exchange on illicit trade and smuggling activities and/or the sharing of information of interest to field officers and analysts. The focus of the respective groups is described below. If you wish to join a CUG and you fit the user profile then please contact the group owner or the WCO CEN team at cis@wcoomd.org.      ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Operation SEASCAPE 2: results and review
Flash Info
...An operation dubbed Seascape 2 to combat counterfeiting and piracy, made possible by funding from Japan Customs, was organized by the WCO Secretariat in June 2022. I...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Must read: How will the State think with the assistance of ChatGPT?
Flash Info
... The Foundation for International Development Studies and Research has published a working paper[1], written by Thomas Cantens of the WCO Secretariat’s Research Unit, that examines the implications of the use of generative artificial inte...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose – Some thoughts about the theme of the year
Dossier: Engaging partners
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat invites the Organization’s Members to focus on a theme it considers critical to the effective and efficient delivery of their missions. In 2024, under the slogan “Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose”, the Secretariat is inviting Customs administrations both to reaffirm longstanding partnerships and to boldly forge new alliances. International trade is critical to all economies and societies. Our global interdependencies became more evident with the COVID-19 pandemic: the specialized imports essential to the production of vac...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Namibia’s experience of conducting its first Time Release Study
Dossier: measuring performance
...Article 7.6.1 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) encourages World Trade Organization Members “to measure and publish their average release time of goods periodically and in a consistent manner, using tools such as, inter alia, the Time Release Study (TRS) of the World Customs Organization”. Developed in the early 1990s and regularly updated since then to provide a globally accepted methodology to measure the actual time required for the release and/or clearance of goods, the TRS has acquired new significance with the advent of the TFA in many countries. One such country ...
Issue: WCO News 77
Indonesia’s experience in building its Customs Passenger Data Exchange System
Dossier
...Indonesian Customs began working on the electronic exchange of passenger data between airlines and Customs in early 2008, as part of their implementation of an Advance Passenger Information (API) transmission system. At that time, passenger processing techniques consisted of screening API data transmitted from airlines’ departure control systems via the existing Société Internationale de Télécommunication Aéronautiques (SITA) communication network, and requesting Passenger Name Record (PNR) data for specific flights to be provided by email or on paper. The new API sys...
Issue: WCO News 78
Council 2015
Dossier
...Directors General of Customs gathered at WCO Headquarters from 11 to 13 June 2015 to endorse the work done by the Organization covering the period July 2014 to June 2015, and to chart the way forward in the months ahead. This dossier touches on the WCO’s main areas of work – compliance, facilitation, tariff and trade affairs, and capacity building – and present progress made and initiatives taken during the 12 months period in each of these areas. It also reports interesting events that occurred during the Council. ...
Issue: WCO News 79
UNI-PASS: Korea’s Customs modernization tool
Dossier
...The environment surrounding Customs administrations is changing rapidly. The conclusion by the World Trade Organization (WTO) of its Trade Facilitation Agreement in December 2013 demands that governments make further efforts to simplify trade procedures and ensure more transparency in trade regulations. This is further strengthened by the WCO’s decision to dedicate 2016 to the promotion of ‘Digital Customs’ in 2016 which encourages Customs to go down the road of modernization. The Korean economy has developed at a rapid pace since the 1970s. For instance, its trade volume, whic...
Issue: WCO News 80
Switzerland addresses the traffic in cultural goods
Dossier
...The Swiss art market, being one of the largest in the world, inevitably attracts objects of dubious provenance. Some of these stolen or plundered objects not sold directly on the Swiss market are held in Switzerland pending their insertion in the legal distribution system, whether in Switzerland or elsewhere. One of the reasons why Switzerland is a destination and transit country for cultural goods is that for many years it has offered storage and trading facilities which helped to sustain not only the substantial local market, but also, above all, the international market. Du...
Issue: WCO News 82
Mirror analysis, a risk analysis support tool for Customs administrations
Dossier
...Twenty-first century challenges place demands upon Customs administrations throughout the world, particularly in developing countries. Customs services must, therefore, be effective and efficient if they are to meet their revenue and trade facilitation targets, the achievement of which requires substantial investment in reforms, modernization, and continued improvement. Côte d’Ivoire Customs is aware of these challenges, and has introduced a range of reforms to ensure its thorough modernization. It is now an exemplary, up-to-date and high-performing service. The modernization prog...
Issue: WCO News 83
Collective action to promote integrity in the maritime sector
Dossier
...Companies operating in global supply chains face a number of systemic corruption issues, such as demands for ‘facilitation’ payments or extortion for bribes, when trading goods across borders. National anti-bribery legislation in many countries and extraterritorial regulations, such as the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the United Kingdom’s Bribery Act, have put pressure on international business to take a firm stance against corruption. However, any company that implements zero tolerance internal policies against bribery and facilitation payments risks losing busi...
Issue: WCO News 84
Tariff and Trade Affairs
Dossier
...  All strategic goals with regard to Tariff and Trade Affairs (TTA) have been successfully accomplished over the past year. This was evidenced by the significant workload of the WCO Secretariat’s TTA Directorate in 2016, with 45 days of meetings held, more than 4,000 pages of documents prepared, more than 300 items examined, and more than 400 decisions taken. Sixty-nine TTA missions were also conducted during 2016/2017 for a total of 359 days, which is a few days short of a year. Cross-cutting activities: the WCO Revenue Pack...
Issue: WCO News 85
India pursues a broader trade facilitation agenda
Dossier
...Countries have to establish a National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) in terms of their commitment to implementing the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) that was concluded by the members of the World Trade Organization (WTO). In this article, India explains its NCTF implementation journey and how it has structured its NCTF, all guided by its vision to transform India’s trade ecosystem by reducing the time and cost of doing business.   The TFA came into force on 22 February 2017 after having been ratified by twothirds of the WTO’s...
Issue: WCO News 86
Dossier: The Harmonized System from every angle
Dossier
...As the HS celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, we decided to gather together a number of articles explaining how the HS is managed and used, and questioning how it can be improved and whether a structural revision is now necessary. ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Compliance and Enforcement
Dossier
... Security Programme The Punta Cana Resolution, released in December 2015, emphasizes the key role that Customs administrations play in tackling illicit cross-border movements of goods that could ultimately support terrorism and terrorist financing. To support WCO Members in building or enhancing their border security capacity, the WCO recently launched the Border Security Initiative (BSI). WCO Members, following a specific WCO or United Nations (UN) border security-related assessment mission, can request techn...
Issue: WCO News 87
Tariff and Trade Affairs
Dossier
... Cross-cutting activities WCO Revenue Package and advance rulings The WCO continued to assist its Members in the implementation of the Revenue Package, which provides guidance and best practices for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of revenue collection, as well as in the implementation of an advance ruling system for classification and origin, as required under the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Countries in East Africa cut transit time
Dossier
... The implementation of a real-time electronic cargo monitoring system to track goods transported in transit enables countries in East Africa to cut transit time, prevent cargo theft and boost revenue collection In the East African region, the management of transit operations across the five land-locked developing countries of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan was, for a long time, done via a convoy system, characterized by paper based controls, transit log sheets, physical esco...
Issue: WCO News 89
Norad and the WCO launch the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion Programme
Flash Info
...In January 2019, the WCO launched the Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme to assist selected WCO Member Customs administrations in implementing measures to combat corruption and promote integrity in accordance with the 10 measures listed in the WCO Revised Arusha Declaration on good governance and integrity in Customs. Unpacking the programme Funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the A-CIP Programme will run for five years. It was designed around lessons lea...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Tariff and Trade Affairs
Dossier
... WCO Revenue Package and advance rulings The WCO continued to assist its Members in implementing the Revenue Package, which provides guidance and best practices for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of revenue collection, as well as in implementing an advance ruling system for classification and origin, as required under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). Assistance was provided to Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Eswatini, Lesotho, Liberia, Mauritius and Niger to assist them in developing ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet: A few words about the theme of the year
Dossier
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat chooses a theme that is relevant to the international Customs community and its partners. The slogan chosen for 2020 is “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet.” An apt theme as 2019 was the year where issues such as sustainability and climate concerns dominated public debate, with Oxford Dictionaries declaring “climate emergency” the word of the year for 2019. The United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes international trade as an engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction,...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
From reactivity to proactivity, for a safer and more prosperous world
Dossier
...Since December 2019, when the first cases where identified, the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has spread with dramatic consequences for people, governments, and companies. Although we will only be able to make a preliminary assessment of its full consequences in the coming months, most analysts agree that the crisis will have a long-term impact. All the professionals that have taken risks for the benefit of communities during what is one of the major challenges the world has faced in the past decades must be warmly praised. Some, such as health and care professionals, fully ...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Dossier: Customs Valuation, shedding light on a technical but critical topic for Customs
Dossier
...Adam Smith, author of “The Wealth of Nations”, wrote that Customs duties have been “in use for time immemorial”. To a large extent, this assertion is correct. The practice of taxing commerce is as old as commerce itself. And where a tax must be collected, there will be disputes over rates and methods. Imported products were easier to tax than domestic output, and so import duties were among the earliest taxes. The two most prominent types of duties that developed over the course of world history were the “specific” Customs duty and the “ad valorem” Customs duty. With ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Data Analytics course available on CLiKC!
Flash Info
...An online data analytics training course on is now available in English and French via the WCO CLiKC! Platform in the eLearning section. Developed thanks to Korea Customs funding, the course is for Customs officials who wish to become entry-level data analysts. It is structured to  build a comprehensive knowledge of a data science, to acquire practical knowledge and skills on handling data and to learn Python programming and the basics of machine learning models. More information https://clikc....
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Putting people first
Dossier
...The WCO has long been promoting Customs as a highly professional body, with specific knowledge, competencies and skills, which is fully committed to meeting the needs of governments and trade operators in terms of productivity, efficiency and quality of services. A key characteristic of such an organization is that it is people-centric. In order words, it takes care of its employees and values their happiness and well-being. The challenge is not only to ensure that Customs administrations have the right person in the right job at the right time. Attracting talented people, enabling e...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Now is the time for implementation
Dossier: E-Commerce
...In many countries, statistics show a strong uptake of online sales and a big increase in the market share of online as opposed to offline retail since the start of the pandemic. In COVID-19 and e-commerce: a global review, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reported that Latin America’s online marketplace Mercado Libre, for example, sold twice as many items per day in the second quarter of 2020 as during the same period in the previous year; African e-commerce platform Jumia reported a 50% jump in transactions during the first six months of 2020. The th...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
A few words about the WCO theme for 2022
Dossier: Destination....Data!
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat chooses a theme that it deems relevant to the international Customs community and its partners. In 2022, it is inviting Customs administrations to “Scale up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem”. “Digital Transformation” is a catch-all term for describing the implementation of new technologies and processes to improve business operations. Data culture, simply put, means an organizational culture that prioritizes data-driven decision-making. It empowers people to ask questions, challenge ideas a...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Supporting the green transition: challenges and way forward
Dossier: Supporting the Green Transition
...The WCO is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year and is taking this opportunity to look back at what it has achieved as well as at ways of responding to current challenges. One pressing issue is how to support the transition to a climate-neutral economy. At numerous events, including climate and biodiversity summits, representatives of national governments and international organizations have highlighted how imperative it is for trade to support environmental action and declare its readiness to take action. They have defended the idea that trade policies should support a green industri...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
WCO launches an exploratory Study Project on a possible strategic review of the HS
Flash Info
... The WCO Secretariat has set up a team to study the possibilities for potential improvements to the HS and its tools. The team will collect views and suggestions from stakeholders. Details of how you can get involved in the HS Study can be found at the end of this article. The Harmonized System Convention, and the Harmonized System it governs, came into force in 1988 with the intent to provide greater uniformity for the classification of globally traded commodity groups. Since the introduction of the HS, its use has spread globally. As of 1 Octo...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Supporting trade integration in Africa : a look at the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme
Flash Info
... In December 2021, the WCO Secretariat and the European Commission signed a partnership agreement establishing a programme on the implementation and application of rules of origin in Africa, commonly dubbed the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme. This article provides an overview of the activities undertaken as part of this Programme up to January 2023 – that is, just over a year since its inception. The EU-WCO Rules of Origin (RoO) Africa Programme aims to support Customs administrations on the African continent to improve their capacity ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Second edition of the Compendium on Gender Equality and Diversity in Customs
Flash Info
... Eleven administrations contributed to the second edition of the Compendium on Gender Equality and Diversity in Customs. A short overview of their contributions is provided below. Argentina Customs Argentina’s Federal Administration of Public Revenues (AFIP) presents Argentina’s regulations relating to gender and diversity, as well as the role and activities of its Directorate for the Coordination of Gender and Human Rights Policies, which was created in June...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Customs officials’ papers are published in the Borders in Globalization Review
Flash Info
...As part of its PICARD Programme, the WCO Secretariat has established a partnership with the Borders in Globalization (BIG) research programme of the University of Victoria, Canada, enabling some of the Customs officials who have submitted academic or policy research papers to the WCO Secretariat to be supervised by professors/lecturers of the University, and to publish their papers in the Borders in Globalization Review. The Spring & Summer 2023 edition of the Review includes two su...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Partnership with private sector leads to enhanced certainty in the classification of products in Brazil
Dossier: Engaging partners
... Brazil is on the cusp of a groundbreaking transformation, with the rollout of an upgraded version 2.0 of its Foreign Trade Single Window, the Portal Único Siscomex. A core innovation within the Portal is the introduction of a catalogue describing products using pre-defined attributes. The new system has been made possible thanks to an exceptional partnership between private and public entities who worked hand in hand to redefine the way products are identified for cross-border trade. Brazil’s Portal Único Siscomex is designed as a single sys...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Relieving congestion at land borders: joint TRS sets South Africa and Eswatini on the right track
Dossier: measuring performance
... The Oshoek/Ngwenya border The border posts connecting the towns of Oshoek in South Africa and Ngwenya in Eswatini are known for long queues of trucks which end up blocking road traffic and negatively impacting both travellers and traders. Around 120 trucks per day flow into Oshoek, transporting mainly processed coal and minerals (30%), manufactured goods (15%) and sugar (12%), while approximately 300 trucks per day flow into Ngwenya, primarily carrying coal and minerals (50%), and household and retail goods (25%)...
Issue: WCO News 77
The French API-PNR programme
Dossier
... The French Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) programme generated considerable media coverage in the wake of the tragic events in France in early 2015. The plan to implement an automated passenger information processing system in France, however, dates back much further. The programme began with publication of the Anti-terrorism Law – Law No.2006-64 of 23 January 2006 on combating terrorism and laying down miscellaneous provisions on security and border controls. This law transposed European Council Directive 2...
Issue: WCO News 78
WCO Members confer and act on trade facilitation, e-commerce, and security at the June 2015 WCO Council sessions
Dossier
... During the 125th/126th Sessions of the WCO Council, which took place in June of this year, Heads of Customs administrations representing the 180 Members of the WCO conferred on many issues, including but not limited to, trade facilitation technical assistance and capacity building under the WCO Mercator Programme, e-commerce, and security, especially the adoption of a third pillar to the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade (SAFE Framework) on its 10th anniversary. In this article, I take up each of these topics in turn. ...
Issue: WCO News 79
SARS’ experience regarding the impact of digitalization on human resources
Dossier
... Context for change Driven by the need to ensure it would be able to address the increased demands of the global trading landscape, with regard to both financial and social security, accession to international instruments – specifically those developed by the WCO, pressures from the trade to improve service levels, and the burgeoning demand to engage cross-border regional integration and international exchange of data, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) realized the need to revitalize its Customs functions....
Issue: WCO News 80
Hong Kong Customs: equipped to tackle cybercrime
Dossier
...The rapid development of the Internet in the past decade has drastically and positively changed every aspect of our lives. People, in almost all cities across the world, are today virtually connected with each 24/7. But thanks to its speed, expediency and anonymity, internet-based technology has also become one of the key facilitators for a vast range of criminal activities, many falling within the remit of Customs enforcement actions, including the trade in counterfeit products, goods subject to prohibitions and restrictions, and the smuggling of excisable goods, such as cigarettes and alc...
Issue: WCO News 82
Data analysis in risk management: Singapore Customs’ perspective
Dossier
...As a partner of business and a guardian of trade, Singapore Customs strives to strike a fine balance between making sure sufficient controls are in place to interdict illicit trade, and ensuring that legitimate trade continues to flow unhindered. This requires Singapore Customs to be adept at data analysis, which strengthens enforcement and boosts compliance by the trading community. Accurate profiling and targeting enhance the effectiveness of Singapore Customs’ compliance checks. This also sends a clear message to would-be smugglers that despite the huge volume of goods crossing ...
Issue: WCO News 83
Renewing Guatemala’s Customs service
Dossier
... The year 2015 left an indelible imprint on Guatemala’s history. President Otto Pérez Molina and Vice President Roxana Baldetti were arrested over their alleged involvement in La Línea or “the line,” the name given to a multimillion-dollar fraud scheme involving the country’s top authorities, including the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT), in which importers paid bribes to avoid Customs duty or were offered greatly reduced tariffs in exchange for kickbacks that were shared among dozens of government officials. Although th...
Issue: WCO News 84
Procedures and Facilitation
Dossier
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Issue: WCO News 85
Integrated border control between Peru and Chile
Dossier
... After six years of intensive efforts, on 16 August 2017, Peru and Chile opened their first joint integrated border control centres. This new system aims to facilitate the movement of people, baggage and motor vehicles, and is an example of the practical implementation of the coordinated border management concept promoted by the WCO and other international organizations such as the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. On 19 January 2011, a “Framework Agreement for the Implementation of Integrated Control and Cooperation Systems ...
Issue: WCO News 86
The Harmonized System, 30 years old and still going strong!
Dossier
...The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, generally referred to as “Harmonized System” or simply the “HS”, is seldom mentioned in the pages of this magazine. It is, however, one of the WCO’s flagship instruments. One can even say that it is the backbone of the WCO. Being a nomenclature of transportable goods, it has become over the years a universal language for identifying and coding merchandise being traded internationally, with almost all the world’s economies using it as a basis for their Customs tariffs and for the collection of trade statistic...
Issue: WCO News 81
Signing ceremonies
Dossier
...During the 2016 Council sessions, the WCO signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU): First, one with the Federal Customs Service of the Russian Federation on the creation of a Regional Centre of Best Practices for the training of specialists on progressive technologies used in Customs work; Second, one with Ukraine Customs on the establishment of a Regional Dog Training Centre in the city of Khmelnytskyi; Third, one with the Smithsonian Institution to strengthen cooperation between the two Organizations, and to boost collaboration between Customs and cul...
Issue: WCO News 87
Procedures and Facilitation
Dossier
...  New pubLications ...
Issue: WCO News 88
From “red tape” to “red carpet”: how the Brazilian AEO Programme has brought Customs procedures to an entire new level
Dossier
...The Brazilian Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme can be considered one of the most advanced and successful in the world. Indeed, from the outset, the Programme has featured some prominent characteristics. Among other things, an internationally renowned consulting firm was involved in its design, technical and financial support was provided by private sector entities wishing to join it, and it was backed by high ranked officials from the Customs management team and the Federal government. In Brazil, the AEO Programme has strategic institutional value, and its implementation ...
Issue: WCO News 89
A new CLiKC! platform
Flash Info
...The WCO Secretariat is about to launch a new version of the CLiKC! learning platform, in order to provide users with a comprehensive picture of the Organization’s training material and opportunities available to its Members. This initiative follows the endorsement by the WCO Capacity Building Committee, in 2018, of a revised training strategy, which calls for the adoption of a blended learning approach that combines traditional classroom teaching practices and online technology, allowing trainers to dedicate more time to practical elements in the classroom, and trainees to have a b...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Procedures and Facilitation
Dossier
... New publications E-Commerce Package AEO Compendium 2019 Edition ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Ensuring effective implementation of various environmental agreements is key to shaping a sustainable future
Dossier
...The global Customs theme for 2020 reads “Customs Fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet,” and, although the three focus areas are inter-linked, each warrants separate consideration due to their wide-ranging scope. It is thought-provoking to note that global GDP is estimated at 66.9 trillion US dollars, but the monetary value of nature, in other words the economic contribution of the natural world, at 145.1 trillion US dollars.[1] The earth and its resources are finite, and it is becoming exponentially more challe...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Customs in the face of COVID-19: the case of Uganda
Dossier
... After 14 years of service, Kateshumbwa Dicksons left the Uganda Revenue Authority a few weeks ago. In this article, he shares the experience of Uganda Customs in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the year 2000, Uganda has experienced repeated outbreaks of viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF): five Ebola VHF outbreaks, and three Marburg VHF outbreaks. Each of these outbreaks is said to have case fatality rates between 25 to 90%. None of them, however, slipped into such a crisis as we have witnessed with COVID-19! Towards the end of 2019,...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
WTO Customs Valuation Agreement: objectives, requirements and challenges
Dossier
...This year marks the 25th anniversary of the entry into force of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement (CVA). The Agreement seeks to tackle Customs clearance delays resulting from valuation verification and to ensure that the Customs value of goods entering a market are properly assessed to reflect the actual price of the goods as agreed between the buyer and seller. Beginnings It is not the first multilateral regulation in the area of valuation. The first attempt took place under Article VII of the ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Recovery, Renewal and Resilience: a few words about the WCO theme for 2021
Dossier
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat chooses a theme that is relevant to the international Customs community and its partners. The slogan chosen for 2021 is “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain”. It invites Customs administrations to contribute to finding a way out of the ongoing crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to rebuilding the economy against the new backdrop of greater focus on social distancing in daily life, working from home, digitization and the upsurge in e-commerce. The collective efforts by the global Customs community to ...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Untapping the potential of human resource management in Customs
Dossier
...Customs administrations, due to the nature of their missions and to the fact that they are operating in an environment marked by complex interactions, have to constantly engage in modernization efforts. In other words, they need to regularly update and upgrade their operating models and working methods. While strategies, systems, processes and tools are key in this endeavour, the driving force behind the performance of Customs operations remains Customs’ human capital. As we have been reminded during the current health pandemic, an adaptive workforce is a Customs administration’s...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Reviewing the e-commerce clearance process: the experience of Argentina
Dossier: E-Commerce
...The WCO defines cross-border e-commerce as “All transactions which are effected digitally through a computer network (e.g. the internet), and result in physical goods flows subject to Customs formalities”.[1] Like many countries, when talking about cross-border e-commerce shipments, Argentina Customs includes shipments transported by postal operators and express couriers. In this article, we will not describe the procedures in place to process these specific flows of goods. Interested readers can consult the ...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Making digital collaboration possible: the WCO Data Model – latest developments and implementation guidance
Dossier: Destination....Data!
...In October 2021, the World Trade Organization (WTO) reported that despite COVID-related interruptions, container throughput in international ports remains at or near record levels[1]. Even if the growth in cross-border movement of goods is not evenly distributed among countries, it is no longer feasible for any border control agency such as Customs to manually process import, export and transit processes without creating major disruptions to cross-...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
The crucial role of the WCO in trade liberalization of climate-friendly goods
Dossier: Supporting the Green Transition
... The National Board of Trade Sweden recently published a report entitled Trade and Climate Change – Promoting climate goals with a WTO agreement, which shows that trade policy-makers can do more to contribute to the promotion of climate goals. Customs administrations, through the World Customs Organization (WCO), have a crucial role to play, writes Emilie Eriksson, legal adviser and co-author of the...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
New e-learning course on AEO validation available to Customs and trade professionals
Flash Info
...To help meet the growing demand from Customs administrations for support in developing Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programmes and, more specifically, in setting up an AEO validation procedure, the WCO Secretariat has devised a new e-learning course which is available to Customs on the WCO CLiKC! platform and to trade professionals on the WCO Academy platform. The course takes approximately three hours to complete and has been designed to be interactive. It includes six modules which provide learners with a clear understanding of the objectives of an AEO programme and of how AE...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
WCO develops a model to assess maturity of leadership programmes
Flash Info
... Leadership competencies and skills oil the wheels of organizational progress and success. To support its Members in this field, the WCO has developed a Leadership and Management Development Programme. This article introduces the Maturity Model, one of the tools developed as part of this programme. Leadership as Partnership Academic researcher Russ S. Moxley, in an article entitled Leadership as Partnership, explains: “Leadership is typically understood as some...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
CLiKC! – new courses and new design
Flash Info
...New e-learning modules are available to Customs officers via CLiKC!, the WCO learning platform. Since April 2023, the platform also features a brand-new design that is both modern and intuitive, and an improved search function which allows users to quickly find the content they need. Last but not least, users can now download the CLiKC! mobile application and learn anywhere at any time on their phone, whether they are connected to the internet or not. Twenty-five mobile-optimized courses and videos from the CLiKC! catalogue are already avail...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Unveiling the WCO DM Version 4.0.0
Flash Info
...The WCO has just released Version 4.0.0 of the WCO Data Model (WCO DM v4). A compilation of clearly structured, harmonized, standardized and reusable sets of data definitions and electronic messages to meet the operational and legal requirements of cross-border regulatory agencies, the WCO DM is a critical tool, enabling IT systems’ interoperability, enhancing data quality and promoting the adoption of a data culture within Customs administrations. One of the standout features of WCO DM v4 is the introduction of the ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Strengthening E-Commerce Compliance: overview of Brazil Programa Remessa Conforme
Dossier: Engaging partners
...Brazil’s Customs Authority and private sector representatives worked together to develop a compliance programme dedicated to e-commerce companies. Launched in August 2023, the programme is a testimony to how Customs-Business partnership can shape regulatory frameworks and foster innovative solutions. The authors hope it will inspire countries grappling with the challenges of cross-border e-commerce in adopting a similar approach and compliance scheme. For some years now, the Global Environmental Scan published by the WCO has underscored the importance of e-commerce on the ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Assessing China’s trade facilitation progress – observations from an independent institution
Dossier: measuring performance
... Beijing Re-code Trade Security and Facilitation Research Centre, an independent not-for-profit research institute, has been evaluating trade facilitation progress made in China since 2016. The findings of this annual evaluation are published in the Trade Facilitation Annual Report of China (in both Chinese and English). This article is based on the findings of a total of six reports from 2019 to 2024. On 4 September 2015, China became the 16th WTO Member to ratify the World Trade Organization’s Trade Facilitation Agreement ...
Issue: WCO News 77
Japan’s new approach to Passenger Name Records
Dossier
...A record high of 13.4 million foreign passengers visited Japan during the last year, according to statistics compiled by the Japan Tourism Agency. This number has doubled in the last three years; a trend which is expected to continue and may reach more than 20 million in 2020 when the Olympic and Paralympic Games are held in Tokyo. Moreover, Japan Customs has seized a number of illicit goods carried by air travellers, and effective control is required to cope with this challenge. In addition, there is an urgent need to further enhance border controls, especially in the light of recen...
Issue: WCO News 78
Tariff and Trade Affairs
Dossier
... New publications New tools have rec...
Issue: WCO News 79
eTIR, the new digital TIR carnet
Dossier
... The TIR system is going paperless. The new eTIR system is based on real-time digital data exchange between transport operators, Customs authorities, TIR system guaranteeing organizations, and the United Nations. A pilot project is currently being implemented between Iran and Turkey, with the eTIR system expected to expand geographically from there over the coming years, reducing international transit costs and increasing security. The TIR system – an acronym for Transports Internationaux Routiers (International Road Transport) – is ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Customs Brokers: An overview of the outcomes of the WCO Study Report
Focus
... In order to provide a clear understanding of practices relating to the role of brokers, including institutional frameworks and the regulatory/licensing requirements, and to further provide guidance to its Members, the WCO developed a Study Report on Customs Brokers. Besides reviewing Members’ practices, the Study, which is based on the results of a survey and research carried out by the WCO Secretariat, provides some policy and organizational considerations to serve as a reference point for Customs administrations who are considering the establishment or ad...
Issue: WCO News 80
Highlights on the trade in non-authorized and counterfeit pesticides
Dossier
...The global trade in illegal pesticides is growing, evidenced by the increase in the number of seizures and incidents around the world related to such products. The increase is not only due to better awareness by controlling authorities of the phenomenon, but also to the fact that nowadays the illicit actors involved in the production and distribution of these goods operate on a global scale. Following a 12-day operation organized by the European Police Office (EUROPOL) in November 2015, 100 cases of infringements were detected during 350 inspections at major ports and airports in sev...
Issue: WCO News 82
API-PNR: an overview of the French system and the challenges faced
Dossier
... The European context European Union (EU) Directive 2016/681 on the use of Passenger Name Record (PNR) data was adopted on 27 April 2016. It requires EU Member States to collect and use both PNR data and Advanced Passenger Information (API) “for the prevention, detection, investigation and prosecution of terrorist offences and serious crime.” The Member States have two years to transpose the Directive into their national law, by which time it must be ready for implementation. The Directive stipulates that ...
Issue: WCO News 83
Perceived corruption leads to actual corruption
Dossier
...According to a survey conducted in a Latin American country on behalf of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the perception of corruption leads to actual corruption. The survey showed a ‘statistically significant’ increase in respondents’ willingness to bribe a police officer after they were told that corruption was on the rise in their country. Respondents were 28% more likely to bribe a police officer than the control group, who were not given such information as part of the experiment. This supports the notion that corruption is a ‘self-fulfilling prop...
Issue: WCO News 84
Capacity building
Dossier
... Strategic advisory support and delivery Strategic advisory support and delivery entail needs-assessments through diagnostic missions, the development of comprehensive strategic plans, the implementation of WCO standards, and the regular monitoring of performance indicators. During the 2016/2017 period, the WCO conducted 45 strategic advisory support missions. Key WCO capacity building tools to support these missions and actions include the Diagnostic Framework, a Risk Management Diagnostic, a Human Resource Management Diagnos...
Issue: WCO News 85
Revisiting the “Trading Across Borders” category of the World Bank’s Doing Business index
Dossier
... Procomex is an alliance of Brazilian companies and private sector organizations which aims to support the Customs modernization process. In this article, Procomex explains why it decided to replicate the survey used by the World Bank to evaluate the performance of the country when it comes to ease of trading across borders, and what the exercise revealed. What makes an economy internationally competitive? There are a number of responses out there. The World Economic Forum, for example, defines competitiveness as the institutions, policies and fa...
Issue: WCO News 86
An HS expert shares some personal reflections
Dossier
...While the Harmonized System, or HS, celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it is, in fact, much older because it was developed over several years starting in the 1970s. Having worked on HS matters for at least 40 years, both within Danish Customs and at the WCO Secretariat, I have been in the fortunate position to have closely followed its development, implementation, maintenance and use for a long time, up until my official retirement in 2017. This article provides me with an opportunity to share some personal reflections on the HS. ...
Issue: WCO News 87
Compliance and Enforcement
Dossier
... new publications Security Programme ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Burkina Faso makes strides in implementing key trade facilitation measures
Dossier
...The Customs Administration of Burkina Faso recently implemented two key measures to facilitate trade: the establishment of an Advance Ruling Mechanism on tariff classification, and the performance of Time Release Studies. Both of these measures are prescribed in the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation, namely in Article 3 and 7.6 respectively. “Advance rulings” generally refer to the prior decisions (“rulings”) issued by Customs on the classification, origin and valuation of commodities prior to their importation or exportation, at the request o...
Issue: WCO News 89
Towards technology-driven organizations
Dossier
...As Secretary General of the WCO, I am reminded, every time I visit a Customs administration and its facilities, of the various technologies used by WCO Members to improve the way they manage the flow of goods, people and means of transport, enabling them to not only meet the challenges, but also take advantage of the opportunities, presented by the 21st century border and trade environment. There is nothing new in saying that leveraging technology is key, and there is no shortage of articles or research and analysis on why and how Customs is or should be implementing information and ...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Capacity Building
Dossier
... WCO Mercator Programme Since its launch in June 2014, the Mercator Programme has become the WCO’s flagship capacity building programme aimed at assisting Member administrations implement the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) in a uniform manner. The Programme promotes harmonized implementation, provides “tailor-made” technical assistance and capacity building, and facilitates effective coordination amongst all interested stakeholders. From July 2018 to June 2019, over 100 national capacity building, technical assis...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Environmental sustainability: gaging the level of engagement within the Customs community
Dossier
...In pursuance of the WCO’s objective to support global sustainability efforts, its Secretariat recently conducted a survey among Customs administrations to ascertain their level of engagement with regards to the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements, or MEAs, as they are commonly referred to. The survey covered the following eight MEAs: Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (Basel Convention), 1992; Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity (Cartagena P...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Customs in the face of COVID-19: the case of Sri Lanka
Dossier
...The first positive coronavirus case in Sri Lanka was reported on 3 March and by 8 May nearly 820 people were found to be infected out of a 22 million population. On 16 March a wide curfew was imposed on the island, followed by other stringent measures to protect the further spread of the virus. This strategy enabled the government to keep fatalities at a single digit. Many activities were shut down while others had to adapt. The Colombo Tea Auction, the world’s oldest operational and largest single-origin tea auction, was conducted for the first time on an e-platform. Sri Lanka ...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
The dynamic dual role of tariffs: insight into specific and ad valorem rates
Dossier
...Introduction Following World War II, like-minded nations sought to create a global trading system that could help foster peace and prosperity through greater economic integration. This effort spawned the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which required its members to bind their tariffs at lower levels and apply them in a non-discriminatory way (meaning if you give a concession to one country, you give it to them all). Policy makers argued that decreasing tariffs would foster predictability in global trading, reduce prices for consumers and help bu...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Dematerialization of Customs procedures: Feedback from Moroccan Customs
Dossier
...With its focus fixed on the capacity consistently to improve the service it provides to its users, Moroccan Customs has long been counting recourse to the new information and communications technologies among its strategic options. Today, the various projects undertaken to dematerialize its procedures have culminated in a fresh boost for trade facilitation. As of now, Customs clearance in Morocco is taking on a new dimension: simplicity of access and data use, speed, transparency, traceability and security of transactions, streamlining of control measures and reduction of archiving costs. D...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Enhancing performance lies in helping employees to be aware of who they are and what drives them
Dossier
... How can you make an impact as a leader on the performance of your organization, especially in a time of crisis? Part of the answer lies in ensuring that your human resource (HR) managers are taken seriously and have the tools at their disposal to make the best decisions for your biggest resource, your people. This article introduces the notion of self-awareness and existing tools to measure talents and non-talents, and to help individuals find what makes them successful. Take HR seriously...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
USCBP latest initiatives to strengthen enforcement capacity for e-commerce shipments
Dossier: E-Commerce
...E-commerce is a growing segment of the economy of the United States. It made up 10.7% of the total retail sales in 2019 and 14% in 2020[1]. In 2020 alone, e-commerce sales in the U.S. grew over 40% and reached $791.8 billion U.S. dollars in value[2]. The growth of e-commerce  presents many challenges. Although e-commerce shipments pose the same health, safety, and economic security risks as containerized shipments, United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) lacks full visibility into the e-commerce supp...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
How Botswana Customs is leveraging data-driven technologies to rethink ways of doing, working, measuring and collaborating
Dossier: Destination....Data!
... The Botswana Government wants to build a tech-driven economy, in other words, an economy where development is driven by the potential of available technologies and the innovations they unlock. The Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) shares that ambition and is leveraging technologies – more specifically, data-driven technologies – for its business operations. This is evinced by the Service’s investment in various projects, which are described below. A new Customs Management System fo...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Moving goods in a circular business model: challenges and way ahead
Dossier: Supporting the Green Transition
... Why are we looking at circular economy approaches? Global trade has experienced intense challenges for the past two years, with supply chains facing unprecedented pressures during the COVID-19 pandemic and more recently with the Russia-Ukraine war on the European continent. At the same time, the planet has been heating up and people are waking up to the climate crisis which societies are facing. All these developments have added to a questioning of the current functioning of our global economy that is based o...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
A brief look at what is in the Dossier
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...There is nothing new in saying that leveraging technology is key to effectively managing the flow of goods, people and means of transport. This magazine contains a wealth of articles explaining how Customs administrations are using technology to fulfil their missions. In fact, given the impact of technologies on border management, we believe it is essential to gather as much knowledge and experience as possible so that Customs administrations are well informed on the opportunities offered to them to enhance – and sometimes totally transform – the way they work, measure and collaborate....
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Nurturing the next generation: promoting a culture of knowledge-sharing and professional pride in Customs
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...Each year, the WCO Secretariat invites the Organization’s Members to focus on a theme it considers relevant to the Customs community and its partners. In 2023, under the slogan “Nurturing the Next Generation: Promoting a Culture of Knowledge-sharing and Professional Pride in Customs”, the Secretariat is inviting Customs administrations to look at how they support newly-recruited officers, facilitate the sharing of knowledge, and heighten the sense of pride in being part of this institution and of the global Customs community. This is about placing human capital, and especially ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
WCO Academy – the private sector’s point of access to WCO expertise
Flash Info
...The WCO Academy was launched in May 2018 to provide representatives from the private sector and academia with access to WCO distance learning courses. The aim is to disseminate knowledge related to WCO standards, tools and instruments to a wide audience, thereby supporting their worldwide implementation. Some 15 Customs- and trade-related topics are covered, amounting to over 100 hours of content. The courses are split into modules and are mainly available in English and French. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Revitalizing cooperation between Ports and Customs
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
...Maritime transport carries 90 percent of global merchandise trade[1], and impediments to ports’ logistical chains have tangible repercussions in terms of higher trade costs and even shortages of goods and materials. The chains include numerous entities, spanning shipping lines, carrier agents, terminal operators, freight forwarders, road haulage operators, train operators, Port State Control, as well as Customs administrations and other regulatory authorities. Port authorities, be they government or private, play a key role in ensuring coordinat...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Developing an Ecosystem of Trust at the UK border
Dossier: Engaging partners
... This article introduces the Ecosystem of Trust (EoT) project which aimed at testing whether the use of supply chain data, alongside technologies such as smart seals and smart containers, could be integrated into government systems to improve border processes. The project involved regulatory agencies, technology firms, logistics providers, academics and port operators and confirmed how vital it is for government and industry to work together to modernise the border. Modernising the UK border ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
How the Customs Integrity Perception Survey helped reinforce integrity in El Salvador and Mozambique
Dossier: measuring performance
... The WCO Customs Integrity Perception Survey (CIPS) makes it possible to check how a Customs administration is perceived by its own staff and by individuals who engage with them in the areas of promoting integrity and combating corruption. Thus, the CIPS is an instrument that can help improve the capacity of Customs administrations to measure their performance in these areas. In this article the Customs Administrations of El Salvador and Mozambique, having conducted the survey, explain what is involved and how the CIPS has helped them to identify areas for imp...
Issue: WCO News 77
Customs laboratories: available resources, assistance and networking possibilities
Focus
...While many traded goods can be correctly identified and classified by simple visual inspection or documentation review, some require chemical or scientific testing to ascertain their identity and enable their correct classification. Products as diverse as acetaminophen (a pharmaceutical product), saccharin (an artificial sweetener), ascorbic acid (a vitamin), piperonal (a drug precursor) or potassium cyanide (a potent poison), for example, cannot be differentiated without being analysed. This applies not only to classic chemical products. Without chemical testing, it is impossible to...
Issue: WCO News 78
Procedures and Facilitation
Dossier
... Capacity building delivery Thirty national or regional events have been organized to support WCO Members i...
Issue: WCO News 79
AEO and paperless procedures: a great opportunity for companies
Dossier
... With the entry into force of the ‘Union Customs Code’ in the European Union, and the still all too real terrorist threat, obtaining the status of an Authorized Economic Operator is even more vital than ever for companies in the world of logistics. However, guaranteeing and optimizing the process of obtaining this status calls for the use of tools essential to paperless procedures, also known as dematerialization, which in turn have been rendered vital by the need to control costs and the stiff competition in the field of international transport. Never bef...
Issue: WCO News 81
Some thoughts about Customs brokers: the WCO survey and beyond
Focus
...This is a time when there is a high level of interest worldwide in the use of Customs brokers, especially the value of Customs brokers in creating efficiencies for moving goods across borders in a cost effective way, and in securing revenue while protecting the public interest. Yet, Customs brokers around the world spend a considerable part of their time explaining what they do. It isn’t that the explanation is difficult, but it is certainly not universal, since the requirements to become a Customs broker and the services provided by them often vary from country to country, and are...
Issue: WCO News 80
Illegal fishing, another form of wildlife crime
Dossier
... Identifying the trade in fisheries products that have been illegally caught is challenging. This article provides an overview of the solutions being developed by governments, inter-governmental organizations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and civil society to address illegal fishing and associated trade. Fish and fish products are among the most traded food commodities worldwide, and the trade has expanded considerably in recent decades as the fisheries sector operates in an increasingly globalized environment. The wa...
Issue: WCO News 82
Developing data analyst skills: how the WCO contributes to expanding this specialized area of work
Dossier
...As the WCO is dedicating 2017 to encouraging the use of data analysis for more effective border management, I would like to share my own personal experience in this field, and explain how I was able to develop my data analysis skills thanks to the WCO’s support. Data analysis is not merely one of the core activities of any modern Customs administration; today it is a basic tool for any organization, requiring the adoption of a systematic approach to the collection and processing of data, as well as specialized and qualified personnel. I started my career at Mongolian Customs...
Issue: WCO News 83
WCO Mercator Programme: pioneering innovative partnerships
Focus
...With the entry into force of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), some governments face a renewed urgency to modernize and reform their Customs administrations over the next few years. Fortunately, one of the main priorities for the international donor community is to ensure the effective implementation of the provisions of the TFA, providing a unique opportunity for these countries to access a wide range of technical assistance and capacity building support. This support often comprises the undertaking of an analysis, in order to ascertain how a Customs administration is o...
Issue: WCO News 84
Compliance and Enforcement
Dossier
...Security Programme Under the Strategic Trade Controls Enforcement (STCE) Programme, a curriculum and modules for training purposes have been developed to assist in the evaluation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) and work practices dealing with strategic goods, which are defined as weapons of mass destruction (WMD), and conventional weapons and related items involved in the development, production or use of such weapons and their delivery systems...
Issue: WCO News 85
A method for measuring trade facilitation
Dossier
...With its recent ratification in February 2017, the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement is now in force. This is fantastic news for making trade simpler, and for taking advantage of the subsequent economic rewards. However, the question of how to hold countries, administrations and operators accountable to making things simpler, is still open. We argue that although making sure that trade facilitation measures are in place is good, it is the quality of impleme...
Issue: WCO News 86
Is the HS still fit for purpose?
Dossier
... As the WCO celebrates the 30th anniversary, in 2018, of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, more popularly known as the Harmonized System or the HS, the question may be asked whether the time has come to contemplate a major overhaul of the system. This article looks at the structure of the HS, its changing uses, whether it is still a sufficient solution, how it can be improved, and whether a structural revision is now necessary. What is the HS The HS is a l...
Issue: WCO News 87
Capacity building
Dossier
...  Strategic advisory support and delivery Strategic advisory support and delivery entail needs-assessments through scoping and gap analysis missions, the development of comprehensive strategic plans, the implementation of WCO standards, and the regular monitoring of performance indicators. During the 2017/2018 period, the WCO conducted 31 such missions. Key WCO capacity building tools to support these missions and actions include the...
Issue: WCO News 88
Mauritius, a small island economy on the move
Dossier
...  Small island states and the various issues that they face, from whatever perspective one looks at them, are a priority for the global community as a whole. This article explains the challenges and peculiarities of Customs administrations of small island economies by looking at the specificities of the Mauritian economy and its trade flows, identified areas of change, and the measures and initiatives undertaken to increase efficiency and reduce trade costs. Located off the southeast coast of Africa, Mauritius is an island state of a...
Issue: WCO News 89
Building partnerships with other border regulatory agencies through ICT
Dossier
...The Jamaica Customs Agency is cognizant of the benefits to be derived from the introduction and use of information and communication technology (ICT) in partnership with other partnering regulatory agencies (PRAs). Such an endeavour is considered strategic and necessary for improved service delivery to private companies involved in international trade and for individuals travelling in and out of the country. Moving to a paperless environment Jamaica Customs’ strategic shift towards a modern Customs administ...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Compliance and Enforcement
Dossier
... New Publications Strategic Trade Control Enforcement Implementation Guides 2019 Edition ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Shining a light on dangerous commodities
Dossier
... How the Harmonized System supports a safer, greener world by specifying goods of environmental concern or interest. “Here be dragons” Dragons and other mythological beasts were used to illustrate uncharted and potentially dangerous areas on some medieval maps. In regard to goods that pose environmental risks, there are Harmonized System (HS) provisions that could rightly bear dragon illustrations. These are provisions where goods of concern are subsumed within...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Japan Customs conducts online induction training for new recruits
Dossier
... As more countries imposed restrictions on movements and gatherings to fight the spread of COVID-19, online training that might have been a useful tool before, suddenly became a necessity. In this article, Japan Customs explains how it quickly adapted to the situation to keep offering new recruits the training they needed to take on their first assignment with confidence.  Japan Customs has three main missions: protecting society; collecting duties and taxes appropriately and in a fair manner; and further facilitating legitimate trade a...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Transfer pricing: understanding multinational firms’ practices
Dossier
...A significant amount of work has been done over the last 15 years on “convergence” of income tax transfer pricing (TP) and Customs valuation. Both income tax and Customs rules seek the same result, ensuring that prices between related parties are “at arm’s length,” set as if the parties were unrelated. But the rules are different. Income tax TP rules in the majority of countries are based on guideline...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Ensuring Staff Wellbeing and Psychological Health: Jamaica shares its experience
Dossier
... The Jamaica Customs Agency considers its human capital to be its most valued resource and, as such, its staff has a place of pride within the Administration. In this article, the Human Resource Management and Development (HRMD) Division introduces some of the programmes it has developed to ensure staff wellbeing and psychological health.   Resilience, a person’s ability to bounce back from, grow and thrive during challenge, change, and adversity, is currently quite a buzzword. It is widely recognized that, while organizations might...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Blockchain, artificial intelligence and big data: how Korea Customs Service leverages technology to supervise e-commerce
Dossier: E-Commerce
...Korea Customs Service (KCS) has introduced a range of measures since early 2010 to respond to a growing number of imports and exports generated by online sales and purchases by both businesses and individuals, given the strong upward trend in cross-border e-commerce. KCS previously described the measures it had taken to streamline the import and export process for goods bought online in the October 2015 edition of WCO News. It also i...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Collecting data on Customs administrations: lessons learned from the first International Survey on Customs Administration
Dossier: Destination....Data!
... Co-managed by the WCO and the IMF, the first International Survey on Customs Administration (ISOCA) was finalized in June 2020 and a report presenting some of the results was released in November 2021. Whilst a higher number of participants is required for the Survey to provide a global view of the roles Customs administrations play and their practices, this first edition served as a proof of concept, demonstrating the feasibility of collecting data on Customs to support analysis and research at the national and international level. The Internat...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Some common questions about the HS, and how to change it to meet needs
Dossier: Supporting the Green Transition
...Good trade-related policy requires good trade data. While it may occasionally be necessary to implement policies and trade measures without a data-driven understanding of the underlying trade, there is always the risk that doing so could deliver unpredictable results or miss the desired objectives. Good trade data is also essential for monitoring and assessing the implementation of trade policies. Commonly for trade-related issues, a major part of examining the data involves looking at the data generated by Customs classification. For trade beyond the imports/exports of one Cu...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
The WCO Data Model: guidance for efficient implementation
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...A fundamental requirement for information to flow seamlessly across different IT systems is that they all speak the same language. Cross-border regulatory agencies retaining the right to determine the data they require should all use a similar language and have harmonized the way in which the required data is submitted. This is also critical for enabling economic operators to use the same system to comply with the requirements of different administrations and countries. Such a common language exists: the WCO Data Model (DM). Developed and maintained through the WCO Data Model Project...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Why now is the time to address workforce challenges
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
... The workforce-related challenges faced by leaders of organizations in all sectors across the world are mounting. Recent empirical research in the form of one of the largest labour market studies ever conducted worldwide paints a more detailed and nuanced picture of what is going on ‒ and points to concrete ways of responding. What is going on in the workplace? The Great Resignation has been making a lot of noise in recent news. But what does it mean? Is it really happe...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Enabling Customs in Fragile and Conflict-Affected Situations
Dossier: Fragile Borders
...Fragile borders are areas where State agencies, particularly Customs, are unable to operate properly owing to the insecurity created by State or non-State armed groups. Although each fragile and conflict-affected situation (FCS) has its own specificities, similarities do exist across countries in terms of the role of trade as an economic resource for communities, the embeddedness of smuggling in social activities and the informal taxation levied on traders and cross-border flows of commodities by non-State armed groups such as terrorists, criminal gangs or guerrillas. Although the pr...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Customs-Ports partnership and engagement in Abu Dhabi
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
...Abu Dhabi (AD), the capital of the United Arab Emirates, was one of the early adopters of trade digitalization in the Middle East and has made considerable progress in this field. To achieve this, it needed to establish a solid partnership between key private- and public-sector stakeholders, including AD Customs, AD Ports Group[1] and the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED). In 2019, the ADDED formed the Abu Dhabi Logistics Sector Development Committee.[2] Under its umbrella, AD Customs and AD ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Combating drug trafficking: how shipping lines can become Customs partners
Dossier: Engaging partners
...Many law enforcement agencies have seen a dramatic increase in drug trafficking over the past five years, as well as in the number of violent events and the amount of social disruption linked to this trade. Over the years, shipping lines have invested significant resources in combating the movement of illicit goods using their vessels. Measures include cargo screening and the monitoring of containers using tracking devices or sensor systems indicating container breaches and temperature changes. Some carriers also use automated analytical tools to detect anomalies in shipping manifest inform...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Accountability and transparency features in the United States’ Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) programme
Dossier: measuring performance
...Accountability in operations and programme management has been a principal feature of U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT) programme since its inception in November 2001. The CTPAT programme is the United States’ Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme. In fact, CBP implemented a comprehensive approach to hold the CTPAT programme accountable to different parties and entities, to include its own CTPAT partners. This approach, which includes the establishment of verifiable performance measures, audits, surveys, and asse...
Issue: WCO News 77
Customs laboratories, chemistry and excise: an historical introduction
Focus
...At the end of July 1882, a strange package arrived at the Madrid Customs laboratory which was under the direction of Gabriel de la Puerta-Ródenas, a Spanish chemist who lived from 1839-1908. Destined for Spain’s Prime Minister, the Spanish authorities, fearing for the Prime Minister’s life, decided to have the package examined. They first turned to the Army laboratory, and then to the School of Mines’ laboratory in Madrid, but both refused to open it. Fortunately, De la Puerta, a renowned chemist, pharmacist, botanist and doctor, was willing to take on sensitive assig...
Issue: WCO News 78
Capacity Building
Dossier
... Four areas of activity ...
Issue: WCO News 79
Securing the digital supply chain
Dossier
...The digital supply chain is where the world of trade is being transformed, as consumers and businesses switch to digital media, digital goods and e-commerce in place of physical goods traded at bricks-and-mortar stores. New platforms for trading goods online as well as on the ‘dark net,’ new driverless modes of transport (such as drones), and new digital design and manufacturing techniques (such as 3D printing) are disrupting international trade supply chains that are based on the movement of physical goods. This evolution poses significant challenges for Customs agencies and bor...
Issue: WCO News 81
An overview of Japan’s Customs brokerage legislation
Focus
... In Japan, about 920 companies or individuals are engaged in Customs brokerage as of April 2016. The Japanese Customs broker regime has the following characteristics: the use of a broker is optional; brokers require a licence to operate; brokers must employ qualified staff; and brokers may apply to join the authorized economic operator (AEO) programme which was introduced in 2008. Customs brokers are specialists in import and export procedures, and their use, while already high, is increasing in Japan. Although each country’s clearance system d...
Issue: WCO News 80
Tracking the illicit traffic in weapons
Dossier
...An assault rifle is shipped to a foreign government in the mid-1970s. Forty years later, with the original records of its sale long since disposed of or lost, it is stolen from a poorly guarded stockpile, and driven in the back of a truck across a thousand-mile-long border. It is passed on to a foreign insurgent group, discovered at a Customs post while being smuggled across another border, and is finally seized and placed in a Customs storeroom for investigation or disposal. Such a scenario will be familiar to Customs and enforcement officials all over the world. Recent atrocities i...
Issue: WCO News 82
Cognitive computing for Customs agencies: improving compliance and facilitation by enabling Customs officers to make better decisions
Dossier
...Data analytics – for example, automated selectivity rules – has become an increasingly important tool for Customs agencies. However, conventional data analytics has some critical limitations. It can only look for pre-defined patterns and rules, and cannot make use of unstructured data, which comes in the form of emails, social media, blogs, documents, images and videos. Cognitive computing allows Customs agencies to extract insights from both structured and unstructured data, discover new patterns and rules, capture the experience of top performers, and improve the quality and consisten...
Issue: WCO News 83
‘Hackathon’ innovation potential tested by Finnish Customs
Panorama
... Hackathons are no longer the exclusive domain of tech geeks. Several hundred big companies in other industries now organize them, including firms in industries as diverse as airlines, cars, telecommunications, beer and banking, as well as governmental and public institutions. Finnish Customs recently participated in a public service hackathon during which it challenged participants to imagine solutions that would make it easier to access information on Customs regulations and procedures. The experience ended up being extremely beneficial and allowed the organ...
Issue: WCO News 84
True leadership through greater awareness
Panorama
... Since 2015, Directors General of Customs and their executive teams have been able to participate in a ‘Top Executive Retreat,’ as a means of further strengthening their capacity in implementing change and in achieving organizational results. This article explains what a retreat is all about and the benefits that can be derived from attending such an event.   At the end of a WCO Top Executive Retreat (TER), the Director General of a Customs administration and his/her executive team leave with many new and fresh ideas on h...
Issue: WCO News 85
UPU postal-rail project: establishing an international postal rail transport service
Dossier
... Although the carriage of freight by rail can provide a cheaper and faster alternative to sea and air transport, it is still very low. In order to develop the transport of postal items by rail, the Universal Postal Union (UPU) has set up a task force and undertaken several pilots in order to better understand how the performance of rail transport between China and Europe can be improved and how its use by shippers can be enhanced. China is the most important country of origin for the import of goods into the European Union (EU) and is now develop...
Issue: WCO News 86
Building a classification infrastructure: the Ghanaian experience
Dossier
... In January 2018, the Ghanaian government notified the WCO Secretariat that it had accepted seven Harmonized System (HS)-related WCO Council Recommendations, testimony to its strong commitment to implement objective, predictable and transparent classification practices as well as facilitate the collection of international trade statistics and the monitoring of global trade. This article presents the path that the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority has charted over the years in its quest to create a functional and workable classification infras...
Issue: WCO News 87
Council Chairperson and Secretary General re-elected for new terms
Dossier
...  Election highs of the sessions included the re-election of Enrique Canon, the Director General of Uruguay Customs, as Chairperson of the Council, and the re-election of Kunio Mikuriya, the incumbent Secretary General of the WCO, for a further five-year term at the helm of the Organization, effective 1 January 2019. Mr. Canon expressed his gratitude for the ongoing confidence placed in him by the Council, and Dr. Mikuriya said that he was deeply honoured by the confidence that the Council has in his ability to lead the Secretariat and that he will continue working to ach...
Issue: WCO News 88
Australia’s Vendor Collection Model explained
Dossier
...The growth of e-commerce has contributed to significant increases in the volumes of goods crossing Australia’s borders. Between 2013 and 2016, the volume of inbound air cargo and international mail parcels increased by 57%. Between 2017 and 2021, Australia expects a 30% year-on-year growth in air cargo, and the number of international mail parcels to double. One of the reasons why online shopping has become so popular lies in the fact that goods with a value of 1,000 Australian dollars or less imported into Australia were, until 1 July 2018, exempt from goods and services tax (GST)...
Issue: WCO News 89
Biometric breakthrough: CBP’s innovative approach to keeping America safe
Dossier
...It is 07:45 on a Wednesday morning in May at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the United States (US) and passengers are boarding Delta Air Lines flight 334 to Mexico City. One by one the passengers scan their boarding passes and approach a camera that is set up on the air bridge where they have their pictures taken before they board the flight. The photos are being matched through biometric facial recognition technology to photos that were previously taken of the passengers for their passports, visas, or other government documentation. All is moving smoothly until ...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
2019 WCO Photo Competition
Dossier
...“Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer has nothing to declare” is the caption of this year’s winning entry from Finland Customs. ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Focus on the transboundary movements of wastes
Dossier
... There is a long-standing concern that trade flows in hazardous and other wastes could lead to negative impacts on human health and the environment if such wastes end up in countries without capacities for their proper management. On the other hand, trade in waste is sometimes a necessity for countries not having the necessary infrastructure to manage their own wastes in an environmentally sound manner. Waste can also be a resource that can reduce the use of virgin materials and generate energy and a global market for (non‑hazardous) wa...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Air cargo – the lifeline of recovery: health, trade, and society’s wellbeing
Dossier
...In every discussion I have about aviation, people ask me when they will be able to fly again. Still remains to be seen when the recovery from COVID-19 firmly starts, but from all assessments, it may take several years for the industry to come back to its pre-crisis level, especially when it comes to intercontinental leisure passenger traffic. The economic impact of the current pandemic on average citizens is huge, and discretionary expenses like travel will be the first thing to be eliminated. Vacations as well as visiting friends and relatives will most likely be domestic, not inter...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
“Valuing” our involvement – private sector engagement and views on Customs valuation
Dossier
... The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the WCO have a history of long and close co-operation in the area of Customs valuation. As the institutional representative of more than 45 million businesses in over 100 countries, ICC has been participating as an Observer in the meetings of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation since 1979. In that time, the ICC Observer delegation has had the opportunity to explain specific aspects of commercial practice in terms of their influence on Customs valuation, as well as to engage with Cu...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Digitization of ATA Carnets: overview of the ICC pilot project
Dossier
...The ATA[1] Carnet is an international Customs document that permits duty-free and tax-free temporary admission of most goods for up to one year. It enables countries, businesses and border agencies to expedite the Customs process by utilizing unified, ready-to-use declaration forms and eliminating the lodging of a guarantee, bond or cash deposit in the country of temporary importation. At the end of 2020, the ATA Carnet procedure has been implemented in 78 countries and Customs territories. In each one of them, the Customs authority appoints a National ...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Qatar Customs invests in staff development
Dossier
... Qatar Customs is offering its staff new opportunities to further their education and ensure they are well equipped to take on complex projects or managerial positions. This article introduces these new educational programmes and reveals some of the lessons learned in establishing them.   Until recently, staff working for Qatar’s General Authority of Customs (hereafter referred to as Qatar Customs) could enhance their knowledge and skills only by following training provided by the Customs Training Centre and the WCO Secreta...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Peru develops new processes and services to facilitate and secure cross-border e commerce
Dossier: E-Commerce
...In Peru, the importation of goods purchased online has increased by 23% annually over the past five years. Consumers and companies buy products through marketplaces such as AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish from sellers mostly located in Asia, the United States and Europe. Products are mainly transported by air via express courier delivery services called Empresas de Servicio de Entrega Rápida (ESERs). A number of years ago as part of its digital transformation efforts, SUNAT began reviewing the way it processes goods transported by ESERs. The Covid-19 pandemic gave renewed...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Transforming Dominican Customs through effective data analysis
Dossier: Destination....Data!
...Today, a lot of what we do generates data. These data can be analysed in real time thanks to hyperconnected infrastructures – a state of communications where electronic and computer devices of all kinds can communicate among each other to whatever extent each individual user desires – as well as increased data storage and processing capacity, artificial intelligence, machine learning and artificial neural networks. Data can be transformed into information and then translated into intelligence that allows us to make decisions objectively. The General Directorate of Customs (DGA) o...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Some thoughts on Customs role in sustainable development
Dossier: Supporting the Green Transition
... This article looks at how Singapore Customs strives to bring efficiency in the management of trade operations to lower their impact on the environment as well as at the initiatives it has taken to support environmental policies. The most frequently cited definition of sustainability is in Our Common Future, the 1987 UN-commissioned study known as the Brundtland Report: “Humanity has the ability to make development sustainable to ensure that it meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future gene...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Bahamas Customs takes huge leap forward on recouping lost and evaded revenue
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
... Through the use of AI analytics, Bahamas has identified over 115 million USD in evaded revenue since 2020, while simultaneously modernizing its revenue collection management capabilities. In 2020, Bahamas Customs began seeking solutions to help identify and recoup lost and evaded revenue at the border. While significant modernization efforts have already been made towards deploying an Electronic Single Window System to promote coordination and interoperability between Customs and Other Government Agencies for the cross-border movement of contr...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Qatar Customs Knowledge Management Strategy
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...The General Authority of Customs (GAC) of Qatar considers that knowledge management is key to improving its performance in all areas, ranging from service quality and productivity to the decision-making process and communication. Knowledge management is not really about managing knowledge, but about developing a culture that values learning and the sharing of knowledge. It consists of a collection of processes that govern the creation, dissemination and utilization of knowledge in an organization. Steering Committee ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Working against a security crisis backdrop: the experience of units in South-West Cameroon
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... The security crisis gripping a number of regions in Cameroon has severely disrupted the day‑to-day operations of the local Customs surveillance units. Whether seeking to nurture a survival instinct, protect the physical integrity of staff or forge ahead with surveillance missions, these units struggle to find the appropriate balance. However, these surveillance units have learned over time to develop tricks and tactics, and make the operational adjustments needed to complete the various missions allocated to them by the public authorities. This article look...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Putting the partnership principle into practice: a look into Singapore Customs’ collaboration with authorities and stakeholders
Dossier: Engaging partners
...This year’s International Customs Day theme, “Customs Engaging Traditional and New Partners with Purpose”, resonates deeply with Singapore Customs. In the ever-evolving landscape of international trade, growing interdependence and technological advancements demand that we adapt, innovate and build meaningful partnerships to ensure efficient Customs procedures and smooth trade flows. At Singapore Customs, we believe that trade is best facilitated by setting in place a trusted and rules-based system that ensures fair play for all parties. This requires us to engage do...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Explaining utilization of preferential tariffs: new perspectives
Dossier: measuring performance
... For many years, Maersk, a company that provides shipping, logistics and trade consultancy services, has supported a number of research projects. This article offers a snapshot of a forthcoming academic paper that examines and proposes an explanation for the levels of utilization of preferential tariffs by importers in the European Union. Over the past 20 years, preferential trade agreements (PTAs) have become a common feature of the international trade landscape. By the end of 2023, the World Trade Organization (WTO) had received notifications f...
Issue: WCO News 77
Dominican Republic opens top-notch Customs laboratory
Focus
...On 18 February 2015, the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) of the Dominican Republic officially opened a modern scientific laboratory occupying a site measuring 1,217 square metres in the city of Santo Domingo. The facility has an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), an emergency generator, kitchen facilities, vehicle parking and an area for unloading and receiving samples, and complies with the highest health and safety standards. Designed to improve the managerial efficiency, predictability and availability, within its remit, of the DGA vis-à-vis all external trade users and operators,...
Issue: WCO News 78
Compliance and Enforcement
Dossier
... ...
Issue: WCO News 79
Start small, think big: big data!
Focus
...Ninety-three percent of federal government respondents to a recent survey by Unisys Corp. said that the quality and speed of decision-making improved when applying data analytics; yet nearly 70% reported that they are concerned about their agency’s ability to analyse key data rather than simply collect it. One of the reasons for such concern is the ‘information explosion,’ a term that describes the rapid increase in the amount of available information or data, introducing the challenge of managing the information and making sense out of it. Giving up is not an option because da...
Issue: WCO News 81
Cameroon’s experience concerning licensed Customs brokers
Focus
...In Cameroon, a licensed Customs broker (LCB) plays a very important role in the national supply chain. The national directory of LCBs lists almost 200 brokers, with the number changing as licences are withdrawn or brokers cease their activities. Under the current regulations it is compulsory to use an LCB. However, diplomatic missions, international bodies, owners of imported second-hand vehicles, public authorities, and oil companies (where their crude oil exports are concerned) are permitted to lodge their own Customs declarations. The profession is governed by the Community...
Issue: WCO News 80
Automatic detection tools: from concept to reality
Dossier
...On International Customs Day 2016, the Secretary General of WCO, Kunio Mikuriya, reminded us all that information and communications technology (ICT) is everywhere in today’s Customs workplace, and that ICT has transformed the way Customs and governments operate. To meet the challenge of facilitating trade through more effective and streamlined control of merchandise, Customs authorities must take advantage of technologies, and more particularly of non-intrusive inspection (NII) solutions. Over the last decades, Customs have stayed at the forefront of this key technology. Th...
Issue: WCO News 82
Emerging technologies can transform border management, but agencies must prepare
Point of View
...Globalization and the rising threat of terrorism are just two of the many issues challenging border agencies’ ability to secure the swift movement of people and goods across borders. At the same time, emerging technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT,, blockchain, biometrics, data analytics and machine learning have introduced new risks and opportunities, requiring a rapid and innovative response from industry leaders. A recent Accenture survey of 91 leaders within border agencies across nine countries – Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Norway, Singapore, the U...
Issue: WCO News 83
Enhanced control of light aviation in West Africa
Panorama
...Although the term has not been defined in international law, it is commonly held that light aviation comes under the heading of general aviation, a generic term covering all civil aviation operations other than commercial transport, in other words sports and leisure aviation, aerial work and private aviation. Small aircraft, helicopters, gliders and microlight aircraft fall within this category. Any deficiency in the management of this ‘small-scale aviation’ poses risks. On the one hand, there are tax risks, and care must be taken to ensure that the aircraft in question have been...
Issue: WCO News 84
Enhancing results in the fight against the illicit trade in cigarettes: Dominican Customs’ positive experience
Panorama
...Illicit trade endangers the healthy structure of trade and industry, and requires constant vigilance from Customs administrations, which, due to their position at the border, play a critical role in combating this trade that causes enormous detriment to state revenues and that of industries around the world. There are several types of illicit trade activities, including money laundering, drug trafficking, the smuggling of precious stones and metals, and the trade in counterfeit and pirated goods, as well as the trafficking of people and endangered or protected wildlife. The following...
Issue: WCO News 85
Australia and New Zealand trial a ‘green lane’ for international mail
Dossier
... Australia and New Zealand have been working together to test a new border clearance process to help address the huge increase in e-commerce related international mail volumes between the two countries. Undertaken as a trial, this article explains its objectives, how it was conducted, the results, lessons learned, and the next steps. Over the past few years, there has been significant global growth in international mail, with the worldwide boom in e-commerce driving a huge increase in the number of low value parcels. E-commerce mail volumes from ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Role of the HS in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
Dossier
...Appropriate policies and sound legal and regulatory frameworks are necessary conditions to make international trade a virtuous engine to eradicate poverty and hunger, and to promote prosperity and sustainable development. On 25 September 2015, the 193 Member States of the United Nations (UN) adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development[1] that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets, and 232[2] indicators. The 2030 Agenda is fully owned by countries, and provides a comprehensive fra...
Issue: WCO News 87
Signing ceremonies
Dossier
... The WCO signed several Memoranda of Understanding (MoU): with Korea Customs on the establishment of a WCO Regional Customs Laboratory; with Tunisia Customs on the establishment of a WCO Regional Training Centre (RTC); ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Korea pilots blockchain technology as it prepares for the future
Dossier
...Since the Fourth Industrial Revolution was mentioned in 2016 at the World Economic Forum, the impact of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), the blockchain and “big data” have become issues discussed at length worldwide. In Korea, in preparing for the future, the government formed a “Fourth Industrial Revolution Committee” in 2017, directly reporting to the President. The Committee is mandated to coordinate important policy matters pertaining to the development and acquisition of new science and technology. As part of the government’s efforts, the ...
Issue: WCO News 89
Improving facilitation through the use of electronic seals
Dossier
... India figured amongst the top 10 countries that had improved its ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report 2019. The most remarkable progress was made in the category “Trading across borders,” where India’s rank jumped from 146 to 80, the highest jump made by a country. Amongst several Customs measures explaining this evolution is the adoption of electronic seals. To facilitate trade operations, Indian Customs allows cargo to be moved without the collection of duty and without physical inspection between ports and Inland Containe...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Elections: a new Council Chairperson and two new Directors
Dossier
...   Far right: Mr. Dicksons Collins Kateshumbwa, Commissioner of Uganda Customs, was elected Chairperson of the Council ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
The ozone layer and climate protection: Customs’ essential role
Dossier
...The ozone layer, which lies in the atmosphere high above our heads, is vital for protecting human health and the environment from dangerous ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth’s surface. Without it, life on earth could not exist. Depletion of this thin layer of gas is caused by the emission of man-made ozone depleting substances (ODS) such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrofluorocarbons (HCFCs) used primarily in refrigeration and air-conditioning as well as in the production of foams. In October 2019, there were many optimistic media reports that the hole in the ozone lay...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
The invisible and secure border of the future
Dossier
... Never more than now has the need for a secure and contactless border experience been more important. Border agencies face many challenges and are today operating in an era of unprecedented change. An increasingly volatile global travel and trade environment combined with new security and public health threats, make for a challenging and evolving operating environment that requires close observation, and coordinated and far-reaching responses. To be successful in this era of instability and rapid change, border agencies need to evolve thei...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Advance rulings: facilitating trade while promoting compliance
Dossier
... Advance rulings relating to the determination of tariff classification and origin of goods are already established in several countries, but few have implemented such a system in the field of Customs valuation. Such rulings do not determine or confirm the actual Customs value of a particular consignment but indicate the treatment to apply to certain elements of the Customs value. In this article, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explains the processes and procedures relating to this powerful trade facilitation tool which benefits both the a...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
How digital tools can improve compliance with SPS measures
Dossier
... Given increasing concerns about food security and food safety and the need to fight hunger and eliminate food waste, a review of the current processes for implementation of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement and adoption of information technology to enhance workflows would benefit both the import and export economies, as well as trading partners.  SPS Agreement and certification process The aim of the WTO Sanitary and Phyto...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Managing organizational performance in a crisis period
Dossier
... This article is based on the presentation by the authors at the WCO webinar “Managing HR through a crisis and beyond”. It looks at how to maintain effective performance in a severely disruptive crisis situation, and explores practical strategies for combining performance and staff wellbeing at work. It considers some general leadership and management practices, as well as the adoption of a learning and leadership framework for organizational learning to build capacity and sustainability.   The COVID-19 pandemic has had, ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Extending the ISO Audit Data Collection Standard to improve Customs and indirect tax audits and bring some innovation into this field
Point of View
... International Standard ISO[1] 21378:2019 aims to make data collection for financial audits more efficient and reliable. In this article, Dutch Customs explains the structure of this ISO Standard and why the Netherlands has submitted a proposal to extend it to cover data related to Customs and indirect tax audits. The article argues that this development is critical to facilitating post-control audits and bringing much-needed innovation in this field of work. At the same time, it will offer the business com...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Geospatial data at the service of Niger Customs
Dossier: Destination....Data!
... In the June 2019 issue of WCO News,[1] the WCO Secretariat encouraged Customs to examine the use of geodata for more effective border management. In Niger, the Customs service recently financed a study into the use of satellite imagery to analyse cross-border trade flows. This paper presents the information collected and explains how it will be used t...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Automatic detection tools help with identifying the illicit trade in ivory
Point of View
...Back in June 2016, we wrote in the pages of this very magazine that “automatic detection tools, commonly known by the acronym ATR, which means automatic threat recognition, or assisted target recognition” had transformed from concept to reality. Today, we would like to highlight the results achieved in terms of developing ATR specifically to identify the illicit trade in ivory. When it comes to tracking illegal trade in wildlife, and especial...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Automated detection: Dutch Customs shares its experience
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...In our “Pushing Boundaries” vision, we described our “dot” on the horizon, a helpful focal point when dealing with challenges we are, and will be, confronted with. The most prominent one is how to cope with a rising number of declarations and, consequently, a growing need for inspections. At any given time, we need to find the right balance between Customs supervision and trade facilitation; our aim is to implement robust controls, but with as little administrative hassle and regulatory pressure on business as possible, and with minimal delays to the logistic flow. First and ...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Interesting trends in Customs university programmes
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...The business of Customs is extremely complex, and yet, until very recently, there was no academic recognition of Customs as a profession. Unlike lawyers, accountants, engineers and others who are able to point to some form of diploma that indicates they are professionals in their field, no equivalent existed for Customs officials. This changed in the 1990s, thanks to three like-minded individuals[1] who had been developing Customs-specific curricula in their universities – Münster in Germany, Riga in Latvia and Canberra in Australia. They creat...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
The security crisis in Haiti and its impact on Customs
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... In Haiti, the political instability that followed the departure of President Jean-Claude Duvalier in 1986 was compounded by a security crisis caused by the military coup against President Jean-Bertrand Aristide in 1991. This culminated in the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021 and led to the emergence of armed groups, which are now responsible for an almost permanent climate of terror. This article will explain the impact of this extremely fragile situation on the functioning of the Customs Administration and set out some possible lines of appr...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Implementing the principles of “Smart Borders” at a medium-sized port
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
...Bulgaria has been a fully-fledged Member State of the European Union (EU) since 1 January 2007 and exerts controls over one of the external maritime borders of the EU with the Black Sea, in accordance with EU Customs policies. The number of inbound and outbound container units going through its largest maritime port, the Port of Varna, has grown steadily over the past 10 years (see Figure 1) but represents a minor part of the flows of goods entering or leaving the European Union through its maritime borders. Most goods entering Bulgaria by sea are released for internal circulation or are in...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
West and Central Africa region intensifies stakeholder engagement in anti-corruption measures
Dossier: Engaging partners
...In its drive to combat corruption and promote integrity, the WCO has always advocated the creation of partnerships, in particular with the private sector as set out under key factor 10, entitled “Relationship with the Private Sector”, of the Revised Arusha Declaration Concerning Good Governance and Integrity in Customs. Over the past few years, the WCO has been encouraging Customs administrations to le...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Automating image analysis: China Customs implements new model for the development and deployment of algorithms
Panorama
...The General Administration of China Customs (hereinafter GACC) has been using large-scale non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment to control containers and vehicles since 1991, which makes it among the first Customs administrations in the world to leverage such a technology. In 2014, faced with the rapid growth in freight volume and constraints in terms of human resources, it started to study the application of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, to support image analysis operations. In 2017, it launched the AI-based Image Analysis Project, aime...
Issue: WCO News 77
Is it possible to use a private laboratory as a Customs laboratory?
Focus
...In one word: Yes! At least, that is the experience of the Danish Customs and Tax Administration (SKAT). There are, of course, issues to be considered and addressed before taking the decision to use a private laboratory as a Customs laboratory, but once the issues have been addressed, it is entirely possible. The first question that arises is why even consider using a private laboratory? Being a small country with an equally small number of Customs officers, it would be difficult for Denmark to finance a Customs laboratory with the necessary equipment and staff it with qualified perso...
Issue: WCO News 78
Election highs
Dossier
...© WCO   Several elections took p...
Issue: WCO News 79
Using open data to combat transnational criminal networks
Focus
... Over the past decade the global security environment has evolved, allowing rogue nation-states, sanctioned terrorist organizations, and violent criminal syndicates to operate on a transnational scale, converging in pursuit of common objectives. Today, these illicit actors are deeply embedded within international systems of finance, commerce and transportation, threatening to critically undermine the foundations of global peace and prosperity. This article highlights C4ADS’ approach to analysing unclassified data in order to demonstrate how illicit networks ...
Issue: WCO News 81
A global Customs broker’s insights into the profession’s challenges, successes, and best practices
Focus
... The opportunity As enhanced trade facilitation and refined Customs risk management strategies make possible the opportunity for common Customs frameworks and modernization efforts, such as regional Single Window initiatives, it is critical to educate both the public and private sector on the benefits available through active support and participation. Only through such awareness can we hope to succeed in bringing together the myriad political, operational and legal innovations necessary to capitalize on this opportu...
Issue: WCO News 80
The power of pollen: how CBP is at the forefront of using pollen as a new forensic tool
Focus
... In June 2015, when the partially decomposed body of an unidentified little girl, known as Baby Doe, was found in a trash bag on a beach on Deer Island in Boston Harbour, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children in the United States (US) contacted US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) forensic pollen expert, Andrew Laurence, for help. Laurence, one of the world’s foremost forensic palynologists and one of only two such experts in the US, has helped the Center identify the geographical origins of other children in the pa...
Issue: WCO News 82
Customs and the environment: bringing about a better future for all
Focus
...Numerous media outlets often publish alarming articles about the dire state of the environment, but is this really the case? The answer to this is, unfortunately, an unambiguous YES! Even rudimentary research substantiates that the environment, in all its facets, is deplorably under severe threat and if the status quo is not halted and reversed, the end result will be disastrous for all who inhabit the planet. The term ‘environment’ attracts various definitions, such as “the aggregate of surrounding things, conditions, or influences; surroundings; milieu,” or ...
Issue: WCO News 83
Gender equality through equal pay: Iceland Customs takes the lead
Panorama
... Gender equality is now a dominant theme throughout the world, and is being pursued in various ways by international organizations, governments and industry alike. The Customs world is no different as it tackles the issue, bolstered by ‘gender mainstreaming’ being part of the WCO’s approach to gender equity. A sterling example is that of Iceland Customs, which has taken up the theme with vigor, and is now leading efforts to bring about gender equality with the recent implementation of an ‘Equal Pay Standard’ in 2016. In this article, they take us on ...
Issue: WCO News 84
Cross-border e-commerce in China
Panorama
...  E-commerce – the trade in goods and services via the Internet – has become a growing component of the global economy, and cross-border e-commerce a major topic of discussion for Customs authorities. Accordingly, the WCO has placed this subject high on its agenda, including: creating a dedicated Working Group on E-commerce (WGEC) as a forum for WCO Members and the private sector to discuss strategies for the facilitation and control of cross-border e-commerce transactions; undertaking fieldwork and research to collect and analyse the experiences of WCO...
Issue: WCO News 85
Combating overvaluation: Malawi’s experience
Dossier
...Trade-based money laundering (TBML) is defined by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the process of disguising the proceeds of crime, and moving the money into the formal economy through the use of trade transactions in an attempt to legitimize its illicit origins. In practice, this can be achieved notably through the misrepresentation of the price, as well as the quantity or quality of imports and/or exports. In Malawi, the Financial Intelligence Agency (FIA) cites TBML as the main source of Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs) out of the country. Malawi Customs has, therefore, an ...
Issue: WCO News 86
The importance of the HS to tariff classification: thoughts from the IFCBA
Dossier
...The WCO website tells us that tariff classification using the Harmonized System (HS) Nomenclature “allows a world of many languages to speak with one.” As we mark the 30th anniversary of the official adoption of the HS in 1988, few could argue against the value of this universal language that has brought great clarity to the world of trade. With 157 Contracting Parties to the HS Convention basing their domestic Customs tariffs on the HS, and dozens more using it despite not being signatories, the HS truly is the language of international trade. It is currently used by more th...
Issue: WCO News 87
2018 WCO Photo Competition
Dossier
... “Facilitating trade, protecting our people, building our country” is the caption of this year’s winning entry from Jamaica Customs. The photo shows officers getting on with different jobs in an efficient and friendly way. It illustrates the ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Standardizing platforms and adapting to the latest technological solutions available is the way forward
Dossier
...Technology is changing at what seems like an ever-increasing pace, raising discussion about autonomous cars and the future of employment, as well as the future of trade. Whilst cars are not quite driving themselves yet, global trade has seen a dramatic shift in the way that we shop. I am talking, of course, about e-commerce. Only a few years ago, we all went shopping in the “High Street” or the local shopping mall. Today we shop online and have purchases delivered right to our doorstep in a matter of days or even hours. E-commerce has completely transformed how we shop and...
Issue: WCO News 89
Container scanning: analysis of the mechanism’s impact on the Customs clearance procedure established in Cameroon
Dossier
... In 2016, the Cameroon government opted to impose a systematic scanning policy for containers on both their import and export. This article assesses the impact of this mechanism in the Customs clearance procedure, focusing, in turn, on its efficiency, how it is generally perceived by private‑sector importers and stakeholders, and the difficulties created by its implementation.   On 26 June 2006, a mobile scanner was installed for the first time at the Port of Douala, in accordance with resolutions resulting from the reform process ...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Key points from the WCO’s newly-launched technology event
Events
...In June 2019, experts in Customs, trade, transport, logistics and technology gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan, to discuss matters relating to the various technologies used to manage flows of goods, people and means of conveyance across borders, with a focus on both technological products, services and tools that are primarily physical and those that derive their primary value from data. This newly-launched annual event, which merged the WCO’s long-running IT Conference & Exhibition with its newer Technology & Innovation Forum, has the same broad objective, namely a platform to ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Customs support Uruguay energy revolution
Dossier
...In the last decade Uruguay experienced a true energy revolution. Back at the turn of the century oil accounted for 27% of Uruguay’s imports and a new pipeline was just about to begin supplying gas from Argentina. Today hydroelectric, biomass, solar and wind power plants provide 94.5% of the country’s electricity. Wind turbines fill the country’s ports on their way to installation and are one of the biggest item on import balance sheet. Customs supported this change. Control processes on imports of machines, materials or large-volume parts, which are used in wind farms, have in ...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
COVID-19 and its impact on Customs and trade
Dossier
...The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our lives in ways that we never imagined. One thing, however, has become very clear; the continued importance of global trade and of initiatives supporting the smooth flow of goods across borders, especially essential goods to areas where they are most needed. Globalization, as Frank Appel our CEO recently stated, is here to stay. At Deutsche Post DHL, the world’s largest logistics company and the world’s most international company, we have seen first-hand the impact of this pandemic on global trade as well as the ability of Customs officers to c...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Overview of simplification on Customs valuation in the European Union
Dossier
... In the EU, the “simplification for the determination of amounts being part of the Customs value of the goods” under the transaction value method allows operators to avoid the burden of a two-step declaration – i.e. a simplified declaration followed by a supplementary declaration – and to finalise Customs valuation declarations without delay in situations where there is no risk for the collection of import duties. Such simplifications are becoming increasingly relevant given the growing number of value elements, such as royalties or commiss...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
An overview of Philippines Customs’ journey towards transformation
Dossier
...When I was appointed to the top position in the Philippines Bureau of Customs (BOC) in October 2018, I was confronted with challenges aplenty, from administrative to operational concerns and systemic deficiencies that made the Bureau vulnerable to corrupt practices. For more than two years now, my team and I have been working tirelessly to reform the negatives, transform the organization, and perform our mandate. People The first priority was to boost the organization’s manpower component to ensure efficie...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Governments should consider waiving taxes on transport costs until we are back to “normal”
Point of View
... The exponential increase in transport costs over the past few months has placed a strain on importers and on economic recovery. One solution would be for governments to waive taxes on these costs. In Israel, the law already allows for such an exemption in the case of special circumstances beyond the importer’s control. At the beginning of 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began to take hold, the production of goods ground to a halt in many countries and shipping companies reduced the number of cargo ships leaving ports. The usual flow of import...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Trade digitization on a global scale: how far are we?
Dossier: Destination....Data!
...One positive outcome from the COVID-19 pandemic was the boost in the digitization of interactions and operations in many sectors of society. Digitization is a relatively easy concept to understand. It is the process of converting information into a digital format, in other words, bits and bytes. A digital version of an object, image, sound, document or signal (usually an analog signal) is generated through a series of ones and zeroes and can be exchanged automatically machine-to-machine without manual intervention. Digitization is foundational and a prerequisite to digitalization, wh...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
High-performance analytical tools to revolutionize Customs control
Point of View
...There are many suppliers of analytical tools that Customs can call on to enhance its risk assessment capabilities. Some propose to use selectivity models and specialized databases to analyse the transactions that Customs has to ensure are compliant. It is advisable, however, to carry out a thorough evaluation of the tools on offer, in order to be sure that the technology performs well. Below, we will describe the model that we used to evaluate the services of a supplier, stressing how important data on companies is for the purpose of thorough profiling. ...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
The AI revolution is underway, and this is good news for Customs
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...Customs authorities are showing a growing interest in adopting artificial intelligence (AI), the broad category of science that entails simulating human thinking capability and behaviour. As stated in a joint paper published by the World Customs Organization, (WCO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) entitled The role of advanced technologies in cross-border trade: A Customs perspective, “around half of Customs authorities use some combination of big data analytics, AI and machine learning, while the other half plans to do so in the future.” AI has become one of the m...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Providing diversified learning: some innovative practices of China Customs
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...In March 2018, the Chinese government decided to integrate China’s entry-exit inspection and quarantine duties and workforce in 306 ports nationwide into China Customs. The former entry-exit inspection and quarantine officers then commenced working as Customs officers. This marked the birth of the new China Customs, which now counts more than 100,000 staff. China Customs explained, back in October 2018, how it achieved the full integration of Customs and the inspection and quarantine services by developing completely new clearance procedures and information technology (IT) systems ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Inter-agency cooperation – the case of Argentina
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... In Argentina, the Customs, the National Gendarmerie, the Argentine Naval Prefecture, the Airport Security Police and the Federal Police are all responsible for protecting the country’s territory. Cooperating with these agencies is crucial for Customs in remote territories where security is a major issue. This article explains the collaboration framework which is in place, as well as measures taken to strengthen ties and build trust between those bodies. It is also available in ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Integrating ports and Customs information systems in a cloud environment: a game changer for digital transformation
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
... In today’s interconnected world, the efficient movement of goods across borders is crucial to most economies. Ports and Customs play pivotal roles here. In this environment, as in many others, efficiency means digitalization of processes, and seamless flows of information. One critical decision shapes the organization’s digital journey: should ports and Customs information systems be deployed on-premises or via a cloud infrastructure? Traditionally, on-premises infrastructures are reliable, but I believe ports and Customs authorities should embrace th...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Engaging partners to expand evidence base knowledge: overview of the work done to shed light on the efficiency and impact of some anti-corruption measures
Dossier: Engaging partners
... The WCO Secretariat, while supporting Customs administrations in their efforts to combat corruption and safeguard integrity, identified through its Anti-Corruption and Integrity Promotion (A-CIP) Programme recurring questions regarding anti-corruption measures for which the knowledge available was insufficient. To bridge knowledge gaps and help with Customs’ responses, it turned to the U4 Anti-Corruption Helpdesk, via its funding partner, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. This article presents four papers which were prepared through this par...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
French Customs rewards its officers’ innovative practices
Panorama
...In mid-October 2023, French Customs launched a competition for its 16,546 officers. The aim was to provide a platform for competitors to showcase their implemented or developing innovative practices – in the form of working methods, processes or equipment – to their peers. Under the competition rules, the practices put forward were required to: be operational currently or be rolled out presently; introduce an innovative feature; bring about a significant improvement to Customs missions or to the day-to-day operations of Customs departments ...
Issue: WCO News 77
Customs laboratories in the United States: at the frontline of fighting fraud
Focus
...In late December 2010, the news broke about a Seattle court case involving counterfeit honey. A 70-year old Bellevue, Washington man, Chung Po Liu, had been sentenced to a year and a day in prison and was ordered to pay 400,000 US dollars (USD) in restitution for importing falsely declared Chinese honey. Liu was trying to avoid paying USD 2.9 million in tariffs on the honey, which had been shipped through the Philippines and Thailand where it was re-labelled to make it appear as if it were a product of those countries. But aside from attempting to avoid paying millions of dollars in ...
Issue: WCO News 78
2015 WCO Photo Competition
Dossier
...“Border ahead” is the caption of this year’s winning entry from Sudan Customs. The photo was taken at the the Askeit border post and shows goods trucks ready to cross the border with Egypt. Since April 2015, this border p...
Issue: WCO News 79
Customs, cultural goods and data
Focus
... For years, Customs administrations have been able to transform the raw information they collect on drugs, weapons, and humans trafficking into data which could be analysed to provide meaningful insights in the fight against these illegal activities. However, when it comes to the illicit trade in cultural goods, progress achieved in data collection is some way behind that obtained in other transnational crime areas. This article identifies the data which needs to be collected, stored and analysed following the seizure of cultural goods, and how it can be used ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Assessing Single Window performance: an overview of the peer review exercise undertaken in five African countries
Panorama
... In the 20-plus years since first being established in Singapore and Sweden, Single Windows (SWs) have remained the central focus of border clearance strategies. The implementation of such an environment is generally seen by trade experts around the world as a very practical means of improving border clearance performance. Although the SW is but one aspect of a myriad of mechanisms to improve the effectiveness of trade facilitation, it is quite an important one. This article presents an overview of a project undertaken by the African Alliance for e-Commerce (A...
Issue: WCO News 80
Thoughts on ‘Big Data’ and our real world
Point of View
...There has been much hype, and for good reason, around the Big Data revolution. Dramatic advances in technology have made it possible to develop services with large volumes of data that could never have been done with smaller data sets – allowing authorities to spot new patterns, and identify threats in near real-time. The ability to process data at speed has allowed extraordinary advances such as those which enable planes to fly safely by autopilot, and cars to navigate their own path more efficiently and safer than when driven by human beings. Why then has this power not yet bee...
Issue: WCO News 82
Project INAMA: situation analysis and first results
Focus
...Launched in October 2014, the INAMA project aims to strengthen the enforcement capacity of Customs administrations in Sub-Saharan Africa, while focusing on the illegal trade in wildlife, particularly on species listed in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). The Convention regulates international trade in CITES-listed animals and plants, and this involves addressing both legal and illegal trade. For domestic or international trade in wildlife to be described as illegal or as ‘illicit wildlife trafficking,’ w...
Issue: WCO News 83
Border workforce well-being: Canada takes care of its employees
Panorama
...The health and wellness of our workforce is critical to the success of modern border management organizations. While the operating environments differ between each of our countries – for example, some of us work in an armed environment, or within different legal frameworks – we all share a common purpose. We work to protect our country’s security, while enabling prosperity within a complex range of border-related threats. To be successful, all of us must count on a strong and enabled workforce. At the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), we work hard to support our employees a...
Issue: WCO News 84
Fragile borders and Customs activities in a post-conflict situation: the case of the Central African Republic
Panorama
...  The Central African Republic (CAR) gained independence in 1960, but has a chequered history of coups d’état and ongoing guerrilla attacks. In 2013, Séléka – a Muslim-dominated coalition of rebel groups from the north, which ousted the former President François Bozizé – became embroiled in conflict with the “anti-balaka,” a resistance network of Christian self-defence militia. Hostilities between the two groups declined after a de facto partition was established between the Christian south and the Muslim north, but were superseded by an outbreak o...
Issue: WCO News 85
Leveraging data analysis to identify irregularities at the border between Peru and Ecuador
Dossier
...Our names are Mary and Edwin, and we are Customs officers working in the city of Tumbes, located on the northern Peruvian coast, only 30 km from the Ecuadorian border. Despite the fact that we work in different sections of the Administration, we both have an interest in, and passion for, international commerce, particularly with regard to regional integration initiatives. In fact, we both believe that the development and performance of a Customs administration’s capacity are fully contingent on its ability to establish high levels of cooperation and coordination with neighbouring Customs ...
Issue: WCO News 86
The HS lights the way for traders
Dossier
... As industry continues to innovate, the work on amending the Harmonized System is never complete. This article looks at the origin and evolution of LED products to illustrate how the System can adapt to product developments over time, lighting the way for traders and guaranteeing the flow of legitimate trade across international borders. The international Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonized System or HS, is a powerful instrument of trade. Every five years after the conclusion of the WCO’s review cycl...
Issue: WCO News 87
Why governments and Customs continue to need their own classification system for goods
Point of View
...The WCO’s Harmonized System, or HS, is a vital element of Customs. But classification systems are common, so what makes a specialized Customs classification system so important that Customs administrations continue to put much work and time into having their own classification system? The HS does not just classify goods based on what they are; it classifies goods to meet the needs of governments and Customs alike. There are a multitude of classification systems in use: SITC, CPC, CPA, NAPCS, NICE, GPC, GHS, and ATC. Between international, national and private classification systems...
Issue: WCO News 88
ONE Record: the next milestone in the digitalization of air cargo data
Dossier
...When electronic data interchange (EDI) was introduced half a century ago, it rang in an era of business automation. Two decades later, in the eighties, standards began to converge towards the UN/EDIFACT standard, which set the foundations for global data exchange between businesses. Today, 95% of documents exchanged electronically in air freight use a “dialect” of EDI called Cargo IMP (interchange message procedures) or Cargo XML, its descendant and successor. I have been an engineer since the eighties and cherish its technologies, but I am somewhat shocked that airfreigh...
Issue: WCO News 89
Customs and industry collaborate to develop a unified file format for non-intrusive inspection devices
Dossier
...In April 2019, the WCO SAFE Working Group endorsed a document providing a summary of the technical specification for the proposed unified X-ray file format for non-intrusive inspection (NII) devices, codenamed the Unified File Format (UFF). Endorsement of the summary document by the WCO’s Policy Commission and Council in June 2019 would close Phase 2 of the UFF Development Programme. Background The WCO has been leading the initiative to develop a standard NII data format since 2016. Once universally deploye...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Dubai Customs uses artificial intelligence to boost productivity
Panorama
...Improving workplace productivity and helping people get their jobs done efficiently is critical for Customs administrations that have to deal with an increase in the number of cross-border movements, be it cargo or people. With a forecasted growth in trade and travel being driven by EXPO 2020, Dubai Customs decided, in 2018, to leverage artificial intelligence (AI), using it to develop a tool that would enable it to observe work data and employee behavior as a means of identifying ways to reduce the time required to undertake a task while improving quality and maximizing staff produc...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Illegal logging under the microscope
Dossier
...The global demand for timber, and its products, is only partly being met from legal sources. According to a 2012 report from INTERPOL and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), illegal logging accounts for between 15 and 30% of the volume of all forestry products. This share is even higher in tropical countries where 50 to 90% of timber is deemed to have be...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Customs brokers and the COVID-19 crisis
Dossier
... Early 2020 saw the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic to almost every country on the planet. Healthcare workers, road hauliers, logistics specialists, international freight forwarders, agrifood cooperatives… much has been said and written in the media about the problems faced by these groups of professionals as a result of the crisis. Are Customs brokers facing the same challenges? AKANEA – publisher of a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for Customs declarations – decided to find out by carrying out a survey among Customs brokers based in France....
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Smart and seamless Customs control to serve and protect global travel
Point of View
...Statistics have shown that criminals are increasingly active in seeking out and exploiting the vulnerabilities of air travel to illegally smuggle dangerous, prohibited and restricted items by air. The WCO Illicit Trade Report 2019 reveals that “in 2018, 126 countries submitted 45,497 drug trafficking cases to the WCO…trafficking through the mail and by air were the second and third most prevalent means of conveyance”. With the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing is required and manual inspections by Customs officials may be not only undesirable but also unaccepta...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
What the example of Montenegro’s new pre-arrival processing capabilities tell us about Customs performance measurement
Dossier
...* The views expressed in this article are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent those of their organisations In June 2019, the Montenegro Customs Administration (MCA) implemented a new Customs clearance procedure that uses pre-arrival data to fast-track Customs clearance of express cargo. Within just a few months, this pre-arrival processing (PAP) system enabled the MCA to improve its capability significantly, allowing it to clear parcels within one hour of arrival. ...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Ensuring gender equality and diversity: Indonesia’s experience
Dossier
... In 2000, the President of Indonesia issued a decree requesting all government agencies to integrate the concerns and experiences of women as well as of men into the planning, implementing, monitoring and evaluation of policies and activities. This strategy, known as “gender mainstreaming”, aims at achieving gender equality. In this article, Indonesia Customs explains the proactive strategy it has adopted to ensure gender equality and diversity in the workplace.   In many countries, women and men have different living conditions, ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Dubai Customs launches an app to help with goods classification
Panorama
...Trade operators required to classify their goods in the Unified Customs Tariff of countries belonging to the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) now have a helpful application (app) at their disposal. The app, called Al Munasiq (The Harmonizer), enables them to look up a tariff code by either entering an item’s description, capturing a photo of the item using their smartphone camera, or uploading an existing photo/picture to the app. ...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Managing export restrictions of COVID-19 vaccines: the experience of Belgium
Panorama
...In 2020, the European Commission signed Advance Purchase Agreements (APAs) with COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers on behalf of the European Union (EU) Member States to ensure affordable and timely access to COVID-19 vaccines for their population. Financial support had been given to vaccine manufacturers to enable them to increase production. At the end of 2020, some manufacturers announced that they would not supply the vaccine quantities which were destined for the Union and which they had pledged. This was in potential breach of their contractual commitments. In January 2021, the Comm...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Protecting importers’ information while improving Customs controls
Point of View
... Customs administrations and trade operators both want to reduce the complexity of compiling and exchanging data. However, there can be tension between the Customs administration’s need to access data and the company’s need to protect confidential information. This article presents two solutions for analysing and reporting data which ensure strong data protection by allowing access to the data without the need to move them around. In today’s digital economy, success is measured by how well data-based insights are generated at the r...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
The Future of Trade Lies in Artificial Intelligence
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...World trade is the lifeblood of the global economy. It not only is a vital component in the ongoing operations of businesses (large and small), governments and NGOs around the world, it has the power to grow economies, increase productivity and transform the quality of life for citizens in the nations who are open to international trade. This year, the value of global trade is steadily on the rise, with the export/import industry moving past the numerous challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020,  ...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Knowledge transfer: Serbia Customs shares its experience
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...The Serbia Customs Modernization Plan covering 2019 to 2023 recognized that the success of its implementation relies heavily on having qualified and professional Customs officials. It therefore provided for the development of a Human Resource Strategy to manage its human capital in a way that aligns with the organization’s overall mission, goals and future aspirations. By adopting a clearly defined policy for managing people, based on principles such as equity and transparency, the Administration wished to ensure that staff motivation is high and to foster a work culture which offe...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
UNOCT’s Fusion Cells Programme – a model for inter-agency cooperation in counter-terrorism
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... The United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) established a Fusion Cells Programme in January 2020 to support United Nations Member States in developing national mechanisms for the exchange and analysis of counter-terrorism related information and the development of strategic and operational intelligence products, such as threat assessments. The Programme has rolled out a delivery model based on international good practice and processes that have proven to be successful in improving national inter-agency coordination. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Georgia Ports and US Customs and Border Protection – a partnership that works
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
...The Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) develops, maintains and operates ocean and inland river ports within Georgia, United States. Its top priority is to ensure the seamless movement of cargo for its customers while enforcing security and environmental protection requirements. For more than 30 years, the GPA has fostered a trusted partnership with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) to ensure it is doing all it can in this regard. This partnership encompasses all levels of the Authority. GPA President and CEO Griff Lynch, staff from the Customer Service and Container Operations, a...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) introduces Clearance Within Two Hours Initiative
Panorama
...Five years ago, clearing shipments imported through Saudi ports of entry was a lengthy process that could take importers up to 12 days, and 8 days on average. To facilitate reporting and the exchange of data between all parties involved in the clearance of goods, whether private or governmental, 2017 saw the introduction of a national electronic system for the management of cross-border trade operations, called FASAH. FASAH acts as a Single Window environment, connecting all the organizations involved in the regulation of trade, such as environment, commerce and agriculture authoriti...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Detector dogs: Polish Customs aims to foster regional cooperation
Panorama
... Trained dogs are incredible chemical sensors, far better than even the most advanced technological device. But training novice handlers and dogs is a highly technical and challenging task. Polish Customs initially benefited from foreign technical assistance to build its capacity in this domain, but it has now developed enough expertise to help others, and aims to foster the exchange of expertise in a field of increasing promise and interest. From humble beginnings, a vibrant training centre ha...
Issue: WCO News 77
Mexico launches new strategy to combat informality
Panorama
... With a view to achieving its maximum potential, Mexico recently launched a historic set of structural reforms aimed primarily at increasing productivity. To support these necessary programmes, actions and investments, the Government outlined a strategy to strengthen public expenditure, including amongst its strategic objectives the consolidation of a tax system that is simple, progressive and enhances revenue and formality. Informality is a threat to economic and social development. It is a major factor contributing to poverty, affecting nearly ...
Issue: WCO News 78
Signing ceremonies
Dossier
... The WCO and Jordan signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the creation of a Regional Training Centre in Amman. A Cooperation Agreement was also signed between the WCO and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) t...
Issue: WCO News 79
Supporting private sector engagement – the CBSA’s stakeholder engagement model
Panorama
...Canada is internationally recognized as one of the best places in the world to do business. If it is to maintain its competitive edge, increase productivity and spur innovation, Canada must constantly strive to improve the conditions for doing business. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) plays a critical role in ensuring that businesses can continue to thrive in a global context. To achieve this, the CBSA collaborates regularly with the private sector as a valued partner in the Customs process in order to streamline and simplify the border experience. Whether through workshops ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Improving cocaine profiling for better law enforcement in Italy
Panorama
...A basic need of any law enforcement agency is to be able to positively identify controlled substances in seized drug samples, as well the purity of the drug, which will support legal proceedings and, hopefully, result in successful convictions. Research aimed at shedding light on the chemical profile of seized drugs is also of great relevance in determining their characteristics, such as their place of origin and processing, as well as trafficking methods. Combined with the results of criminal investigations, this data could be used to establish connections between drug gangs and suppliers,...
Issue: WCO News 80
Quantifying the illicit trade in tobacco: a matter of public interest and self-interest
Point of View
...Scientists determined long ago that there is a direct causal link between smoking and ill-health for both smokers and passive smokers. Despite overwhelming evidence, some stakeholders continued to peddle doubt regarding the health implications until this false contention was no longer tenable. Research has also shown that tobacco control regulations, such as higher taxes, bans on smoking in public places, advertising bans, purchaser age restrictions, and plain packaging reduce tobacco consumption rates, and thus positively impact human health. Although the evidence for this is conclu...
Issue: WCO News 82
Customs, playing a key role in protecting the ozone layer and mitigating climate change
Focus
...The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer has been in the news a great deal recently. This is something quite unusual for a ‘lesser known’ convention. But how has this landmark environmental treaty, which some see as the most successful international agreement of any kind, managed to effectively halt the destruction of the ozone layer as well as making a huge contribution to combatting climate change? Dedicated and vigilant Customs officers – that’s how. The stratospheric ozone layer is the thin layer of the atmosphere that protects life on ear...
Issue: WCO News 83
China’s latest initiatives to enhance Customs integrity and compliance
Panorama
... China Customs has rolled out a series of measures to enhance staff integrity at all administrative levels and to promote trader compliance across all sectors. Four of the latest initiatives introduced in this regard are described below, namely the extension of the functions of the Discipline and Integrity Monitoring Bureau, the use of automated random selections to decide on consignments to be controlled, the publication of business credibility statuses, and the undertaking of trader satisfaction surveys on Customs’ service and procedural fairness. ...
Issue: WCO News 84
Saudi Customs launches an AEO programme
Panorama
...Saudi Customs is the latest Customs administration to implement an authorized economic operator (AEO) programme. In doing so, its objective is to modernize border processing and support the trade facilitation objectives outlined in “Vision 2030,” a national blueprint for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to achieve its long-term goals and expectations that was announced in April 2016. Vision 2030 Vision 2030 outlines a new national direction for Saudi Arabia, and relies on the following three pillars to achieve...
Issue: WCO News 85
Air passenger control: how Brazil changed the game
Dossier
...In 2013, as Brazil was preparing to host the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games, the Brazilian Customs administration started exploring ways to improve air passenger control in order to be able to effectively process the athletes and millions of tourists who were expected to attend or participate in these events. The remarkable growth of international air traffic in the last decade was already challenging the Customs service whose traditional targeting techniques were deemed inadequate to properly manage the security risk posed by travellers. Two major investments were made by...
Issue: WCO News 86
How industry engages on classification matters at the WCO
Dossier
... How does a specific product become the subject of a global classification decision at the WCO? What information is considered when amendments are made to the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature? And how can a company or industry sector engage at the WCO to support classification decisions and HS amendments? Involvement and information from industry is critical in making classification decisions for complex commodities and keeping the HS up to date with technological developments and changes in trade flows. Because it moves parts and fin...
Issue: WCO News 87
Addressing challenges related to Customs controls in free zones
Point of View
...Trade has always been one of the manifestations of freedom and power. The idea of a “free port” can be traced back to 167 BC, when the Roman Senate made a decision to turn the then Roman island Delos into a free port[1]. City-States in the early Middle Ages, such as Venice, operated in a way that could nowadays be defined as free ports or free zones. The cities of Hamburg and Bremen, being key players in the Hanseatic League in the North and Baltic seas in the 13th century were another manifestation of this phenomenon. However, it is commo...
Issue: WCO News 88
Working as a WCO Professional Associate: a participant shares his experience
Panorama
...After a 10-year career in various positions at Benin Customs, I felt the need to go and acquire some skills at the WCO in order to gain a better understanding of the rules and operation of the Organization and to fulfil my dream of working for an international organization, even if only for a few months. Therefore, in 2016, when the invitation to submit nominations for the Career Development Programme (CDP) had been sent out by the WCO, I was keen to submit an application. At the time, I was heading up the rapid intervention service, also known as the “mobile brigade,” with respo...
Issue: WCO News 89
Potential uses of geodata for border management
Dossier
...The management of land or maritime borders is different from that of points of entry such as ports or airports, where the main constraint is not the scale of the territory, but rather the scale of the flows. If time is the principle constraint in ports or airports, then space is the main challenge with respect to the governance of borderlands. In such a context, the use of geospatial data and information, i.e. data associated with a specific location­ – longitude and latitude coordinates – could provide Customs officers on the ground with relevant information, which they can act...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Botswana’s perspective on ensuring business continuity when transitioning from its Customs IT system to a more comprehensive national trade platform
Panorama
... The Botswana Unified Revenue Service recently implemented a new, modern IT system to manage their foreign trade operations. The migration from the old to the new system had to be smooth to ensure business continuity. This article presents the rationale behind the migration, looks at the challenges and lessons learned from the process, and highlights the benefits that accrued to the government and the trade community. As part of a strategy to improve the country’s trade competitiveness, Botswana’s Cabinet approved, in early 2015, the establis...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
How digitalization combined with artificial intelligence can increase sustainability in global supply chain operations
Dossier
... Increasing the efficiency of transportation is key to reducing the impact of trade operations on the environment. To achieve significant results, Customs, border agencies, traders and logistics operators must digitalize their processes and share relevant data. However, such efforts will not bear fruit unless they go hand in hand with the use of computers that are able to exploit vast datasets thanks to innovative algorithms. In this article, MJC2, a company providing scheduling systems and optimization software, explains how the combination of arti...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Controlling the invisible trade: wild plant resources and their sustainability
Dossier
... With the current global spotlight on wild animal markets as a possible source of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is easy to forget that the biggest flows of “wildlife” in trade involve plants, not animals.  There are also important conservation and health reasons to keep a close eye on the wild plant trade sector during this global health emergency. During the COVID-19 outbreak, the use of wild plants as herbal ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine formulations and other herbal-based products around the world is anticipated to increase dramatically. This...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Implementation of e-tariff platforms gathers momentum in Africa
Panorama
... Lack of transparency on cross-border procedures has been identified as one of the first “choke points” in global supply chains. To provide economic operators with easy access to Customs tariffs as well as a clear view of measures to be taken when importing or exporting goods, many countries have developed electronic tariff (e-tariff) platforms. Recognizing the massive benefits such platforms offer to both Customs and trade, a number of African countries are jumping on the bandwagon.   When commodities are traded internationally, ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
TradeTrust: accelerating the digitalization of international trade
Dossier
... Singapore is spearheading the implementation of TradeTrust, which is a framework comprised of a set of globally accepted standards to facilitate the digitalization of documents used in international trade and logistics and their interoperability, and also a set of software components that connect to a blockchain backbone IT infrastructure. Economic operators and public and private institutions using TradeTrust will create a global network of trusted partners for the exchange and verification of digital trade documentation across borders. The ultimate objectiv...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Improving Strategic Trade Detection and Classification through Machine Learning
Dossier
...Ensuring the enforcement of a national strategic trade control (STC) system is a key requirement for all Customs administrations. Strategic goods comprise weapons of mass destruction (WMD), conventional weapons, and the materials, technology and equipment that may be used in their development or delivery. Many of these commodities have both civil and military applications and are called dual-use goods. In a well-functioning STC system, traders apply for permits or licences as required, proactively comply with trade control obligations, and commerce proceeds. However, traders’ compl...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Australian Border Force Detector Dog Program
Dossier
...The Australian Border Force (ABF) Detector Dog Program (DDP) is a national program divided into two sub-sections: Operations – responsible for seven regional operational units in Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney. Breeding and training – responsible for the purpose breeding of detector dogs, and for the development and training of handlers and dogs to produce a high-quality detector dog team. This article focuses on the latter, and more specifically on the work carried out at the National Detector Dog Program Fac...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
African Continental Free Trade Area: Background and Role of Customs
Panorama
...Africa has a long history of initiatives aiming at supporting regional economic cooperation. Let me give a few examples. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) dates back to the 1889 Customs Union Convention between the British Colony of the Cape of Good Hope and the Orange Free State Boer Republic, which was expanded by a 1910 agreement to include the Union of South Africa and the then British High Commission territories of present-day Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Namibia. The Mano River Union (MRU), which comprises Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote d’Ivoire and Gui...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
How Brazil gave true meaning to partnership
Panorama
... Customs authorities often boast about working closely and in partnership with the private sector – but what does that really mean? In too many cases, working with the private sector turns out to be little more than a tick-box exercise, perhaps based on a couple of unproductive meetings a year. In order to derive real benefits from public-private sector cooperation, a strong partnership approach is required, based on constant and genuine communication, a willingness to share information and experience, and – above all – building genuine trust between all...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
French Customs puts data science to work for all its officials
Panorama
...In late 2019, French Customs set up a programme called “Valorisation des Données” (“Data Exploitation”), placing data at the heart of its various lines of work. Its intention in embarking on this project was to seek out new tools to transform the way in which its officers carry out their jobs. The objective was to optimize all activities: targeting, interactions with the economic operators that it advises, resource management, operational efficiency, etc. At the end of June 2022, as this article is published, six apps are already up and running. The development of these tool...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
How United States customs scientists at the border are stemming the flow of opioids and other dangerous drugs
Panorama
... Five years ago, when the United States started to see a rapid rise in opioid overdose deaths, U.S. Customs and Border Protection was encountering large quantities of an unknown substance arriving in international mail and express courier shipments at the U.S. ports of entry. CBP officers suspected it was an illicit drug. They attempted to use tools to identify the substance, but the technology was limited. Novel drugs that had never been identified before were not in the equipment’s library and the tools wouldn’t work. The suspected substances were se...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Customer service: the next wave
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
... Since 2016, when the Finnish Government decided to digitalize all public services, Finnish Customs has been working on the development of digital services to improve its customer service. In 2017 the Administration explained, in the pages of this magazine, how it tested the innovation potential of a hackathon to identify solutions that would make it easier to access information about Customs r...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Knowledge management: interesting practices from brokers
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
... Customs brokers and Customs administrations share many challenges when it comes to collecting and sharing knowledge. This article introduces some of the practices used in this domain by brokers based in Lithuania. Managing knowledge in the supply chain and the role of brokers To ensure the smooth cross-border movement of goods, Customs professionals need to understand the specifics of the supply chains they manage and the many actors involved, have an overview of the lat...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
A Borders Academy in Niger
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... The French and Nigerien authorities have been working on setting up a region-specific national training centre on coordinated border management. Its purpose is to train the internal security services of the countries of West Africa that have seen security in their border areas deteriorating. At this training centre, these services will gain a core body of knowledge and common techniques that they need to ensure their interoperability and counter violent extremism without hindering economic development. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Tackling corruption in maritime trade
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
...In today’s highly interdependent world economy, business and societies depend on the efficient clearance of vessels and goods in ports worldwide to function, develop and prosper. More than 80% of world trade is transported by sea and via ports, and any business that is part of global supply chains does, to some extent, rely on ports for import and export. Every day, vessels and cargos enter ports, and the processes involve numerous stakeholders across several jurisdictions, resulting in multiple interactions with government officials, including Customs. The port is an administrativ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Automatic Customs data exchange: a look into the system used in the Western Balkans
Panorama
... Customs administrations in the Western Balkans have established a platform to automatically exchange Customs data. Called “SEED”, the system has proven efficient in identifying irregularities, offences and smuggling activities, as well as in accelerating the clearance of goods. With the support of the European Union, an IT system enabling systematic and automatic exchange of Customs data between Customs authorities of the Western Balkans has been established. This data relates to import, export and transit declarations, TIR and ATA carnets, ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Managing risk in the context of electronic commerce: Spotlight on Burkina Faso Customs
Panorama
... The WCO defines cross-border electronic commerce (E-Commerce) as “all transactions which are effected digitally through a computer network (e.g. the internet) and result in physical goods flows subject to Customs formalities”.[1] Like many other Customs administrations, when talking about cross‑border E-Commerce shipments, Burkina Faso Customs is referring to shipments which are transported by the national postal operator and express courier services. This article introduces its mechanism for monitoring this type of...
Issue: WCO News 77
Strengthening export control capacity in the EU through a simulation exercise
Panorama
... Several European Union (EU) Member States recently participated in a simulation exercise aimed at analysing practices related to the implementation of the EU Dual-Use Export Control Regulation and identifying related challenges. The simulation gathered both Customs and licensing officers – all export control specialists – and reproduced real processes as far as possible, with Customs services controlling exports and licensing officers processing export licences. This article presents the rationale behind the exercise and the organizational set-up required...
Issue: WCO News 79
CBP gauges automation of US Virgin Islands’ trade entry process
Panorama
...In an effort to improve the United States Virgin Islands’ (USVI) paper-based entry process for all imported commercial products and expedite the importation process, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced on 2 February 2016 that they would continue to assess a viable way to incorporate the USVI into CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), which provides for modern, streamlined trade processing across all sectors. CBP requirements in the USVI are unique because the islands operate under Danish Public Law 64; a law that has remained in effect since 1914, with the sa...
Issue: WCO News 81
Homecoming: after 15 years, CBP returns to the World Trade Center
Panorama
...As far back as Colleen Piccone can remember, the World Trade Center was always a part of her life. Growing up on Staten Island in the early 1970s, she watched from across the New York Harbour as the Twin Towers were being built. After graduating from Brooklyn Law School, she started working at 6 World Trade Center for the United States (US) Customs Service, one of US Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) legacy agencies. “It was my first legal job,” said Piccone, who is now CBP’s Associate Chief Counsel in New York. It also was the only place at US Customs that Piccone ha...
Issue: WCO News 80
Dubai Customs: Journey towards a ‘Customs of the future’
Panorama
...Just a few years ago, the Dubai government set a very aggressive vision to compete with the major cities of the world, and to stand out as the leading trade hub in the Middle East. This left Dubai Customs with no choice but to evolve and transform. The characteristics of the environment when this transformation started was by no means favourable. Dubai Customs was a traditional paper-based organization. There were about 1,500 employees, processing about two million Customs declarations per year. The information technology (IT) functions were limited to basic software development, usi...
Issue: WCO News 82
Facilitating trade against a backdrop of security threats: the Tunisian experience
Panorama
...At the end of June 2016, a group of WCO experts went to Tunisia as part of a research programme on barriers to trade facilitation with a particular focus on potential obstacles linked to the implementation of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). The WCO-led programme is being carried out in a number of countries, with support from the Korea Customs Administration. The experts were particularly interested in the way in which Tunisian Customs officials perceive trade facilitation, the measures already in place to facilitate trade, and any barri...
Issue: WCO News 83
EAC Regional AEO programme: a model for regional integration and trade facilitation
Panorama
... Partner States of the East African Community (EAC) have developed a Regional Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programme with the support of the WCO and in partnership with the EAC Secretariat. Under this scheme, regional AEOs will be mutually recognized in all Partner States and receive uniform benefits. By implementing this specific regional programme together with sound data management, EAC Partner States’ Customs services will be able to provide what businesses operating in their respective States are looking for in the least burdensome way while reduc...
Issue: WCO News 84
Highlights of the WCO Global Transit Conference
Focus
...The WCO organized the first edition of its Global Transit Conference from 10 to 11 July 2017 with the double objective of stimulating discussions on how to improve transit regimes and to promote the Organization’s newly published ‘Transit Guidelines.’ Many speakers and participants highlighted the value of an effective transit system. Representatives from landlocked countries described how their economies were stifled by unfairly high import and export costs, with higher transport costs in particular more than doubling the cost of trade transactions in terms of price and time. ...
Issue: WCO News 85
TIACA and WCO: logical partners for taking Customs and Industry modernization forward
Dossier
... Engaging with stakeholders and implementing open communication, effective collaboration and meaningful consultation is essential in building “a secure business environment for economic development.” In this article, the Secretary General of TIACA explains how similar the concerns of the air cargo industry and Customs administrations are, and shares his vision of a future where collaboration and the concept of “co-creation” achieve the recognition they deserve. Reading the title of this article one may ask “What does TIACA have to do wi...
Issue: WCO News 86
Storage and destruction of counterfeit goods: the safety and environmental challenges
Interview
...Interview with Ms Louise van Greunen, Director, Building Respect for IP Division, World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and Dr Martin Guard, Chartered Environmentalist and Hazardous Waste Specialist The storage of goods suspected of infringing intellectual property (IP) rights, and their sound disposal, once the infringement has been confirmed, involves costs and represents major logistical challenges. Goods may remain in storage during the entire litigation process, and even longer...
Issue: WCO News 78
Facilitating e-commerce
Focus
...With the diffusion of user-friendly technologies and increasing penetration of the Internet globally, e-commerce is witnessing exponential growth: the global online retail market now topping 1 trillion US dollars a year, and is set to double within four years. Some of these online transactions are cross-border related, with many companies, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), seizing the opportunities offered to enhance their participation in global value chains, and increase their market access and outreach in order to develop their exports. An eBay report on SMEs b...
Issue: WCO News 87
Brazil’s unique export declaration: modernization inspired by international standards
Panorama
...The Brazilian government has recently centralized its export procedures and developed a new online platform to process export operations in order to make them more efficient and, ultimately, boost the economy. The new “unified export system” is the first application developed as part of Brazil’s Single Window project that started in 2014 and which aims to integrate all existing information technology (IT) processes currently used by border agencies to manage trade flows, thus enabling enhanced coordination and better controls while facilitating data reporting for traders. ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Illegal wildlife trade: overview of airport assessments
Panorama
...Studies have shown that the air mode has become a sought-after transport avenue for criminals wishing to move illicit wildlife products from one country to another. Not only is air transport fast and convenient, it also allows large consignments to be broken up into smaller ones, thereby reducing the risk of detection. Several initiatives have been undertaken to address this threat. One of them is the “Reducing Opportunities for Unlawful Transport of Endangered Species” (ROUTES) Partnership, which was founded in 2015 by the United States Agency for International Development (USAI...
Issue: WCO News 89
Finland develops user-friendly duty calculator
Panorama
...Finnish Customs has developed an online Customs duty calculator, enabling consumers buying goods online to easily determine the amount of Customs duty and value added tax (VAT) that they more than likely have to pay to clear their goods. Users must first select the types of goods they are ordering, select the region where the goods originate (EU Customs territory / non-EU tax territory / non-EU), select the currency in which they bought the products, indicate the price of the goods, and indicate the transport and processing costs. The system then calculates the amounts of Cust...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Controlling dual-use goods in a transit country: Lithuania’s experience
Panorama
... Export controls are inherently challenging to implement, and no country has a perfect or fool-proof system. In this article, the Customs Department of Lithuania shares information about the specific challenges that the country is facing with dual-use goods, and the latest actions that have been taken to mitigate risks and improve compliance by trade operators. Background Since the early 1990s, a number of countries have participated in multilateral export control arrangements to produce guidelines for the control of strat...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Spotlight on the Mexican Tax Administration Service’s internal communication activities
Panorama
... The Mexican Tax Administration Service (Servicio de Administración Tributaria, or SAT) has acknowledged the value of its human capital, and has been putting great effort into motivating its staff and making sure that they are proud to belong to the institution. In this article, they place a spotlight on their internal communication activities and how they are using every means to reach out to their staff in order to build an inclusive organization with a single focus. Having committed, enthusiastic, team-playing staff is crucial for any organiz...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Evolution of data analysis at Dominican Customs
Panorama
...Talking about competitiveness, effectiveness, quality control, risk management, and compliance is meaningless if we do not talk as well about access to technology and data analysis tools, including the need for trained personnel who are able to develop and manage these very tools. At the General Directorate of Customs (DGA) of the Dominican Republic, data analysis, and data-driven decision making used to be labelled as “difficult and unattainable.” This pessimism was well-founded. Limitations existed in terms of technological infrastructure, connectivity between IT system...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Mapping of Customs Nomenclature with food safety standards in India: a far-sighted strategy to streamline clearance of food products
Panorama
... Several government and private stakeholders are involved in the clearance of imported food products. To ensure a smooth process, close coordination and sharing of information backed by robust information technology (IT) processes are needed. With this in mind, India’s food safety agency has mapped Customs Nomenclature codes with Food Safety and Standards Regulations, a move which has enabled further integration of IT systems and better risk management.   India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. One of the sectors w...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Improving data sharing with blockchain
Dossier
... Towards a digital transformation COVID-19 has put immense pressure on traders and supply-chain managers and has highlighted the need for more traceability and visibility in trade transactions, and for more interoperability in IT systems, including those of logistics providers.  Progress in these areas will be crucial to enhance Customs operations.  Customs itself has learned a number of important lessons, and the crisis has boosted its digital transformation processes and the adoption of new technologies. This article prov...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Competency-based approach to HR management: the experience of Abu Dhabi Customs
Dossier
...The General Administration of Abu Dhabi Customs (hereinafter referred to as “Abu Dhabi Customs”) has recently undergone a major organizational change in order to keep pace with technological developments and to meet the digital transformation objectives set by the Abu Dhabi Government. One of the key instruments of this change was the adoption of a competency-based approach to human resource management. Organizational goals An organization’s performance is usually based on the competencies of its employ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
The illegal wildlife trade: modus operandi and transport routes in West and Central Africa
Panorama
...The illegal wildlife trade (IWT) poses a risk not only to biodiversity and ecosystems, but also to public health, good governance, economies and security worldwide. Given that the point of sourcing and the end-market are often on opposite sides of the world, criminals exploit existing international transport systems to move their products, and Customs authorities have a critical role to play in disrupting their activities. They must therefore be equipped with the knowledge, resources and capacity to capitalize on their strategic position in the trade chain in order to monitor and control th...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Dubai Customs gets underwater drone technology to enhance inspection
Panorama
...In August 2020, Dubai Customs started deploying a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), also called an underwater drone, to boost its marine inspection capabilities. The drone has already proved useful in tackling attempts by traffickers and criminals to bring contraband and prohibited goods into the United Arab Emirates. The mini-submarine can travel at 15 kilometres per hour and is connected to a wire with a range of about 30 metres. Fitted with a 4K high-definition camera, it takes live video and clear photographs to enable Customs officers to complete a thorough inspection of vessels....
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Mexico Customs is granted greater autonomy
Panorama
...On 1 January 2022, the National Customs Agency of Mexico (ANAM) officially came into existence, becoming an independent body under the Ministry of Finance. Customs-related functions were previously handled by the General Administration for Customs which was one of the units of the Tax Administration Service (SAT). In keeping with the Mexican Government’s desire to strengthen public institutions, the new Agency has been given technical, operational, administrative, budget and management autonomy and will therefore have greater control over modernization projects. The Agency ...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Egypt adopts innovative trade document exchange system
Dossier: Disruptive Technologies
...In 2019, the Arab Republic of Egypt decided to move away from a slow and burdensome paper-based way of processing cross-border transactions to one based on automation and digitization. As part of this transformation, the country required economic operators and government entities to begin exchanging all required documents for import and export through digital channels. The gateway to such data exchanges is the NAFEZA single window. ...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Some guidance to Customs and trade practitioners on how to deal with the hugely complex, demanding and risky field of Customs knowledge
Dossier: Managing Knowledge
...  This article argues that a formal plan for building and managing Customs knowledge is necessary for a Customs brokerage to operate effectively. The components of such a plan are discussed, as well as the determinants that may affect the choices made. The discussion refers also to general issues of Customs knowledge acquisition, management and updating. The considerations apply to all Customs practitioners and trading businesses. The number of possible games of chess is greater than the number of atoms in the observable universe according to Cl...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Supporting humanitarian work: some recommended practices
Dossier: Fragile Borders
... Humanitarian organizations are some of the actors operating in fragile and conflict-affected situations. This article looks at the constraints they face, and at how Customs administrations can better support their work. One in every 23 people needs humanitarian assistance In December 2022, the United Nations Under-Secretary for Humanitarian Affairs launched the Global Humanitarian Overview 2023[1], the humanitarian community’s most ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Combating the infiltration of criminals in the maritime supply chain: an overview of Operation TIN CAN
Dossier: Focus on the port environment
... Operation TIN CAN was the first enforcement activity actively involving the shipping industry to combat the contamination of legitimate cargo with drugs through the rip-on/rip-off method. This article explains how it opened new horizons for enhancing the capacity of Customs to fight drug smuggling, especially through enhanced cooperation with shipping lines and the use of various technologies. Most of the cocaine seized by Customs administrations is found on ships and other vessels. Cocaine is shipped directly from the countries of production, b...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
MERCOSUR launches Customs Data Model based on WCO standard and takes a leap forward in terms of data exchange
Panorama
...The Southern Common Market (known as MERCOSUR) is a regional integration process initially established by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, and subsequently joined by Venezuela (currently suspended) and Bolivia (whose accession procedure is still underway). MERCOSUR makes its decisions through three bodies: the Council of the Common Market (CMC), which is the main MERCOSUR body that conducts the integration process politically; the Common Market Group (GMC), which oversees the day-to-day functioning of the bloc; and the Mercosur Trade Commission (CCM), which is responsible for the ad...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Implementing Nuclear Security Detection Architecture at borders: Cuba Customs shares its experience
Panorama
...Since 2009, within the framework of the Integrated Plan to support Cuba’s Nuclear Physical Security, the General Customs of the Republic of Cuba (GCR) has been developing a nuclear physical security detection architecture at the border, in conjunction with national agencies and multilateral organizations such as the International Nuclear Energy Agency (IAEA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). Physical deployment of RPMs Radiation Portal Monitors (RPMs) are one of the elements of this architecture, wh...
Issue: WCO News 77
Collaboration between the United Kingdom and the United States crushes trade fraud
Panorama
...After routinely targeting a car import for inspection, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) international trade specialist noticed an unusual cat-and-mouse move: The importer did not process the targeted vehicle for United States (US) entry and instead shipped the car, a Land Rover Defender, right back to England where it had originated. The CBP international trade specialist countered the importer’s move by contacting CBP’s attaché in London, who in turn gave a heads-up to his United Kingdom (UK) law enforcement colleagues to look at the vehicle when it arrived in port. The...
Issue: WCO News 78
E-commerce and revenue collection
Focus
... Many countries have seen a significant and rapid growth in the volume of low-value imports of physical goods on which duties and taxes are not collected. There are growing concerns about matters related to potential revenue loss, fraud, and the disadvantages experienced by domestic retailers. Therefore, it is appropriate to provide an overview of the traditional collection model, current developments aimed at improving it, and new, alternate models for collecting duties and taxes on these consignments. With the proliferation in the use of the In...
Issue: WCO News 79
The EU cracks down on e-waste crime
Panorama
... Countering the illegal trade in waste in electrical and electronic equipment, also known as e-waste or by the acronym WEEE, is a challenging, and actual topic for governments, industries, and academics alike. Human health and safety issues, environmental protection concerns, and the economic aspects related to the re-use of raw material, all call for increased attention and enhanced enforcement in the context of e-waste trade, transport, and treatment. To assist government policymakers and enforcement bodies, as well as WEEE-related industries, in countering ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Georgia, Europe’s first nCEN country
Panorama
...In a modern globalized world, Customs services require efficient and convenient tools to capture seizure data, data which will enable to strengthen its risk management capacities. The Georgia Revenue Service (GRS), which gathers the Tax and Customs Administration and the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Border Control Agency under the same roof, is no exception in this regard, and to do so more effectively, it decided to implement the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) – an application developed by the WCO. The application gives Customs administrations the ability to collect, st...
Issue: WCO News 80
Publishing TRS results in the public domain: Poland’s positive experience
Panorama
... Numbers are a universal language. They reflect an intelligible and neutral understanding about what is happening on the ground. Measuring should threfore be a random activity in the daily life of any Customs service searching to improve its procedures as part of its efforts to enhance its economic competitiveness. This article explains how the Customs Service of Poland has been using Time Release Studies (TRS) to improve border clearance processes, and keenly advocates the publication of performance results. The Trade Facilitation Agreement of t...
Issue: WCO News 82
Racing ahead: the United States transforms its trade processes to compete in the global economy
Panorama
...Over the last five years, the global economy has been changing. Consumers are buying more goods online, e-commerce is flourishing, and supply chains are moving at a breakneck speed. At the same time, the number of trade agreements is growing, and countries are increasingly more focused on regulations, supply chain security, and the movement of cargo across their borders. For US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the effects have been staggering. “Everyone wants everything now. You order something online today; you want it at your home tomorrow,” said Todd Owen, the Executive As...
Issue: WCO News 83
Going digital: a Tanzanian Customs broker shares his experience
Panorama
...Six hundred Customs brokerage companies are registered in Tanzania. Given the size and population of the country, this relatively high number of Customs brokers is due to the fact that Tanzania has three maritime ports, namely Dar es Salaam, Tanga and Mtwara, which are also used by importers and exporters of neighbouring landlocked countries. But this number may go down in the near future with the implementation of the Single Customs Territory (SCT), the final stage of the East African Community’s (EAC) Customs Union. Indeed, with the creation of a SCT, a brokerage company licensed...
Issue: WCO News 84
Electronic transit system boosts Central American trade
Focus
...A decade ago, transit of goods in Central America suffered from lack of coordination of border agencies, cumbersome and slow Customs and administrative procedures, and limited use of information technologies. More precisely, exporters with shipments in transit had to clear Customs at each side of countries’ bilateral borders and sequentially submit multiple paper documents to the various intervening agencies, including printed copies of international transit declarations, country-specific sanitary and phytosanitary certificates, and migration arrival and departure cards. In ...
Issue: WCO News 85
Insecurity, development, trade and taxation
Dossier
... This text is inspired by experience gained in field studies undertaken in Sub-Saharan Africa since 2000 and anthropological research conducted over a period of 18 months in seven border areas that can be considered “fragile,” namely in Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, Sudan (Darfur), northern Mali and the borderlands of Lake Chad (Chad, Niger and Nigeria), where religious armed groups are operating. It argues that development donors should look into how to support borderland economies and address wealth circulation rather than poverty. The question o...
Issue: WCO News 86
Highlights from the 4th WCO Global AEO Conference
Events
...The sound of African drums and dances welcomed participants as they arrived at the 4th WCO Global AEO Conference that begun in Kampala, Uganda on 14 March 2018. They were addressed by the President of Uganda, H.E. Mr Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, who gave an inspiring message on the importance of regional collaboration among East African countries, and the need for ongoing cooperation among all the continent’s countries that would ultimately broaden the scope for more investment in Africa. Throughout the three-day event, 125 speakers shared their knowledge, expertise and exper...
Issue: WCO News 87
Dubai Customs launches iDeclare
Panorama
...Dubai Customs launched a smart mobile app enabling passengers arriving in Dubai to securely submit Customs declarations electronically, thus bypassing the current traditional paper forms. The online application, called iDeclare, simplifies the Customs clearance process for passengers by enabling self-declaration of their must-declare commercial goods, personal effects or cash either pre or post arrival at the airport, saving them both time and effort. With the launch of iDeclare, Dubai Customs becomes the first Customs administration in the Middle East to implement smart mobile decla...
Issue: WCO News 88
Algeria launches new Customs information system
Panorama
...There can be no improvement in Customs performance without an upgrade of the information system. Given that the system has to be adapted to Customs, a profession that is constantly evolving in the wake of the amendments to the legislative arsenal underpinning foreign trade, this improvement must be treated as a continuous and dynamic process. Algeria Customs is still using an information system called “SIGAD” (Customs Information and Automated Management System), which was developed in-house over two decades ago, with its first version being rolled out in 1995. The only existing ...
Issue: WCO News 89
PROFILE: Enhancing Customs Risk Management
Panorama
...PROFILE, a project funded under the European Union’s (EU) Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, aims to develop and test modern data analytics tools with a view to improving Customs risk management techniques. Ultimately, the project will facilitate and accelerate the uptake by Customs administrations of state-of-the-art data analytics, including the incorporation of new and open data sources, thereby greatly enhancing risk profiling. Towards better risk assessment Solutions being developed as part of the p...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Russian businesses commit to creating a better trade environment
Panorama
...A new tool has been developed in Russia to help create an enabling trade environment: the “Charter on Fair Participation in Foreign Economic Activity.” The Charter is the result of a series of complex consultations between government and business representatives on how the latter can back up government efforts to enhance the trade environment and, in particular, support the Russian Federal Customs Service (FCS) in the implementation of specific measures, known as the “10 Steps to Meet Business.” Customs Development Programme The “10 Steps to Meet Bus...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Caught, identified, studied, returned! The role of the British Museum as a source of expert witness for UK law enforcement
Panorama
... When enforcement authorities or players in the art market suspect that cultural goods have been acquired illegally, they need experts to determine the quality, origin and value of the objects. In the United Kingdom, the British Museum is the expert body they turn to in such cases. In this article, St John Simpson from the Museum’s Department of the Middle East describes the Museum’s role in combating antiquities trafficking and shares some of its success stories in returning antiquities to their rightful owners. The British Museum is the mai...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Implementing nCEN helped Uganda strengthen its targeting capacities
Panorama
...Uganda Customs adopted the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) back in 2015. It took time to enter information in the application and to convince enforcement officers of its benefits. But today, with 1,200 cases validated in the database, the appreciation of the system has greatly improved, and the good news is that it is only getting better. The objective is to have 90% of all enforcement seizures in the nCEN by 2019/2020, in order to establish robust intelligence capabilities and enhance profiling methodology. Detecting offences is what drives any Customs officer. To do so,...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Some thoughts on current important issues
Panorama
... The Lithuanian Customs Practitioners Association (LCPA) is a very dynamic organization which publishes a journal called the Customs Compliance & Risk Management Journal for Practitioners. To stimulate the exchange of ideas between Journal contributors, the Association decided to create a writers’ group which met online for the first time on 18 August 2020. Customs specialists from various backgrounds shared their perspectives on the issues they perceived to be important in ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Malaysia Customs conducts online Factory Acceptance Test
Dossier
...In Malaysia, the use of technology to support Customs operations has increased steadily over the last few years. As in many countries, the COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed this trend and the use of online communication tools and technology such as non-intrusive inspection  equipment has become an imperative for the Royal Malaysian Customs Department (RMCD) for business continuity. The Department has recently used a video conference system to perform an online Factory Acceptance Test (FAT) of its newly procured scanners and radiation portal monitors (RPM). Due to travel restriction, i...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
The advance ruling system for tariff classification: the experience of Algerian Customs
Panorama
...Ensuring that the tariff classification of a good is correct is of paramount importance in several ways for any Customs administration. In particular, this provides good visibility of foreign trade through the collection of reliable statistics on volumes of trade in products, whether imported or exported, and means that the tax measures and other legislative or regulatory provisions governing the movement of these products can be properly applied. The issues are no less crucial for economic operators. An inappropriate or incorrect classification can give rise to disputes, entailing d...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Brand new facility for the training of Customs officials in Morocco
Panorama
... Knowing that strengthening human capital is one of the key factors that determine performance, Moroccan Customs made this one of the five objectives of its 2017-2021 Strategic Plan. In September 2019, as part of this Plan, a Customs Training Institute came into being. In this article, the Administration explains how it is planning to use the new training infrastructures and methods offered by the Institute to fulfil its ambitions to build Customs capacities. In September 2019, a new Customs Training Institute (Institut de Formation Douanièr...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
What impact is technology having on efforts to improve HS classification efficiency and accuracy?
Point of View
...One of the main topics of discussion during the 2019 WCO Conference on the Future Direction of the Harmonized System (HS) was HS complexity. Concern was expressed about the difficulty of HS classification especially for small and medium-sized enterprises that are being granted the opportunity to participate in the global economy but don’t necessarily possess the tools needed to do so. The fact is that HS classification remains largely a manual process for most enterprises. A whopping 95% of respondents to a 2016 Thomson Reuters/KPMG survey reported having difficulty with HS classif...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Digital transformation: Swiss Customs presents its mid-term review
Panorama
...The Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) is constantly evolving. Its objective is to simplify and digitize all processes and to increase the organization’s flexibility. DaziT is the name given to the programme that brings together the various activities undertaken to achieve that objective. “Dazi” means “Customs” in Romansh, one of the four official languages of Switzerland, and the final “T” stands for “transformation”. The DaziT programme was officially launched on 1 January 2018 and is expected to be completed by the end of 2026. We have therefore rea...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Armenia Customs strengthen anti-counterfeiting enforcement thanks to high-performance analytical tools
Panorama
... This article gives a snapshot of the evolution of risk management within Armenia Customs. It looks in particular into the analytical tools developed to strengthen anti-counterfeiting enforcement. The implementation of a risk management tool to manage the movement of goods in Armenia dates back to 1999, with the deployment of UNCTAD’s Automated System for Customs Data (ASYCUDA), which included a selectivity module. ASYCUDA, and the selectivity module, was replaced in 2008 by an in-house information system which in turn gave way to the National ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Morocco’s Customs Service establishes special status for its officials
Panorama
... The date of 10 December 2020 marked the history of the Moroccan Customs Service. On that date, Morocco’s Governing Council approved the draft Decree governing Customs staff regulations. This article reviews the significant provisions of the Decree and the important changes it introduces.   The Customs and Excise Administration of the Kingdom of Morocco (ADII) is overseen by the Ministry of the Economy and Finance. This Ministry is responsible for controlling the international movement of goods and persons for the purposes of collec...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Transforming trade: how Dubai Customs is harnessing AI for enhanced trade facilitation and border control
Panorama
... In a world where international trade is the lifeblood of economies, ensuring the smooth flow of goods across borders while maintaining rigorous controls is a challenging balancing act. Dubai, one of the world’s busiest trade hubs, is meeting this challenge head-on by investing in advance technology and embracing the power of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance trade facilitation and border control. These efforts are poised not only to bolster Dubai’s position as a global trade and tourist hub, but also to set new standards for Customs operatio...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Misuse of ATA carnets: overview of Operation JUBILARIAN II
Panorama
... How Operation JUBILARIAN II came about In 2017, the Australian Border Force (ABF) conducted a project that identified a group of overseas jewellery merchants whose business model involved suspected repeated exploitation of the ATA[1] carnet. The ATA carnet is an international Customs document that permits duty-free and tax-free temporary admission of certain goods to countries that are part of the ATA carnet system for up to one year; including commercial samples, trade fair or e...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Digitization of ATA Carnets: from pilot to implementation
Panorama
... Some years ago, the WCO took the initiative to bring together key stakeholders to discuss the creation of an electronic ATA Carnet (eATA) solution. ICC presented its eATA concept to the WCO back in 2016 and, with the support of the Organization, implemented an eATA pilot project in four countries. The test phase having been finalized, stakeholders can now start preparing the transition to a digital ATA Carnet via the ATA Carnet System. This article explains what moving to a digital process requires from the Customs side. Accepted in 81 countries...
Issue: WCO News 77
Ecuador undertakes a mirror analysis
Panorama
... How do we discover new fraud? On what basis and on which data do we rely in deciding when to investigate certain commodities or trade flows rather than others? Chance, intuition, experience and intelligence are useful, but can we complement them using a more objective approach to detect new fraud trends? Ecuador Customs is one of several administrations that has given consideration to these questions by using ‘mirror analysis’ as a means of adapting and enhancing its risk analysis practices. In this article, Ecuador shares its experience in the use of thi...
Issue: WCO News 78
Supporting e-commerce: Korea Customs Service’s strategy
Focus
... Cross-border e-commerce is increasing sharply in Korea. This is not surprising given that the country ranked No.1 in the world in terms of Internet connection speed at the beginning of 2015, and that the Korean economy is extremely dependent on foreign trade. However, the increase poses a number of challenges to the Korea Customs Service (KCS) which has, since 2014, been taking various e-commerce measures accordingly. This article gives an overview of the scale of e-commerce in Korea, its impact on tax revenue, and how the KCS is promoting e-commerce and mana...
Issue: WCO News 79
Serbia puts technology to best use
Panorama
... Following the creation of a Command Centre within the Enforcement Division’s Anti-Smuggling Department in 2012, Serbia Customs has significantly improved its capacity to fight smuggling. This improvement can be attributed to the implementation of a range of tools, including a new web application that provides features and tools to enhance the work of the Anti-Smuggling Department. It all started with a man and a vision. The Head of the Anti-Smuggling Department in Serbian Customs’ Enforcement Division wanted to equip Customs officers working...
Issue: WCO News 81
Dubai Customs launches the UAE’s innovative AEO programme
Panorama
... The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is one of the world’s largest and fastest growing trading hubs, as a result of its accelerated and extensive modernization initiatives in recent years, the quality of its infrastructure, the intellectual power of its workforce, and a genuine drive to achieve its goals. Against this background, the UAE has officially rolled out its authorized economic operator (AEO) programme. Approximately 20 million containers are processed by the UAE seaports every year. In fact, the Port of Jebel Ali in Dubai is the largest po...
Issue: WCO News 80
Customs-Police cooperation – the Canadian experience
Panorama
...The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) provides integrated border services that support national security and public safety priorities while facilitating the legitimate flow of people and goods. To fulfill this mandate, the Government of Canada has developed a legislative and regulatory framework that results in a strong working relationship between the CBSA and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s federal police service. This framework clearly delineates the roles and responsibilities of the CBSA and the RCMP, and allows for effective cooperation on matters that fa...
Issue: WCO News 82
Customs reform and trade facilitation in the Horn of Africa: Somaliland under the microscope
Panorama
... Introduction The Horn of Africa refers to the easternmost extension of Africa, and for the purposes of this article, includes the region covered by Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Somaliland. This area has been a theatre of struggle between and amongst world powers for more than one century: the desire to control the Red Sea by colonial strategic interests; struggles for control over the waters of the River Nile among the riparian states, with some Nile River Basin countries questioning the relevance of th...
Issue: WCO News 83
Using basic mathematics to fight corruption and bad practices: the realities of day-to-day practice in Cameroon
Panorama
...One of the difficulties in reforming African public administrations derives from the absence or weakness of proper instruments to monitor public action. There is a direct link between bad practices, corruption and a lack of results. For Customs, an improvement in governance automatically brings about an increase in budgeted revenue collections and trade facilitation. The purpose of this article is to show how a public administration like Cameroon Customs, as part of a performance measurement exercise involving Customs clearance agents, has sustainably achieved a certain level of effi...
Issue: WCO News 84
More integration needed to combat transit fraud
Focus
...When it comes to Customs, Europe is at a turning point. In a globalized and fast-paced world, where trade is becoming increasingly liberalized, the role of Customs is changing. Governments around the world are increasingly emphasizing the removal of barriers and the creation of a seamless flow of goods, services and people. This is a key factor of economic growth, and leads to enhanced trade and more global investment. At the same time, the increased pressure for more efficient, rapid and open movement of goods coincides with heightened demands for more secure passenger and cargo ide...
Issue: WCO News 85
Jordan Customs adopts renewable energy solutions
Panorama
...Since deciding to adopt renewable energy solutions in 2014, Jordan Customs has been installing solar photovoltaic (PV) systems in a number of its facilities around the Kingdom. The initiative is part of Jordan Customs’ efforts to realize the Jordanian Government’s objective to reduce national consumption of fossil energy by turning to renewable energy sources. Jordan is confronted with a significant increase in the demand for energy, reflecting both its population and economic growth. As a result, energy management looms as one of the most significant challenges faced by the ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Focus: Illicit Financial Flows
Focus
...This section of the magazine gathers several articles addressing the topic of illicit financial flows (IFFs), including its links to the smuggling of minerals such as gold. The first article gives an overview of the discussions which took place during the WCO Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Trade Mis-Invoicing that was held in May 2018. A second article introduces the German Customs organizational structure and work processes to detect IFFs and fight the concealment of the proceeds of fraud and crime. The third article describes how a joint portal for Customs verification of miner...
Issue: WCO News 87
Bahamas Customs takes the Mercator Programme to a new level
Panorama
...Earlier this year, the WCO and the Bahamas Customs and Excise Department (BCED) embarked on an exciting partnership to employ a new model for Customs capacity building and technical assistance. For the first time, a national multi-year WCO Mercator Programme Implementation Plan has been combined with an intensive training delivery programme aimed at achieving specific results over the course of approximately 18 months. The initiative is funded from a loan to The Bahamas Government by the Inter-American Development Bank, and benefits from the strong commitment of the Comptroller of Cu...
Issue: WCO News 88
Overview of the Dominican Republic’s free zone sector
Panorama
...The first Free Zone Park in the Dominican Republic was established in 1969, in the city of La Romana, by the Gulf and Western Corporation, an American firm, which has grown to become the largest private operator in the country. The legal provisions regulating such “free zones” are laid out in Act No. 299 on Industrial Incentives and Protection, adopted on 23 April 1968. Companies whose production is focused on exports can set up shop in Free Zone Parks and benefit from tax exemptions and other incentives as a result. Enabling l...
Issue: WCO News 89
Fighting illicit financial flows: Brazilian Customs´ approach
Panorama
...The role of Customs has become increasingly complex over the years. On the one hand, international corporations and supply chains actors in general have put pressure on governments to shape a new operating model at the border, based on simplifying procedures and expediting the release of traded goods. On the other hand, governments are demanding that Customs and other border enforcement entities implement more and more regulations aimed at building a fair marketplace and protecting their citizens’ health as well as the environment. Recently, the spotlight has been put on fighting t...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
GTAS implementation: an historic milestone for the Maldives
Panorama
... The Maldives Customs Service recently installed the Global Travel Assessment System (GTAS), an advance passenger data risk assessment system that enables advance passenger information (API) and passenger name record (PNR) data to be collected and analysed. In this article, the Customs Service explains how this project took shape. Being an island nation with limited economic resources, the Maldives largely depends on tourism as its main source of national income. Millions of tourists visit the country annually, ensuring its economic viability. Ho...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Perspective on AEO programmes in South America
Panorama
...Embedded in the Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, which was adopted by the WCO in 2005, is the concept of an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) that has been widely implemented by Customs administrations around the world. In the South American region, preparations for the implementation of AEO programmes began in early 2008 with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) and the WCO, and today, 12 years later, nine of the 12 countries in the region have such programmes in operation, namely Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Parag...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
How the Dutch ports readied themselves for Brexit
Panorama
...In choosing the most cost-effective option to distribute goods, supply chain managers all over the world have four transport options to choose from: ocean-going vessel, plane, train, or truck. But for European distribution there is also another efficient option available, shortsea shipping[1] (SSS). Most SSS vessels carry goods within the European Union’s (EU) internal market, in other words “Union goods” that have been manufactured in the EU or are in free circulation within the Union. These goods can be transferred within the EU without an...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Maqta Gateway: Digitizing and transforming trade
Panorama
... Abu Dhabi is leading the region’s digital transformation drive with a view to moving all of the emirate’s trade online during 2021 Although the maritime transport industry handles 90%[1] of global trade, the sector’s administrative procedures are complex and time-consuming. Out of the USD 9 trillion[2] worth of goods shipped annually, the World Economic Forum estimates that a whopping 15%-20%[3] of the cost of shipping ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Waste trafficking: suggestions to improve enforcement
Panorama
...It is estimated that the world population has surpassed 7.4 billion, generating over 10 billion tonnes of varying types of waste per year. Waste can be traded at international level as long as commercial transactions are in compliance with the rules set by the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal as well as with any additional national requirements which Parties to the Convention may decide to introduce. With 187 Parties, the Convention has near universal application, as transboundary movements with non-Parties are usually prohibi...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Mozambique launches Electronic Cargo Tracking System
Panorama
...In 2021, the Government of Mozambique launched the Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) with a view to bolster the supervision capacity for transit goods and hence promote legal cross-border and regional trade by reducing smuggling, theft and losses of goods across the supply chain. Mozambique, located in the South-Eastern part of Africa, on the Indian Ocean, has one-third of East Africa’s coastline and hosts many deep-water coastal ports dotted with cargo terminals, warehouses and container terminals. 70% of goods entering the territory are in transit to countries of the So...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
An overview of Uzbekistan Customs’ reform journey
Panorama
... In December 2020, Uzbekistan acceded to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention). This article describes the impact of the Convention on the Customs reform process and introduces the work done in recent months towards the implementation of international standards and modern working methods. Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Although it gained its independence from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in August 1991, the country only broke wit...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Digital Vetting: using multi-dimensional data and AI-driven selectivity models to enhance enforcement
Point of View
... Harnessing the Data Revolution Global digitalization is leading to an exponential increase in the volume and production of data, which, in turn, is matched by a growing demand for data from all parts of society. This phenomenon is known as the Data Revolution. Within the global economic ecosystem, it seems that we are close to the peak. Infinite bytes of information swirl within a never-ending cyclone of inputs and outputs generated by billions of public and private entities. For Customs administration...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
KCS takes its first steps into R&D
Panorama
... Having digitized the entire Customs clearance process by 1998, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) has been a pioneer in the adoption of emerging technologies. Moving forward with these efforts, it now aspires to develop innovative technological equipment. This article explains how it became a government agency active in the field of research and development (R&D) and takes a look at the projects it is currently working on. Paving the way In 2020, the combined v...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
The interconnectivity of transit systems is becoming a reality in West Africa
Panorama
... Connecting national Customs systems to share data on transit operations is a priority for the Customs administrations of West and Central Africa, as well as for economic operators, international institutions and development partners working in this region. The objective is to secure, simplify and speed up the flow of commercial goods in transit, especially those coming from seaports and destined for land-locked countries. Against this background, a key project came to fruition a few years ago with the deployment of the Interconnected System for the Management...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Abu Dhabi launches application for real-time measurement of the time required to release goods
Panorama
... Using data analytics, the Emirate of Abu Dhabi has developed an application automating the measurement of release and clearance times at the border. The result is an ability to measure time release dynamically and in real time, and to overcome the limitations of the traditional Time Release Study approach.   Abu Dhabi (the largest emirate in the United Arab Emirates) continues to promote and embrace international best practices to modernize border and trade processes. Many local and federal partners are involved, including Abu Dhabi...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Gender Equality and Diversity: a look into the assessments made with Ghana, Togo and Côte d’Ivoire
Panorama
...Launched in 2013, the Gender Equality Organizational Assessment Tool[1] (GEOAT) enables Customs administrations to self-assess their existing policies and procedures on gender equality in order to identify areas where improvement may be needed. While they can conduct the assessment on their own, Customs administrations can also receive support from t...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
The Czech Customs laboratory is 100 years old and more relevant than ever
Panorama
...The Czech Customs laboratory celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2023. Its history goes back to the creation of Czechoslovakia, after the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy in 1918 at the end of World War I. First known as the Chemical and Technical Testing Laboratory, it was established in 1923 with the task of carrying out analytical and microscopic analyses, and of testing and examining raw materials, products and goods of all kinds, at the request of the Ministry of Finance and other authorities. In 1956, the laboratory was closed. ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Bahrain Customs implements digital warehouse management system
Panorama
...Bahrain Customs Affairs (BCA) is constantly developing its systems and infrastructure to support and improve Customs operations, thereby helping to build a safe, advanced, investment-friendly business environment in the Kingdom. Bahrain, an active Member of the WCO, regularly examines the standards, recommendations and tools developed by the Organization and wishes to act as a leader to the Customs community by demonstrating excellence and creativity in Customs practices. Recently, BCA has taken the initiative of developing an effective and advanced electronic warehouse management sy...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
A diversity and inclusion approach through traineeships
Panorama
...The Dominican Republic’s Directorate General of Customs (DGA) is striving to be a more diverse and inclusive workplace. The term “diversity” refers to “any attribute people use to tell themselves that another person is different”,[1] such as colour, race, ethnicity, gender, identity, age, physical attributes, sexual orientation and physical ability/disability, and encompasses the concept of neurodiversity, a term that reflects the many and varied differences in how people’s brains function. While diversity speaks to employees’ differences, ...
Issue: WCO News 77
US Trade and Transparency Unit targets global trade-based money laundering schemes
Panorama
...Combating money laundering in all its forms is a top priority for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arm. ICE, an agency under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in the United States (US), is tasked with a broad law enforcement mission, including combating international terrorism and transnational crime. “One significant method HSI uses to target transnational criminal organizations is to separate criminals from their cash flow,” said HSI Executive Associate Director Peter T. Edge. “Criminals are clever when it comes t...
Issue: WCO News 78
Australia’s tax reforms and e-commerce: a country perspective
Focus
...The rapid growth in e-commerce has facilitated Australia’s increasing domestic appetite for Internet-based trading and online shopping. Although recent online growth has been more subdued than the 20-30% annual growth rates recorded in earlier years, it is expected that growth will continue and volumes will remain high in the coming months and years. Industry expectations for rapid clearance, and ‘light-touch’ law enforcement intervention means Australian border agencies have to work harder and more effectively to facilitate legitimate e-commerce transactions while at the same ...
Issue: WCO News 79
Implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement will deliver huge dividends to the global economy
Point of View
...By the conclusion of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Tenth Ministerial Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2015, a total of 63 WTO members had ratified the Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), bringing the Organization closer to the threshold – two-thirds of its 162 members – necessary for the Agreement to come into force. The TFA is designed to streamline, speed up and coordinate trade procedures across countries, which promises to lower trade costs globally and provide a significant, sustained boost to international trade, particularly in developing countries. The an...
Issue: WCO News 81
Cooperation: a cornerstone of the EU’s Customs Union
Panorama
...To enable a Customs union to operate properly, active cooperation between Customs authorities within the union must be established. This cooperation is not necessarily limited to legal issues touching on “core” Customs domains, e.g. regulating import and export formalities or establishing a common tariff. An effective Customs union must also provide for Customs authorities to cooperate on law enforcement issues, in order to ensure security and safety within the union, and the effective and efficient fight against crime. About t...
Issue: WCO News 80
Overview of Australian Border Force’s counter terrorism capabilities
Panorama
...The national security environment is one of uncertainty and complexity, with security threats emerging from different conflicts and threatening different interests. Despite its relatively remote geographic location, the threat to Australia and Australians from terrorists and violent extremists is both real and growing. Australia has one of the largest and most challenging border environments in the world with approximately 37,000 kilometres of coastline – much of which is in remote regions, eight major international airports, more than 60 international seaports, and an offshore exc...
Issue: WCO News 82
The eTIR pilot project, an ongoing success
Panorama
...Over several decades, the 1975 Customs Convention on the International Transport of Goods under Cover of TIR Carnets (TIR Convention) has proven to be one of the most successful and efficient instruments for the facilitation of international transport and goods in transit, helping to increase trade, boost economic growth, and make communities stronger. The world’s only tried and tested global Customs transit system – it is the easiest, safest and most reliable way to move goods across international borders, saving time and money for tra...
Issue: WCO News 83
WCO Global AEO Conference: a focal point for security and facilitation discussions
Events
... Recognized as the largest WCO capacity building event, the WCO AEO Global Conference boasts the largest number of workshops held during an event, covering a variety of topics related to the security and facilitation of the global trade supply chain. The conference is organized by the WCO once every two years in partnership with a host Customs administration and provides a key platform for all players who have an interest in international trade. This article presents highlights from the three Global AEO Conferences that the WCO has organized to d...
Issue: WCO News 84
Mobilizing trade and transport operators in West Africa to break down non-tariff barriers
Focus
...Borderless Alliance is a private sector-led initiative that was established in 2012 to promote free movement of goods in West Africa through the removal of trade and transport barriers, and the simplification and harmonization of procedures. Consequently, it envisions a West Africa, where a truck can move goods across the region quickly, efficiently and cheaply, whether from Abidjan to Lagos or from Cotonou to Timbuktu. Boosting regional trade Based on the assumption that streamlining procedures, tackling corruption and facil...
Issue: WCO News 85
Customs systems interconnectivity: the challenges and opportunities for Customs administrations in the SACU region
Panorama
...A lack of Customs systems interconnectivity coupled with delays and inaccuracies in the paper based exchange of cross-border trade data between Customs administrations continues to negatively hamper trade facilitation and regional integration efforts in the Southern African Customs Union (SACU). The situation translates into unsatisfied traders, unreliable trade statistics, controversies around Member States’ allocations from the common revenue pool, and high revenue leakage risks. The stakes are high. A common information technology (IT) system would address issues related to trad...
Issue: WCO News 86
Wrap-up of the WCO Conference on Illicit Financial Flows and Trade Mis-Invoicing
Focus
...Illicit financial flows (IFFs) have been an issue of increasing concern over the past two decades, with many discussions, raising questions on what IFFs include, what we know about them, and how they can be measured. Estimates of the scale of the phenomenon have played a key role in attracting attention and building political momentum. For example, Global Financial Integrity, a non-governmental organization (NGO), which was created “with the aim of quantifying and studying the flow of illegal money while promoting public policy solutions to curtail it,” published figures estimati...
Issue: WCO News 87
Building technology-driven organizations: China Customs shares its experience
Panorama
... A new Customs agency In March 2018, the Chinese government decided to integrate China’s entry-exit inspection and quarantine duties and workforce into China Customs. Since 20 April, the previous entry-exit inspection and quarantine officers in 306 ports nationwide have started to work as Customs officers. This marks the birth of the new China Customs. However, the reform has brought us not only opportunities, but also challenges. First challenge...
Issue: WCO News 88
National Customs Enforcement Network: a look at country-specific implementation
Panorama
...Intelligence-based risk management is a term widely used in the Customs sector and everyone agrees that today, it is the way to go to support global trade facilitation efforts and deal with resource constraints. One of the key measures to implement such a policy is to have a systematic and accurate intelligence database with enforcement data. Developed by the WCO, the National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) application gives Customs administrations the ability to collect, store, analyse and disseminate law enforcement information more efficiently at the national level, in order t...
Issue: WCO News 89
Free zones: Georgia’s experience
Panorama
...In terms of the WCO International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Revised Kyoto Convention), “free zone” means a part of the territory of a Contracting Party [to the Convention] where any goods introduced are generally regarded, insofar as import duties and taxes are concerned, as being outside the Customs territory. The rationale behind the establishment of “free industrial zones” in Georgia was that by offering fiscal incentives and operational or support services, the country would be able to better integrate itsel...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Saudi Arabia engages cross-border trade boosters
Panorama
...The Saudi economic and social reform plan, called Saudi Vision 2030, aims at inducing long-term economic growth that is not reliant only upon oil exports. Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the MENA region and a gateway to a region of over 424 million consumers. Leveraging its unique geographic position, the Kingdom wishes to become a global logistics hub and has made trade facilitation one of the three pillars of its Customs strategy, with the improvement of infrastructure and digitalization as key enablers. Saudi Customs is the official body mandated to realize this ambitious go...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Customs partners with express carriers to fight illicit trade in Hong Kong
Panorama
... Hong Kong Customs’ enforcement strategy is multi-pronged. The administration attaches equal importance to developing efficient enforcement tactics, educating the public and engaging with it, maintaining close collaboration with its overseas enforcement counterparts, and fostering Customs-business partnerships. Partnering with the private sector is a domain in which Hong Kong Customs has been particularly proactive, in order to strengthen its enforcement capacities. This article looks at the cooperation established with express courier companies to detect il...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Leaning forward: Singapore leverages digital data to help financial institutions augment trade finance compliance
Panorama
... Singapore Customs launched a Trade Finance Compliance Service on the country’s Networked Trade Platform to augment trade finance compliance efforts against money laundering and terrorist financing. Banks and financial institutions offer multiple solutions to traders in order to facilitate the purchase and shipment of goods. The most common trade finance product is the Letter of Credit, a formal commitment issued by a bank on behalf of and at the request of a customer to pay a beneficiary a given amount of money upon presentation of documents a...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Working together: Australia and Korea fostering collaboration through officer placement
Panorama
... Cooperation between Customs agencies is crucial in order to address some of the collective risks and challenges faced at the border. The Australian Border Force regularly collaborates with foreign Customs and enforcement authorities in various ways, for example by setting up joint initiatives or organizing joint events. This article looks at another form of collaboration established with the Korea Customs Service: officer placement.   In July 2019, Seunghwan Jeong, a senior executive officer from the Korea Customs Service (K...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Single Window and Service Level Agreements facilitate cross border trade in Oman
Panorama
...During the past four years, the Oman Directorate General of Customs has been working on the Bayan system, the IT solution used by border regulatory agencies to process all trade procedures and declarations, and issue import permits and licenses. While deploying the system, the administration also signed service level agreements with regulatory agencies. These two initiatives enabled it not only to increase the quality of the services provided to economic operators but also to accelerate the release of goods. System components...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Customs’ role in border management increases in Belarus
Panorama
...The two main agencies managing Belarus’ border are the State Customs Committee and the State Border Committee, the latter being responsible for implementing the rules that govern external border checks on people, entry requirements and duration of short stays. ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Improving the business environment through reform and innovation: a look at recent changes in China regarding the administration of rules of origin
Panorama
... China Customs plays a key role in the administration of rules of origin, from their formulation to their implementation. Insiders who follow trade and Customs reforms in China may have noticed the emergence, in recent years, of new expressions and terms in this domain, such as “self-service printing of certificates of origin”, the Electronic Origin Data Exchange System (EODES) and “intelligent examination”. This article explains each of these terms. Two recent moves have triggered a transformation in the way that rules of origin are admi...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Expansion of rail freight transportation must go hand in hand with deployment of rail scanner systems
Point of View
...Rail freight transport is expected to grow, alongside the projected growth in global trade, more than threefold to US$27 trillion in 2030.[1] Two growth factors for rail freight transport’s growth are China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – or Silk Road Economic Belt –  which includes transport corridors through landlocked Central Asia along the historical trade routes of the Western Regions, and the European Commission’s plans to boost international rail which were announced in 2021.[2]...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Managing border flows during COVID-19: Vanuatu Customs’ experience
Panorama
... Vanuatu is one of the few countries in the world to have almost evaded the COVID-19 pandemic. This is mainly due to the implementation of stringent border control measures in the archipelago. This article examines how the Vanuatu Department of Customs and Inland Revenue (DCIR) adapted its procedures to enable the flow of cargo and travellers, while avoiding the spread of the virus. On 26 March 2020, the President of Vanuatu declared a State of Emergency in an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19. All ports of entry were closed to in...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Disposing of counterfeit goods through recycling: Dubai Customs’ new measure is a game-changer
Panorama
...The need to dispose of or destroy goods that infringe intellectual property (IP) rights in an appropriate, environmentally safe manner, in line with the applicable environmental and public health legislation, has been highlighted at various WCO meetings as well as in this magazine. For many years, a lack of capacity for handling the destruction of such goods properly in Dubai, without any impact on the environme...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Controlling inputs of cigarette production: rationale, challenges and recommendations
Panorama
... Cigarette factories need various raw materials, intermediate goods, and manufacturing equipment to operate. Controlling trade in such inputs should therefore be part of Customs’ strategy in the fight against illicit cigarettes trade. This article presents the various types of inputs of cigarette production and lists some suggestions for Customs as to how to better control this trade. It features excerpts from a report entitled K...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
GEA’s Customs capability database
Panorama
... The Global Express Association (GEA) collects key performance indicators on the efficiency of Customs processes in currently 120 countries and territories. They are structured in a fully searchable online database that is publicly available on the association’s website. The Global Express Association represents the three leading express delivery carriers: DHL, FedEx and UPS. Serving clients of all sizes in 220 countries and territories, express delivery has become one of the key conveyor belts of international trade. GEA’s members pick up, t...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Jordan Customs equips patrol officers with body-worn cameras
Panorama
... Body-worn cameras are small cameras which can be clipped onto clothes or worn as a headset and turned on to record video and audio. In some countries, enforcement agencies are using the devices to monitor officers on patrol or on other assignments that bring them into contact with individuals. This has also been the case with the Jordan Customs Department (JCD) since December 2019. About the devices The cameras record high-quality videos with time and date stamps and GPS...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Why connection formulas in the WCO Harmonized System should be amended
Point of View
... The Harmonized System (HS) contains many formulas linking goods and their use. Such connection formulas add complexity to the classification of goods as they are not always well defined and the difference between them is not always clear. This article argues that only a couple of clearly defined terms should be kept, while undefined ones should be replaced.   Material versus usage   HS headings and subheadings often refer to a ...
Issue: WCO News 77
What ‘coordinated border management’ means for Canada
Point of View
...This year’s WCO theme is ‘coordinated border management’ (CBM), which signals our collective aspiration to strengthen our working relationships with other government agencies responsible for Customs-related responsibilities, trade partners, and border agencies. For some time now, the WCO has taken the view that CBM leads to a number of benefits, including improved delivery of services and cost efficiencies. For Canada, CBM is a strategy upon which the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) was established and actively pursues day-to-day across government departments, with the private se...
Issue: WCO News 78
Let cross-border e-commerce be an engine for growth
Focus
... Opportunities E-commerce ─ broadly defined as the use of the Internet as a platform for sales, sourcing, and the exchange of market information ─ will play an increasingly important role in supporting global economic growth. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, e-commerce’s share of total goods trade grew from 3% in 2005 to 12.1% in 2012 [Global flows in a digital age: How trade, finance, people, and data connect the world economy, McKinsey Global Institute, April 2014]. The global e-com...
Issue: WCO News 79
Addressing the misuse of Customs valuation databases
Point of View
...Just two years ago, economists widely predicted that global trade flows would grow by 7% in 2015. The reality – as shown by new World Bank data released just a few weeks ago – is that they barely grew at all, with several countries seeing sizable drops in trade over the past 12 months. ...
Issue: WCO News 81
“The looting of cultural heritage has been happening since the very existence of cultural heritage, it is not anything new, but what we see now is that looting has become highly organized”
Interview
...Every year, thousands of artefacts disappear from museums, churches, private collections, public institutions or archaeological sites. From antique weapons to paintings, from coins to watches, from religious objects to archaeological finds, tens of thousands of specimens forming part of the world’s archaeological and cultural heritage are stolen or looted. Trafficking in items dating back to previous generations began thousands of years ago. However, over the past few decades, the phenomenon has, unfortunately, become a problem of epidemic proportions. Estimates of the size ...
Issue: WCO News 82
Gambia Revenue Authority modernizes its human resource management approach
Panorama
... In cooperation with the WCO, the Gambia Revenue Authority has embarked on a journey to modernize its human resource management capacity, which will enable it to become one of the country’s best employers, as well as a better service delivery institution. Created in 2004 through a merger of the Central Revenue and Customs & Excise Departments, the Gambia Revenue Authority (GRA) employs approximately 590 staff members, led by a Commissioner General. Recognizing the importance of developing the skills and competencies of its staff, in an effo...
Issue: WCO News 84
Better data for better border protection
Point of View
...Ocean shipping has a history of slow adoption of information technology (IT), which means it is also an industry that can benefit significantly from technology-driven innovation. That is one reason INTTRA was formed in 2001 to bring digitization to the container booking process. More than 15 years on, INTTRA is now the largest neutral digital transaction network and software platform in the ocean shipping industry, empowering customers to trade with multiple parties and leverage information to improve their businesses. We are bringing technology to the shipping industry; helping organizatio...
Issue: WCO News 85
An enriching and remarkable journey on the “SMIPRP train” in Japan
Panorama
...High rise buildings with beautiful lighting, fascinating road layouts and curves cutting deftly and sometimes complicatedly across each other, signalled my arrival in Japan. Almost every wall and sign post from the airport to the city was dotted with an intriguing mix of Katakana, Hiragana and Kanji, which beautifully spelt out Japanese words in a manner only the initiated could decipher. I came to Japan to attend the 2016/2017 Strategic Management and Intellectual Property Rights Programme (SMIPRP) at Tokyo’s Aoyama Gakuin University (AGU) as part of the Japan-WCO Human Resource Developm...
Issue: WCO News 86
Overview of German Customs’ fight against illicit financial flows
Focus
... Monitoring and combating illicit financial flows (IFFs) represent a substantial challenge to all countries. This is particularly true for Germany with its growing significance as a financial centre. This article introduces the German Customs organizational structure and work processes to detect IFFs and fight the concealment of the proceeds of fraud and crime. The Financial Secrecy Index that was first issued in 2018 ranks jurisdictions, according to t...
Issue: WCO News 87
Reviewing the OECD method to assess trade facilitation policies
Panorama
... Re-code, an independent Chinese research institute focusing on issues related to Customs and trade, shares its thoughts in this article on the OECD method to assess trade facilitation policies, explains why it decided to evaluate the performance of China using the indicators constructed by the OECD, but not the same scoring methodology, and what the exercise revealed. Several international organizations have developed methods to assess the efficiency of countries in facilitating trade flows. Among them ar...
Issue: WCO News 88
Dubai Customs introduces a Virtual Reality Customs training programme
Panorama
...As Virtual Reality (VR) solutions are creating new ways to learn and become more embedded in the private and public sectors, Dubai Customs recently deployed a one-of-a-kind VR training programme to train their inspectors for fieldwork. The training is designed to improve inspectors’ efficiency in identifying prohibited items, enabling them to gain practical know-how while enjoying the experience. The training is managed by the Customs Training Centre and currently covers maritime related inspections, but will be further developed to include aspects related to the air and land secto...
Issue: WCO News 89
Illicit trade in waste: it is time to raise the alarm and mobilize
Point of View
...According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the continent of Asia is the world’s largest dumping ground for illegally traded waste. The region also grapples with the enormous amount of plastic waste it generates on its own, which has already wreaked havoc on local ecosystems. In fact, a 2017 Ocean Conservancy Report[1] noted that China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have been dumping more plastic into the oceans than the rest of the world combined. The situation in the region has worsened somewhat, following China...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
E-commerce security and safety concerns require forceful action
Point of View
... The flow of consignments delivered by postal operators or express courier services, sometimes over borders, is increasing at a rapid rate. Most of the consignments are small and generally of “low value.” The fact that the value is low often means not only are they exempt from duties, but also that only minimal information is required to be provided when the goods enter a country. The situation compromises Customs enforcement capacities to protect society from security and safety risks. As the WCO recently published guidance material under its E-Commerce P...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Shanghai Customs College opens to the world
Panorama
...Shanghai Customs College (SCC) was founded in 1953 to provide training in Customs technique and management to the staff of the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China. In March 2007, with the approval of the Ministry of Education, the SCC became an institution of higher learning and opened its doors to students from outside of Customs. Today, the SCC trains middle and senior level Customs officials as well as Customs and trade professionals, offering them knowledge updates and advanced courses. Over the past few years, the SCC has been developing an ...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Deepening Customs-to-Customs collaboration: the URA-KRA story
Panorama
... By deepening their collaboration, the Customs services of Uganda and Kenya have managed to optimize processes, facilitate trade operations, and strengthen enforcement capacities. Their story is a testimony to the fact that no amount of investment or innovation can solve problems without consensus on the way forward and collaboration at the decision-making and operational levels. During the latest update of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade, in 2018, the Customs community aimed to give a new impulse and sig...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
COVID-19 : WCO adopts new procedures and tools to ensure business continuity
Focus
...The WCO has taken measures and developed tools to ensure business continuity within its working bodies during the current exceptional circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In consultation with the Council Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, as well as the Chairpersons and Vice-Chairpersons of WCO working bodies, new working methods and procedures have been identified which can be adapted to meet the specific requirements of the working bodies scheduled according to the calendar of meetings approved by the Council. Document-...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Assessing the cargo release process: Brazil shares its experience
Panorama
... The WCO has long emphasized that the Time Release Study (TRS) is a useful tool with which a country can assess the performance of its Customs administration, border regulatory agencies, port authorities, trade operators and various service providers, in terms of the clearance process. In this article, Brazil Customs shares its experience on conducting its first TRS. Undertaking a Time Release Study (TRS) is an effective way to obtain a wide range of information and insights related to the clearance process and the processing of trade transaction...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
The virtues of virtual
Point of View
...The WCO Secretariat has taken measures and developed tools to ensure business continuity within its working bodies facing the constraints imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past few months, most of the WCO’s meetings have been held in a hybrid format, combining a document-based phase (submission of comments) with online video-conferencing sessions. Although face-to-face meetings are more efficient, and virtual meetings present significant workload challenges for the staff of the WCO Secretariat, there is a positive side to the new arrangement: it is easier for WCO Member admi...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
SACU Members make progress in enhancing the uniform application of their Common External Tariff
Panorama
...The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) consists of five Member States – Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa – with a combined population of over 63 million people and a combined GDP in excess of 300 billion US dollars. It is the oldest functioning Customs Union in the world, dating back to 1910. SACU Member States form a Common Customs Area (CCA), having eliminated Customs duties on trade in goods among themselves and agreed on a Common External Tariff (CET) schedule for goods imported from outside the CCA. In accordance with Article 22 of the SACU Agreement ...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Tackling Customs Compliance in DHL Express
Point of View
... E-commerce continues to grow, as well as the number of parcels moving across borders. The challenges to ensure the regulatory compliance of such transactions have been addressed many times in the pages of this magazine. In this article, we would like to provide an overview of DHL Express’ approach to ensuring compliance in its network, and propose areas of future cooperation with Customs authorities to tackle non-compliance. Traditiona...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Control measures, paperless procedures, openness and transparency: Overview of the Customs Anti-Corruption Strategy in Morocco
Panorama
... In 2015, the Kingdom of Morocco adopted a National Anti‑Corruption Strategy, the implementation of which is overseen by a steering committee chaired by the Prime Minister. This article sets out the approach adopted by Moroccan Customs in this area, an approach fully in line with this Strategy and consistent with the guidelines and practices recommended by the WCO, and in particular the Revised Arusha Declaration. Central and regional audit and inspection units Since 20...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Introduction
Focus: Collecting enforcement related data
...Collecting, storing, analysing and disseminating law-enforcement information efficiently is critical for establishing robust intelligence capabilities. To support Customs administrations in this area, three WCO applications have been developed: The Customs Enforcement Network (CEN), a web platform that acts as a depository of enforcement-related information which analysts can mine to produce valuable analysis and intelligence. At its core is a database of seizures and offences, as well as pictures. Its value rests squarely on the steady flow of quality data provided by all WCO ...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Supporting mental and physical health: an overview of CBP resources and services
Panorama
...With approximately 64,000 employees, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is the largest law enforcement organization in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Eighty per cent of the workforce are geographically dispersed agents and officers who face unique pressures, stressors, and emotional demands during their duties. On any given day, CBP’s operators face a host of environmental challenges, long work schedules, remote locations, extreme weather, and exposure to a variety of ailments such as scabies, tuberculosis, rashes, and skin and respiratory infections....
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Fighting corruption in the form of gift-giving: the experience of Indonesia Customs
Panorama
...Under the leadership of President Suharto, Indonesia built one of the world’s largest bureaucracies. It suffered from a range of problems including rampant corruption, inefficiency and poor service delivery. Following democratization in 1998, the country’s political leaders experimented with various public administration reforms. The Directorate General of Customs and Excise (DGCE) was one of the Ministry of Finance departments to pilot the reform of bureaucracy  back in 2002. With the improvement of integrity being one of the key expectations of public and private stakeholders, the re...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
How Indian Customs leverages data analytics for efficient risk management
Panorama
... Selecting cargo for inspections and examinations using basic methods has limitations, so, to enhance their enforcement capability, Customs administrations need a paradigm shift in the way they deal with targeting. They need to leverage data science, an interdisciplinary academic field that uses statistics, scientific computing, scientific methods, processes, algorithms and systems to extract or extrapolate knowledge and insights from noisy data, both structured and unstructured. To apply data science tools, you need to have a sound data architecture in place,...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Indonesia implements automated data exchange with e-commerce marketplaces
Panorama
...In Indonesia, the number of individuals purchasing goods online continues to rise annually, and it is estimated that 73% of the population made at least one transaction through a computer network in 2023. Bank of Indonesia has reported that, in 2022, e-commerce transactions reached USD 30.5 billion and the figure is to grow further in the coming years. Part of this flow of goods crosses borders and consists of low-value items. These are defined as goods which have a value of USD 3 or less and which are exempt from import duties. For goods whose value is more than USD 3 and up to USD ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Customs Information Systems: a brief historical overview and recommendations
Point of View
...The mission of Customs has always been to prevent the entry of prohibited goods into the local market and to collect duties and taxes at the borders. Its role is crucial, especially in many countries where it is the primary source of revenue, helping states maintain economic stability. Over the past 50 years, customs administrations have had to evolve to cope with increased trade volumes, secure the supply chain, and support the emergence of customs unions. The role of the World Customs Organization (WCO) has been pivotal in this evolution. By developing international standard...
Issue: WCO News 77
The killing of elephants continues: what can be done to stop the accelerating risk of extinction?
Interview
...The continued slaughter of elephants by humans and the cross-border smuggling of their ivory are endangering the existence of this magnificent species. Without concerted action and innovative techniques to stop the massacre fuelled by the greed of individuals who trade in illegal ivory, the elephant faces extinction. There is still an opportunity, however, to protect elephants from sharing the fate of animals such as mammoths and mastodons. While combating elephant poaching is generally under the purview of wildlife services, Customs administrations are the l...
Issue: WCO News 78
Dubai’s Virtual Freight & Logistics Corridor streamlines cargo movement
Panorama
... An initiative by Dubai Customs facilitating the speedy and hassle-free movement of transferred and transhipped goods augurs well for the supply chain and logistics industry in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Dubai has established itself as one of the world’s major multimodal hubs over the years, due to its strategic location and excellent infrastructure. The concept of a hub involves the deconsolidation of different consignments of air or maritime transhipment cargo destined for different countries, arriving on board an incoming carg...
Issue: WCO News 79
Valuation database as a risk assessment tool: Ecuador, India and Kenya Customs share their experience
Point of View
...The WCO receives many requests from its Members for assistance on the development and use of valuation databases. The Organization acknowledges that such databases may be a useful tool, particularly for developing countries who have yet to apply effective post-clearance audit controls, and who face challenges from high levels of non-compliance and informality. It is strongly underlined however, that valuation databases should be used only as a risk assessment tool and must be developed within a broader risk management framework, alongside other risk indicators. In addition, it is equ...
Issue: WCO News 81
Global warming, international trade, and the quantification of carbon emissions: production-based and consumption-based accounting
Point of View
... Global warming is on a dangerous trajectory. Human-induced carbon dioxide pollution and deforestation are steadily increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 concentration which is resulting in, among other things, higher global average temperatures and extreme weather events. This article opines on the latest global warming data, mitigation policies, and the two major methods of carbon emissions quantification (production-based and consumption-based), particularly the synergies between consumption-based accounting and international trade. ...
Issue: WCO News 85
France returns Egyptian antiquities
Panorama
...On 26 October 2017, French Customs handed over eight archaeological finds to the Egyptian authorities during the official visit to France by Egypt’s President, H.E. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. These antiquities (two cat statuettes, one sculpted stone head and five painted wood tablets), which are more than 3,000 years old, were discovered in January 2010 by Customs officials from the Cross-Channel Customs Control Service at Paris’ Gare du Nord train station, in the luggage of a British resident who was on his way back to London. After an examination by the Louvre’s Department ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Trade in minerals: Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone launch a Customs verification portal
Focus
... Three West African countries announced the publication of a joint portal for Customs verification of minerals at this year’s Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum for Responsible Mineral Supply Chains[1]. The portal allows Customs officers around the world to look up and verify mineral export permits issued by Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone. With more countries set to join, the portal will become an essential tool in addressing the smuggling of minerals such as gold and related illicit fina...
Issue: WCO News 87
This CBP beagle isn’t your typical canine
Panorama
...Imagine being less than two feet tall and having to navigate the luggage carousel at one of the busiest airports in America. This could be a daunting and intimidating task, but every day a non-intimidating canine battles through the large crowds sniffing backpacks and luggage looking for food. Frodo, a beagle, is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agricultural products detection dog. He has been working at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport since 2011, and according to Jessica Anderson, a CBP Agricultural Specialist, Frodo loves his job. “This is a beagle’s dream ...
Issue: WCO News 88
Danish Customs deploys underwater drone
Panorama
...The use of sophisticated concealment methods by traffickers requires the use of proper inspection equipment by Customs administrations. As with all modes of transport, vessels present their own challenges when it comes to search operations. Rummaging vessels is extremely time consuming and expensive, requiring highly specialized personnel, especially when underwater parts have to be searched. ...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Investing in leadership should be an unwavering priority for all Customs administrations
Point of View
... Leadership development programmes are crucial to the lasting success of every organization. To support its Members in this field, the WCO has developed a Leadership and Management Development Programme. In this article, the Commissioner of Uganda Customs shares his experience with the programme, and explains why investing in leadership development should be an unwavering priority for all Customs administrations. In 2011, while serving as the Assistant Commissioner in charge of Customs Audit, I was privileged to attend the WCO Fellowship Programm...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Customs implements the WCO nCEN in Palestine
Panorama
...Palestine Customs aims at creating an environment supportive of the national economy by preserving the security and safety of the community and combating smuggling, tax evasion, and commercial fraud in all its forms. All laudable activities for a territory that faces enormous daily challenges on many fronts. Since it became a Member of the WCO in 2015, the administration has been keen to benefit from the WCO Secretariat’s expertise, especially in the field of enforcement. One of the success stories of this partnership is the implementation of the WCO National Customs Enforcement Ne...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Facing the COVID-19 crisis with numbers: performance metrics for business continuity
Point of View
... The effort undertaken by the WCO in building a comprehensive Performance Measurement mechanism (PMM) to measure the performance of Customs administrations aims at strengthening a measurement culture among the WCO Membership, and at enabling them to develop metrics for strategic planning and evidence-based decision making. This, in turn, is going to help Customs in building its resilience and optimizing its organizational performance under disruptive scenarios, by providing the foundations for business continuity planning. The development of glob...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Adapting to the ‘New Normal’: pioneering remote Mercator scoping missions
Focus
...The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a major shift in how we work, live and engage with each other – both on a personal and a professional level. After the initial shockwave, and following an adjustment period, we now find ourselves in a situation that is commonly referred to as ‘the new normal’. The WCO Secretariat has adapted its working methods to these unprecedented times and is now supporting Customs administrations requesting its assistance on a remote basis, the main condition being the administration’s willingness and ability to engage in such a way. This article l...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Communications and collaboration tools: understanding the risks and opportunities
Point of View
... As private and public entities are being forced by the coronavirus to move their communications and file sharing to online collaboration platforms, they should be aware of the potential security threats they face and of the need to use professional tools in order to ensure the security of their IT environment and compliance with data protection regulations. In addition to addressing security concerns, professional communications tools currently offer a wide range of functionalities which enable organizations not only to improve information flows but also to a...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Inter-dependence and fragmentation: an outlook on today’s maritime supply chain
Point of View
... FIATA, through our Working Group Sea Transport, provides crucial input to shape international policy discussions on maritime and Customs issues, working closely with international and regional organizations. Through our Customs Affairs Institute, we liaise regularly with the WCO to provide crucial private sector input on the challenges presented by the disrupted maritime supply chain and to promote trade facilitation. In this article, we would like to present some of the challenges freight forwarders are facing and to provide an outlook on how governments and...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Remote validation of AEO Programme applicants: the experience of Guatemala
Panorama
...Like many of its counterparts, the Guatemalan Customs Administration has faced many challenges in recent months due to COVID-19. One of these is the validation of applicants for the Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) Programme, and the supervision of existing AEOs, while minimizing travel and physical contact to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Previously, AEO validation and supervision were handled mainly through on-site visits at the AEO’s premises. This changed on 1 September 2020, with the publication of a resolution issued by the Superintendent of the Tax Administration Office, ...
Issue: WCO News 97 – Issue 1 / 2022
Blockchain document transfer: understanding the technology and its uses
Point of View
...According to research, a single container shipment can generate up to 200 communications, and the administrative cost of processing the accompanying documentation is estimated to be 15‑20% of the overall cost of transporting the goods. It is therefore essential to find easier, more efficient ways of transferring data and documents, and verifying and archiving documentation. Cutting file and data transfer times down to just a few seconds brings great benefits in reducing congestion at ports and minimizing storage and demurrage costs. Allowing economic operators to submit scanned or...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Strengthening Public-Private Partnership: looking at the experience of Guatemala
Panorama
...In 2017, we described in the pages of this magazine how the new management team of the Superintendence of Tax Administration (SAT) undertook major reforms following the “La Línea” case. La Linea was a fraud scheme in which importers paid bribes to avoid Customs duty or to receive greatly reduced tariffs in exchange for kickbacks that were shared among dozens of government officials and the country’s top authorities. We explained that the revamp...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Enhancing data collection – A call to action!
Focus: Collecting enforcement related data
...When the first discussions on the creation of the Customs Enforcement Network (CEN) were initiated during the Enforcement Committee in 1999, there was agreement that the CEN would have positive implications for the organization of Customs enforcement services around the world. The project was unanimously supported by WCO Members and the Regional Intelligence Liaison Offices (RILOs), with the common understanding that implementation and success of the project would depend on all parties being willing to share information in a timely and secure manner. As we look back at its 20 years o...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Irish Tax and Customs Administration celebrates centenary
Panorama
... 21 February 1923 saw the establishment of the Office of the Revenue Commissioners in Ireland, shortly after the fledgling new State gained its independence in December 1922. Almost one hundred years on, the Office, which answers to the Minister for Finance, aims to serve the community by fairly and efficiently collecting taxes and duties and implementing Customs controls. It has a Board of three Commissioners, one of whom serves as Chairman. The current Commissioners are Chairman Niall Cody and Commissioners Gerry Harrahill and Ruth Kennedy. Gerry Harrahill, ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Finnish Customs experiments with the carbon footprint calculator
Panorama
...A host of Finns imported goods from outside the European Union (EU) in 2022 for their private use. Of these individuals, 250,000 used the Customs Duty Calculator[1] when planning the cost of importing goods. Planning with the Duty Calculator is an effective way of understanding the costs arising from value added tax (VAT) and Customs duties. Customers are also informed of how they will get their imported packages when t...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Performance measurement: Canada’s perspective
Panorama
... Crafting a performance measurement system Measuring performance shows a commitment to transparency, accountability, and effective governance. For a nation embarking on this path, the approach of the CBSA may offer guidance. A wise move would be to establish a small oversight team, akin to the five-person planning and performance oversight unit I oversee at the CBSA, to provide direction and consistency in practices. The team should craft a performance measurement system by taking the following steps: ...
Issue: WCO News 103 – Issue 1 / 2024
Due diligence: highlighting the challenges for SMEs
Point of View
... Performing due diligence can be challenging for SMEs, and regulators should take this into account when designing trade compliance programmes and initiatives. Companies and institutions involved in moving goods across borders must apply due diligence to ensure compliance with Customs and trade regulations given their sheer number, complexity and sometimes opacity. However, they are not equal in terms of resources and capacities. This article highlights some of the issues they face and offers some ideas on how to support companies – and especia...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
Leveraging AI for Proactive Customs Compliance: Giving Shipments a Voice
Point of View
...The recent changes in trade compliance has created a need for better tools that allow enterprises to abide by international laws and regulations. Artificial intelligence has become one of the most important pieces of this puzzle. Used for broad tasks such as mapping supply chains down to classifying Harmonized System (HS) codes, AI offers an opportunity to improve how logistics service providers and enterprises approach compliance, and how governments can improve each of their enforcement measures. The challenge of Customs complian...
Issue: WCO News 77
Tobacco taxes, illicit trade and plain packaging
Interview
...The taxation of tobacco is a core policy mechanism for reducing cigarette smoking. Evidence shows that the greater the tobacco tax increase, the lower the cigarette consumption. National revenue agencies, such as Customs, collect enormous amounts of cigarette taxes every year through import duties, value-added tax (VAT) and excise taxes. These taxes fund vital government services. Estimates of the quantity of revenue collected from tobacco taxes for the five members of the United Nations Security Council alone in 2011 was over 60 billion US dollars according ...
Issue: WCO News 78
Educating the next generation of Customs professionals
Panorama
... Are there ways to improve compliance, safety, security, operational efficiency and information quality in international trade? Reduce the administrative burden for business and government? Foster the uniform application of Customs legislation? Encourage mutual understanding between the public and private sector, and even share responsibilities in the fight against smuggling, terrorism and criminal organizations? We believe there are, but to do so there is a need for people who are knowledgeable in various disciplines. The Master Degree in Customs and Supply C...
Issue: WCO News 79
Higher tobacco taxes increase revenue and save lives: a review of the WHO Report on the Global Tobacco Epidemic, 2015
Book Review
...Taxing tobacco products has historically been a simple way for governments, through their Customs and tax agencies, to collect revenue. Indeed, Adam Smith wrote in his 1776 book The Wealth of Nations, “sugar, rum, and tobacco are commodities which are no where necessaries of life, which are become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are therefore extremely popular subjects of taxation.” Tobacco taxes are relatively easy to administer, especially if specific excise taxes are used. Moreover, the volume of money currently collected by taxing tobacco is substa...
Issue: WCO News 85
Using data to monitor Customs modernization: the experience of the WCO West and Central Africa region
Panorama
...The West and Central Africa (WCA) region is one of the six regions of the WCO. It is made up of 23 countries, including 14 that are French-speaking, five that are English-speaking, 3 that are Portuguese-speaking, and one that is bilingual (English and French). Since 2016, this region has been run by the Ivorian Customs administration, whose vision is to make the WCA region a reference region. To implement this vision, the WCO Vice-Chair of the region has defined three strategic axes: a better organized and more dynamic region; efficient regional structures; and modern and efficient C...
Issue: WCO News 86
Burkina Faso: the problem of gold smuggling
Focus
...Although Burkina Faso has long been regarded as a land lacking in natural resources, over the space of just a few years, the country has been transformed into a mining player specializing in the production of gold. Among the reasons for this growth in the country’s extractive industries are the tax breaks granted to investors and the arsenal of legal provisions put in place to make mining investment projects predictable and safer in the “Land of Incorruptible People.” According to a report published in 2014 by the Canadian Fraser Institute, Burkina Faso is currently the sixth m...
Issue: WCO News 87
Blockchain: unveiling its potential for Customs and trade
Focus
...This section of the magazine gathers several articles on the “Blockchain,” a term which refers to a type of data structure that identifies and tracks transactions digitally and shares this information across a distributed network of computers. Blockchain is one type of distributed ledger: distributed ledgers use independent computers – referred to as nodes – to record, share and synchronize transactions, instead of keeping data centralized as is the case with a traditional ledger. The Blockchain organizes data into blocks, which are chained together in an append-only mode. It...
Issue: WCO News 88
Israel’s response to the threats facing cultural heritage
Panorama
...The State of Israel has a rich history, with more than 30,000 known antiquity sites across the country. Most of these sites are out in the open, unguarded, and easily reached by the public. Neighbouring countries, such as Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, are in the same situation, but, contrary to Israel, they do not permit any trade in antiquities. In Israel, this trade is regulated by the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) and the country counts more than 40 antiquity dealers, most of whom are located in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. They must operate in accord...
Issue: WCO News 90 October 2019
Perspective on risk management systems for Customs administrations
Point of View
...As a vendor who designs and deploys border processing systems, we have seen many Customs and border administrations make significant investments towards optimizing and modernizing their border processing capabilities and methodologies in an effort to meet the demands of today’s fast-paced international trade environment. Some administrations build, for example, Single Window environments with automated control mechanisms for licences, permits, certificates and other documentation (LPCO) required by other government agencies (OGAs). But while this can help reduce release times and p...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Dubai Customs introduces blockchain-based platform to facilitate cross-border e-commerce
Panorama
...Dubai, the second largest emirate of the UAE, stands among the fastest growing e-commerce markets in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), bearing the fruits of adopting incentivizing policies and “smart government” initiatives. Recently, the Government of Dubai rolled out the emirate’s e-commerce  strategy that aims to strengthen Dubai’s status as a global logistics hub for cross-border e-commerce operations and accelerate trade growth in the region. The strategy is primarily geared towards maximizing the contribution of e-commerce related activities in the local economy...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Revised Kyoto Convention: Customs’ blueprint journey towards further simplification and harmonization of Customs procedures
Focus
...The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, known as the Kyoto Convention, was adopted on 19 May 1973 and entered into force on 25 September 1974 with 63 Contracting Parties. Twenty years later, in 1994, a decision to revise the Convention was taken, and, in June 1999, a Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) was adopted. It entered into force on 3 February 2006 after 40 Contracting Parties to the Kyoto Convention had acceded to the Protocol of Amendment. In February 2020, there were 122 Contracting Parties to the RKC. Overall, the RKC is aim...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Using Customs data to follow crisis trends: the experience of Niger Customs
Focus
...To date, African countries have been only moderately affected by the COVID‑19 pandemic.[1] Governments took measures promptly: as early as March 2020, borders were closed except for goods, large gatherings were banned, curfews imposed and capital cities locked down, teleworking was introduced in education and public services, and social measures were adopted to compensate households for loss of income (in Niger, water and electricity were supplied free of charge to the poorest households for three months). These measures were gradually eased from the s...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Harmonization of procedures is still work in progress
Point of View
... The authors of this article argue that harmonization should be high on the agenda both of those who make, and of those who enforce, legislation. To illustrate, they explain some of the issues faced by businesses due to the lack of harmonization of rules, or to the non-harmonized implementation of these rules. Three topics are addressed: the difficulty of identifying preferential rules of origin for a given HS code; the process to obtain a Customs registration number in the European Union; and the implementation of the AEO Programme in Ukraine. ...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Analysis of trade data pays off, so why is Customs not embracing it more widely?
Point of View
...As billions of dollars are lost each year to trade fraud, and Covid-19 is pressuring economies around the globe, it is imperative that governments understand how software and data can be used to target trade crime. Having spent years working on this topic, I would like in this article to share some of my views. Origins My story started in 1992 at Customs Headquarters in Washington, DC. There, in the fifth-floor Fraud Division, I met Senior Special Agent Lou Bock, a man who had a deep understanding of how to use data to target trade fraud and money laundering. ...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
A look at the RCEP from a Customs perspective
Panorama
... The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is becoming the world’s largest existing free trade agreement in terms of economic size. Aimed at further integrating the economies of Southeast and Northeast Asia, the RCEP sets high requirements on Customs in terms of procedures, processes and performance. This article looks at the agreement from a Customs perspective and puts forward suggestions for its effective implementation. In 2012, the 10 countries belonging to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Gender equality and diversity: latest developments at the WCO
Focus: Gender Equality and Diversity
... Gender equality and diversity (GED) has been part of the WCO’s capacity building agenda since 2013. In 2020, the WCO adopted the Declaration on Gender Equality and Diversity in Customs, an illustration of Customs administrations’ interest in moving this agenda forward. Among other recommendations, the Declaration encourages them to share experiences on the promotion of GED as well as on the use of monitoring and evaluating mechanisms. In this article, the WCO Secretariat would like to share some lessons learned and report on the latest initiatives in ...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
nCEN: a look into user practice and upcoming upgrades
Focus: Collecting enforcement related data
...Detecting the illicit trade of prohibited or regulated commodities is extremely challenging. One way to enhance identification capacities is to analyse data related to seizures and detentions and develop a set of rules: deductive rules based on watchlists; inductive rules, using indicators or anomalies to assess the risk associated with a transaction; and predictive rules, which are mathematical tools based on historical trend analysis and scenarios. Such an approach requires Customs to collect, store and analyse data related to seizures and detentions. Moreover, the data must be of high qu...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Moving from risk management to decision intelligence: what it means and where to start
Point of View
...The delicate balance between facilitating legitimate trade and combatting illicit trade raises numerous challenges for Customs administrations. Three of these appear to be common to all administrations. The first shared challenge is a disproportionate ratio of personnel to workload. This has always been a significant issue but now, with ever-growing e-commerce in cross-border trade, Customs officers need to track a significantly higher number of shipments, along with more paperwork and stakeholders. This is amplified even more by the second common challenge: many administratio...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
How India Customs contributes to data-informed decision-making
Panorama
...“In God we trust, all others must bring data”. Widely attributed to statistician and management theorist W. Edwards Deming, this quote epitomizes the importance of data in decision-making. With technologies for extracting, collecting, storing and processing data having progressed rapidly over the last couple of years, this statement is truer now than ever before. This does not mean that knowledge and information acquired through human interaction, scenario building and experience are not important when analysing a situation. Rather, data enhances our cognitive abilities and at ti...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Diary of a WCO Professional Associate
Panorama
... Dreams are for real For Customs officers across the globe, working for the WCO Secretariat is a prestigious opportunity not to let slip. I’m no different. So when the chance came knocking to ply my trade via the Career Development Programme (CDP), I was eager to grasp it with both hands. The CDP, a Japan Customs-financed initiative, allows selected candidates to undertake work at the WCO Secretariat in Brussels for ten months. Fortunately, with the support and encouragement of my Administration, the Indian ...
Issue: WCO News 104 – Issue 2 / 2024
EU ICS2 – the DHL Express journey
Point of View
... The European Union has developed a new Customs pre-arrival security and safety programme, underpinned by a large-scale advance cargo information system called the Import Control System 2 (ICS2). DHL Express, a leading global logistics provider, has undertaken extensive preparations to ensure compliance with the programme. This article shares some challenges the company encountered during the process and highlights some of the lessons Customs administrations can learn from its experience. ICS2 ...
Issue: WCO News 78
EU launches a new Customs Data Model based on WCO standards
Panorama
... Between 2016 and 2020, many new electronic Customs systems will be developed within the European Union (EU). The new systems will have new data requirements based on a new WCO compatible data model, called the EU Customs Data Model (EU CDM). The EU CDM will enable further harmonization of electronic data requirements within the EU, and build a three-tier interoperable structure from the global level to the regional and national levels. Among the expected results are enhanced regional integration, better interconnection between Customs and other administration...
Issue: WCO News 79
Interdisciplinary approach, a hallmark of the 2015 WCO PICARD Conference
Events
...The annual WCO PICARD Conference took place in Baku, Azerbaijan from 8 to 10 September 2015, giving rise to stimulating interdisciplinary debates around the following main themes: global value chains (GVCs); taxation and other revenue matters; and smuggling. Following the issuance of a Call for Papers (CFP), over 65 submissions were received for consideration – a new record for the Conference. The Conference Scientific Board ultimately selected approximately 25 papers for presentation by Customs professionals and academics from disciplines such as anthropology, criminology, economi...
Issue: WCO News 85
Customs transit procedures: insights from an operator
Point of View
...At the WCO Transit Conference held in Brussels, Belgium in July 2017, during which the WCO Transit Guidelines were launched, many administrations presented and shared their national or regional experience with regard to transit procedures. This article presents the point of view of a large and well-known transit operator that manages the movement of goods across the European continent, and discusses the added value of allowing “transit facilitators” to handle transit operations on behalf of their clients. Transit procedure ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Serbia’s valiant efforts to protect cultural heritage
Panorama
...It is a known fact that sites across Serbia are being dug over and destroyed by treasure hunters and antique traders, and that valuable cultural artefacts are ending up in auctions or antique fairs in the West, where they sell for amounts which, although very high, far reflect their actual cultural value and significance. This phenomenon is not limited to Serbia. Smuggling of artworks and antiques is estimated to be among the most lucrative forms of smuggling, and seizures of cultural goods are growing all over the world, which could indicate an increase in this phenomenon. Given the...
Issue: WCO News 87
Blockchain: mapping new trade routes to trust
Focus
...The border is a national asset. To boost national competitiveness, facilitating legitimate cross-border trade must be high on every government’s agenda. The World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates that ratification of the Trade Facilitation Agreement could boost global trade by up to 1 trillion US dollars and reduce total trade costs by 13% for upper-middle income countries. Put simply, making cross-border trade more efficient offers a sizeable pay-off for governments and citizens. International trade is complex and typically plagued by inefficiency. Despite digital advances, most...
Issue: WCO News 88
Bridging development gaps in the Pacific
Panorama
...The Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) has 23 members made up of independent countries and self-governing territories in the Pacific region. Established in 1986, its mandate is to support Customs administrations in their endeavour to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of their work, in order to meet the development objectives of their governments. Such endeavours include the harmonization and simplification of Customs procedures, the facilitation of trade, better quality law enforcement, and the building of leadership and management capacity. About 39% of OCO members have less ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Peru Customs reduces the time required to release goods
Panorama
...Peru’s air and maritime ports of entry and exit are close to capacity, which creates a series of issues that affect the country’s overall competitiveness, including making imports and exports more expensive in today’s global market. Among other difficulties, until 2018, any entrepreneur operating out of Peru could almost never anticipate with accuracy the release time of the goods they were importing and, thus, plan with a certain degree of predictability the availability of such goods in the market or in the factories. This lack of certainty generated higher storage cos...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
WCO’s development of draft “Practical Guidance on Free Zones”
Focus
...WCO Members have been drawing and sharing lessons from their experiences in combating illicit trade associated with Free Zones (FZs) for decades now. One lesson is that there is a need for effective or better monitoring and control by Customs over these zones. However, changing existing FZ regimes requires action by policymakers, and convincing them to do so has been rather difficult at times. This article introduces the key elements embedded in the recently published WCO research paper on FZs and the draft “Practical Guidance on Free Zones”, which both aim to support administrat...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Seeing deeper into supply chains is key to overcoming disruptions such as COVID-19
Focus
...Every year, procurement officers and supply chain professionals are confronted by a myriad of natural disasters, factory fires, corporate restructuring and other disruptive events that have slowed their supply chains or even brought them to a halt. But for many it took the COVID-19 pandemic, a black swan event of historic proportions, to open their eyes to the need for greater visibility into the deep sub-tiers of their supply chains. Supplier disruptions continue to rise With border closures occurring acros...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Transforming Customs operations management teams into strategic players
Point of View
... Within companies, Customs operations management teams are typically slow to adopt new technology. Yet by adopting trade software solutions, they could centralize and automate their Customs and trade compliance processes and harness the value of data, saving time and money and informing strategic decisions. Although this article mainly addresses companies, it is also of interest to Customs administrations who want to understand the solutions and tools that are available on the market and that enable companies to modernize their Customs and trade compliance pro...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
Handling obsolete NII equipment
Focus: Non-Intrusive Inspection
... What is to be done when non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment has reached the end of its life? In this article, we asked Customs administrations and manufacturers how they manage the decommissioning of NII systems. The average operating life of conventional imaging equipment is estimated to be 10 years in the field. It is therefore important, when buying such equipment, to foresee how it is to be disposed of, especially as decommissioning some parts of the equipment, such as radiation sources and parts containing heavy metals, requires specia...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
Ensuring equality, diversity and inclusion: Ireland’s experience
Focus: Gender Equality and Diversity
...At Revenue – the name of the Irish Tax and Customs Administration – we are committed to being an inclusive organisation that reflects the diversity of the community that we serve, acknowledges and values diversity, and places equality at the centre of everything we do. This policy supports Revenue in its objective of being a leading tax and Customs administration, trusted by the community and seen as an employer of choice in a competitive employment market. This commitment is embedded within a wider programme of civil and public sector reform in Ireland. Since the adoption of Sec...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Indian Customs enhances its Customs Offence Management System
Focus: Collecting enforcement related data
... The COVID-19 pandemic presented many challenges to the international trade community. Many of these were new to the officers working for the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), the Government of India’s nodal body responsible for formulation and implementation of policy relating to all matters of indirect taxation. Among other things, they realized that they had to examine some of the IT systems being used, to ensure that they still meet the requirements of the Administration. One such system was the National Customs Offence Management S...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Open Architecture: what it means and how to make it work
Point of View
... Where are we today? We are living in an age of increasing and evolving threats – from explosives and biological pathogens, to cyber-attacks. The technology to counter some of these threats is already in use: high penetration capability X-ray units using multiple screening angles, best-in-class image quality, object recognition algorithms, trace detection and networked alarm aggregation. Increasingly, Customs services are also looking for and expecting lower False Alarm Rates (FAR), material specificity and...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Turkish Customs response to earthquakes
Panorama
...The devastating earthquakes that hit the southeast of Türkiye on 6 February 2023 destroyed 13 cities, directly affecting approximately 16 million people. Immediately, a fourth-level state of alert was declared, triggering a call for international help. Around 7,800 humanitarian aid shipments from 120 different countries were sent in the three months that followed the earthquakes, as well as rescue teams, dogs and equipment. This article looks at how Turkish Customs facilitated the movements of goods and people, and the main challenges it faced. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Cameras: one way of making traffic controls more efficient
Panorama
... Between 2021 and 2023, French Customs trialled the use of cameras in covert surveillance systems on the roads. Positioned discreetly on the ground and connected to a 4G system, they allow Customs officers to detect suspicious movements remotely. As mobile devices mounted onto a helicopter or drone, they facilitate wider-ranging surveillance beyond the confines of checkpoints. This article presents details of the trials conducted by French Customs along with the lessons learned, which contribute to the development of the Customs control mechanism in France...
Issue: WCO News 78
Violent extremism, borders and action by Customs teams
Panorama
...People, goods and capital involved in preparing and perpetrating terrorist acts generally, cross borders and transit between different countries. The border is therefore the ideal place for thwarting the preparation of violent acts in advance, and for intercepting individuals linked to a terrorist organization. Thanks to its privileged positioning at different points of entry, its expertise, and its work managing cross-border flows, Customs is a strategic partner in establishing any policy targeting these objectives. I would like, in this article, to give some useful guidance ...
Issue: WCO News 79
Round-up of the WCO Technology & Innovation Forum
Events
...From 26 to 29 October 2015, for the fifth time, the WCO organized its Technology & Innovation (TI) Forum, a platform for leading experts and decision-makers from various border agencies, technology companies, academia and international organizations to exchange ideas on border management, enforcement, and the assistance technology can provide. When asked which innovations are going to shape the future, many participants declared that fusion is the future, that is a combination of technologies, and the ability of systems to interact with each other: electronic pre-declaration link...
Issue: WCO News 85
Securing the health of Customs officers
Point of View
...In 2016, in Germany, seven workers at a warehouse were hospitalized following the unpacking of two containers. They had inhaled toxic gases invisible to the eye and with no noticeable smell, and were suffering from severe eye irritation, respiratory distress and nausea. Such incidents rarely make media headlines, although they are not that unusual. Gases present a serious threat to both Customs officials and other personnel who have to enter containers for inspection or unpacking purposes, and many accidents have been reported over the past few years all over the world. Follow...
Issue: WCO News 86
Rethinking training: a visit to the Netherlands Customs National Training Centre
Panorama
...Nowadays, most Customs administrations have a school which teaches Customs staff. Some have a training centre devoted to the continuous practical training of officers throughout their careers. And it is one of these centres and its crucial role that is examined in this article, the purpose of which is to provide food for thought about training and the future prospects offered by technology. The courses run by the Customs school make it possible to acquire the knowledge required to exercise the profession and to explore the theoretical aspects of various subjects to be mastered. Howev...
Issue: WCO News 87
Digitization of ATA Carnets: how the Blockchain could enhance trust
Focus
...The movement of goods and means of transport from, across or to, the European Union (EU) involves many actors in the supply chain who must exchange information and comply with several pieces of EU legislation and, in particular, with Customs, transport, environmental protection, safety, and security regulations. This renders the process of cross-border operations highly complex. Over the past 20 years, digital technologies have reshaped the way industries and governments alike operate. International trade has been no exception, and the efficiency, reliability and cost-effectiveness o...
Issue: WCO News 88
China Customs disrupts major wildlife trafficking syndicate
Panorama
...The New Year kicked off with positive news for wildlife, with the Chinese authorities announcing the capture and repatriation of a prolific ivory trafficker. This was the culmination of a major investigation led by the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of China Customs, which has disrupted two major wildlife trafficking syndicates. The Chinese operation was initially prompted by confidential information provided by the Environmental Investigation Agency UK (EIA), a non-governmental organization dedicated to combating environmental crimes, and which has been documenting and analysing the role of ...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
How Machine Learning Can Automate the Determination of the Valuation of Goods
Point of View
... Machine learning, i.e. the process of teaching a computer system how to make accurate predictions when fed data, can help Customs administrations to identify revenue fraud or other illegal activities. In this article, TTEK, a technology solutions firm, explains how the technology works and introduces the analytical tool it has developed in this domain for Customs administrations. It is now nearly 40 years since the WTO Valuation Agreement came into force, and the commercial world has changed radically since then. This has been recognized by the ...
Issue: WCO News 92 June 2020
Internet domain name ownership data: understanding changes and useful suggestions for Customs
Focus
...Computers identify websites with an IP address, a long string of numbers separated by periods, which are difficult for humans to remember. Websites also have an address, made up of alphanumeric letters that usually spell out a word or brand name, called a domain name. Since the creation of the internet as we know it, internet domain name ownership information has been publicly available in a database known as “WHOIS” – i.e. “who is” the owner of a domain name. Like other public databases of information pertaining to land title, trademark registration, or business entity own...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
Training in the time of COVID-19: Ukraine’s experience
Focus
...Ukraine declared itself an independent country on 24 August 1991 and, shortly afterwards, established its own Customs Service. As it is the case for any new organization, the challenge was to find highly qualified specialists and focus was consequently placed on the training of newly recruited officers. A law was also adopted requiring Customs officers to improve their level of professional competence on a continuous basis. The Department for Specialized Training and Canine Services (hereafter “the Department”) was created to provide distance and face-to-face training using the l...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
FOCUS: Controlling product quality and safety
Focus
...All countries have regulations to ensure that products available on the market do not endanger consumers and workers. In this section of the magazine, we asked market surveillance authorities and Customs administrations to share their experience regarding controlling the compliance of imported products with safety and quality requirements. To introduce the topic and give an overview of the different offences observed, we start this section with an article on Operation STOP. This global enforcement operation targeted illicit trade in medical products, especially those generally used to diagn...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Rules of Origin: Highlights of the second WCO Conference
Focus
... The WCO Secretariat organized the second edition of its Global Origin Conference, held from 10 to 12 March 2021, with the objective of stimulating the exchange of knowledge on the management and implementation of rules of origin, both from a Customs and a trade operator perspective. Funded by the Korea Customs Service, the event was held online. Below are some of the key points made by the speakers[1].   Preferential treatment can be a game chan...
Issue: WCO News 96 October 2021
The challenges of X-ray image analysis and the value of training
Focus: Non-Intrusive Inspection
...The implementation of X-ray machines to support security screening was introduced approximately 50 years ago to accelerate the process of baggage inspection. Equipment was then developed to enable the non-intrusive inspection of vehicles, containers and trains. Today’s X-ray systems produce a stream of electromagnetic radiation that interacts with an anode in an X-ray tube within the X-ray machine itself. The X-rays generated in the tube are then directed towards the object to be examined, producing an image (see Image 1). ...
Issue: WCO News 98 – Issue 2 / 2022
ZRA steps up efforts to promote gender equality
Focus: Gender Equality and Diversity
...Even when they are genuinely interested in empowering women to develop their careers, the organizations and individuals who celebrate International Women’s Day on 8 March usually forget all about it as soon as the commemoration is over. The subsequent 12 months see very few – or no – conversations and actions on gender equality. The story is different, however, at the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), which has been taking a pragmatic approach to gender equality, inclusion and diversity for a couple of years. In 2019, out of the 24 individuals holding top and middle management po...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
WCO marks its 70th Anniversary in the margins of the Council Sessions
Events
...The Convention establishing a Customs Co-operation Council entered into force on 4 November 1952. Accordingly, the World Customs Organization (WCO), as the Customs Co-operation Council is now known, is celebrating its 70th Anniversary this year. ...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Effective enforcement of international trade regulations requires powerful data analytics
Point of View
...New regulatory frameworks are constantly being introduced by governments with the aim of ensuring that the trading of goods remains compliant with their goals. While the regulators place the onus of compliance mainly on the importers themselves, Customs are also faced with the immense responsibility of enforcing these regulations effectively without stopping the wheels of the global economy from turning. The smart use of data and technology to provide Customs authorities with the necessary knowledge and tools represents the best way forward. ...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Testimony of a facilitator
Focus: Developing leadership and management skills
...Sunday morning, Christmas Day 2022. It is around 11 a.m. and my phone beeps. A message from Naomi, wishing me a Merry Christmas, just like every year since 2014. Warm memories come back to my mind as I reply to her with my Christmas wishes for her and her loved ones. I met Naomi in 2013 at a Leadership and Management (LMD) workshop in Mauritius, organized by the WCO Secretariat. I had just been accredited as an LMD expert and this was the first workshop which I facilitated. Since then, I have been supporting 14 more LMD Programme activities and have been able to experience and witnes...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Elevating partnerships between Customs brokers and Customs authorities – the way forward
Point of View
... One of the benefits of being a Customs broker[1] providing services at the international level is experiencing the flexibility and efficiency of many Customs authorities. One of the challenges is dealing with inconsistencies in how they apply regulations, and the lack of a standard in the processes and technologies they use, which prevents them from collaborating more productively with each other. In this article, we compile input from companies, organizations and individuals to give an overview of the challenges they face...
Issue: WCO News 78
Illegal wildlife trade: an outline of the problems facing Peru
Panorama
... The land of Peru can be divided into three natural areas: the coastal region; the mountains; and the forests. All these areas have different species of fauna and flora, making it a country with a rich and varied biodiversity, and the home of species sought by collectors throughout the world. With illicit trafficking being one of the biggest threats facing Peru’s wildlife resources, exports of wildlife and wildlife products has become a focus of attention for Peru Customs (SUNAT). This article introduces the Customs administration’s efforts to counter the ...
Issue: WCO News 79
Paper on the use of container status messages wins ‘best paper’ award
Events
... The WCO recognized the value of research and education as part of the response to the many challenges Customs administrations are facing. Crucial in stimulating research is enabling researchers and professionals to interact with each other. As hosts of the 5th TI Forum, the Customs administration of the Netherlands promoted further interaction between the research and development (R&D) and Customs communities by integrating a special track devoted to the latest research and developments in the field of technology use by Customs administrations. An awa...
Issue: WCO News 85
Fourth Global Canine Forum spurs lively discussions
Events
...The core business of Customs administrations may well lie in making trade secure, but the time spent conducting inspections on goods consignments continues to decrease. The use of technology, in particular non-intrusive inspection (NII) equipment such as scanners and endoscopes, has contributed considerably to expediting Customs clearance procedures while guaranteeing a satisfactory level of security. However, the use of technology is severely restricted by cost both in developed countries subject to budgetary constraints and in developing countries limited by their ability to invest in con...
Issue: WCO News 86
WCO Asia Pacific Security Project: activity update
Panorama
...In light of the spate of terror attacks in various regions around the world, on 10 December 2015, the WCO Policy Commission issued the Punta Cana Resolution, which emphasizes the key role that Customs administrations play in tackling illicit cross-border movements of goods that could ultimately support terrorism and terrorist financing. The WCO Resolution, which was closely aligned with other international declarations issued by the G20 Group and the United Nations Security Council condemning terrorist attacks, urged Members of the WCO to re-concentrate their efforts to prevent such ...
Issue: WCO News 87
CADENA, a blockchain enabled solution for the implementation of Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements
Focus
... The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) has been supporting the development of a blockchain solution to enable automated, secure and efficient information sharing on Authorized Economic Operators (AEOs) among the Customs administrations of Mexico, Peru and Costa Rica to ensure the efficient implementation of Mutual Recognition Arrangements/Agreements (MRAs). Almost 80 countries have developed AEO programmes worldwide, and some of them have signed or are in the process of signing MRAs. To date, a record number of 60 MRAs have been sig...
Issue: WCO News 88
The PEN-CP project boosts innovation and connects people knowledgeable in Customs and border security
Panorama
...The Pan-European Network of Customs Practitioners (PEN-CP) is a five-year project funded by the European Union (EU) under Horizon 2020 (H2020), the financial instrument implementing the Innovation Union, a Europe 2020 flagship initiative aimed at securing Europe’s global competitiveness. The PEN-CP’s overarching vision is to create an innovative networking system across Europe to translate security research, innovation ideas and requirements into scalable and viable solutions, technologies and process improvements that would help Customs administrations to overcome the challenges of...
Issue: WCO News 91 February 2020
Highlights from the WCO Communication Strategies Conference
Events
...If the conferences organized by the WCO Secretariat usually address technical matters related to Customs and trade, such as information technology, authorized economic operators (AEOs), the Harmonized System, or security, one event was an exception last year: the Communication Strategies Conference. Communication practices, tools and strategies have been discussed within various WCO working bodies before, but it has been a long time since communication practitioners from the public and private sector as well as representatives from various entities interacting with Customs were invit...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
How Peru boosted its modernization process during the crisis
Focus
...In Peru, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a contraction of the volume of exports and imports, which has negatively impacted tax revenues. However, the crisis did not stop the supply of goods deemed critical to deal with the pandemic, nor did it stop the imports and exports vital to supporting the country’s economic activity. There was even an increase in exports of some non-traditional Peruvian products, such as fresh grapes, avocados, mangoes and ginger, among others, thanks to the efforts deployed to promote Peruvian products on international markets. ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Operation STOP: Achievements and future prospects
Focus
...In April 2020, the WCO Secretariat drew up a list of medical products which are generally used to diagnose or treat COVID-19, with their respective HS codes. The aim was to help governments to get an overall idea of trade in and stocks of these suddenly much sought-after products and to allow them to monitor and speed up their movement, whether on import or export, or in transit. The Secretariat was aware that high demand for these products would lead to the appearance on the market of new producers, exporters and importers who were not familiar with the conformity arrangements and s...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Non-preferential Rules of Origin: “When you turn your back on an issue – it only gets bigger!”
Focus
... The following article is not intended to be a scholarly or even comprehensive review of past or current activities under the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Rules of Origin, or a detailed analysis of the differences between preferential versus non-preferential rules of origin (which I am assuming most readers of this magazine already understand). Rather, this article offers more of a personal and subjective perspective on the problems associated with non-preferential rules, and humbly proposes possible approaches and options to minimize these proble...
Issue: WCO News 99- Issue 3 / 2022
Highlights from the Green Customs Global Conference
Events
... Environmental concerns are at the centre of many policies which impact on trade, and which Customs administrations consequently have to implement. Some of those policies are already into force, while others are under negotiation at the regional and international levels. To stimulate discussions on how to improve the implementation of existing policies, and provide an overview of the ongoing discussions and initiatives that aim to make the supply chain sustainable, and “green”, where possible, the WCO Secretariat organized the “Green Customs...
Issue: WCO News 100 – Issue 1 / 2023
Key points from the 2022 WCO IT Conference and Exhibition
Events
...Every year, the WCO IT Conference and Exhibition brings together Customs, trade, transport and technology provider representatives to discuss matters relating to the various technologies used to manage flows of goods, people and means of conveyance across borders. Besides enabling participants to take a step back and look at things differently, it allows them to test and visualize how solutions and equipment work by visiting suppliers’ exhibition booths. The latest such event took place in October 2022 in Maastricht, the Netherlands, and below are just some of the ideas and initiatives sh...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
SARS partners with the WCO to strengthen leadership and management skills
Focus: Developing leadership and management skills
... In 2019, after being weakened to a point which compromised its efficiency, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) started rebuilding itself. Developing leadership skills was seen as integral to this process. This article explains how SARS has prioritized leadership and worked with the WCO Secretariat to equip staff with the skills and mindsets to make things happen and move forward. From state capture to a smart modern SARS In South Africa, “stat...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Leveraging AI for Customs classification purposes
Point of View
... There are many discussions about the efficiency of classification assistance tools. In this article, we argue that an AI-based tool, if well-built and properly used, can support classification experts, enabling them to focus their attention on unusual and difficult product classifications. Since the early days of computer history, scientists have strived to make machines as intelligent as humans, developing what in 1956 were called Artificial Intelligence (AI) capacities. The AI “mainstream” systems which are in use today correspond to react...
Issue: WCO News 78
Singapore’s ‘whole-of-government’ approach to coordinated border management: maintaining its edge amidst new challenges
Panorama
... A dynamic and challenging operating environment Trade is of paramount importance to Singapore, as a globally-oriented and open economy. The importance of trade to the country is reflected in the fact that the value of Singapore’s external trade has consistently been three times that of its gross domestic product (GDP). In 2014, Singapore’s ports handled 33.55 million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) of containers. The expansion of trade volumes in an increasingly globalized world has brought about incr...
Issue: WCO News 85
Round-up of the 2017 WCO Technology & Innovation Forum
Events
...From 31 October to 2 November 2017, for the sixth time, the WCO organized its Technology & Innovation Forum, a platform for leading technology experts and decision-makers from various border agencies, as well as representatives of the academic world and international organizations, to discuss technologies and how they can add to the capabilities of Customs officers as they work to address border challenges. This article highlights some of the discussions at the event that was held in Tokyo, Japan, and which focused on the pros and cons of new technologies, the impact of disruptiv...
Issue: WCO News 86
Brazil’s new integrated risk management solutions
Panorama
...In 1993, the Department of Federal Revenue of Brazil (RFB), which has under its umbrella both the Customs service and the internal revenue service, launched Brazil’s Integrated International Trade System (Siscomex) as part of its efforts to implement computer-based procedures and controls. The System, which allows economic operators to register merchandise transactions at import and export, feeds a huge database. Before Siscomex was put into place, not having data in electronic format was a problem. Today’s challenge, however, is the fact that data sets which are now collected ar...
Issue: WCO News 87
TradeLens uses blockchain to help Customs authorities facilitate trade and increase compliance
Focus
... “Did you pack this bag yourself?” It’s a question many of us are used to being asked when checking in at an airport. For a shipping container, the situation is more complex. Most organizations never communicate directly with the party that stuffed the container. Underpinned by blockchain technology, the TradeLens platform lays the foundation for global, digital supply chains. It connects all parties in the supply chain to drive true information sharing, foster collaboration and trust, and spur industry-wide innovation. Governments who embrac...
Issue: WCO News 88
Embedding the HS in the business world to enhance work on rules of origin
Point of View
... This article looks at the close relationship that exists between rules of origin (ROO) and goods classification work. It argues that a change in tariff classification should remain the predominant criteria for expressing substantial transformation, and that the revision of the WCO Harmonized System (HS) should, to the extent possible, accommodate the needs of ROO. Whilst attending a session of the Technical Committee on Rules of Origin (TCRO) at the headquarters of the WCO around 20 years ago, during a tea break a group of trade ministry officia...
Issue: WCO News 93 October 2020
COVID 19: Saudi Customs’ experience
Focus
...The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was among the first countries to respond to the global COVID‑19 pandemic, adopting a series of measures designed to prevent the virus from spreading. Saudi Customs has followed the Government’s lead by imposing strict internal and external precautionary measures while developing an action plan to ensure that work continues at all land, sea and air borders to facilitate the steady flow of imports and exports and make essential goods available to all consumers. ...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Controlling product safety and security in times of COVID-19
Focus
... Market surveillance system In Italy, responsibilities for market surveillance are met by the Ministry of Economic Development (hereinafter MISE), as well as by other sector-specific agencies, such as the Ministry of Health, which is in charge of assessing the conformity of medical devices, and the Italian Medicines Agency (AIFA) and Institute for Occupational Safety (INAIL), which are in charge of assessing the conformity of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Market surveillance agencies must ensure that ci...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Binding Origin Information: the experience of Germany
Focus
...Binding Origin Information (BOI) refers to a written decision issued by a Customs administration that certifies the origin of goods. Also known as an “advance ruling regarding the origin of goods”, such a decision is usually binding on the applicant and on the Customs authorities for a given amount of time. Together with its “twin”, the Binding Tariff Information (BTI), the BOI instrument is regarded as a major trade facilitation tool as it enables companies to have legal certainty. BOI and BTI are embedded in the provisions of the General Annex to the Revised Kyoto Conventio...
Issue: WCO News 95 – June 2021
Revising RKC Specific Annex K: key aspects of the proposal and of its objectives
Focus
...The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) entered into force in 1974. To keep pace with the evolution of governments and international trade, the Kyoto Convention was revised in the 1990s and entered into force as the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) on 3 February 2006. The RKC became the blueprint for modern and efficient Customs procedures for years to come. At a time of unprecedented change, with the rapid evolution of both international trade and the functioning of Customs administrations, some Members suggested a...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
An overview of Zimbabwe Customs’ journey
Focus: Developing leadership and management skills
... The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) Strategy for 2021 to 2025 has people as one of its key pillars, demonstrating the Administration’s commitment to investing in staff development. Leadership is one of the topics for which competency building has been sought. In 2022, ZIMRA won the 1st runner-up Award for Distinction in Leadership Development from the Institute of Human Resource Management. This article presents the various activities undertaken by the Administration that led to this recognition. ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
How Smart Containers could contribute to Customs operations efficiency
Point of View
...One of the chapters of the innovation white paper[1] recently published by the International Association of Ports and Harbours (IAPH) is titled “Innovation in ports – not only about technology”. It argues that innovation is also about process efficiency, and this includes how data flows among stakeholders and how it is used. Today, thanks to IoT technology, information flow can be generated by cargo containers themselves and be shared across many actors, improving the quality of transport and logistics performance by enabling collaboration among st...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
Identifying chemicals precisely through trace analysis is now a reality, opening new doors for Customs officers
Point of View
... Customs administrations have a full array of tools and technologies at their disposal to test material and substances – both in the field and in their labs. These tools all have benefits and limitations. This article introduces an innovation which enables field officers to analyse trace materials left on any items and obtain the specific name of a trace level substance. Not only can they confirm or allay their suspicions rapidly, but they can also proceed to physical inspection with all the precautions needed. ...
Issue: WCO News 78
Vanuatu Customs’ response strategy to Cyclone Pam
Panorama
...Late on 13 March 2015, tropical Cyclone Pam hit Vanuatu, packing wind gusts of up to 320 kilometres (200 miles) an hour, and causing widespread damage in the archipelago nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. It was the most devastating tropical cyclone that the southern hemisphere has ever experienced, and the worst natural disaster in the history of Vanuatu. Eleven people were reported dead, and many others injured. More than 200 houses were permanently destroyed, and up to 10 thousand people were made homeless. Using its strategic and tactical risk management plans, the Vanuat...
Issue: WCO News 86
WCO C-RED Project: unprecedented cooperation between Customs administrations and humanitarian organizations to develop a more effective response to epidemics
Panorama
...During a natural catastrophe or epidemic, it is essential for Customs administrations to facilitate or even speed up the delivery of relief consignments to victims, thereby helping to reduce the number of possible deaths. In fact, it would be unacceptable should this number increase as a result of ‘red tape.’ In practice, when a humanitarian emergency is declared, Customs administrations are often ill-prepared to process relief consignments which arrive en masse in a very short period of time. Import formalities are frequently too lengthy, particularly if another administration i...
Issue: WCO News 87
Going beyond the national Single Window
Focus
...The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with its Hong Kong counterpart in November 2017 to jointly develop a cross-border distributed ledger technology (DLT) based infrastructure that will link up digital trade platforms and the growing number of trade-related DLT platforms and communities around the world. In this article, Singapore Customs presents this new initiative called the ‘Global Trade Connectivity Network,’ which is expected to be operational in 2019 as well as the new trade information m...
Issue: WCO News 88
Illegal waste trafficking: more data is key to getting a better grip on this trade
Point of View
...A rising global population and higher standards of living have in turn led to an exponential increase in the consumption of goods, resulting in greater quantities of waste. The word “waste” covers a very wide spectrum of discarded material, encompassing household items, electrical and electronic equipment (e-waste), and industrial and agricultural waste, including pesticides. It also includes waste of any size and scale, from decommissioned ships, to oil or liquid waste, and billions of tyres. This waste is divided into two categories: hazardous, and non-hazardous. Hazardous wast...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Food and feed safety: identifying missing links to unleash the full benefits of cooperation
Focus
...In the Netherlands, the Customs Administration supervises the flow of goods that enter or leave the European Union (EU) via the country’s external borders. “Supervision” is to be understood in a broad sense, and includes all acts aimed at establishing compliance with the wide range of legislation that governs international trade in goods with the EU. When it comes to ensuring the compliance of imported products with EU safety requirements – an activity known as “market surveillance” – Dutch Customs cooperates with several specialized agencies. For these market surveilla...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Open Customs Blockchain: The missing piece to unlocking the broad application of distributed ledger technology for Customs?
Point of View
... Digitalization has simplified Customs clearance in many areas, especially in the declaration of imports and exports. However, various data discontinuities and queries unnecessarily delay cross-border process flows. A group of major logistics companies, software providers and researchers is driving an initiative which could change this. Called the “Open Customs Blockchain”, it focuses on developing and applying blockchain technology for the exchange of key Customs data in foreign trade. The best part: the jointly developed software components will be publi...
Issue: WCO News 78
Sri Lanka Customs’ response to a natural disaster: challenges faced and lessons learned
Panorama
...On 26 December 2004 almost two-thirds of the Sri Lankan coast was severely affected by the Indian Ocean tsunami, which left thousands of people displaced, injured or dead in its wake, highlighting the country’s vulnerability to a natural disaster. Besides low-frequency but high impact events, such as the 2004 tsunami, Sri Lanka is regularly affected by weather and water-related hazards due to monsoonal rain and the development of low pressure in the Bay of Bengal. As a small island state, with a high population density, whose economic activities are mainly concentrated in flood-pro...
Issue: WCO News 86
Women in Customs: spotlight on the career of Emilienne Pambo Bouassa
Panorama
...4 April 2018 was a special day in the life of Emilienne Pambo Bouassa. Emilienne, a Customs officer from Gabon, was attending the festivities in Dakar, held by Senegal Customs in the presence of the country’s Minister for the Budget, in commemoration of the anniversary of the country’s independence. Her beige uniform stood out from among the sea of blue uniforms worn by the Senegalese Customs officers. Then came the decoration ceremony for deserving Customs officers. On hearing her name called by the Minister, Emilienne stood before approaching him to receive the Senegal Customs ...
Issue: WCO News 88
On the future of the WCO Revised Kyoto Convention
Point of View
...Economic discussions at the international level are dominated by daily politics, such as global trade disputes on trade barriers, or the United Kingdom’s exit from the European Union (EU). Although these discussions impact on Customs administrations and global trade players, they should not overshadow other political, legal and technological developments that will shape the future of trade and which the WCO has been addressing for some years under the heading “The Future of Customs.” Also being addressed are disruptive technologies like the blockchain, the Internet of Things, artifici...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Nigeria: two agencies, one mission
Focus
...In Nigeria, the authority responsible for ensuring that foods, drugs, cosmetics, medical devices, chemicals, detergents and packaged water leaving or reaching Nigeria’s shores meet prescribed quality standards is the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). NAFDAC officials inspect products at international gateways – airports, seaports and land borders – as well as at production plants owned and operated by manufacturers both of processed foods and pharmaceutical products. Another line of defence is the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), which is also...
Issue: WCO News 101 – Issue 2 / 2023
Harnessing the power of the cosmos to detect illicit trade
Point of View
...Detecting some regulated or prohibited commodities through the use of traditional non-intrusive detection equipment remains a challenge today. Take cocaine, for example. It is very often concealed in shipments of bananas and other fruits with a very similar density to the drug. Since x-ray is a density-based discriminating technology, it is rather difficult to differentiate cocaine from the fruit on an image generated by an x-ray scanner. About muon tomography A technology called muon tomography could solve t...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
The importance of data in DHL Express
Point of View
...Quality data is the lifeblood of an efficient Customs clearance process. All Customs tasks and responsibilities are performed, at least in part, on the basis of data received from businesses engaged in trade – for example, data for purposes of revenue collection, risk management, admissibility checks, resource allocation and cooperation with other agencies, as well as the collection of statistical data for macroeconomic decisions. In the express industry, data flows as follows: ...
Issue: WCO News 78
Tobacco Control, International Trade, and Public Health: a review of Holly Jarman’s book ‘The Politics of Trade and Tobacco Control’
Book Review
... Introduction International trade is subject to conflicts that can arise from, among other things, the inherent tension between business profits and governmental protection of health, safety and the environment. Topics such as plain (standardized) packaging of cigarettes; asbestos (the European Communities – Measures affecting asbestos and asbestos-containing products case); and carbon tariffs (border tax adjustments) in the context of global warming have faced such debate and conflict. The World Trade Organ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Assessing the clearance process: India shares its experience
Panorama
... The importance of the Time Release Study (TRS) has long been emphasized by the WCO as a useful tool for Customs administrations across the world to assess their performance in terms of the clearance process. Jawaharlal Nehru Custom House, catering to Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), India’s biggest containerized port, has been conducting such studies[1] since 2013 as per the WCO’s guidelines. This article presents the results drawn from the latest study, highlighting the impact of facilitation schemes on goods relea...
Issue: WCO News 88
Respect for IP – Growing from the Tip of Africa
Events
...Many experiences were shared during the International Conference “Respect for IP – Growing from the Tip of Africa,” which took place at the end of October 2018 in Sandton, South Africa. The conference was co-organized by South Africa’s Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), together with the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL), the World Customs Organization (WCO), and the World Trade Organization (WTO). This article highlights some of the shared experiences, starting with discussions at...
Issue: WCO News 94 February 2021
Technology in times of pandemic
Events
...WCO events went digital in 2020, including the WCO annual conference dedicated to technology, recently rebranded as the WCO TECH-CON. The theme of the 2020 edition[1] was dictated by the circumstances, and the 50 speakers were asked to share their experience of how technology had helped them manage the new constraints and challenges created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are just some of the ideas gleaned from the event which attracted 1300 participants from 142 countries. Accelerating the use ...
Issue: WCO News 102 – Issue 3 / 2023
The invisible paper chain in today’s Customs document flow and how to break it using Artificial Intelligence
Point of View
... As in other sectors, the logistics sector has benefited from digitization in recent years, allowing a smoother flow of goods across the globe. These advancements have promised, and to some extent also delivered, efficiency and convenience. However, a more ‘inconvenient truth’ today is that a considerable volume of critical information still circulates in the form of non-standardized documents sent via email. Today, new developments in Artificial Intelligence are proving promising in enabling the data extraction of these unstructured documents and scans to...
Issue: WCO News 78
10 years of promoting the academic standing of the Customs profession
Point of View
...From its humble beginnings in 2005, the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) has come a long way. The primary motive for establishing the network was to promote the academic standing of the Customs profession – something that was clearly needed at the time, and which, I am pleased to say, has been well and truly achieved in the intervening ten years. As the INCU celebrates its 10th anniversary, it is worth recalling at least part of that journey, and contemplating what might lie ahead. ...
Issue: WCO News 86
Cultural goods: insight from the Netherlands on the value of collaboration
Panorama
...Destruction, illegal excavations, theft, plundering and the illicit export of legally-protected cultural heritage can rob a country of its national treasures, and can often cause irreparable damage to a country’s history and cultural identity. The illicit trade in cultural objects is a worldwide problem that is not confined by national borders. Although numerous studies have been published on illicit trade, there are very few statistics that properly quantify the extent of the problem. What is known is that there are numerous illegal excavations across the world and a thriving trad...
Issue: WCO News 88
Global Security Conference: taking stock of progress three years after the WCO Punta Cana Resolution
Events
...The WCO has been prioritizing security-related issues for some years now, developing norms and practices to secure the supply chain and advocating that Customs administrations play an active role in addressing border security-related challenges. In fact, in December 2015 WCO Members adopted the Punta Cana Resolution on the role of Customs in the security context, highlighting the fact that Customs administrations are the “first line of defence against many criminal and violent extremist and terrorist organizations… ”. The role of Customs in countering security threats has also been af...
Issue: WCO News 86
Clearance of express cargo and postal items: Korea tests new analytical tools to root out fraud
Panorama
...Customs administrations collate a significant volume of data on a daily basis. For instance, the Korea Customs Service (KCS) accumulates 45 GB of structured data and 30 GB of unstructured data in its database every day. However, most Customs administrations were until now not able to leverage such data due to a lack of information technology (IT) infrastructure and knowledge about data analytics techniques. Things changed, however, with the development of modern IT infrastructure as well as Big Data open source analytics solutions to manage and analyse data. Tools such as Hadoop and ...
Issue: WCO News 78
Prospects for Africa’s Tripartite Free Trade Agreement in the light of lessons learned from the East African Community
Point of View
...The African Union (AU) recognizes eight regional economic communities (RECs) as the building blocks for the African Economic Community (AEC), namely the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU), the Community of Sahel-Saharan States (CEN-SAD), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC). In June this year, at a summit in Cairo, He...