Articles under section " 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 analytic...

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 indir...

ADCS: the universal adapter for ERP systems What auditors need is a universal adapter for ERP systems, just like we use an adapter to plug in electronic devices when we are in a country that uses a different type of electric plug. The ADCS aims at bridging the “gap of understanding” between au...

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 achi...

Non-intrusive inspection (NII) systems are helpful; however, any system is only as effective as the human who operates it. Operators must be well-trained, sufficient in number and accustomed to the many different shapes and forms of wildlife items. Beads of elephant and walrus ivory concealed inside...

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 th...

CIF and FOB The increase in transport costs has led to an increase in the value of goods for Customs purposes in countries levying taxes on the CIF (cost, insurance, freight) value, rather than on the FOB (free on board) value which includes all expenses incurred up until the goods are actually lo...

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 ...

Although we had the infrastructure and technical expertise to provide this service, we still needed three key elements: access to comprehensive data in real time on companies, individual goods, routes and vessels; algorithms that could perform multidimensional modelling; and technology capable of u...

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 threa...

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 ...

It is also the instrument for most trade agreements, ensuring a common understanding of goods among the parties to an agreement. Through its provision of data for statistical analysis, it has an indirect, but essential role in many more policy areas. Some HS updates are specifically made to assist i...

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 traffick...

In countries where scanning equipment is available, one solution would be for Customs authorities to increase the inspection ratio for inbound travellers and their belongings. However, frequent screening with traditional standalone X-ray scanners can sometimes be inconvenient, stressful and even ups...

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...

SFML: developing analytical algorithms without exchanging data As an example, let us consider the case of secure federated machine learning (SFML),[1] a machine-learning technique that trains an algorithm across multiple decentralized servers holding local data samples, without exchanging them. Th...

Vietnam Customs use case In Vietnam, material used for export production can be imported duty-free. Material import and consumption are controlled by the General Department of Vietnam Customs (GDVC) to ensure that there is no duty-free material leakage. To validate duty-free material consumption, th...

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. Resea...

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 tha...

The same characteristics that make free zones attractive to legitimate business also lure fraudsters and criminals. They can forge documents and use free zones to repackage or relabel goods, or manufacture and assemble new goods in these zones. The transit and transshipment of goods pose the highest...

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 par...

Keyword search tools The most ubiquitous of the technologies used to power classification assistance tools use keyword search operators. You’ll find these tools in one form or another in Customs management systems, electronic single windows and trade information portals such as UNCTAD’s ASYCUD...

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,...

Examples The following example shows an import transaction analysis using one-dimensional data: Transaction: Consignment X is sent to importer Y by shipper Z with a value of $m and a weight of N. Assessment model: Are the value, weight and consignment consistent with historical transactions betw...

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 – necessar...

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 –  ...

Recent tech advancements In rail transport, high-energy X-ray systems are most often used to screen rail freight and detect threats or anomalies. In recent years, advances in such systems’ X-ray source and linear accelerators (known as “linacs”, the component subsystems that deliver the X-ray ...

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 te...

Almost exclusive use The wording “solely or principally” is also used, implying an almost exclusive use. In 2018, when settling a dispute between the Customs authority and an importer, an Israeli court ruled that monitors equipped with a high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI) connector w...

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 o...

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. The Unite...

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...

Scale of the issue A growing number of waste shipments reach the Philippines each year. Some contain legitimate waste that can be recycled, but others are made up of garbage and general household trash fit only for incineration or landfill sites. The Bureau of Customs is extremely concerned about ...

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 t...

Today, it is widely recognized that the growing e-commerce sector is beneficial to economies, providing new growth engines, developing new trade modes, driving new consumption trends, and creating new jobs. It has especially opened up growth opportunities to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises...

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 t...

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 (submis...

Argentina Customs also realized the value of participating in the virtual meetings that the Secretariat was already organizing, such as those of the Virtual Working Group on Gender Equality and Diversity. It has recently started to do so by attending the Group’s April 2021 session, during which th...

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’ approac...

A new programme In addition to these proactive checks and to strengthen them, DHL Express is launching the Global Customs Compliance Programme, with the goal of further improving shipment integrity and commercial invoice data quality provided by shippers. Four risks are targeted here: Intellectua...

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...

Early automation Due to its complexity, the automation of customs processes differs from that of, for example, income tax or VAT processes. A great variety of domains must be integrated within a single platform: manifest processing (inventory of goods on the means of transport), inspections, inves...

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 ...

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 ...

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, an...

Actioning knowledge gained back home When I returned to Uganda, I recall the first action I took was to rally my team in order to go through the “visioning” process that I had been introduced to. Together, we began to eagerly develop the division’s vision and mission. Visioning entails setti...

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 evidenc...

International supply chains and new “constellations” rely on solid and flexible manufacturing capacities as well as an efficient international transport system, especially in sectors based on outsourcing and just-in-time inventory. By imposing lockdowns to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 pandem...

One of the main risks that Customs face during times of crisis is an IT system shutdown, as highlighted in the WCO Single Window Compendium: “when systems become unavailable and manual clearance is resorted to, this causes not just a disruption in services, but could also pose a risk in terms of w...

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 ...

Customs administrations using these kinds of tools could put themselves at risk in terms of, for example, data leakage or security breaches. Lone worker safety, confidentiality of negotiations, product and transportation safety, and operator trust and confidentiality are at stake where unsecured tel...

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 ...

Ensuring a level playing field While there are several reasons that may explain the shortage in containers and ship supply capacity, including the disruptive nature of the pandemic and associated restrictions, it is important to ensure that national authorities and international policymakers monit...

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...

Existing model Blockchain can help digitize the shipping industry, where ownership, traceability and security are paramount. A current processing model used by a Customs administration to receive and process advance cargo information (ACI) filings through Blockchain Document Transfer technology (B...

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 reg...

To get a better idea of what this exercise covers, let’s have a look at what HM Revenue & Customs in the United Kingdom expects from Customs agents (the list is not exhaustive[1]): checking where the business is established; demonstrating that the business has its own bank account(s); providi...

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...

These are insufficient tools being used to solve complex problems. A value chain encompasses the entire lifecycle of a product, from the raw materials to the assembly, to the sales and shipping – and it includes aspects of finance, logistics, marketing and legal. Compliance professionals are t...

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 internat...

Random assignments for inspection are simply not effective, yet have emerged as a way for many Customs administrations to manage the growing volume of trade arriving at their borders. To compound the problem, some widely used systems automate this obsolete approach to border management, and refer to...

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 t...

When drafting the PSR, negotiators must therefore decide which version of the Harmonized System is being used. Sometimes, this information is explicitly contained in the agreement text itself. Usually, however, that is not the case, and importers and exporters are left to deduce which version is bei...

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 ...

The backbone of the TTU programme was two-fold: a bilateral mechanism was established to enable trade data to be exchanged with countries who had signed a Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement with the US; a computer system acted as an investigative tool that allowed users to identify trade anomalies...

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 ...

Going beyond risk management What does it mean to shift to decision intelligence? Rather than considering one container or shipment at a time, Customs authorities can use a variety of exploration techniques to unveil hidden insights in the big data. For instance, they could use link analysis (Fig...

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 compli...

When the new regime first entered into force, new security threats emerged. In October 2010, a shipment containing improvised explosive devices was found on board an aeroplane arriving from Yemen and transiting the EU towards the United States. The focus of Customs security shifted towards improving...

Challenges faced  DHL Express encountered several challenges during the preparation and implementation of ICS2, each requiring innovative solutions and concerted efforts in order to be overcome. Meeting data requirements requires massive communication efforts vis-à-vis customers  Obtaining ...

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-...

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 de...

Customs data – are you in control? As a company, if you are in control of the data required for Customs compliance, you are ahead of the game. But often compliance data is unstructured, sprinkled across internal systems as well as across ancillary systems belonging to Customs brokers, Custom...

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 ...

Key drivers for OA adoption include the need to respond quickly to ever-changing threats; to leverage new and developing technologies such as artificial intelligence; and to produce detailed management information from an increasingly complex screening operation. It is perceived as a more flexible a...

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 me...

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 introduc...

At the time of writing, there are 164 countries that are members of the WTO; the most recent addition being Afghanistan in July 2016. In addition, several other countries have chosen voluntarily to adopt the Agreement as the basis for determining Customs value. To meet the terms of their internation...

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...

Analyzing the regulators’ datasets is no longer sufficient More than 10,000 regulatory frameworks impacting international trade were introduced in 2022 alone, and it is no longer possible to manage trade flows without taking digitalization and the powers of automation to a conceptually new level...

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...

Adaptability Central to everything they do are Customs authorities, as any changes in Customs legislation and processes impact them. One of the clear recent examples is Brexit. When the UK left the European Union, they also left the Customs Union – which resulted in a massive increase in paperwork...

When co-operation succeeds and excels War is still sadly with us in many parts of the world. Regardless of which side people are on, one of the common challenges is arranging for humanitarian aid to be made available where possible. Often the most difficult part of delivering physical aid is meeting...

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 t...

Firms that use AI extensively throughout their operations perform at a higher level than those that do not, and they seem to be aware of it, with 73% of businesses stating that AI is critical to their success.[1] However, even though nearly three out of four organizations say that AI is critical to ...

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...

Impact of a technical update From an origin expert point of view, HS amendments are not always welcomed. Each time the HS is reviewed and a new edition released, countries must, on average, update perhaps nearly 10 sets of preferential PSRs or more. Japan, for example, currently has 17 Economic Pa...

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 ...

A regular steel container can be turned into a Smart Container by having devices and sensors installed in it. At the end of the contract with the IoT service provider, they will be dismounted. There are also containers with IoT hardware embedded into the original design during the manufacturing proc...

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...

IMS is most familiar to the air traveling community when airport security, such as the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA), pulls travellers aside to check their bags for explosives using a trace explosives-detection device (TEDD). When airport security use a TEDD, they are looking for...

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...

Waste trade Between 1992 and 2012, the volume of waste traded grew from 45.6 million tonnes to 222.6 million tonnes, an increase of more than 500% in just two decades! The proportion of the world’s waste being exported to developing countries grew by 40% between 1998 and 2009. Considering that, ...

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 ...

The added value of blockchain usage lies in the tamper-proof provision of the relevant data at an early stage in the process and in feeding information on Customs clearance back into the logistics process to make it available to the other players up and downstream of the supply chain. In this way, m...

Threats to the security and general well-being of people all over the world are increasing. Given the internationalization of today’s supply chains, countering many of these threats requires governments to rigorously control trade operations at import, export and transit. One recurring issue is id...

About Muon Tomography Primary Cosmic Rays shatter in the Earth’s atmosphere to produce a continuous and harmless flux of muons and electrons. These particles are constantly raining down onto Earth’s surface from the atmosphere 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. On average, at sea level, over 5000 ...

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 oversh...

Trade challenges The burgeoning corpus of bilateral and regional free trade agreements (FTAs) will assume greater importance for the future of Customs, especially enhanced efforts towards trade facilitation or the increasing importance of rules of origin. Negotiations on a “mega” trade deal be...

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 dens...

  Recent developments, especially with silicon chips and machine-learning technology becoming more affordable, have changed the game. A scan operation that would have taken several hours twenty years ago, now requires only a few minutes. Muon tomography today finds applications in domains such ...

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 che...

Educating customers Usually, express couriers’ shippers are their customers. They consist of big and small companies selling goods, as well as private individuals who may or may not be selling goods, or wish to return the goods they bought online. Often, these companies and private individuals s...

Customs organizations considering centralizing the analysis of data generated by non-intrusive inspection equipment should also consider their training needs and include a remote training platform in their integration architecture. The benefits will more than offset the additional investment! The ...

Integration has also found application with regard to security systems, such as real-time monitoring devices, sensors and non-intrusive inspection equipment. Such technologies range from CCTV, to systems enabling licence plate recognition for vehicles, optical character recognition, radiation detect...

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 co...

A peculiar workflow that’s difficult to correct While interacting with Customs brokers or Customs department staff within a company, I often observed this peculiar workflow: it involves the printing of information that was digitally available at some point in time, on paper, followed by scanning...

On the horizon is Intelligent Document Processing (IDP), a paradigm that takes AI a step further. Here, Natural Language Processing (NLP) algorithms, including Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, come into play, elevating the understanding of context and meaning within documents to a new leve...

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 ...

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 Afr...