Journal

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 control infrastructure, thereby allowing significant scope for “human” inspection methods and, in particular, canine units.

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.