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.

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).

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.

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.

On 18 February 2015, the Generall 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 this method.

Combating money laundering in all its forms is a top priority for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Securit y 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.

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.

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.