Straipsniai

During the117th/118th Sessions of the WCO Council in June 2011, WCO Members were invited to discuss the issue of evolving and emerging risks in the Customs and cross-border context. One outcome … that gained unanimous support was the need for intensifi ed action to combat the destabilizing impact of illicit trade on Customs administrations.

From the sale of fake goods on the Internet, the trade in illegal logging and the smuggling of high-tax goods to banks laundering money, museums purchasing stolen artefacts and traffi ckers running … drugs, illicit trade manifests itself in many forms. Th ere is, in particular, one recurring theme: the economic, political and social impact of illicit trade is highly detrimental to countries, businesses and the public.

It is February 2012 at the Port of Guayaquil in Ecuador. A container fi lled with boxes of yucca roots bound for Belgium is selected for checking and unloaded. Concealed inside the boxes, among … the yucca roots, are packets of cocaine weighing 3,668 kg in total.

“Countries are already starting to see cases of illicit trade in hydrochlorofl uorocarbons or HCFCs and it is critically important that we get ahead of the problem and remain vigilant.”

The plundering of cultural property is one of the oldest forms of organized crossborder crime and has become a worldwide phenomenon transcending frontiers. Several initiatives have been devised … by international organizations involved in preventing and combating this illegal traffi cking. A programme named ARCHEO has notably been developed by the WCO Regional Intelligence Liaison Offi ce for Western Europe, with a view to enhancing Customs offi cers’ knowledge in this domain, especially those working for enforcement and intelligence services. Its main objective is to help Customs administrations fi ght this fraud at the operational level.

The international community has been successful in limiting the traffi cking in precursor chemicals in what were once the principal markets. Existing tools for international cooperation and information … exchange have actually been so successful that they have forced traffi ckers to look for new, non-controlled substances and to seek out new sources. Th ese developments represent new challenges especially for Customs authorities.

Thanks to its speed, expediency and anonymity, Internet-based technology has 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 alcohol.

As stockpiles of confi scated ivory have ballooned over the years, two burning questions remain. How should governments manage their stockpiles and what should they do with seized material?

Given its cash-intensive and profitable nature, the illicit trade in tobacco is prone to money laundering. But according to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), jurisdictions tend to predominantly … investigate and prosecute the predicate off ence only and very few money laundering and/ or terror fi nancing cases can be associated with the illicit tobacco trade. Th is needs to change and we need to recognize that it is a signifi cant money laundering and terror fi nancing threat, says FATF, the world’s fi nancial crime watchdog.

International trade has constituted the bedrock of a long period of prosperity and stability in the world. In general, trade is crucial to the development of countries. It is a fi rst, supporting … step on the ladder to building an economy and a key driver for economic growth and development.

For some time now, Turkey has been seeking to strengthen its risk management and analysis system which it established in 2008 with a view to making its Customs control operations at sea ports, … airports, land borders and inland more effective.

Business Action to Stop Counterfeiting and Piracy (BASCAP), an initiative of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), released a new report at the 2013 WCO IT Conference and Exhibition in … Dubai calling for increased regulation and better management of Free Trade Zones (FTZs) to stop them from increasingly being used to facilitate the manufacture, distribution and sale of counterfeit products. Th is article sounds the alarm; highlighting the fi ndings and recommendations in the report and its implications for Customs.

Every minute of every day, an office of the Bureau Veritas Group issues a certificate stating whether or not a product which has been inspected or tested complies with the required standard; … thereby contributing to making the world a safer place. Th e wide diversity of skills and disciplines within the Group means that the products certifi ed by Bureau Veritas can range from aeroplanes to coal, in almost every country in the world.

On 9 May 2013 the Port of Cotonou received the 2013 Gold IT Award from the International Association of Ports and Harbours, for the benefi ts generated by its Single Window (SW). Th e SW project … was developed by Société d’Exploitation du Guichet Unique du Bénin (SEGUB), a public-private partnership established in November 2010 by the Government of Benin with two companies, namely Soget and Bureau Veritas.

When the first Global Congress on Combating Counterfeiting and Piracy was held in 2004, the phenomenon was often ignored. Many consumers and government leaders considered counterfeiting and piracy … as a victimless crime or simply a problem for luxury goods manufacturers. At the time, we all acknowledged that the fi ght would be a long and diffi cult one, but we were optimistic that we could make a signifi cant dent in this illicit activity.

Keičiamos muitinės tarpininko atstovo kvalifikacijos suteikimo ir panaikinimo taisyklių, muitinės tarpininko registravimo liudijimo formos ir muitinės tarpininkų atstovų įtraukimo (išbraukimo) … į muitinės tarpininko atstovų sąrašą ir muitinės tarpininkų bei jų atstovų kontrolės taisyklės. Patvirtinta: asmens atitikimo reikalavimams gauti ilgalaikį leidimą taikyti supaprastintas procedūras, forminamas asmens pageidaujamoje vietoje, kontrolinis klausimynas; prekių saugojimo ir muitinio tikrinimo vietos pripažinimo tinkama augalams, augaliniams produktams ir kitiems susijusiems objektams laikyti tvarkos aprašas; kt.