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Risk management:a critical Customs tool
Haiti in the spotlight:Customs' role in an emergency
Customs valuation: 30 years of the GATT/WTO Agreement
No 62 JUNE 2010
www.wcoomd.orgNEWSW C O
World Customs Organization
2 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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3WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Content 4 Calendar
5 Editorial
6 Buzz
9 Flash info
15 Special dossier • Getting to grips with risk management • Initial results of the Custom risk management survey • Risk management: what can you really manage? • WCO puts risk management under the microscope Latest developments WCO risk management activities • Risk management: key enablers • Managing risk in practise: South Africa shares her experience • How to modernize risk analysis and the selectivity of
Customs controls in developing countries? • Joint risk analysis on cross-border traffic in Bosnia and
Herzegovina • Mexico Customs reports success with risk analysis
34 In conversation • Susanne Aigner and Heike Barczyk; new Deputy Directors
at the WCO Secretariat
36 Our Members world
41 Zoom • Colombian Customs administration
42 Focus • Protecting cultural heritage • Emergency humanitarian aid and the Haiti disaster • Using statistics to fight corruption
52 Events • International Customs Day around the world • Karl Heinz Matthias, Director of the Zollkriminalamt (ZKA),
retires • WCO Information Technology Conference, Dublin (Ireland) • The WCO technical Committee on Customs Valuation
celebrates 30 years of the GATT/WTO Agreement • National and regional Harmonized System Seminars
Editorial noteWCONewsisdistributedfreeofchargeinFrenchandinEnglishtoCustomsadministrations,internationalor-ganisations,non-governmentalorganisations,thebusi-nesscommunityandotherinterestedreaders.ItshouldbementionedthatopinionsexpressedinWCONewsarethoseofthecontributorsanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheofficialviewsoftheWorldCustomsOrganization.Contributions in English or French are welcome butshouldbesubmittednotlaterthan 10 August 2010.Inthisregard,theWCOreservestherighttopublish,nottopublish,ortoeditarticlestoensuretheirconformitywiththemagazine’seditorialpolicy.TheWCOCommunicationServiceisavailabletoattendtoallrequestsforsubscrip-tions,submissionofcontributionsforconsideration,andanyotherenquiriesrelatingtoWCONews.Pleasee-mailcommunication@wcoomd.org
D/2010/0448/5
Copyright©2010WorldCustomsOrganizationAllrightsreserved.Requestsandenquiriesconcerningtranslation,reproductionandadaptationrightsshouldbeaddressedtocopyright@wcoomd.org
Acknowledgements: TheEditorialTeamwishestoex-pressitssinceregratitudetoallwhocontributedtothispublication.
Pictures: Oursinceregratitudealsogoestoallwhokindlyprovidedphotos,logosanddrawingstoillustratethisissue.
Design: www.inextremis.be
Director of PublicationKunioMikuriya
Editor in ChiefDanielleMaïano
EditorsGrantBusbyLaureTempier
Online subscriptionshttp://www.wcoomd.org/home_press_wco_news.htm
Advertising
BernardBessis
Electronic addresses
Editorial & Subscriptions [email protected]
Advertising [email protected]
PublisherWorldCustomsOrganizationRueduMarché,30B-1210BrusselsBelgium
Tel.:+32(0)22099442Fax:+32(0)[email protected]
WCO NeWs N° 62June2010
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C A l e n D A R
Calendar of EventsIt should be noted that these meetings are mentioned for information purposes and are not all open to the public. Training workshops are aimed at the private sector. Unless otherwise indicated, all meetings are held in Brussels. Please note that these dates are indicative only and may be subject to change. This document is regularly updated on the WCO Members’ web site, under the “Information for delegates” section, and on the WCO public web site, www.wcoomd.org , under the “Events” section.
June
15 - 16 TrainingworkshoponWCODataModelversion3.0 15 - 16 TrainingworkshoponCustomsValuationandTransferPricing 21 - 23 PolicyCommission(63rdSession) 24 - 26 Council(115th/116thSessions) 26 InternationalDayagainstDrugAbuseandIllicitTrafficking 26 - 27 G-20Summit,Toronto(Canada) 28 - 29 WCORiskManagementForum
September 1 - 2 InternationalCustomsConference:EU-BelgiumPavilionatEXPO2010,Shanghai(China) 7 - 8 AdHocGrouponGloballyNetworkedCustoms 9 - 10 HarmonizedSystemCommitteeWorkingParty 13 - 24 HarmonizedSystemCommittee(46thSession) 20 - 24 DataModelProjectTeam 27 - 29 CapacityBuildingCommittee(1stSession) 30 - 01/10 IntegritySub-Committee(9thSession)
October 1 RegionalOfficesforCapacityBuilding/RegionalTrainingCentres 4 - 8 WCOUNCITRALJointLegalTaskForce(3rdMeeting) 11 - 12 PrivateSectorConsultativeGroup(15thMeeting) 12 SAFEMembersOnlyMeeting 13 Customs-Businessevent 14 - 15 SAFEWorkingGroup(7thMeeting) 18 - 22 PermanentTechnicalCommittee(189th/190thSessions) 20 1stWorldStatisticsDay 25 - 29 TechnicalCommitteeonCustomsValuation(31stSession)
November 2 - 4 2ndTechnologyandInnovationConference(Egypt) 3 - 4 WCOCounterfeitingandPiracy(CAP)Group(3rdMeeting) 9 - 10 AdHocGrouponGloballyNetworkedCustoms 10 - 13 14thInternationalAnti-CorruptionConference(IACC),Bangkok(Thailand) 15 - 24 HarmonizedSystemReviewSub-Committee(41stSession) 23 - 25 5thWCOPicardConference,AbuDhabi(UAE) 29 - 30 AdministrativeCommitteefortheCustomsConventiononContainers,1972(12thMeeting)
December 1 - 3 RevisedKyotoConventionManagementCommittee(9thMeeting) 6 - 8 PolicyCommission(64thSession) 8 - 10 WorkingGrouponCommercialFraud(6thMeeting)
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Dear colleagues and partners,
This edition's special dossier is dedicated to risk management, in preparation for this year’s WCO Council sessions with a panel discussion, followed by an open Forum, both centered on this theme. As Council Chair Martyn Dunne details in his introduction to the special dossier, this concept has been one of the guiding principles of modern Customs administrations, and is embodied in many WCO instruments. Together with other critical building blocks, risk management in-dicates the direction of Customs in the 21st century.
Constantly faced with new challenges, Customs should remain responsive in man-aging emerging risks. One example is natural and other disasters where Customs is expected to facilitate the expeditious clearance of relief consignments. We still have fresh memories of the recent earthquakes in Haiti and other countries that caused such numerous scenes of human tragedy. An associated risk is that of the illegal trade in cultural heritage, especially illegal outflows from countries that have suffered natural and other disasters. This issue also touches on the WCO's efforts in working closely with the Red Cross, UNESCO and other international organizations to manage these risks.
Another emerging and pressing risk is that of fake medicines and other coun-terfeit goods that pose direct threats to the health and safety of people. The WCO has been active in raising awareness about this risk and the contribution Customs can make in ensuring that the message about this cruel trade is heard by the public, business and governments. The new partnership with the Chirac Foundation to fight against fake medicines will provide us with an important platform to sensitize the world's political leaders.
Customs needs to cooperate with its partners to effectively manage these risks. The Customs-business partnership, another important building block of the WCO's Customs in the 21st Century strategic policy and the theme of this year’s International Customs Day, is aimed at improving compliance by business which will reduce risk for Customs administrations and facilitate trade. The many activi-ties by our Members on International Customs Day to highlight this important partnership are also captured in this edition.
I hope that you enjoy reading this latest issue and look forward to seeing you at the Council sessions in June!
Kunio MikuriyaSECRETARyGENERAL
Buzz• Last minuteThe5thWCOPicardConference,originallyscheduledtotakeplacefrom28-30Sep-tember2010,hasbeenrescheduledandwillnowtakeplacefrom23-25November2010.ItwillbeheldinAbuDhabi(UAE)asplanned.
• InfoThe WTO Public Forum 2010 with the theme “TheForcesShapingWorldTrade”willbeheldatWTOHeadquartersinGe-nevafrom15-17September2010.ThisForumprovideanopportunitytotakestockofthelatestdevelopmentsattheglobal level thatarehavingan impactonthemultilateraltradingsystem,andidentifystepsthatwillcontributetowardsbolsteringinternationaltradeflowsandstrengtheningtheWTO.www.wto.org/english/forums_e/ngo_e/forum10_background_e.htm
The World Bank Group isprovidingfreeaccesstomorethan2000dataindicatorsonfinance,trade,health,andhumanandeconomicdevelopment,mostofwhichwerepreviouslyavailableonlytopayingsubscribers.http://data.worldbank.org
• Get readingTheEuropeanCommissionhaspublishedaComplianceRiskManagementGuidefortaxadministrations.http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs
The World Bank has published a new report entitled “Africa Development Indicators 2010”. This reportdeals, inparticular,withtheissueof“quietcor-ruption”-minor,everydaymalpracticesthatneverthelesshavehugerepercussionsinAfrica,particularlyforthepoor.There-portincludesmorethan450indicatorsofmacroeconomic,sectoralandsocialdatafor53Africancountries.www.worldbank.org
• Look out forThe WCO’s annual Reports on Drugs, Tobacco and Cigarettes, and Intellectual Property Rights willbeissuedinlateJune2010.www.wcoomd.org
• On the front pageInternational Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking willbemarkedon
26June2010.Promotionalmaterial(bro-chure,logopackage,factsheet)canbedownloadedfromtheUNODCwebsite.w w w.unodc.org/unodc/en/about-unodc/26-June.html
EU-China International Customs Confer-ence withthetheme“ModernCustoms:Buildingbridgestofacilitatelegitimatetradewhileprotectingcitizens”willtakeplaceintheEU-BelgiumPavilionatExpo2010 inShanghai from1-2September2010.TheeventisbeingorganizedbytheEuropeanCommissionincollaborationwithChineseCustoms.http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs
Achim Steiner has been re-elected Ex-ecutive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)forafive-yeartermbeginning15June2010.www.unep.org
John Scanlon has been appointed Secre-tary-General of CITES. HewaspreviouslyPrincipalAdvisorattheUnitedNationsEnvironment Programme (UNEP) andtakesoverfromWillemWijnstekerswhoretiredon1May2010afterbeingCITESSecretary-Generalsince1999.www.cites.org
• Current eventsTheWCOCapacityBuildingDirectoratemeetingsscheduledfortheweekof19to23April2010werepostponedduetothetheashcloudcrisisthataffectedairtravel.The1stSessionoftheCapacityBuildingCommittee,the9thSessionoftheInteg-ritySub-CommitteeandtheMeetingoftheRegionalOfficesforCapacityBuild-ingandRegionalTrainingCentreswillnowtakeplace from27Septemberto1October2010.
The posts of Director of Compliance and Facilitation and Director of Capacity BuildingintheWCOSecretariatwillfallvacanton31December2010.TheDirec-torsGeneraloftheWCO’s176MemberCustomsadministrationswillelecttwonew Directors during their June 2010Councilsessions.Theywilltakeupofficeon1January2011.www.wcoomd.org
Following the death of Antoine Manga, WCODirectorofTariffandTradeAffairs,the Deputy Secretary General Sergio
MujicawilltakechargeoftheDirecto-rateuntilanewDirectorassumesoffice.ElectionsforthepostwilltakeplaceattheJune2011Councilsessions.www.wcoomd.org
• AccessionsThe Republic of Mali, the Republic of Malta, and the United Arab Emirates de-positedtheirinstrumentofaccessiontotheInternationalConventionontheSim-plificationandHarmonizationofCustomsProcedures(RevisedKyotoConvention)withtheWCOrespectivelyon4,11and31May2010.TheConventionwhichen-teredintoforceon3February2006nowhas69ContractingParties.www.wcoomd.org
• AppointmentsRecentlyappointedDirectorsGeneral:Mrs.MarleneArdayaVásquez(Bolivia);Mr. Sang-Goo Byun (Korea, Rep. of);Vice-AdmiralPedroMiguelPérezBetancourt(Cuba); Mr. Tális Kravalis (Latvia);Mrs. Angélique Berg (Netherlands);Mrs. Gloria Luque Ramírez (Peru);M r . I h o r K a l e t n i k ( U k r a i n e ) ;Mr.EnriqueCanonPedragosa(Uruguay).
Contrarytoourearlierannouncement,Mr. Erling Andersen is still Denmark’sDirectorGeneralofCustoms.
• For your diary!11June-21July2010:FootballWorldCup,SouthAfrica
• WCO trophiesForthe5thyearinsuccession,theWCOwill award the trophy for combating counterfeiting and piracyduringtheJune2010Councilsessions.Thisyearthetro-phywillgotoaCustomsadministrationwhichhasdistinguisheditselfinthefightagainsttheillicittrafficinfakemedicines.
AllWCOMembershavebeeninvitedtoparticipateinthe second edition of the WCO Photo Competition.Thetrophywillbeawardedduring the June2010Councilsessions.PhotoswillshowCus-tomsservicesinactionintheirday-to-daywork.
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Changes ahead for the WCO
On Saturday 26 June 2010, theDirectorsGeneralofCustomswho
will have gathered in Brussels for the115th/116th Council Sessions will electnewDirectorstoreplaceMichaelSchmitz,DirectorofComplianceandFacilitation,andLarsKarlsson,DirectorofCapacityBuilding.
Director of Compliance and Facilitation
Ms.SandraLeeBell
ExecutiveDirector,RegulationsandRulings,OfficeofInterna-tionalTrade,CustomsandBor-derProtection(UnitedStates)
Mr.UriBruck
Minister-Counsellor(Customsand Taxation), Embassy ofIsraelinBrussels(Israel)
Mr.HippolyteDjegou
DirectorGeneral,DirectorateGeneralofCustomsandIndi-rectTaxes(Benin)
Mr.MahmoudElMadna
Researcher,InternationalBestPracticesCommittee,Strate-gicPlanningSector,CustomsAuthority(Egypt)
Mr.MmadiMoindjie
NationalAdministratorofASy-CUDA++,DirectorateGeneralof Customs IT system (Co-moros)
Mr.GaozhangZhu
DirectorGeneral,InternationalCooperation,GeneralAdminis-trationofCustoms(China)
Director of Capacity Building
Mr.EmadAlTamimiHead of Computer Section,CustomsDepartment(Jordan)
Mr.HippolyteDjegou
DirectorGeneral,DirectorateGeneralofCustomsandIndi-rectTaxes(Benin)
Ms. Christina FelicitasMsemburi
Commissioner, Human Re-sources and Administration,RevenueAuthority(Zimbabwe)
Mr.ErichKieck
Group Executive, CustomsStrategyandPolicy,RevenueService(SouthAfrica)
-1/11-
APPLICATION FOR THE POST OF CAPACITY BUILDING DIRECTOR
WITHIN THE WORLD CUSTOMS ORGANIZATION1
1. PARTICULARS
Family name (in capitals)
dr. NAGY
Maiden name (in capitals)
-
First name(s) (in capitals)
János
Sex x M □ F
Date of birth
17 April 1956
Place of birth
Budapest 1 Application to be typed, and to be made available in electronic format on request.
Mr.JanosNagyNationalCommander,CustomsandFinanceGuard(Hungary)
ItwillbetheresponsibilityoftheCounciltonominatetwoDirectorstotakeofficeon1January2011inaccordancewiththerulesinforce.
TheSecretariatispleasedtoannouncethatapplicationsfromthefollowingcan-didateshavebeenreceivedforthepostsof
DirectorofComplianceandFacilitationandDirectorofCapacityBuilding.
Apress releaseonthe resultsof theelectionswillbe issuedbytheWCOSecretariat.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
10 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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Farewell Antoine
ItiswithdeepsadnessthattheinternationalCustoms
communitylearnedofthedeath of Antoine MarieMangaMassina,DirectorofTariffandTradeAffairs intheWCOSecretariat,whopassed away on 24 April2010.
Since 1 Januar y 20 08Mr.MangahadbeenDirectorofTariffandTradeAf-fairs,responsibleformattersrelatingtotheHarmonizedSystem,originandvaluation-coreareasofCustomsactivity.From1992to1999hewasDeputyDirectorofValuationattheSecretariat.
HisexperienceandtremendousexpertiseinCustomsmat-terswereacknowledgedbyhispeers,andenabledhimto
occupyseveralhigh-levelpostsinthecourseofhispro-fessionalcareer,bothinCameroonandabroad,culminat-inginhisappointmentasCameroon’sDirectorGeneralofCustomsin2005.AfterthatitwasonceagaintheturnoftheWCO,itsMembersandtheinternationalCustomscommunitytobenefitfromhisspiritofopenness,hisabilitytolisten,hispracticalCustomsknowledgeandhishumanqualities.
OnbehalfoftheinternationalCustomscommunityandthestaffoftheWCOSecretariat,WCOSecretaryGeneralKunioMikuriyaexpressedhissincerecondolencestoAntoine’sfamily.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
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MIC software has been implemented and operationally proven at more than 700 customer sites in over 40 countries on fi ve continents. All MIC products are available as in-house installation or as hosted solution (Software as a Service).Get your personal presentation of fi eld-tested customs solutions:
MIC Customs Solutions | Austria | Tel.: +43 (0)7 32 - 77 84 96 | [email protected] | www.mic-cust.com
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AZ_WCO_210x144.5_engl_RZ.indd 1 11.05.2010 9:58:01 Uhr
11WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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The Cotonou Declaration, a policy strategy for achieving rapid results
Justlikeanyothercommodity,medi-cinesarenowpartoftheglobalization
process.Indevelopingcountries,thefreemovementofmedicineshas increasedpublicaccesstohealthcare,withmorepeople instinctively seeking medicaltreatment, and has promoted the es-tablishmentofmedicinepurchasingco-operatives.Thediversificationoffundingfordevelopmentassistanceinthehealth-caredomainhasbroughtdownthecostofmedicinesforpatientsintheworld’spoorestcountries.
ThesepositiveresultsmeettheMillen-niumDevelopmentGoals,setalmost10yearsagoattheUnitedNations.However,inparallelwiththesepositiveresults,thetradeinillicitmedicineshasbeenincreas-ingexponentially.Developingcountriesarecurrentlyunderthreatfromamassiveinfluxoffakeanddefectivemedicinesar-rivingthroughbothcriminalandofficialdistributionchannels.Theseaccountfor30%ofmedicinesbroughtintodevelop-ingcountries.
Comprehensive political action is requiredThecausesofthisdangerousphenom-enonaremanifold.Inadditiontopub-lichealthandsocialsecuritystructuralpolicieswhicharecostlyandseldomim-plemented,thereareinsufficientqual-itycontrolsonmedicinesplacedonthemarket,problemsinensuringaneffectiveCustomsreponse,shortcomingsintheenforcementsystem,and indisputableflawsinStates’legislativeandregulatoryframeworks.
Thesefactorshavetobeplacedwithinaregionaloreveninternationalcontext.TraffickersexploitStates’weaknessesaswellastheirlackofcooperationanddif-ficultiesinharmonizingtheirregulations.Thisarrayofproblemsrequirespoliticalaction that inspires stakeholders andunitesthestructuresandadministrationsworkingineachoftheaffectedareas.
ItisforthatreasonthatJacquesChiracandanumberofHeadsofStateissuedtheCotonouDeclarationagainstfakemedi-cinesinOctober2009.TheDeclaration’ssignatoriespledgetodeveloptherequisitelegislativeandregulatoryprovisionsandgenuinelyhopeforaninternationallegalframeworkgivingeachpartythemeanstoactinunison.
A solution focusing on three areasThis scourge can only be eradicatedthroughacombinationofenforcementactivitiesandbetteraccess toqualitymedicines,stringentqualitycontrolsonproducts,andenhancedtraceabilityandsecurityofpharmaceuticaldistributionchannels.Thesuccessofthisenforce-mentapproachrestsonthejointimple-mentationofthesestrategies,aswellasonsimultaneousoperationsatthesub-regionallevel.
TheactivitiesundertakenbytheChiracFoundationsincetheCotonouDeclara-tionhavefocusedonthreecomplemen-taryareas:
• Following up on the Cotonou Dec-laration commitmentsmadebyinter-nationalpolicymakers
• Supporting and advising the com-mitteesbeingsetuptocounter“fakemedicines”withinthesignatoryStatesbyensuringthatallthestakeholdersareabletovoicetheiropinionstherein
• Promoting a binding legal frame-work with international scope to wage war against the production of and trade in fake medicines
TheskillsofferedbytheWCOarecrucialforobtainingrapidresultsinthelattertwoareas.
AtState level, jointeffortshavetobemadetostrengthenCustoms’roleaspartofthemechanismtocombatfakemedi-cines.Theirrepresentativesmustenterintofullpartnershipwithhealthprofes-sionals,consumers,policeand judicialauthorities.
Onanother level, theWCO’scapacitytonetworkwithitsMembersanditsex-tremelythoroughknowledgeofCustomscodesineffectcouldservetheinterestsofcooperationbetweenStatesaswellastheestablishmentofamodellegalframeworkapplicablebyallcountries.Thiswouldpermitthemutualdevelopmentoftoolstocombatfakemedicines.
WiththeWCO’sassistance,theChiracFoundationhasalreadybeenabletosendamessagetoCustomsofficersinBeninunderscoringtheimportanceoftheirroleinthishighlyambitiousproject.WehopethatwithnationalCustomsadministra-tionsonboard,wecancontinuetomakeajointcallforrapidresultsinthefuture.Asthingscurrentlystand,onceafakemedi-cinehasclearedCustomsitisimpossibletotraceitwithinaterritory.
Catherine Joubert has been the Managing Di-rector of the Chirac Foundation since 2010 and is responsible for coordinating and developing the Foundation’s programmes concerning ac-cess to quality medication and water, combat-ing deforestation, and preserving cultural di-versity. During her career she has managed the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Bienvenue en France Association” which promotes exchange and dialogue between cultures, and worked on the “Connaissance et Vie d’Aujourd’hui” lecture series focusing on national, European and inter-national challenges.
More informationwww.fondationchirac.eu
by Catherine Joubert
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Bearing in mind the severe healthriskfactorsderivedfromsmoking,
theWorldHealthOrganization(WHO)launchedtheideaforaninternationalinstrument to control tobacco. ThisidearesultedinthedevelopmentoftheFrameworkConventiononTobaccoCon-trol(FCTC)whichcameintoforceinFeb-ruary2005.
TheConventionwhichcurrentlyhas168ContractingPartiesisacomprehensivelegal instrument for tobacco Control.TheaspectrelatedtotheillicittradeintobaccoproductsisincludedinArticle15oftheConvention.InthisArticle,thePar-tiestotheConventionrecognizethattheeliminationofallformsofillicittradeintobaccoproducts,includingsmuggling,il-licitmanufacturingandcounterfeiting,isanessentialcomponentofglobaltobaccocontrol.Article15statesthatthePartiesshalladoptandimplementeffectiveleg-islative,executive,administrativeorotherappropriatemeasureswithaviewtoelimi-natingillicittradeintobaccoproducts.
AtitsfirstsessioninFebruary2006,theConferenceoftheParties(COP)notedthatArticle15didnotgofarenoughinfacilitatinginternationalcooperationtoenableParties toeffectivelyeliminatetheillicittrade.Theydecidedthereforetoestablishanintergovernmentalnego-tiatingbody(INB)toprepareatemplateforaProtocolonIllicitTradeinTobaccoProductswhichwillbuilduponandcom-plementtheprovisionsofArticle15oftheFCTC.Sinceitsestablishment,theINBhasconvenedinGenevafourtimeseachyearsince2007.
TheINBconsistsofPartiestotheFCTCandobserverswhichareStatesnon-Par-
Global system on illicit trafficking in tobacco products makes progress
ties,internationalintergovernmentalor-ganizations(notablytheWCO)andnon-governmentalorganizations(forexampletheFrameworkConventionAlliance).
Todate,keyelementsofthedraftproto-colinclude:
• measurestocontrolthetobaccoprod-uctsupplychain(includingtrackingandtracingoftobaccoproducts, li-censing,anti-moneylaunderingmeas-ures,andrestrictionsoninternetsalesoftobaccoproducts)
• measuresdealingwithcriminalizationandenforcement(includingtheestab-lishmentofoffences,sanctions,penal-ties,destruction,specialenforcementtechniques)
• internationalcooperativemeasures(including information sharing, co-operationintechnicalmattersandintraining,andmutuallegalandadmin-istrativeassistance)
It isextremelychallengingtogetcon-sensusonbindingmeasurestobeimple-mentedataninternationallevelinthefightagainsttheillicittradeintobaccoproducts.ThefourthsessionoftheINBendedinfactwithoutafinalagreement.AlthoughthePartiesdidreachagreementonsomesignificantprovisions,otherpro-visionswerenotfinalized.
AmongthoseonwhichanagreementwasreachedwastheestablishmentofaglobaltrackingatracingregimeforalltobaccoproductsassetoutinArticle7;consid-eredthecoreelementoftheProtocol.Thetrackingandtracingregimecomprisesna-tionalandregionaltrackingandtracing
systemsandaglobalinformationsharingfocalpointlocatedattheWHOFCTCSec-retariat,accessibletoallParties.
Thesystemrequiresunique,secureandnon-removableidentificationmarkings,suchascodesorstamps,tobeaffixedtoorformpartofallunitpackets,packagesandanyoutsidepackagingofcigarettesandothertobaccoproducts.Byusingtheseuniqueidentificationmarkings,onecanaccesstheportalandreceivespecificinformationsuchasthedateandloca-tionofmanufactureandtheintendedshipmentroute,dateanddestination.TheaimistoassistPartiesindetermin-ingtheoriginoftobaccoproducts,thepointofdiversionwhereapplicable,andtomonitorandcontrolthemovementoftobaccoproductsandtheirlegalstatus.The implementationofthisandotherimportantprovisionscontainedintheProtocolwillimpactontheworkofCus-tomssignificantly.
ThedraftProtocol,thetextofwhichwasagreedbytheINBatitsfourthsessioninMarch2010,willbeconsideredbytheCOPatitsfourthsessiontobeheldinUruguayinNovember2010.
BearinginmindthattheFrameworkCon-ventionisoneofthemostquicklyandwidelyratifiedinternationalconventions,theWCOSecretariatstronglyencouragesitsMemberstoexaminetheProtocol’stextandurgesCustomsadministrationstoactivelyparticipatein,orprovideinputsto,theworkofthenextCOPasfurtherfinalnegotiationsmayinfactleadtoabindingagreementwithstrongimplica-tionsforCustomsactivitiesincounteringtheillicittradeintobaccoproducts.
TheWCO,theFCTCSecretariatandtheWHOarecontinuingtoseeksynergiesandcomplementarities intherelevantareasoftheProtocol.
More informationwww.who.int/gb/fctcwww.fctc.org
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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©AustralianCustoms
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Customs info in a few clicks!
…the EC launches the first phase of the European Customs Information Portal
TheEuropeanCustoms InformationPortal(ECIP)aimstohelpbusinesses
throughtheCustomsproceduresthathave to be followed when importinggoodsintoandexportinggoodsfromtheEuropeanUnion(EU)orwhentheyaremerelyintransitthroughtheEU.
ThecurrentversionoftheECIPconsti-tutesasinglepointofaccesstorelevantandpracticalinformationontheapplica-tionoftheSafetyandSecurityAmend-menttotheCustomsCodeandrelatedprocedures.ItusesspecialanimatedCus-tomsscenariostoexplaineachstepoftheimport,exportandtransitproceduresinaneasywaytoeconomicoperators.Fur-thermoreitpoolsinformationfrombothEUMemberStateCustomsPortalsandEuropeanCommission(EC)sources.
ThewebportalwasjointlydevelopedbytheEC,itsTradeContactGroupandEUMemberStates.ItfocusesontheeffectsoftheentryintoforceoftheSafetyandSecurityAmendment to theCustomsCodeon1July2009.ThewebportalispubliclyavailableaspartoftheCommis-sion’sEUROPAwebsite.
Atpresent,theECIPcontainsthreemaincategoriesofinformation.First,itgath-
Publications get with it!
DuringtheJune2009Coun-cilsessionstheSecretariat
undertooktomodernizeitspub-lications.Existingtoolshavebeenenhancedandnewdevelopmentsenvisaged.
Modernization of publications in 2009/2010, we pulled it off…ThenewdigitalversionoftheHS,test-edinJune2009,isnowavailableonCD-Romandonline.Itcontainsmanynewfunctionssuchasthepossibilitytokeyinnotesandcommentsonitemsandrecoversthem,toplaceapersonalpost-itonachapter,section,heading,classifica-tionopinionorexplanatorynote,alin-guisticsearchengine,etc.
WCO Publications available in differ-entelectronicformatshavebecomeanintegral part of Customs informationportals and professional applications.Theycertainlymeetusers’expectationsasisdemonstratedbyincreasedsalesofthesemedia.
SincetheissueofHSAmendingSupple-mentNo.7,theuseofanewprofessionaleditorialtoolhasmeantthatpublicationsareavailableatthesametimeviadiffer-entmedia:inpaper;onCD-Romoron-line.Translationsofpublicationsareeasilyhandledwhilstensuringalignmentwiththeoriginalversions.
Improved service to Members in 2010/2011, on the way…Aspromised,theSecretariatiscontinu-ing in itsefforts tomakepublicationsavailableinnewlanguages.Inthefirsthalfof2010Italian,Russian,andSpan-ishversionsoftheHSDataBase(HSDB)wereplacedonline.Newtranslationsinotherlanguagescouldbeaddedthisyeartoo.TheSecretariatisinfactlookingforvolunteersfortrialswithalanguageusingideogramsandwithArabic.
2010/2011willbedevotedtoworkonthepublicationofthe2012versionoftheHS
whichwillbelaunchedinSeptember2011.TheHSDB,AlphabeticalIndexandanewversionoftheCompendiumofClassifica-tionOpinionswillbeavailableforthefirsttimeinallmediaformatsconcurrently.LetusnotforgetthattheAlphabeticalIndexforthe2007versionoftheHSonlycameouttwoyearsaftertheHSitselfandtheCD-Romwasmadeavailable18monthslater.We’vecomealongway!
DifferentDirectorateswithintheSecre-tariathavealsobeenmullingoverpos-siblewaystomodernizeallotherWCOpublicationsanddevelopnewtools.TherevisedKyotoConventionforexampleisalreadyavailableinaninternetformat(HTML)andwillbeequippedwithasearchenginebytheendoftheyear.
Afteradapteditspublicationstocomplywithneweditorialstandards,theSecre-tariatnowwishestoprovideitsMembersandthegeneralpublicwithaninnovative,cutting-edgeservice.From2010,WCOpublicationswillbetestedonaNomadTabletPC.Hopetoseeyoutotryoutthisnewmediumat the2011CouncilSessions!
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
>>
©T
axud
14 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
f l A s H i n f O
S a f e t y. . . . t a k e s j u s t a f e w s e c o n d s
Yo u r p a r t n e r i n t h e f i g h t a g a i n s t t e r r o r i s m
a n d d r u g s
P h o n e + 3 1 - ( 0 ) 5 8 - 2 9 8 8 8 8 8 , Fa x : + 3 1 - ( 0 ) 5 8 - 2 9 8 8 7 6 8 , i n f o @ o d s e c u r i t y. c o m , w w w. o d s e c u r i t y. c o m
s e c u r i t y b o d y s c a n
ersinformationfromtheCustomssitesoftheCommissionandEUMemberStates.This information includes databases,procedures and assistance services aswellasrelevantpolicyinformationcon-tainedinvariousCommissionwebsites.Italsofeaturesanimated“Customssce-
narios”,whichtakeusersstep-by-stepthrough different export, import andtransitprocedures.Thesescenariosex-plaineachstageoftheprocedures,list-ingresponsibleauthoritiesandrelevantdocumentsthathavetobefiledateachstage.Eachscenarioisaccompaniedbyadetailedglossarythatlinkstorelevantdocuments,databasesand legislation.Lastbutnotleast,theportalcoversthelegalframework.
ThefirstphaseoftheECIPwebsiteisaforerunnertothecomprehensiveCustomsinformationportal foreseenata laterstage.ItisaprojecttotestandstudythebasicfunctionalitiesofaportalapproachforCustomsthatcombinesinformation
fromtwosources,namely,theECandEUMemberStates.TheCommissionplanstofurtherdeveloptheportalonthebasisofexperiencegainedandfeedbackreceived.ItscoverageandindepthinformationonCustomsproceduresarescheduledtobeextendedovertime.
More informationhttp://ec.europa.eu/ecip/
It uses special animated
Customs scenarios to explain
each step of the import, export
and transit procedures in an easy
way to economic operators.
s P e C i A l D O s s i e R
15WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Riskmanagementisthesystematicapplicationofmanage-mentpolicies,proceduresandpracticesinordertoiden-
tify,analyse,assess,handle,monitorandanticipaterisk.Riskmanagement,anintegralpartoftheRevisedKyotoConven-tion(RKC)andotherWCOinstruments,offersclearandvisiblebenefitstotheinternationalCustomscommunity,whichmustconstantlyimproveitseffectivenessanditsperformance,andbeevermoretransparent,responsibleandprofessional.
Butwhatliesbehindthisconcept?Howisitreflectedinthefield?ThisisthesubjectofourSpecialDossierwhich,throughtheexperiencesofvariouscountriesandthemanydiscussionsheldonthissubject,looksathowriskmanagementcanbede-velopedinpractice.
Special DossierRisk Management
s P e C i A l D O s s i e R
Getting to grips with risk management
by Martyn Dunne, Chairperson of the Council
WCO News – No 62 – June 201016
andhencelowertransactioncosts;andimprovedcooperationbetweentradersandCustoms.
Improvedmanagementprocessesleadtoimprovedreputation,thecapacitytoworkmoreeffectivelywiththesameorfewerresources,amore‘intelligent’approachandprofessionalismofstaff,andbetterresultsoverall,leadingtoCustomsachiev-ingorganisationalandnationalobjectives.
A different way of doing things
Tomanagerisk,aCustomsadministrationmustmoveawayfromtraditionalmeth-odsandadoptanewcultureandnewwaysofsolvingproblems,includinganincreaseinaccountabilityfordecisionmaking.Riskmanagement methodology should beflexible,adaptable,andtakeintoaccountchangesintheoperatingenvironment,includinginprocessesandlegislation.Itshouldbeabletobeappliedtoanysitu-ationwhereanundesiredorunexpectedoutcomecouldhaveasignificantimpactorwhereopportunitiesareidentified.
RiskmanagementinCustoms,includingintelligenceandoperations,mustrestonmodernlegislation.Legislationshoulden-ableinformationcollectionandsharing,includinginternationallywhereappro-priate.Itshouldprovidealegalbasisforoperationsalso.Managementofcustomsriskalsobenefitsfromaninternationalcomponent. Working across borderswithotherintelligenceandenforcementagenciesenhancesriskmanagementbyimprovinginformationcollectionanden-forcementoptions.
A key programme for the WCO
TheWCOhasundertakenalotofgoodworkinthisareaandriskmanagementisanintegralpartof:therevisedKyoto
AsCustomsadministrations,weareuniquelypositionedtouseourknowl-
edgeandexpertiseinmanagingthebor-dertoimplementariskmanagementap-proach.IngeneraltermsIamsurethattheconceptandbenefitsofriskmanagementarewellunderstood.HoweverIthinkwecandomoretoensurethereispracticalimplementationacrossthefullrangeofCustomsactivity.
What do we mean by risk management?
AspointedoutduringtheWCOPolicyCommissioninDecemberlastyear,riskmanagement is not just about havinggoodprocesses; it isawayofthinkingthatmovesanadministrationtowardsproactive,ratherthanreactive,manage-mentoftheborder.Ontheoperationalor‘external’front,riskmanagementisanef-fectiveandefficientwaytodealwithlargevolumesofpeople,goodsandcraftwithlimitedresourcesandconstantlychang-ingrisk,withoutimpingingonlegitimatetradeflows.
Risktargetingprovidesuswithsharperoperationalfocus.Intelligenceanalysisidentifieswhere thegreatest risk lies.TheuseofspecialisttargetingresourceslikeTargetingCentresenablesustoef-fectivelydeployourresourcesandworkinanintegratedwaywithotheragencies.Corporate,orinternal,riskmanagementisalsoveryimportant.Itincludesconceptssuchasintegrity,leadership,legalissues,andstakeholderrelations.
What are the benefits?
The benefits of a comprehensive riskmanagementprogrammeinclude:bet-terhumanresourceallocation;increasedrevenue;improvedcompliancewithlawsandregulations;reducedreleasetimes
Convention; the SAFE Framework ofStandards;theColumbusProgramme;and the Customs in the 21st Centurystrategicpolicy.TheWCOSecretariatisalsodevelopingaRiskManagementCompendium.
KunioMikuriya,theSecretaryGeneraloftheWCO,iswellawareoftheimportanceofriskmanagementand,inparticular,theneedforpracticalimplementation.Wehavemaderiskmanagementapriorityfor2010andtheWCOishostingatwo-dayRiskManagementForumaftertheCoun-cilSessionsinJune.Atthismeetingwewilldiscusstheimportanceofriskman-agementforeachofouradministrations,identifywaysoftranslatingtheconceptofriskmanagementintoaction,andensurethatWCOworkprogrammes,includingthevitalcomponentofcapacitybuilding,arealigned.
TheWCOcanprovidethetools,butitisultimatelytheresponsibilityofindi-vidualCustomsadministrationstomakesurethatthesetoolsareimplementedtohelpusachieveourobjectives.ItakethisopportunitytoencourageallDirec-torsGeneralofCustomstoattendtheJuneForum.
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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Today,Customsriskmanagement(CriM)hasbecomeadisciplineforWCOmemberadmin-
istrationsinthecoreoftheirdaytodaybusiness.CustomsadministrationsarelearningtoexploitCRiMatbothstrategicandoperationallevels,andhaveprovenit’seffectivenessatidentifyingandinterdictinghigherpriorityfiscalandnonfiscal
threats.WCOMembersareusingtheprinciplesofCRiMandseeingthebenefits,including
therecoupmentofevadedrevenueandinterdictionsofsecurityandterrorist
basedthreats,narcotics,prohib-itedgoods,andfoodandag-
riculturalthreats,asexam-ples.Anonline“Google”
search of “Customsrisk management”brings interesting
resultsandmanyrefer-ences,includingdozensof
relevantfilesandnewsitemsdiscussingavarietyof lessons
learned.Atthesametime,thereisagapintheacademicCRiMresearch.Surveydataisnotreadilyavailableand
feweffortstodatehaveformallycollectedandcol-latedtherightdatathatcanprovideasnapshotofthecurrentCRiMenvironmentforsystematicanalysispurposes.
Tohelpfillthisgap,aninitialsurveystudyofWCOMember administrations was carried out. Thestudyfocusesonapproximately20CriMcompo-nentsthatdealwithestablishingandoperatingCRiMprinciplesandpracticesfrombothstrategicandoperationalperspectives.ItscopesCRiMtocoverthoserisksassociatedwiththemovementofgoods(excludingforexampleriskswithpassengersorwithCustomsITprojects).Thestudyalsoex-ploresthelevelofdetailedunderstanding,insights,practicalimplementations,tangiblebenefits,andsuccessmeasurementcriteria,amongstotherfac-tors,atdifferentadministrations.ThemainpartofthestudydatacollectiontookplacebetweenMayandAugust2009,afteratwoyearintensiveprepa-rationphase.Thesurveyreplieswereprovidedby24administrations(outofthe36invited)fromallsixWCOregions,representingGDPpercapitaofbetween1000and40.000USDollars.
Basedonalltheoutcomesofthesurvey,thefol-lowing12recommendationshavebeenmadeforallCustomsadministrationstoconsider:
1. ReviewthecurrentoverallCRiMregime,includ-ingdefinitions,coreprocesses,alignmentwithoverallcustomsstrategicplans,andriskman-agementcycles,etc.Ifgapsorinconsistenciesexistconsiderrefinement.Trytoestablishfor-malCRiMstrategicandoperationalprocessesaspartofanestablishedriskmanagementcycle,withregularupdates,basedonthechangingoperational,criminalandlegalenvironment.EnsureCRiMisembeddedasthecoreofyourbusinessandnotjust“lipservice”oranother“papertiger”withinyouradministration.
2. ReviewandupdatethecurrentCRiMorgani-zationalstructurewithinyouradministrationwithafocusoninternalgovernance.Clearly
Initial results of the Custom risk management survey
The growing volume of global trade, as a long term trend, continues to be a significant challenge for many Customs administrations as we all strive to maintain an ability to protect our socio-economic interests from fiscal and non-fiscal threats. For many years, Customs administrations have migrated towards risk managed approaches in order to maintain control over the movement of people, goods, and conveyances across borders. Simply put, Customs administrations have learned by necessity to focus their resources on high risk cargo while simultaneously facilitating low risk trade.
by Juha Hintsa and Toni Männistö, Cross-border Research Association
©CBRA
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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determineandarticulatethefunctionsandresponsibilitieswhicharecentralizedversusde-centralized;andhowthesefunctionsandsectionsoftheorganizationinteroperateandcollaborate.Considerevenestablishinginde-pendentriskmanagement(targeting,analysisorriskassessment)units,asacomplimentaryoperationallayer;withemphasisonprovidingaclearmandate,governance,andinteroper-abilitywithotherenforcementorintelligencesections.
3. Consider updating recruitment and careerplanning,trainingprograms,recognitionandrewardsforyourspecializedriskmanagementofficers,asthisappearstobeoftentheweakspotregardinghumanresourcemanagement.MakeCRiMasanappreciatedandrecognizedjobwithinyouradministration.
4. Analyzeandprioritizethefiscalandnon-fiscalhazardsandrisksforyouradministrationandcountry,lookingatbothstrategicandopera-tionalimplicationsofriskrealizations.Takealookathowdecisionsaremadeonothercus-tomsproceduresinyouradministrationinclud-
ingbasicimportandexportprocessesandfindsolutionstopromoteandsupportriskbaseddecisionmaking.
5. Takeacloselookatabroadsetofavailablequalitativeandquantitativeriskmanagementtools,techniquesandstandards,andconsiderupgradesinyourcurrentCRiMtoolbox,basedonyouroverallpriorities.Seekabalancebe-tweenqualitativeandquantitativeapproachesandmethodologieswithoutrelyingentirelyononeortheother.
6. Haveanopenmindtoimprovethebreadth,depth,qualityandtimingaspectsofthecom-mercialdataandothersupportingcontextualdatafedintoyourCRiMprocesses;inparticu-lar,considerexploitingmorepre-departureand/orpre-arrivaldata,ascurrentlyithasverylowpriorityglobally.Collaborateproactivelywithyourtradingcommunitytoseekdatasolutionsthathelptoimproveend-to-endsupplychainvisibility.
7. Checkwhichtypeofintelligenceandotherin-formationissharedwithotheragenciesinyour
©AustralianCustoms
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country,andabroad,andtrytoidentifyandsolveanyinformationtiming,quality,trust,legal or other hurdles preventing you frommanagingrisksbetterviaproactiveinforma-tionsharing.Fromaninternalperspective,workcloselywithyourenforcementandintelligencedivisionssotheymayfeedkeyinformationintoyourriskmanagementunitstoinfluence,sup-port,anddriveprioritiesatstrategicandtacticallevels.
8. VerifyifanytypesoflegalrestrictionsorpolicybarriersexistthatmaybenegatingCRiM.Iftheseexist,considerfindingsolutionstoup-gradethenationallegislationandregulations,localorregionalbusinesspractices,oranyotherrootcausesbehindsuchhurdles.
9. Studyandapplylessonslearnedfromexist-ingriskmanagementliterature(includingsup-plychainandenterprise riskmanagement),risk management standards (including AS/NZS4360andISO31000),andWCOmaterialsuchastheWCORiskManagementGuide,theGlobalInformationandIntelligenceStrategy,StandardizedRiskAssessments,theGlobalHighRiskIndicatordocument,andWCOe-learningmaterial.
10. EstablishsystematicbenefitsofCRiM,andbuildperformancemeasurementindicatorsintoyourCRiMframework.Activelyseekoutthemostcost-efficientCRiMenhancements,andquantitativelymeasurethesuccessofyourriskbaseddecisionsattheborder.
11. Collaborateandworkcloselywiththeprivatesectorinyourcountry.ItisimportanttobeopenandtransparentaboutCRiM(withoutrevealingsecuritysensitivedetails,ofcourse)andmakethemawareofyourplansforex-ploitingCRiMinthefuturetofacilitatelowriskcomplianttrade,and–iffeasible-providetangiblebenefitsforwellsecuredandhighlycompliantcompaniesandsupplychains,viathevariousCRiMmechanismsyouhave inplace,nowandinthefuture.
12. Lastbutnotleast,remindyouradministrationthatwhenmovingtowardsactualCRiMim-plementations,everyregionorcountrylooksatriskdifferently,thusrequiringtailoredap-proaches.However,yourapproachtoCRiMshould factor in the necessary alignmentwithregionalorglobalpartnerstopromote
thesecureflowoftrade,includinginteroperabilityandharmonizationwithelectronicsinglewindowinitiatives,internationalsecuritystandardsandprinciples,andcollaborationwithothergovern-mentpartners,customsadministrations,andthetradingcommunity.
Thefullsurveystudyreportisscheduledtobepub-lishedduringthelastweekofJune,andapresenta-tionwillbegivenattheWCORiskManagementForumon30June2010.Followingthisevent,theresearchteamintendstolaunchapproximately12casestudies,focusingondetailedenhancementsinCRiMfromCustomsadministrationsglobally.Asthelaststageofthismulti-yearCRiMresearchpro-gramme,theteamhaspreliminaryplanstodevelopa“CRiMBestPractices”guidebook,consistingofshortexamplesonhowCRiMaspectshavebeenimprovedinthepast.
More information [email protected]
The study explores the level of detailed
understanding, insights, practical
implementations, tangible benefits, and
success measurement criteria, amongst
other factors, at different administrations.
©AustralianCustoms
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Risk management: what can you really manage?
Thereissomuchwrittenaboutriskmanage-ment,itseemsthatthereisnothinglefttosay.
Conceptually,“risk”isusedtodenoteperils,loss,dangerousoccurrences,hazards,andevenvulnera-bilities.Thoseofuswhohadtoteachmanagementatcollegeanduniversitylevelsknowthatmanage-mentfromthetimeofHenriFayol’s14principlesin1916tocurrentmanagementteachingincludesfunctionalprinciplessuchasplanning,organizing,commanding,controlling,leading,budgeting;prin-ciplesinhumanresourceslikepersonneladminis-tration,humanmotivationandrelations,training,developmentandperformanceappraisals,andop-erationalmanagement.Inotherwords,riskman-agement,involveseveryaspectofanorganization’sstatusandoperations.Butwhataboutsecurityinaglobalsupplychain?Inthesupplychainthereareriskelementslikethirdparties,foreignshippers,carriers,weather,foreigngovernmentinvolvement,disruptionintheprocess,timing,language,cargoqualityandquantity,andotherforces.
Organizations(andfirms)needtofocustheirriskmanagementeffortsonwhattheycancontrol.Therefore,thosetaskedwithriskmanagementdu-tiesmustunderstandthreedefinitivecategories:nocontrol;directcontrol;andindirectcontrolwithindirectcontrolbeingthemostdifficultsincethefundamentalcomponentofriskisthehumanele-ment,themostdifficultelementtomanage.
NO control
Globalsupplychainmanagersunderstandthere’snotmuchtheycandoaboutthebreakoutofwarornationalhostility.Whathastraditionallybeenacceptedasnotunderthecontrolofanorgani-zationhasbeenexpressedinthelegalconceptof“forcemajeure”.
“Forcemajeure literallymeans“greaterforce”.Theseclausesexcuseapartyfromliabilityifsomeunforeseeneventbeyondthecontrolofthatpartypreventsitfromperformingitsobligationsunderacontract.Typically,forcemajeureclausescovernaturaldisastersorother“ActsofGod”,war,orthefailureofthirdparties--suchassuppliersandsubcontractors--toperformtheirobligationstothecontractingparty.Itisimportanttoremem-berthatforcemajeureclausesareintendedtoex-cuseapartyonlyifthefailuretoperformcould
"Those tasked with risk management duties must
understand three definitive categories: no control;
direct control; and indirect control."
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
By James Giermanski
©InterAmericanDevelopmentBank
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notbeavoidedbytheexerciseofduecarebythatparty.”(ForceMajeure,http://www.library.yale.edu/~llicense/forcegen.shtml)
DIRECT control
Withtheincrediblevolumeofrisksinvolvedinthesecurityofaninternationalmovementofcargo,itseemsthereshouldonlybeoneessentialfocus:thequalityandcompetencyofpersonnel,frommanagerswhohavehadtodevelopandmakepol-icytothosewhohavetocarryitout.Thus,peoplearethesinequanonofmanagingrisk,especiallywithrespecttosecurityinthesupplychain.Con-sequently,organizationsmustdevelopandadheretopoliciesthatarecarriedoutbyvetted,trustwor-thypeopleatalllevelsoftheorganization.
Twoexamples,onegovernmentandoneprivatesector,canbeusedtodemonstratethehumanroleinsupplychainsecurity:first,USCustomsandBorderProtection(CBP)recognizedthisinitsCustomsTradePartnershipAgainstTerrorism(C-TPAT);andsecond,thechain-of-custodycon-tainersecuritysystemnowbeginningtobeusedbytheprivatesector.Thehumanfactorisobvi-ousinC-TPAT’scorecomponentsthatincludethefollowing:
• Businesspartnersecurity: (a)“Writtenandverifiableprocessfortheselectionincludingmanufacturers,productsuppliersandvendors.”
• Proceduralsecurity:(i)protectagainstun-mani-festedmaterialbeingintroducedintoashipment;(ii)recordkeeping;(iii)internalcontrols–invento-ries;(iv)manifestprocedures;and(v)documen-tationverifications–quantity,quality,marking.
• Physicalsecurity: (i)surveillanceand light-ing;(ii)propercommunicationssystems;(iii)signageconsiderations;(iv)monitoringpro-grammeforsensorsandalarms;(v)facilities– fencing,guards,alarms; (vi) shippingandreceivingcontrols;and(vii)theftprevention–limitedaccesstoshippingareas,backdockprocedures(warehouserelatedactivityinre-ceivingorsendingcargo).
• Accesscontrols:(i)identificationrequirements–entryandexitlogs,photoid,escorts,pack-agescans.
• Personnelsecurity:(i)backgroundchecks–criminal,credit,driving,employmenthistory;
(ii)employmentscreening–background,drugscreening;(iii)codeofconduct–dis-tributedandacknowledged.
• Education, training,andthreatassess-ment:(i)employeerequirements,incen-tives.
• Informationtechnologysecurity:(i)pass-words,usageaccountability.
• Containersecurity:(i)stuffinganddestina-tioncontrols;(ii)breachdetectiondevices;and(iii)monitoringshipmentprogress.
• Containerinspection:(a)sevensidedin-spection(sides,ends/doors,ceiling/floor,undercarriage).
Eachoftheseinvolvestheactionsofpeople,fromtheproperselectionoftradepartnersby honest, competent managers, the de-velopmentofpoliciesandverifiableproc-esses,downtothecompetent inspectionofcontainersbywarehousedockperson-nel.Additionally,goodpersonnelselection,training,andfollow-upreviewlimit fraudandcargolossatterminalanddistributionsitesworldwide.Althoughtheprivatesec-tordoesnothaveaccesstothedataminingandintegratingsoftwareusedbyintelligenceandlawenforcementagencies,goodback-ground,criminal,andcreditchecksmustbemadeonallpersonnel,especiallyforfirmsinvolved with handling cargo in a globalsupplychain.
INDIRECT control
Assumingtheuseofgoodpersonnel,thereisstilltheissueoftheftoutsidethecontroloftheshipper,consignee,orcarrier.There-fore, systems must be used to track andcontrolcargofromitscontainerstuffingatorigintoitsunloadingatdestination.Smartcontainerusagethatemployscontrolfromorigintodestinationaddressesthe“indirectcontrol”risk.Ineffect,the“chain-of-custody”treatmentofcargocanbethemirrorimageofthetreatmentofevidenceforprosecutionpurposes–forinstance:
• What evidence was found by the lawenforcement officer = what cargo wasactuallyloaded.
21WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Dr. James R. Giermanski (Jim) is the Chairman of Powers Global Hold-ings, Inc. and President of Powers International, LLC, an international transportation security company. He was a Regents Professor at Tex-as A&M International University (TAMIU) and is a member of the graduate faculty at the University of North Carolina in Charlotte (UNC Charlotte). Besides having ser ved as Director of Transportation and Lo-gistics Studies at TAMIU’s Center for the Study of Western Hemispheric Trade, Jim is a reviewer for the US National Research Council’s Trans-portation Research Board. He has authored over 130 articles, books, and monographs, and has been published extensively on transpor-tation and trade issues in addition to having written the International Insight column in Logistics Manage-ment for five years.
As a former FBI special agent, OSI special agent and a Colonel in the Office of Special Investiga-tions where he handled counter-intelligence matters, he currently provides transportation security lectures on C-TPAT, and other Cus-toms and Border Protection (CBP) programmes. Jim holds a Masters degree from UNC Charlotte, a Masters degree from Florida Inter-national University, and a Doctorate from the University of Miami.
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WCO News – No 62 – June 201022
• Identificationoftheofficerwhofoundtheevidence=identificationoftheac-countableindividualverifyingthecargo.
• Officer’ssignatureasthefirstcomponentoforlinkintheevidencechain=anelec-tronicsignatureofthepersonverifyingthatthepropercargoandquantitywasloaded.
• Thecontrolofevidencebyathirdpartyintheevidenceroomawaitinguseintrial=third-partycommandcenter’scontrolofcargomovement,breachdetectionandnotifications.
• ReceiptandRemovalofevidencefortrial=re-ceiptandUnloadingofthecargobyanidenti-fied,accountablepersonatdestination.
Thus,likethechainofevidence,supplychainriskmanagementisfundamentallyanissueofcontrol.Whatisabsolutelyclearisthatthe“humanele-ment”istheessentialcoreofthatissue.Globalsupplychainandcontainersecuritysystemsareinextricablylinkedtodetailedpersonnelselection,theircompetence,andperformance.Controllingrisksinanyinternationalsupplychainsystemmustbegin,beexecutedby,andendwiththehumancomponent.Therefore,thatcombinationofdirectcontrolinpersonnelselection,andindirectcontrolofintermediariesthroughsystems–humanqualitycombinedwithsystemquality–isorshouldbethemainfocusofriskmanagementwithintheglobalsupplychain.
More [email protected]
Global supply chain and container
security systems are inextricably linked to
detailed personnel selection, their
competence, and performance.
OMD actualités – No 62 – Juin 2010
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WCO puts risk management under the microscope
Lastest developments
TheCustomsinthe21stCentury(C21)strategicpolicyapprovedbytheWCO
CouncilduringitsannualsessionsinJune2008,identifiedtheneedforapositiveandproactiveapproachtothemanage-mentofCustoms.ThethirdbuildingblockinC21identifies intelligence-driven risk managementasoneofthe10keybuildingblocksofaforward-lookingstrategyforCustoms.TogiveeffecttothedirectionoftheCouncil’sthinking,theSecretariathasbeenundertakingareviewofexist-ingWCOriskmanagementinstrumentsandtools.
ResearchhasidentifiedawidevarietyofresourcesattheWCOthatdealwithriskmanagementinvaryingdegrees.Theseinclude, interalia,the2003WCORiskManagementGuide,therevisedKyotoConvention,theGlobalIntelligenceandInformationStrategyanditse-learningmodules,andtheWCOCapacityBuild-ing Development Compendium. How-ever,noneoftheseindividualresourcescompletelyexplaintheimplementationofCustomsRiskManagementorthedetailbehindtheconceptsofintelligence-driven risk managementoramulti-layeredriskmanagementapproach.
Thepurposeofthereviewistodraftasin-glecompendiumthatwillprovideWCOMemberswitha framework for imple-mentingorganizationalriskmanagementsystems,togetherwithinstructionsandmethodstoapplyriskmanagementandassessmentthroughoutanadministration.
ThenewRiskManagementCompendiumacknowledgesandbuildsuponexistingWCOriskmanagementmaterialwiththescopeexpandedtoinclude,asappropriate,workdonebytheInternationalStandards
Organization(ISO)onriskmanagementstandardsingeneral.LinkswillbedrawnfromdocumentssuchastheISO/IEC73-Vocabulary,theISO/IEC31000-PrinciplesandGuidelinesonImplementation,andtheISO31010-RiskAssessmentTech-niques,aswellasotherrelevantreferencesandexperiencesinthisfield.
RiskManagementhasbeenapriorityforWCOcapacitybuildingsupportformanyyears.TheSafeFrameworkofStandardsrecognizesriskmanagementasoneofitscorecomponentsandtheColumbusPro-grammehasbeenprovidingassistanceindifferentformatstosupportimplemen-tationthroughdiagnostics,developmentconsultancies,training,seminars,etc.
DiagnosticmissionsconductedundertheColumbusProgrammerevealthatmanyCustomsadministrationshavealreadyin-troducedbasicprocedures,routinesandsolutionsforoperationalriskmanage-
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
ment.However,theyalsorevealthatinmanycasesitissomewhatlimitedtoriskassessmentandtargeting,mainlyfocus-ingonCustoms’revenuecollectionrole.
Fromaglobalperspective,thereisaneedforfurtherdevelopmentofriskmanage-ment to improve risk prevention, riskmitigationandcorrespondingallocationofresourcesbasedonintelligence-drivenriskdecisions.Theseissuesareexpectedtobefurtherexploredanddevelopeddur-ingthecomingWCORiskManagementForuminJune2010.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
s P e C i A l D O s s i e R
WCO risk management activities
Riskmanagementiskeytotheoverallreconciliationoftherequirementsof
enforcement,securityandfacilitation.OneofthebiggestchallengesCustomsadministrations are facing today is todeterminehowtobestapplyriskman-agementtoidentifyandmitigateriskattheoperationallevel.Astheonlyinter-nationalintergovernmentalorganizationthatdealswithCustomsproceduresgov-erningtradebetweencountries,theWCOhasdevelopedavarietyofdifferenttoolswhichcanassistandfacilitateitsMem-bers’workinmanagingrisk.
WCO Global Information and Intelligence Strategy
Intelligenceisakeycomponentofriskmanagement. It is produced from thecollectionandprocessingofinformationandisusedprimarilybyCustomsdeci-sion-makersatalllevelstosupporttheirdecision-makingprocesses.
TheWCOGlobalInformationandIntelli-genceStrategy(GIIS)setsoutwhatintel-ligenceis,identifiesitsactualorpotentialsource,forwhomitisbeingproduced;andwhyitisneeded.GIISalsosetsouttheintelligencecycle;fundamentalprinciplesandprocessesthatunderpinall intelli-genceactivity.
Risk Assessment, Profiling and Selectivity
Attheoperationallevel,riskassessment,profilingandselectivityformanimpor-tantpartofCustoms’workinrelationtobordercontrols.Thepurposeofbordercontrolsistoensurethatallmovementsofgoods,conveyancesandpersonsthatcrossnationalbordersoccurwithinthelaws, regulationsandprocedures thatgovernthem.
A common characteristic of a bordercrossingisthehighvolumeofimports,exportsandpassengers,makingitimpos-sibletocheckeverythingandeveryone.Thesolutionistoconcentrateresources
onidentifyingandexamininghigh-riskpassengers,cargoandconveyances.
InordertoassistitsMemberstomoreef-ficientlyallocatetheirresourcestoidenti-fiedhigh-riskareas,theWCOSecretariatdevelopedseveraltrainingmodulesonRiskAssessment,ProfilingandSelectivity:AirCargoandAircraftforFrontlineCus-tomsOfficers;PassengersforFrontlineCustomsOfficersatAirports;VesselsandSeaCargoforFrontlineOfficers;TraininginRiskManagementforSupervisors;andFrontlineCustomsOfficersatLandBorderCrossings.Updatedversionswillbeavail-ableforWCOMembersin2011.
Inadditiontothemodules,anothermod-ulehasbeendevelopedundertheWCOe-learningprogram(CustomsControls,RiskAssessment,ProfilingandSelectivity)tohelpCustomsofficersdecidehowtouseavailableresourcestoselectpassengersand/orgoodstobecontrolled,andhowthoroughthecontrolsshouldbe.
Risk Indicators
RiskprofilingisthemeansbywhichCus-tomsputsriskmanagementintoprac-tice. It replaces random examinationofdocumentsandgoodswithplannedandtargetedworkingmethods,makingmaximumuseofCustomsresources.Theprofilingprocessisbasedonspecifiedse-lectivitycriteriacalledriskindicators.
TheWCOSecretariathasseveralinstru-mentsthatidentifythemostcommonriskindicators,enablingWCOMemberstodeveloptheirownsetofriskindicatorsfordailyusebyfrontlineofficers:Stand-ardized Risk Assessments; Model RiskIndicators/Profiles; General High-RiskIndicators;andtheHandbookforCus-tomsOfficersonRiskIndicators:FactorsforIntellectualPropertyInfringement.TogetherwithWCOMembers,theSecre-tariatisalsocurrentlyproducingriskindi-catordocumentsandmanualsforair,seaandlandbordercrossingsbasedonthedifferentlogisticalstages(pre-arrival,ar-
rivalandpost-arrival).Thesedocumentswillbefinalizedin2011.
Analysis Guidelines
Riskanalysisisanessentialpartofriskas-sessmentandprovidesvaluableinforma-tiontodecision-makersonwhetherrisksunderconsiderationneedtobetreatedaswellasavailableandmostappropriatetreatmentpossibilities.Withinthiscon-text,theWCOSecretariatisintheproc-essofdevelopinganalysisguidelinesforMembersoutliningthebasicprinciples,processesandtypesofriskanalysis.TheseAnalysisGuidelineswillbemadeavailablein2011also.
CEN - Customs Enforcement Network
Analyzingdataoninternationalseizurescan improveaWCOMember’sunder-standingofglobalrisksandallowthemtorefinetheirprofilingandtargetingactiv-ity.ThereforetoolssuchastheCustomsEnforcementNetwork(CEN),whichoffersplentyofdifferentfeatures(seizureandconcealmentpicturedatabases,acom-munication network, an alert system,etc.)canbeaveryusefulinstrumentandassistMembersinmanagingrisksespe-ciallyinthefield.
Annual Reports
TheSecretariatpreparesannualreportsondrugs,tobaccoandintellectualprop-ertyrightswhichprovideaglobalover-viewofillicittradeintheseproducts.TheyassistCustomsadministrationstobetterunderstandthelatesttrendsintheriskenvironment,enablingthemtoprepareamoreefficientresponsetotherisksposedbythesespecificproductsonsociety.
Post Clearance Audit
Audit-basedcontrolscomplementriskanalysismethods.Theybothcontributetomaintainingthebalancebetweentradefacilitationandcontrol.PostClearance
24 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Risk management: key enablersby David Widdowson
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Auditisregardedasoneofthemostef-fectivemeasuresforcomplianceverifica-tionandfordetectingcommercialfraud,especiallyvaluationfraud.
ConsideringthatanumberofCustomsadministrationsarestillinneedofassist-anceinthisfield,WCOGuidelinesonPostClearanceAudit(PCA)weredeveloped
andareaimedatprovidingspecificguid-anceonessentialelementstointroducePCA.TheGuidelinesalsoincludeacom-pilationofexistingbestpractices.
A package of essential tools soon
Mostofthetoolsmentionedinthisarti-clewillbeincorporatedintothe“Toolsfor
RiskManagement”sectionoftheWCORiskManagementCompendiumthattheSecretariatplanstopublishinJune2011(seearticleonpage23).
More [email protected]
Much has been written about the management of risk in the Customs context, and there is no shortage of commentary on best practice procedures, operational guidelines, strategic frameworks, and so on. Rather than cover old ground, in this article I will focus on what I consider to be some of the more critical yet often overlooked enablers of effective risk management.
hadbeenassignedtoaddress,itbecameapparentthat,formanyeconomies,theprimaryreasonforimplementingthevari-ousinitiativeshadverylittletodowithmitigatingtheriskofterrorismattempts–itwasmoreconcernedwithmaintain-ingahealthytradingrelationshipwiththeUnitedStates.Notwishingtodebatethemeritsorotherwiseofsuchastandpoint,theimportantconsiderationfromariskmanagement perspective is to ensurethattherelevantriskhasbeenproperly
identified,toavoidthepossibilityofin-troducingextraneousvariablesintothesubsequentriskmanagementdecision-makingprocess.
Appreciate the value of identify-ing low risks
Itisnowwidelyacceptedthattraderswithagoodrecordofcompliancerequirealowerlevelofscrutinythanthosewithahistoryofpoorcompliance,orthoseaboutwhichlittleisknown.ThisconceptisintegraltotheWCO’sSAFEFrame-workofStandardswhichpromotesarangeofbenefitsforAuthorisedEco-nomicOperators(AEO)byvirtueoftheirlowriskstatus.Alongwithother‘trustedtrader’regimes,theAEOprogrammere-flectssoundprinciplesofriskmanage-mentbyidentifyinglowriskmembersoftheinternationaltradingcommunitytoreducethesizeofthe‘riskpie’,thereby
Understand the true nature of risk
WheneverI’maskedtoprovideacom-mentaryonriskmanagement,myfirstquestionis,‘Risktowhat?’.Determiningtheanswertothisquestionisnotalwaysassimpleasitsounds.Forexample,short-lyafter9/11,IinterviewedseniorofficialsfromtwentyCustomsadministrationswhohadbeentaskedwithimplementingarangeofsupplychainsecurityinitiatives.Indiscussingtherisksthattheseofficers
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aidingthedeploymentofresourcesto-wardspotentiallyhigh-riskoperators.
ComparethispositiontothetraditionalCustomsauditwhichisintendedtoassessthedegreetowhichacompanyiscomply-ingwiththerelevantregulatoryrequire-mentsandnot,assomeassume,simplytodetecterrorsinacompany’sregulatorydealings.Theimportantpointhereisthatsuchanassessment,regardlessofthere-sult,assistsindeterminingwherefuturecomplianceresourcesshouldbedirected.Acorollarytothis is thatanauditor’sfindingofcomplianceisequallyasgooda‘result’asafindingofnon-compliance.Thisisoftenoverlooked,sinceafindingofnon-compliancegenerallybringswithit
atangiblerevenuereturntogovernmentwhereastheidentificationofacomplianttraderdoesnot.
Accept that political risks are a priority
Thehighestrisksfacinganyorganisation,includingCustomsadministrations,arepoliticalinnature.Failingtoeffectivelymanagetheseriskswillsignificantlyun-derminetheorganisation’scredibility.At
anationallevel,themitigationofpoliticalriskstranslatesintogovernmentprioritysettingwhichisreflectedinaneconomy’sfocusonparticularelementsofitsCus-tomschartersuchasrevenuecollection,peoplesmuggling,security,ortradefa-cilitation.Ifrequentlyseeadministrationsbeingcriticisedfordirectingtheireffortsandresourcestowardscertainactivitiesatthedirectexpenseofwhatothermem-bersoftheinternationalCustomscom-munityconsidermoreimportantCustomsfunctions.Thebottomlineisthat,inanyeconomy,themanagementofpoliticalriskswillalwaystakeprecedence.
Onemeansofmitigatingpoliticalriskswhichisoftenoverlooked,istosecurean
activeroleforCustomsinthegovernmentpolicy-makingprocess.Forexample,sooftenrevenuetargets–atermthatIab-hor–aresetintheabsenceofanyappar-entscientificrigour.Inmanycases,weseepoliticallyexpedienttargetsof‘xpercentabovelastyear’scollections’.ACustomsinputintotherevenueforecastingproc-esswillattheveryleasthelptoavoidaFinanceMinistryfait accompli whichwilldominatetheadministration’sfocusforthefollowingtwelvemonths.
Achieve congruence
Intervention by exceptionisatermwhichIfirstcoinedinthe80stodescribearegu-latorycompliancestrategythatisbasedontheprinciplesof riskmanagement.Itimpliesregulatoryinterventionwhenthereisalegitimateneedforit;interven-tionbasedonidentifiedrisk.Andwhilemany administrations now espouse apolicyofinterventionbyexception,thereisroutinelyalackofcongruencebetweenorganisational policy and operationalpractice.
IoncewatchedaparticularSouthEastAsianadministrationrituallyopeneachandeveryexpressconsignmentthathadarrivedearlierthatmorning.Ipointedtoapassingtruckthatwascarryingacon-tainerfromthenearbywharf,andaskedtheRegionalDirectorwhetherthesamelevelofCustomsscrutinywasappliedtoseacargo.Theanswerwasapredictable‘no’,butthereasonwasnotsopredict-able–‘riskmanagement’.Thisexplana-tioncommonlybeliesthetrueoperationalapproachofmanyadministrations,thatis,whatcanbeexaminedwillbeexam-ined,regardlessoftherisk.Furthermore,thenumberof ‘high risk transactions’tendstobedirectlyproportionaltotheresourcesavailabletoconducttheneces-saryexaminations.Forexample,thein-spectionrateofcargoshippedbyamajorforwarderincreasedsignificantlyduringtherecentglobaleconomiccrisis,andIwassomewhatbemusedtodiscoverthatthesamenumberofinspectionswasbe-ingconductedthroughoutthatperiodde-spitethefactthattheleveloftradehadplummeted.Idoubt,however,thatthetrader’sriskratinghadchangeddramati-callyduringthatperiod.
Unfortunately,suchastateofaffairsisnot uncommon. Administrations tendtogotogreatlengthstoshowtheyhaveintroducedariskmanagementpolicybutthereiscommonlyalackofcongruencebetweenthewrittenpolicyandwhathap-pensinpractice.Atopicalexampleisthecurrentdebateonhowbesttomitigatesecurityrisks.Considerthis–ifatrader
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According to the WCO Risk Management Guide, all organizations benefits from the application of a risk management strategy since this benefits organizational performance as a whole. Risk management in any organization consists of well-defined steps which, when taken in sequence, support better decision making by contributing to greater insight into risks and their impact.
ForCustomsadministrations,theadoptionofriskmanagementasanorganizationalphiloso-
phyisessentialsinceitprovidesquantifiableim-provementsintheeffectivenessandefficiencyoftheadministrationasawhole.Riskmanagementcanoperateinanyorganizationwithmanualorautomatedapplicationsrangingfromtacticaltostrategicapproaches.Itcanbeappliedtonearlyeverydecision-makingsituationalso.
IntheSouthAfricancontext,Customsriskman-agement–thesystematicapplicationofmanage-ment procedures and practices which provideCustomswiththenecessaryinformationtoad-dressmovementsorconsignmentswhichpresentarisk–hasbeenpartoftheoperationalapproachformanyyearsintheformofanenterprisewideBusinessIntelligenceUnit,andmorerecentlytheCustomsRiskManagementDivision(CRM)whosemainpurposeistheidentification,classification,disseminationandmitigationofcompliancerisk.
VariousCRMofficers(OperationalSpecialists:Risk)aredeployedtoeithertheCentralRiskUnit(CRU)basedinportsandofficesaroundthecoun-try,ortheNationalTargetingCentre(NTC)whichwasestablishedduring2009.
OfficersintheCRUareresponsiblemainlyforfo-cusingontacticalportandregionalspecificcom-plianceriskissuesandcases,inlinewithnationalstrategicparameters,andsupportportoperationsbyperforming,onadailybasis,riskidentification,analysisandproductdissemination/mitigation.
Managing risk in practise: South Africa shares her experience
27
demonstratesacommitmenttoglobalsupplychainsecuritybyachievingandmaintainingAEOstatus,doestherere-mainagenuinelyrisk-basedneedforthecargotobescanned,andforthetradertoprovideadvanceinformationtotheauthoritieswhograntedthatstatus?
Achieve internal congruence
Theissueofcongruencealsoextendstotheinternalmechanismsofanorganisa-tion.Againandagain,Iseethesituationwhereanofficerhascorrectlyappliedtherelevantpolicyonriskmanagement,onlytolaterdiscoveraproblemwiththeconsignmentortransactioninquestion.Theresult?Managerialdispleasureandtheallocationof‘blame’.Itisinevitablethatsomethingswillslipthroughthecracks–noteventhemosteffectiveriskmanagement system is fail-safe, andmanagersneedtorecogniseandacceptthisfactandsupporttheirstaffindeedaswellasinword.Itremindsmeofacertainpolitician’swarningtoanadministrationthatwasdebatingtheformalintroduc-tionofriskmanagement:‘Iwishyouluckbutyouwillbeheldaccountableifany-thinggoeswrong!’
Iwouldliketoleaveyouwiththispart-ingthought.Itisatruismthat,evenwiththebestsystemsandproceduresinplace,thingswillgowrongfromtimetotimeanditisthereforeincumbentonman-agerstofocusnotonlyonhowrisksaremanagedbutonhowthosewhomanagetherisksaresupported.
Professor David Wid-dowson is the CEO of the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies at the University of Canberra in Australia. He is also Editor-in-Chief of the World Customs Journal, and the President of the International Network of Customs Universities.
More [email protected]
Officers must, on a
daily basis, collect
relevant data,
analyse, compare
and weigh this
data, then make
logical deductions
and derive findings
that will focus
efforts on high risk
or the highest risk
consignments.
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Themainrecipientsoftheserisk-relatedproductsaretheoperationalcargoteams,theenforcementteams(forexample,theCustomsBorderControlUnit),andPostClearanceAuditteams.
Inordertoperformtheirtasks,officersmust,onadailybasis,collectrelevantdata(andthisis collected from databaseswithin Customs or externalto Customs), analyse, com-pareandweighthisdata,thenmake logicaldeductionsandderive findings that will fo-cuseffortsonhighriskorthehighestriskconsignments.Anofficerthereforefollows,onadailybasis,thestepsofestab-lishingthecontext,identifyingtherisk,analysingtherisk,as-sessingandprioritisingtheriskandthenaddressingtherisk.
Ariskmanagementofficer isas such responsible for sup-porting operations throughmanagingriskand“fillingthegaps”wherethesemayoccur.Operationalstaffhavespecificskillsandmustbedirectedtofocusareaswheretheirskillscanbeoptimallyused,andthiscanonlybedoneiftheyknowwhichconsignmentshavebeenidentifiedaspotentiallybeingofhighrisk.Clearly,operationalstaffshouldnotspendtimeonperformingmethodologicalriskmanagementstepswhichareperformedbytheCRM.
However, it is essential to note that as risk is“owned”byOperations,themerefactthatriskmanagementofficersperformthedailymethodo-logicalstepsasindicated,doesnotdetractfromthefactthatCustomsofficersatalllevelsandinallareassupporttheriskprocessbyforexample,reportingonsuspiciousactivities,reportingthor-oughlyandwithinrequiredtimeframesoninci-dentsandinterventions,supplyfeedbackonrisksthatweretobetested,etc.Thepointofpivotalim-portanceisthatriskmanagementofficersdonotowntheprocessofrisk;riskmanagementmerelyfulfilstheroleofatechnicalorsupportexperts.
StaffintheNationalTargetingCentreareresponsi-bleforidentifying,evaluating,classifyingandtrack-ingcomplianceriskandmustprescribeoperationalresponsesinrelationtoharmfulgoodsaswellasactivitiesofindividualsandotherentitiesandpar-ticipantsinthesupplychainresponsibleformove-mentsofgoodsacrossSouthAfrica’sbordersandthroughitsterritorywhereaseriouscommercialand/orsecuritythreatataninternational,regionaland/ornationallevelisposed.TheCustomsNTCisthereforeresponsibleforidentifyingandinter-pretingtheinternational,regionalandnationaleconomicandsecurityenvironment,toalignitsfocusaccordingtothreatsmanifestedineachandtoadviseontheimplementationofmeasuresinordertomitigatethreatsinadvanceinasfarasimported;exportedortransitgoodsareconcerned.
TheNTCaimstoensurethatthefollowingaremadearealityduringthe2010/11financialyear:thepre-loadingoftargetingofgoods,peopleandconveyanc-es(“Tier1”targetingbasedonadvanceinformation);thedevelopmentandmaintenanceofthenationaldefaultweightsets/profilesbasedondifferentriskandthreatassessments;tosupportport-leveltar-getingandpre-selectionhubs(Note:Preselectionhubsmaybedevelopedbasedonmodalitiesandaredependentonadvancedelectronicinformation);themaintenanceofasystemofalerts;thedevelopmentandmaintenanceofnationalseizureandoffenceda-tabases;andtocomputeriskandthreatlevels.
Riskmanagementstaffmustbeinquisitive,under-standthebusinessofCustoms,andapplysystem-aticallytheknowledgetheyhaveinordertoderiveempiricalresultsthatwillguideoperationalefforts.Fromtheaboveexamples,itisevidentthatthefieldofriskmanagementisessentialinaresourcechallengedenvironment,notonlyfromarevenueperspectivebutalsofromasecurityperspective,andallCustomsadministrationsshouldadoptriskmanagementprinciplesandestablishariskman-agementcapacityinordertoensurefocusedandcosteffectiveoperations.
More informationwww.sars.gov.za
The field of risk management is essential
in a resource challenged environment,
not only from a revenue perspective but
also from a security perspective.
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How to modernize risk analysis and the selectivity of Customs controls in developing countries?
by Anne-Marie Geourjon, Grégoire Rota Graziosi and Bertrand Laporte
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
TheWCO’s revisedKyotoConvention (RKC)recommendsthatphysicalcontrolsbelimited.
ThisisalsooneoftheproposalsbeingdiscussedaspartoftheWTOnegotiationsontradefacilitation.
Also,thepromotionofethicalconductisanim-portantaspectofthereformsbeingundertakenindevelopingcountriesinordertomodernizetheirCustomsservices,andlimitationofcontrolsises-sentialinordertoaddresstherisksofcollusionbetweenofficerandimporter,whicharegreatestpriortotheremovalofgoods.Thismeansthattherecanbenoalternativetothetargetingandselectivityofcontrols.Howeversomereluctancehasbeenencountered:onthepartofstaff,whoaredisinclinedtochangetheirworkingmethodsandfearthattheywilllosebenefits;andonthepartofauthorities,concernedabouttheirCustomsrevenuesand,therefore,worriedbytheideaofre-leasinggoodswithoutphysicalinspection,astheyrepresent“security”forthedutiesandtaxespay-able.Thisiswhyitisnecessarytoidentifyoptimalconditionsfortargetingoperationsforcontrols,sothatthereisnoriskoflossofrevenue.
Theselectivityofcontrolsinvolvesidentifyingthemosthighriskoperationsanddirectingthedecla-rationsintodifferentcontrolchannelsasappropri-ate.Targetingisperformedeitherusingtraditionalmethods,orusingmoreinnovativemethodswhichemploymodernriskanalysistools.
Inthetraditionalmethods,targetingiscarriedoutonarandombasisand/orusingriskcriteria.Theidentificationoftheriskcriteriaiscarriedout“manually”andreliesontheCustomsofficer’sexperienceand judgement,basedonavailableinformationontransactionhistories,orbasedonintelligence.Thetargetingcriteria,validatedbyaCommitteeperhaps,arefactoredintotheITsystem’sselectivitymoduleandare,intheory,re-viewedperiodically.Therearetwodrawbackstothesemethods:theyrelyonhumaninterventionandjudgement,whichconstitutesariskinitself;andtheyrequireagreatdealofeffort inordertoadapt,inrealtime,tonewformsofCustomsfraud.Hencetheattractionofeliminatinghumaninterventiontothegreatestextentpossibleby
usingmoresophisticatedautomaticriskanalysismethods.
Theideaistoadoptanapproachidenticaltothatemployedinmanysectors(banking,insurance,nuclearenergy)foranalysingrisk,basedontheuseofscientificmethods,andadaptittotheCus-tomscontext.Thisistheapproachtakenbyprivatefirmsinparticularthatmarketriskanalysissystems(Smartlane,Profiler,SIAR,WebFountain,etc)toCustomsadministrations.
Thetargetingsystemisbasedonfourdifferentapproaches:thefirstconsistsofcheckinganyop-erationthatinvolvesunknownqualities(newim-porter,forexample);thesecondisbasedontheinspectionoftheimportdeclarationandthestatis-ticalstudyoftheoverallseriesandpasthistoryoffraudinordertoassesstherisk;thethirdinvolvesthesystematiccontrolofanoperationonthebasisoffactorslinkedtocertaincharacteristics;andthefourthconsistsofapurelyrandomselection,usedinparticulartoregulatetherateofcontrols.Itisthesecondapproachwhichformstheheartofthesystemandgivesitits“rational”(non-subjective)character,enablingtheentiretargetingsystemtobeautomated.
Withthisapproach,eachnewclearanceopera-tionhasafraudprobability(overallscore).Forthispurpose,fraudcriteria(forexample,importer,product,origin,etc)areinitiallyidentifiedusinghistoricaldata;next,weightingcoefficientswhichreflecttherelativeimportanceofeachcriterionareappliedtothem.Therelevantfraudcriteriaandtheirweightingsaredeterminedusingascientificmethod,forexamplebyeconometricanalysis.Anynewclearanceoperationwillthenbegivenanover-allscorewhichevaluatestheriskoffraud(thepre-dictedprobabilityoffraud)withreferencetothecharacteristicsoftheoperation(thefraudcriteria).Thisscoreenablesthedeclarationtobedirectedautomaticallyintooneofthecontrolchannels.Aproportionofthedeclarationsdirectedtothegreenchannelaresubsequentlyredirectedunderthefourthapproach.Approachesoneandthreecanbeusedtodirectoperationsstraighttotheredchannel.Theresultsofcontrolsarefedin,continu-
The selectivity of
controls involves
identifying the
most high risk
operations and
directing the
declarations into
different control
channels
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ouslyenhancingthedatahistory,andthisenablesthefraudcriteriaandtheirweightingcoefficientstobekeptup-to-date.
Thisapproachhasbeentestedbytwocountries1inAfrica.CountryAemploystheservicesofapre-inspectioncompany,whereascountryBhasneverusedsuchservices,butrecordsalllitigationcasesinitsITsystem.IntuitivelycountryB’smethodshouldbelesseffective,becausethequalityoftheavailableinformationislower.Thepredictivepowerofthemethodisevaluatedbyrecalculating,post-facto,thetotalscorewhichwouldhavebeenassignedtoeachoperation,andlookingatwhethertheoperationwasinfactfraudulent.IncountryA,bycontrollingjust25%ofoperations,themethodpicksup93%oftheadjustmentscarriedoutbythepre-inspectioncompany.IncountryB,bycon-trolling2.3%ofoperations,themethodpicksup83.8%ofoperationsgivingrisetolitigation.Usingaprivatecompanyto“guarantee”thatdatawillbeof“good”qualityisnotessentialwhendevelopingasystemofthiskind.
Assumingthatthereisasignificantrelationshipbe-tweenthenumberofcasesoffraudidentifiedandtheamountexpectedtobederivedfromadjust-ments,thegoodpredictivepowerofthemethodensuresthatrevenueswillbestableintheshortterm.Inthemediumterm,thescientificandau-tomaticnatureofthemethod,byreducingthein-tegrityrisk(corruptbehaviour)aswellasenablingthequalityofcontrolstobeimprovedwillhaveapositiveimpactonrevenue.Theimpactontradefacilitationisimmediate!
Whattechnicalcapabilitiesarerequiredtoputthiskindofsystemintooperation?Thescientificanaly-sisofhistoricaldatacallsforpost-universitylevelskillsindataminingandstatisticaldecisiontheory.Thesystem,althoughautomated,doesnotrequire“heavy-duty”programming,butanintegrated,openclearancesystem.Post-clearancecontrolsandinvestigativeandintelligenceactivitiesarenecessaryinordertohuntoutnewfraudtrendsandfeedthesystemmorerapidlythanwouldbethecasewiththepurelyrandomselectionofop-erationstobecontrolled.
Leving aside the specific skills of data miningandstatisticaldecisiontheory,Customshastheknow-howrequired.Onequestionremains–can
1Geourjon,A-M.andB.Laporte(2005):“Riskmanagementfortargetingcus-tomscontrolsindevelopingcountries:ariskyventureforrevenueperform-ance?”,Public Administration and Development,25,p.105-113;Geourjon,A-M.andB.Laporte(2004):“L’analysederisquepourciblerlescontrôlesdouaniersdanslespaysendéveloppement:uneaventurerisquéepourlesrecettes?”,Politique et Management Public, Vol.22,n°4, p.96-109.
theadministration’scom-mitmenttothisprojectcreatethesynergywhichisvitaltoitssuccess,par-ticularlyintermsofmo-bilizingthenecessaryre-sourcesandestablishingappropriateinstitutionalstructures?
Recoursetoprivatesec-tor services can be en-visagedtohelpCustomsusesystemsofthiskindwhich operate on thebasis of Customs data;thiscouldinvolveeithersoftwareacquisitionandstart-up (design phaseonly),oranoutsourcingcontract(designandim-plementation).However,recent work2 based oninformation theory hashighlighted the incom-patibilityofassociatingwithinthesamecontract,i.e.,withthesameprivatecompany,an inspectionprogrammeforimportsandaCustomsmoderni-zationobjective(includingriskanalysis).Thisisbe-causeacompanywhichisbeingpaidbyacountrytocarryoutinspections,whetherpre-shipmentoratdestination,hasnointerestinsucceedingwiththesecondobjectiveofCustomsmodernization,therebyputtinganendtoahighlylucrativeinspec-tionprogramme.Thesuccessofthesecontractswilldependuponcompliancewithcertainrules3oncompatibilityofthecontractobjectives,modesofpayment,informationflows4,andevencontractingparties(MinistryofFinanceorRevenueAuthor-ityforaninspectionprogramme,Customsforthemodernizationobjective).
More informationCERDI-CNRS, University of Auvergnewww.u-clermont1.fr
2Dequiedt,V.,Geourjon,A.-M.andG.Rota-Graziosi,2009,“LesProgrammesdeVérificationdesImportations(PVI)àlalumièredelathéoriedel’agence”,Afrique Contemporaine,230(2),151-166;Dequiedt,V.,Geourjon,A.-M.andG.Rota-Graziosi,2009,“OntheDesignofPreshipmentInspectionPro-grams”,EtudesetDocumentsduCERDIN°10.
3Ineconomics,therecentbranchof“contracttheory”aimstoidentifytheoptimalcontractforthePrincipal,i.e.,thecontractingpublicauthority.
4Inthisconnection,itisnotdesirableforcontractsrelatingtoimportinspectionprogrammestoincludethetaskofprovidingCustomswiththeriskanalysisresultstobeusedforselectivitypurposes.
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Between2006and2009,the Inter-nationalOrganizationforMigration
(IOM)ledanECfundedprojecttoassistthecountryinthedesignandimplemen-tationofanationalstrategyandactionplanonintegratedbordermanagement.Risk analysis formed one of the com-ponents of the project, reflecting theauthorities’ awareness of the frictionbetweenontheonehand,thenecessitytoestablisheffectivebordercontrolandontheotherhand,thelimitedphysicalmeansattherelevantagencies’disposal.
The Balkans region is, and always hasbeen,animportanttransitpointforgoodsandpeopletoandfromtheEU.Addition-ally,BosniaandHerzegovinaisincreas-inglyasourceanddestinationcountryforcross-bordertrafficaswell.Thesheervol-umeoftrafficmakesitpracticallyimpos-sibletocarryout100%checks.However,theprocessofdeterminingwhattocheckandwhattoskipwasinmanyrespectsstillinitsinfancy.
Fromtheoutsetoftheprojecttherewasaclearconsensusamongthestakeholders(IndirectTaxationAuthority,BorderPo-lice,StateVeterinaryOffice,StatePlantHealthProtectionAgency,andtheServiceforForeigners’Affairs)thatinter-agencycooperationwouldaddsignificantvaluetotheprocessofriskanalysis.However,theformofthisinteragencycooperationwaslesswellunderstood.TheMinistryofSecurityandtheheadsofthebordermanagement agencies also graduallygrewaccustomedtothethoughtofgoingbeyondamereexchangeofliaisonoffic-ers.Theconveningofsenior-levelstudyvisitstoRotterdamharbor,totheWCO,
andtoHeathrow’sJointBorderOperationCenterassistedthedevelopmentofbothasharedunderstandingandthenecessaryconceptualbuy-inforthe ideaofcen-tralizationandthepartialamalgamationoftheanalyticalfunctionsofthebordermanagementagenciesintoasingleJointAnalysisCentre(JAC).TheagenciesthenestablishedtheJAC,throughan inter-agencyMOU,asadepartmentwithintheBorderPolice,butstaffedbyallagenciesonasecondmentbasis.
The objective of the JAC is to supplyparticipatingagencieswithactionableoperationallevelinformationaswellaswithstrategiclevelinformationongen-eraltrendsanddevelopmentsincross-bordertraffic.TheworkplanoftheJACisagreedperiodicallybetweenthepartici-patingbordermanagementagencies.TheagenciesprovidetheJACwithanupdatedreplicaoftheircorporatedatathrougheach agency’s Local Analysis Center(LAC)datawarehouse.Forexample,in-formationfromasingleagency’svariousinternaldatabasesisfirstfunneledtoitsownLACwhere it isprocessedforthe
s P e C i A l D O s s i e R
organization’sownanalyticalpurposes.Itisthen(partiallyorwholly)replicatedforanalysisofpossibleinter-agencyrela-tionsortrendsindatabytheJAC.Thisrequiredanextensiveandongoingprocessofstandardizationandnormalizationofdatainordertobeabletoestablishlinksbetween fields from the databases ofthedifferentorganizations,orevenfromwithinoneorganization.
Confidentiality and privacy of data isprotectedbysynchronizedanonymiza-tionoffieldsholdingpersonallyidentifi-ableinformation,inadditiontophysical,proceduralandorganizationalmeasures.TheanalystsattheJACarethereforeatnopointpresentedwithnames,addressesortelephonenumbersofpersonsofin-terest,butmerelywiththefactthatthecodesrepresentingthenamesmatchbe-tweendifferentdatabases.Ifthatlinkisdeemedtobeofoperationalsignificance,thenauthorizedinvestigatorsmayrequestthereleaseofthecorrespondingpersonalinformationfromtherelevantagencies.Thismayresultinanupdatedentryonawatchlistorevenaproposalforaninter-
Bosnia and Herzegovina: joint risk analysis on cross-border traffic
by Richard Ots
The application of risk management processes to the cross-border movement of goods and people in Bosnia and Herzegovina has gone through some remarkable changes over recent years. From a fragmented approach on the fringes of some border management agencies’ operational processes, it is now well on its way to becoming an integral element in the country’s comprehensive approach to border management.
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Some of the staff from the Joint Analysis Centre
Mexico Customs reports its progress on applying risk analysis to core processes
AsaCustomsadministration,oneofMexico’smainprioritiesistocontrib-
utetothestrengtheningofnationalsecu-ritybycombatingcriminalorganizations.This,inturn,reflectsamajorobjectiveofthe2007-2012NationalDevelopmentPlan:tocrippletheillicitprofitsoftheseorganizations.
Inrecentyears,theMexicanTaxAdminis-trationServiceandMexicoCustomshavededicatedconsiderablefinancialandhu-manresourcestoenhancingtheirpro-grammestodetectillicitgoodsatportsofentrythroughariskanalysisandintel-ligencestrategy.
A valuable source to generate intelli-genceistheadvanceinformationMexicoCustomsreceivesonincomingmaritimeshipments.Furthermore,Mexicoiscom-mittedtotheimplementationofPillar1oftheWCOSAFEFrameworkofStandards,whichentailstheuseofadvanceinfor-mationandriskmanagementsystemsbyWCOMembers.
Agoodexampleoftheeffectiveuseofriskanalysis,basedonadvanceinformationtotargetpiratedandcounterfeitgoods,istherecentseizuresthatwerecarriedoutatthePortsofLazaroCardenas,Manza-nillo,Ensenada,VeracruzandAltamirain2009;inthesecases,theportswerealertedtothearrivalofsuspiciousship-mentsbytheintelligenceunitatCustomsheadquarters.
s P e C i A l D O s s i e R
33
Alsoin2009,in94of504targetedcon-tainers,riskwasconfirmedandthegoodsseized. They contained approximately1,053tonsofmerchandise,representingmorethan50%ofallpiratedgoodsseizedbyMexicoCustoms(33millionpiratedunits).Theseunprecedentedseizuresin2009werethedirectresultoftheuseofCustomsintelligenceandtheapplicationofriskanalysisaswellastheactionstakenbytheMexicangovernment.
TheTaxAdministrationServiceandMex-icoCustomsarepermanentlycommittedtoenhancingtheirprocedures,infrastruc-tureandtechnologyinordertoefficientlyfightillicittrade.
More informationwww.sat.gob.mx
Counterfeit brands in electronic goods (Duracell, Motorola, Sony, Sony Ericsson)
Counterfeit brands in apparel and accessories (Lacoste, Puma, Abercrombie, Tous, Mont Blanc, Hugo Boss)
agencyoperation.Animportantpartoftheworkoftheanalystsdoesnotrequirethislevelofdetailthough.Thecreationandupdateofriskprofilesforuseatbordercrossingpointsdoesnotentailactualnameordetailedaddressinformation.Similarly,fortheproduc-tionofoverviewsofgeneraltrendsanddevelopmentsthecodedinformationprovidesasufficientlevelofdetail.
TheJACisequippedwithindustrystand-ardsoftwareforriskanalysisinlawen-forcementenvironments,inadditiontosophisticatedsoftwarefordatamining.Staffhavecompletedadvancedtrainingontheuseofthesoftwareaswellasonriskanalysis,strategicintelligence,ap-pliedstatistics,thecollectionanduseofopensourceinformation,andonreport-ingandpresentation.
With thecreationof the JACand itscontinued development, Bosnia andHerzegovinaismakingsignificantstepstorationalizetheallocationofitsbor-dermanagementresources.Theagen-ciescontinuetoincreasethequalityandquantityofdataflowingtoitsanalyticalstructuresbyimprovingthecaptureofdataattheborder,digitizingexistingarchivesandfurtherstandardizingandnormalizingthestructureoftheirdata-bases.AsMr.ErminPesto,HeadoftheSectorforBorderandGeneralSecurityattheMinistryofSecuritysaid,“TheJACallowsustobettertargetourefforts,in-creasingthesuccessrateofcheckswhilefacilitatingthelegitimateflowofgoodsandpeopleacrossourborders.”
More informationRichard OtsInternational Organization for Migration [email protected]
WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
34 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Two Deputy Directors have recently been appointed
to the WCO Secretariat; Susanne Aigner in the
Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, and
Heike Barczyk in the Capacity Building Directorate.
WCO News conducted a speed interview with these
two new members of the management team.
Susanne Aigner:IstartedtoworkforcustomsbyaccidentasaftermyDoctorateinlaw,Icouldn’tfindajobinanareaIwouldreallyhaveenjoyedworkingin,likeworkingforoneoftheas-sociationsdefendingmigrants’rightsorpursuingdevelopingcountries’interests.TheAustrianMinistryofFinancewasatthattimesearchingforwomenwhospokeEnglishandFrench,inparticularforroleswithinthecustomsbranch.AsIdidnotwanttotakeupajobwithalawfirm,IdecidedthatIwouldworkforCustomsuntilIfoundsomethingelsemoretomylik-ing.ThefunnythingwasthatIlikedCustomsworkfromtheverybeginning.Aftertheobligatory3yearsoftrainingandeduca-tioninCustomsandtaxmatters,IwasaskedtoworkfortheMinistryofFinanceonInternationalmattersandFreeTradearrangements,amongotherontheGeneralSystemofPreferencesandUNCTAD. After several years as DeputyHeadofUnit,in1995ImovedtoBrusselstoworkfortheEUInstitutions,includingatDGTAXUD’s“US/CanadaDesk”whichinvolvedresponsibilityforthenegotiationoftheEC-USAgreementonCSI.In2005,TAXUDsetupaspecialsectordealingwithsecurity,whichIled,andwhichhadacentralroleindraftingthecustomssecuritylegislationandthedevelopmentoftheEUAuthorizedEco-nomicOperator(AEO).Duringthistime,IwasalsoresponsibleforthetechnicalnegotiationswiththirdcountrieslikeJapan,USandChinatowardsmutualrecognitionofAEOs,securitymeas-uresandcontrolresults.During2009,ImanagedtheUnitinchargeofRiskManagementandSecurityandwhilecontinuingtoworkonsecurity/AEO,IpersonallyfocusedalotontheECRiskManagementFrameworkandSystemandtheConvergenceofControlsactivitieswithintheEU.
Speed Interviews
Heike Barczyk:Well,inbrief:Myworklifestartedinthe90’s,whenIworkedfortheGermanForeignServiceforthreeyears(ofwhichIspentoneyearinSenegal).ThenIwentbacktouni-versity,studiedlaw,passedtwonationalLegalStateExamsandbecamealawyer.AftertwoyearsofworkmainlyonLabourandCommercialLaw,I“rediscovered”thePublicServiceandwenttotheCustomsCriminologicalOffice(ZKA)inCologne,Germany.ThereIworkedfirstasHeadoftheAnti-DrugsSectionandlaterasHeadoftheRegionalIntelligenceLiaisonOffice(RILO)forWesternEurope–myfirstdeeperexperiencewiththeWCO,bytheway.ThelastpostbeforemystarthereinBrusselswaswithintheGermanMinistryofFinanceinBonn,whereIwastheDeputyHeadoftheDivisiononInternationalCustomsCo-operation.
WCO News : What prompted you to apply for your new post ?
S. A.: Aftermorethan5years inone joband inparticularaftermorethan8yearsofworkingonsecuritymatters,Ifeltreadyforachange.WhenthejobattheWCOwaspublished,IthoughtthiswouldbeexactlywhatIwouldliketodoatthisstageofmycareer:moreinternationalthanmyEurope-an-focusedactivity;evenmorechallengingas Iwouldhavetocooperatewith176 in-steadof27memberadministrations;while
atthesametimenotsomethingcompletelyunknowntomeasIhadbeenworkingonthesamefileattheCommissionandasIwouldcontinuecooperatingwithmanyofthecolleaguesIknewfrompreviousroles.Thenewrolewouldhoweverhaveadifferentfocus,seeingthingsfromtheWCOangleandthusgiv-ingmearangeofnewchallengingopportunitiesandhopefullyabroaderperspective.IalsothinkthattheDDjobwillallowmetocontinuebuildinguponmyEUexperience,sharingthisexpe-
WCO News: Tell us about your career to date?
Susanne: My new role
would have a different
focus, seeing things from
the WCO angle and thus
giving me a range of new
challenging opportunities...
i n C O n V e R s A T i O n
Susanne Aigner (left) and Heike Barczyk (right)
35WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
riencewithotherswhileenhancingmyownunderstandingofMemberadministrationsandcustomspoliciesandproceduresotherthanthoseoftheEU.Ihavealwaysenjoyedworkingwithcolleaguesfromdifferentpartsoftheworld,jointlyseekingsolutionstocommonissuesandIamthereforedelightedtobeworkinginaDirectoratewithverymanydifferentnationalitiesfromalmostallcontinents.
H. B.:Ifelttheapplicationwouldbea“natural”stepforwardforme.Havingworkedintheinternationalareaforquiteawhile,butmoreorlessfromanationalperspective,IwantedtoexpandmypersonalexperienceandworkattheWCOonamoregloballevel.Inthiscontext,theCapacityBuildingareaisinmyviewoneofthemostchal-lengingtaskswithintheworkoftheWCOinservingMembers’needs.Moreover,fromthepastIknewthattheteamoftheCa-pacityBuildingDirectorateisaverygoodandhighlymotivatedone–whichwasob-viouslyabonus,too.
WCO News: What are your short-term objectives ?
S. A.: ThefirstthingIhavetodoistolearnallabouttheareasIamresponsibleforasDD;thisIwillhavetodoveryquicklyasIamalreadybeingsentonmissionduringtheveryfirstdaysofApril.ThesecondthingIwanttodoisbuildastrongrelationshipwithmyexcellentteam,todiscussandsetprioritiesandgoalsforthegroupandthenthroughmycollabo-rativeleadershipstyleworktoensuretheissuesthatimpactonthewholeoftheDirectorateareaddressedinatimely,joinedupandcoordinatedmannernowthatbothDeputyDirectorpostsarefilled.Therearemanycrosscuttingissues(likeCoordinatedBorderManagement,RiskManagementorGloballyNetworkedCustoms)thattouchuponfacilitationaswellascompliance/enforcement.EarlydiscussionssincemyarrivalshouldleaveyouinnodoubttheDirectorandthetwoDeputiesareunitedintheirwishtoensurethattheDirectorateworksasefficientlyandeffectivelyaspossibleandisenabledtomakeprogressonthesecrosscuttingissues.Fortherest,Iamsuretherearemanychallengeswaitingforme!
H. B.:IarrivedattheWCOsecretariatwhenwewerestillpre-paringthreeimportantmeetingsintheCapacityBuildingareascheduledforAprilthisyear.Itwouldhavebeenthefirstmeet-ingoftheC.B.Committeeever,themeetingoftheIntegritySub-CommitteeandthemeetingoftheRegionalOfficesonC.B.(ROCBs)andtheRegionalTrainingCenters(RTCs).Unfor-tunately,duetothevolcaniceruptioninIcelandandthestopofairtraffictoandfromNorthernEuropeatthattime,thesemeet-ingshadtobepostponedattheverylastmomenttoautumnthisyear.Obviously,workingonthepreparationsforthesemeetingsandmakingmypersonalcontributionthatthemotivationofthe
participantsofthemeetingsremainsasvividasdemonstratedthen,isofcourseoneofmyprimaryworkobjectives.Onamoreprivatebasis,IstillhavetosettleinhereinBrussels.AndIwouldliketoimprovemySpanishlanguageskillswhichhavenotreallybeentrainedsincemyschooltime…
WCO News : If you had to change career, what job would you choose ?
S. A.: IfIhadtochangecareerotherthanbuildinguponmyexpe-riencegainedsofar(andthusremainingeitherintheCustomsortradearea),Iwouldliketodosomethingtotallydifferent.During
mystudies,Iusedtoworkinanartgal-leryandalsofororganizersofconcertsofcontemporaryclassicalmusic.Iorganizedexhibitionsandconcertsandalsoselectedartistsforexhibitions/concertsonspecificthemesaspartofajuryorascurator.Ifmoneydidn’tmatteratall,Iwouldtrytodosomethingsimilarandorganiseexhibi-tionsandconcerts,inparticularforyoungartistswhoareoftenexcellentbutarenotgivenanyopportunitytoshowtheirwork.WhenIwasyoungerIwantedtobeonthestageintheatre;Itrieditandseemedto
havesometalent.IamhoweverhappythatIneverpursuedthisanyfurtherandthatallIdonowadaysisenjoyperformancesbyotheractors.Anyway,don’tweallacttoacertainextentwhenwechairmeetingsandnegotiateagreements?
H. B.:Amongfriends,wehavefromtimetotimeaskedourselveswhatwewouldhavelikedtobecomeifwehadnottakenthecareerpathwehavetaken.OneofmyfavouriteanswersisthatIcouldhavebecomea–hopefullysuccessful–archeologist…Inreality,ifIhadtochangemycareerrightnow-awayfromCustoms,theinternationalareaandthePublicService,IthinkIwouldmostprobablybecomealawyeragain.
O. A.: And one final thought ….
S. A.: IamveryhappythatIamworkingasDDEnforcementatWCO;forthetimebeingIenjoyeverydayandthinkthatIcanactivelycontributetotheorganization’sworkandefficiency.Ihopeitstayslikethisandthatmystaffandtheorganizationmorewidelyseeitinasimilarlight!
H. B.:Iammorethanhappythatthehypotheticalquestionbe-foredoesnotdescribemypresentsituation…,butthatrightnowIcanreallylookforwardtosomeexcitingyearsandworktocomeintheWCO!
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
Heike: Having worked in the
international area but more or
less from a national perspective,
I wanted to expand my personal
experience and work on a more
global level..
i n C O n V e R s A T i O n
36 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
The Brazilian Customs administra-tion (Receita Federal do Brasil)
has announced the establishment of new detector dog centres in six impor-tant Customs units. The use of detec-tor dogs will align the administration with global best practices on combat-ing illicit acts related to foreign trade operations, in particular the traffic in illegal drugs and unauthorized posses-sion of currency.
Toensurethesuccessofthetrainingpro-gramme,instructorshavetoselectdogsthatareatleast18monthsoldandwhodisplaydrive,goodphysicalresistanceandlotsofenergy.Onceselected,theanimalswillbeevaluatedperiodicallytofullytesttheirability.Uponreachingtheageofseven,thedogswillberetiredfromservice.Thosewhodemonstrateexcellentnaturalskillswhenperform-
ingtheir“duties”willbesingledoutforbreedingpurposes.
UsingsnifferdogshasprovedsuccessfulinBrazil.Majorseizuresinthelasttwoyearsincludetheseizureof630kgofcocaineatthePortofImbitubain2008,300kgofdrugsinVictoriaandRiodeJaneiroin2009,and1.5tonsofcocaineboundforEuropeatthePortofParanaguá.InthestateofParanáalone42kgofcrack,3.8tonsofcocaine,and3tonsofmarijuana
Brazil sets up new detector dog centres
offoreignoriginwereseizedin2009byCustomsstaff.
More [email protected]
O U R M e M B e R s W O R l D
©BrazilianCustoms
©BrazilianCustoms
©BrazilianCustoms
37WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Continuingitsmodernizationefforts,theAlgerianCustomsadministration
hasintroducedanewfacilitationmecha-nism granted to economic operators,designedtoencourageinvestmentandpromoteeconomicactivity.This isbe-ingdoneinaccordancewiththeRevisedKyotoConvention,whichhasbeenratifiedbyAlgeria.
Topromotethisnewprocedureandtoperfectthetextoftheimplementingleg-islation,on4March2010AlgerianCus-tomsorganizeda “Customs-Business”meetinginAlgiersattheHeadquartersofALGEX(Algerianexternaltradepromo-tionagencyoverseenbytheTradeMinis-try).Inadditiontoexternalcontributors,this meeting brought together seniorCustomsofficials,managersofcompaniesinvolvedinOPTIMEXPORT(aprogrammedesignedtobuildtheexportcapacitiesofAlgeriansmallandmediumbusinesses),employersorganizationsandbusinesses,andpartnersofALGEXandCACI(AlgerianChamberofCommerceandIndustry).
FollowingspeechesbyALGEXDirectorGeneralMohammedBennini,TradeMin-isterElHachemiDjaâboub,andDirectorGeneralofCustomsMohamedAbdouBouderbala,a“Customs-ALGEX-CACI”Agreementwassigned.Itsaimistopro-moteexports,apartfromhydrocarbons,andtoestablishalastingpartnershipsoastoguaranteethesuccessoftheAEOstatus.
Themeetingwasmarkedbymanyinter-estingcontributionscoveringthenewAEOstatusaslaiddownintheAlgerianCustomsCode,theproblemofcommuni-cationinbusinesslife,AEOstatusonthebasisofFrenchandthewiderEuropeanexperience,andtheprioritiesoftheOPTI-MEXPORTproject,aswellastestimoniesfromtwoAlgerianentrepreneursontheirrelationswithCustoms.TheSecretariatmade a presentation with the theme“Modernvaluesattheserviceofadynam-icandefficientCustoms-Businesspart-nership”.Onthefringesoftheplenary,a
workshopcomposedofCustomsofficialsandrepresentativesofthebusinessworlddebatedissueslinkedtothelaunchofthisnewapproachtobusinesses.
Participantsformulatedrecommenda-tionsdesignedtoallowCustomsanditspartnerstodevelopandstrengthenthispartnershipthroughconcretemeasures.Theybelieved inparticularthat itwasnecessary to establish the “Customs-
Algerian Customs: the value of modernization to export promotion
ALGEX-CACI”Agreementat regional level, bring-ingtogetherallconcernedstakeholders,tostrengthencommunication betweenCustoms and business atthenationaland regionallevels,tofacilitateaccessto informationandtoof-ficial documents, and fi-nallytotakeaccountoftheconcernsofstakeholdersinordertoachievesolutionswhichwereadvantageoustoall sidesandrespectedtheinterestsofall.
T he Customs- Businesspartnershipestablishedatthismeetingwilltranslateintotheestablishmentofaconsultationbodyrespon-sible for agreeing on thetermsoftheapplicationfor
AEOstatusandtheawardcriteria.Eve-ryoneexpressedtheirsatisfactionwiththemeasurestakenbyCustomsastheyfallwithinthescopeof itsmoderniza-tionstrategyanddemonstrateAlgerianCustoms’evolutiontowardsaservice-orientedorganizationdeliveringbenefitstoeconomicoperators.
More informationwww.douane.gov.dz
O U R M e M B e R s W O R l D
©BrazilianCustoms
©BrazilianCustoms
38 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
APublicRelationsUnithasbeenes-tablishedtoserveasaSecretariatfortheCPPMinitsdailyoperations.TheCPPMconsistsoftwohierarchicallev-els:aManagementBoardandthreeTechnical Working Groups. Theseworkinggroupsarecharacterizedbytypesof investmentsand industrysectors:theCustomsExport-Orient-edGarmentIndustryWorkingGroup;theCustomsExport-OrientedNon-GarmentIndustryWorkingGroup;andtheCustomsDomesticMarket-OrientedBusinessWorkingGroup.
AlthoughtheCambodiaDevelop-mentCouncil(CDC)organizedtheGovernment-PrivateSectorForum(GPSF)withfruitfuloutcomesun-dertheleadershipofSamdechAkkaMoha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen(the PrimeMinisteroftheKingdomofCambodia),astherewasnofor-mal mechanism in the past someCustoms-relatedissuesidentifiedintheForumhadnotbeenconsultedorsolvedefficientlyatthetechni-cal level before being brought totheGPSF.
TheGeneralDepartmentofCustomsand Excise expects that this new
mechanismwilldealmoreefficientlywithmanyCustoms-relatedissuesandmis-understandings,especiallywithregardstocargoclearanceprocedures,informalcostsandunnecessarydelays.
More [email protected]
On International Customs Day inPhnomPenh,theCustoms-Private
SectorPartnershipMechanism(CPPM)wasestablishedforthefirsttimeinCam-bodia’shistorywiththeapprovaloftheRoyalGovernmentofCambodia.Theof-ficiallaunchwaspresidedoverbyH.E.Dr.PenSiman,DelegateoftheRoyalGovern-mentofCambodia,DirectorGeneralofCustomsandExciseandalsoChairpersonoftheCPPM.
This historical event was attended bytheManagementBoardoftheGeneralDepartmentofCustomsandExciseandrepresentativesoftheprivatesectorin-cludingtheChairpersonsoftheCambo-diaChamberofCommerce,theGarmentManufacturingAssociationofCambodia,theSmallandMediumEnterpriseAssocia-tion,thedeveloperandinvestorsoftheSpecialEconomicZone, theTransportAssociation,theFreightForwarderAsso-ciation,somelargetaxpayers,andhighcompliancetraders.
ThemainpurposeoftheCPPMistoraiseawarenessamongallstakeholders,toac-celeratebettercooperation,andtoensureefficienciesintheimplementationoftheGovernment’stradefacilitationpolicyandalsothepolicyoftheWCO,especiallytheWCOSAFEFrameworkofStandards.CPPM’sobjectivesinclude:• Building trust, mutual understand-
ing, and cooperation between Cus-toms and the private sector.
• Promoting fiscal morality and trade facilitation in order to enhance com-pliance with laws and regulations.
• Ensuring that all Customs-related issues are consulted or solved at the CPPM before they are brought to other mechanisms, such as the inter-government body or the Gov-ernment-Private Sector Forum.
• Promoting private sector participa-tion, to the greatest possible extent, in the process of solving all Cus-toms-related issues.
TheunderlyingideaistoenhancetheCus-toms-privatesectorpartnership,whichwillpromoteapolicyofopenness,andencouragetheexchangeofideasbetweenCustomsadministrationsandprivatesec-torstakeholders inordertoefficientlyfacilitateinternationaltrade,andensureglobalsafetyandsecurity.
Cambodia’s Customs-private sector partnership mechanism
Question-Answers session
The Customs Management Board and private sector representatives
Official launch
Networking
O U R M e M B e R s W O R l D
39WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Malaysia’s “Megaport Initiative”
SinceNovember2009,the“MegaportInitiative”toscreencargocontainers
todeter,detectandinterdictillicittraf-fickinginnuclearandotherradioactivematerialshasbeenoperationalatKlangPortinMalaysia.Theagreementtoim-plementthisInitiativewassignedon27February 2008 and prior to the com-missioning,16seniorCustomsofficersreceivedMegaportInitiativetraininginWashingtonDCinJan2009.
TheinitiativeisaprogrammeoftheU.S.DepartmentofEnergy’s(DOE)NationalNuclearSecurityAdministration(NNSA).ItisakeycomponentoftheSecondLineofDefense(SLD)programmeundertakentopreventtheproliferationofnuclearma-terialsfollowingthecollapseoftheSovietUnionin1991andthesubsequentendoftheColdWar.
ThroughtheMegaport Initiative,DOEworkscollaborativelywithforeigngov-ernments to equip selected sea portswithradiationdetectionequipment.TheinstallationofequipmentandtrainingofthehostcountrypersonnelisprovidedbyDOE.Aftercommissioning,theequip-mentishandedovertothehostgovern-mentandtheprogrammeisfullyoperatedbypersonnelofthehostcountry.
Allcontainers–whetherforimport,ex-portortransshipment–arescannedusing
theRadiationPortalMonitor(RPM)inte-gratedwithOpticalCharacterRecognition(OCR)systems(toidentifythecontainernumber).ASecondaryInspectionStationissetupateachterminaltocarryoutamorethoroughinspectionusingAdvanceSpectroscopicPortals(ASP)andhandheldradioactiveisotopeidentificationdevicesandotherhandheldequipment.ACentralAlarmStation(CAS)servesasthecontrolandcommunicationcentre.
ImplementationoftheMegaportsInitia-tivewillenhancetheTerminalOperator’scompliancewiththeInternationalShipandPortFacilitySecurity(ISPS)CodeandmakePortKlangasaferport,whichiscrucialinturningitintoaregionalhub.
Inthefirstthreemonthssincethecom-missioningandhandingoveroftheequip-ment in Malaysia, a total of 849,599containerswerescreenedbyaradiationportalmonitorlocatedinstrategicareasintheportand13,118containerstriggeredprimaryinspectionalarms.However,sub-sequentevaluationsrevealedtheabsenceofnuclearmaterialsotherthannaturallyoccuringradioactivematerials.
TheMegaportInitiativewasestablishedin2003bytheUS;atpresent19portsarealreadyoperational,25portsareintheimplementationphase,andover25portsarependingfornegotiation.
More informationRazif [email protected]
O U R M e M B e R s W O R l D
©MalaysiaCustoms
©MalaysiaCustoms
©MalaysiaCustoms©MalaysiaCustoms
40 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
l A V i e D e s M e M B R e s
Centre for Customs and Excise Studies
University of CanberraAustralia
Knowledge Beyond Borders
WCO Accredited Courses
Master of International Customs Law and Administration•Master of Customs Administration•Graduate Diploma in International Customs Law and Administration•GraduateCertificateinInternationalCustomsLawandAdministration•GraduateDiplomainExciseStudies•GraduateCertificateinExciseStudies•
Australian Government Registered Higher Education provider # 00212K
Full time and part time enrolments now being acceptedStudy online or on campus
Research•Consultancy•Vocational Programs•Postgraduate Programs•
41WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Z O O M
Colombia’s Directorate of National Tax and Customs
TheDirectorateofNationalTaxandCustoms(DIAN) inColombia isre-
sponsibleforprovidingacomplianceandfacilitation service vis-à-vis economicoperatorsinorderfortax,Customsandexchange-ratesystemrulestobemet.DIANaimstocollectalltaxes,expediteforeigntradeoperations,andencouragefaircompetition.
Transforming the organization
TheDIANmanagementteam,whichwasappointedatthestartofthefirstterminofficeofÁlvaroUribe,thePresidentoftheRepublic,observedacutestructuralprob-lemsintheorganization.Theseproblemswerecreatinginsurmountabledifficultieswithrespecttotheachievementoftheinstitution’smission.
Anauditoftheorganizationwascarriedout,makingitpossibletostartonaco-herentsolutiontotackletheproblems.Roadmapsweredrawnuptoachieveex-cellenceintermsofoperation,tomaketheorganizationmoreservice-oriented,toconsolidateautonomyandlegitimacy,andtocontributetothecountry’scom-petitiveness.Inaddition,thefollowingstrategicactionswereidentified:developandimplementanewmanagementmod-el;restructuretheorganization;promotethelegalreformsrequired,andeffectivelymanageconditions.
A new management model
DIANfounded itsmanagementmodel–theSingleModelforRevenue,ServiceandAutomatedControl(ModeloÚnicode
Ingresos,ServicioyControlAutomatizado–MUISCA)–onthebasisofconcerted,coordinatedandorderlymanagementofprocesses,peopleandtechnology.Thesepillarsarefundamentaltoitsmanage-ment,aswellascriticalanddecisivefac-tors in itsefficiencyandeffectivenessand,consequently,initsproperperform-anceofitsrolewithintheState.
MUISCA is based on three strategicprincipleswhichunderpinitandlenditstrength:integration,unity,viabilityandmagnitude.Itspurposebeingtopromotetheadoptionofbestpracticeatalllevelsintheorganization,forexample:• Coordinatetheorganization’splanning
andoperationinitsstrategy.• Review,tailor,simplify,measureand
monitorprocessesandprocedureswiththeaimofattainingthehighestlevelsofexcellenceandquality.
• Promotethetechnologicalchangesup-portingDIANprocesses,withaviewtosustainabilityandmasscoverage.
• Cultivateandmanageknowledge,hu-mantalentandchangeintheorgani-zation.
DIAN moves forward
ThefollowingkeyfactorsarehighlightedastheyunderpinthesuccessoftheMUIS-CAmanagementmodel:• The backing of senior management
withintheorganizationaswellaswithinnationalgovernment,andthesupportoftheWorldBankwhichbackedtheprojectandindeedapprovedanewloantocontinuewiththedevelopmentofoutstandingtopicsuntil2012.
• DIANofficialswhowereexpertsontheprocesses involvedandfamiliarwiththeneedsoftheorganizationwereinchargeofidentifyinganddevelopingtheproceduresprovidedthroughIT-basedelectronicservices,assistedbyagroupofconsultants.
• Implementationtookplaceintandemwith a support and assistance pro-grammeforthepublic.
• IntermsofCustomsmatters, follow-ing the international guidelines of the World Customs Organization was vi-tal as it enabled DIAN to be inside Customs with greater visibility at the international level.
• The joint work with the Ministry of External Trade and the bodies which grant approvals in import/export processes was also important – the Single Window for External Trade and the Single System for Simulta-neous Inspection have been consoli-dated with these bodies, using the concept of the “procedural chain”.
MUISCAhasenabledtheDirectorateofNa-tionalTaxandCustomstomoveforward.
ContactsDirector General of National Tax andCustomsDr. Néstor Díaz SaavedraTel:+5716079325/9475Fax:+5716079383Email:[email protected]
DirectorofOrganizationalManagementMs. María Elena Botero MejíaTel:+5716079999Email:[email protected]
Website:www.dian.gov.co
42 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Overview
Culturalheritageisthelegacyoftangibleartworksthatexpressthevalueofacultureandthecharacteristicsofasociety.Foreverynation,culturalheritagerepresentsafundamentalsourceoflife,civilizationaswellasauniqueassetforitsfuture.Throughthepreservationandpromotionoftheirnationalculturalprop-ertyandheritage,societiestransfertheirownidentityontofu-turegenerations.
Itisvitalthereforetoprotectculturalitemsfromanyattempttocompromisetheirintegritybyputtinginplaceallneededmeasurestopreventcrimessuchastheft,lootingorillicittrafficking.Infact,onceapieceofhistoryornationalidentityislost,inmostcasesitislostforeverandthedetrimenttohumanityisoftenincalculable.Thetruevalueofculturalpropertycanbeappreciatedonlyifconditionssuchasorigin,traditionandhistoryarefullyrespectedandsafeguarded.Eachtimeaculturalobjectistakenfromitsoriginalcontext,notonlydoesitcreateavoidinacountry’snationalheritagebuttheartifactitselfisseriouslyimpoverished.Inthissense,thetheftandtraffickingofculturalitemsrepresentsoneoftheoldestformsofcrimeandisascourgeasoldashistoryitself.
Theongoingincreaseintheillicittraffickinginculturalgoodsandthedamagecausedbythistradeisofgreatcon-
cerntotheglobalCustomscommunityandtheroleofCustomsinfightingthisformofcross-bordercrimeisrecognizedasbeingofparamountimportance.Indeed,preservingculturalheritageandstemmingillicitphenomenaliketraffickingandsmugglingtranscendsborders,andasaprimaryborderagency,Customsiswell-placedtofightcriminalorganizationstraffickingartaswellaslooters,smugglersandunscrupulousartdealers.
International efforts
Overrecentyears,theWCOhasstrengthenedinter-nationalcooperationwithother importantplayersinvolvedinthisbattleinordertoimproveandaug-menttheprotectionofculturalpropertyagainstillicitimportsandexports,andillegaltransfersofownership.
IthasdonethisonthebasisofMemorandaofUnder-standingsignedwithINTERPOL,UNESCO,andICOM(In-
ternationalCouncilofMuseums).TheWCOisalsoactivelyinvolvedinworldwideprojectsandcapacitybuildingactivi-tiesaimedatraisingenhancedawarenessanddevelopingeffectiveenforcementtoolsspecificallyrelatingtotheprotectionofculturalheritage.
In 2005, the WCO provided technical assistance toUNESCObyjointlydevelopingtheWCO-UNESCOModelExportCertificateforCulturalObjects.Thisjointworkre-flectedtheincreaseinillicitexportsofculturalobjects,ef-fortstoaddressthelegalaspects,andputnewemphasison
Customs and cultural property: keeping heritage criminals at bay
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Small statuette from Bactria, chlorite and calcite, 3rd millennium BC. Anthropomorphic pendant, Diquís, Costa Rica, 1000-1500 AD.
Bronze foundation figurine, end of the 3rd millennium BC. Iraq Museum.
©AgencephotographiquedelaRMN–Chuzeville ©DirkBakker,DIA-FS
©PhotoScala,Florence
43WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
f O C U s
thepracticalimportanceofexportcertificatesdesignedspecificallyforculturalgoods.ThiscertificateimplementstheprovisionsofAr-ticle6oftheUNESCOConventionontheMeansofProhibitingandPreventingtheIl-licitImport,ExportandtransferofOwner-shipofCulturalPropertyof1970.TheArticlerequiresUNESCOmembers“tointroduceanappropriatecertificateinwhichtheexportingstatewouldspecifythattheexportoftheculturalpropertyinquestionisauthorized”.
TheadoptionatnationalleveloftheWCO-UNESCOModelEx-portwillhelptosecurethereturnofillicitlyexportedculturalobjectsastheCertificateenablesCustomstoidentifyandtracetheseitems.
CooperationwithICOMisextremelyimportantalso.TheirRedListsofendangeredculturalobjects(seearticlepage44)rep-resentausefultooltohelpmuseums,arttraders,collectors,andCustomsandpoliceofficerstoidentifyobjectsthatmayhavebeenillegallyexportedormaybesubjecttoillicittrade.TheWCO’spartnershipwithINTERPOLentailsWCOparticipa-tioninINTERPOL’simportantExperts’GrouponStolenCulturalPropertythatmeetsonanannualbasisandwhichsetsoutrec-ommendationsonhowtobettertacklethisillicitphenomenon.
TheWCOwillcontinuetointensifyitspresenceontheglobalstagebyparticipatinginmanydifferentforaandeventsdedi-catedtotheprotectionofculturalheritage.
Cooperation bares fruit
Cooperativeeffortsarejustasimportantinthefightagainsttheillicitcross-bordertradeinculturalproperty.
Attheregionallevel,forexample,theWCORegionalIntelligenceLiaisonOfficeforEastandEasternEurope(RILOECE)iscurrentlyrunningavaluableinitiativenamed“ProjectObelisk”aimedatsavingtheregion’sculturalheritage.ItwasinitiatedbyRILOECEin2002toactivelyencouragecountriesintheregiontodetectillegaltraffickingofworksofartandreportseizurestotheCustomsEnforcementNetwork(CEN)database.TheProjectwillstrengthentheactivitiesofCustomsservicesandimprovecooperationbetweenthemandotherrelevantlawenforcementagenciesintheregion.
Asacasestudy,let’sconsiderItalyforinstance.Withmorethan3400museums,2100archeologicalareasand43UNESCOworldheritagesites,Italyhastheworld’svastestculturalheritage.ItsCustomsandborderagencies(AgenziadelleDoganeandtheGuardiadiFinanza)areengagedonadailybasisinprotectingthecountry’sculturalheritagefromanykindofillicitexportation.
Ontheotherhand,ItalyisalsobenefitingfromthecoordinatedactionsofotherCustomsadministrationsespeciallywithregards
totherepatriationandreturnofculturalobjectsil-legallyexported.Justbywayofexample,effectivecooperationbetweenCustomsled,twoyearsago,totherepatriationtoItalyof50vasesdatingfromthe3rdtothe4thcenturiesBC.ThesevaseswereseizedinPerpignanin2007byFrenchCustoms.An-
otherexampleisthereturnofstolenartifactstoItalybytheU.S.ImmigrationandCustomsEnforcement(ICE)
in2009.AmongtheculturalobjectsreturnedtotheItalianau-thoritiesbyICEwereaCorinthiancolumnkraterdatingbetween580and670BCandaPompeiwallpanelfresco.
Keeping up the fight
CulturalHeritagewillcontinuetorepresentapriorityfortheWCO.Ascriminalsinvolvedinculturalheritagecrimeschangetheirtactics,newformsofcooperationaswellasnewenforce-menttoolswillhavetobedevelopedinordertocombatthisphenomenonandpreservethecharacterofourculturallegacyandthereforeournationalidentities.Capacitybuildingtoohasanimportantroletoplay.BybuildingthecapacityofCustoms
Painting, archangel with harquebus, 18th century AD.
Indo-Greek silver coin, 2nd century BC.
©MNAAHP
©KabulNationalMuseumandFrenchNationalLibrary
44 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
f O C U s
administrationstoeffectivelycombatthisformofcrimewillresultinbetterborderenforcement;essentialinthefightagainstallformsofillicittrade.
EquallyimportantistheimprovementofrelationsbetweenCustomsauthoritiesandbetweenCustomsand itsvariousstakeholdersincludingotherlawenforcementagenciesandthe
TheInternationalCouncilofMuse-ums (ICOM)haspublisheditsRed
ListofEndangeredCulturalObjectsofCentralAmericaandMexico(2009),theseventhRedListinICOM’spro-grammetocombatillicittraffickinginculturalproperty.
TheRedListshavebeendesignedasanaidtoidentifycategoriesofcul-turalitemswhichareparticularlyvulnerabletoillicittraffic.TheyaredisseminatedtoCustomsauthori-
tiesworldwideandarealsoavailableon-lineinseverallanguagesatICOM’swebsite.
ICOMhasalreadypublishedRedListsforthefollowingcountriesandregions:
· RedListofAfricanArchaeologicalObjects(2000)· RedListofLatin-AmericanCulturalObjectsatRisk(2002)
· EmergencyRedListofIraqiAntiquitiesatRisk(2003)· RedListofAfghanistanAntiquitiesatRisk(2006)· RedListofPeruvianAntiquitiesatRisk(2007)· RedListofCambodianAntiquitiesatRisk(2009)· RedListofEndangeredCulturalObjectsofCentral America
and Mexico (2009)
PoliceandCustomsauthoritiesareencouragedtocarryoutin-depthinvestigationswhendealingwithculturalartefactsidentifiedinRedLists.However,theseListsdonotpretendtobeexhaustiveandanyculturalitemwhichmaycomefromtheregionand,ingeneral,fromacountryorregionforwhichaRedListhasbeenpublished,shouldbesubjectedtodetailedscrutinyandprecautionarymeasures.
Threenewprojectsareunderwayforpublishingin2010,cover-ingHaiti,ColombiaandChinarespectively.
More informationhttp://icom.museum/redlist
About the Red Lists
Gold stupa-shaped reliquary, 1st century AD. Leather-bound manuscript, Guatemala, 19th century.
©MCD-MLA©TrusteesoftheBristisMuseum
businesscommunityasthiswillallowformoreexchangeofinformationandintelligencewhichisthekeytosuccessfulborderenforcement.
More [email protected]://portal.unesco.org/culture/en
INTERPOL steps up its fight against trafficking in cultural property
Despitetheglobalfinancialcrisisanditsrepercussionsontheartmarket,illegal
tradeinculturalpropertycontinuestoflour-ishworldwide.
A very specific crimeInformationontheftsofworksofartrecord-eddailybyINTERPOL,andtheINTERPOLUnitspecializedinthisfield,illustratethepermanenceofaphenomenonwhichsparesnoregionoftheglobe,fromLatinAmerica,victimofthearchaeologicalpillageofsiteswhichexistedlongbeforeColumbus,toCen-tralandEasternEurope,withthedisappear-anceoficonsfromOrthodoxchurches,andAsiawithattacksontheheritageoftheKhmercivilization.
Theftsgivenwidermediacoverage,suchasthearmedrobberyofaMagrittepaintingfromamuseumontheoutskirtsofBrus-sels(Belgium)inSeptember2009,ormorerecentlyofaDegaspastelinMarseille(France)atthebeginningof2010,remindtheworldoftheexistenceofthisveryspecificcrime.
Twiceayear,moreover,INTERPOLissuesaposteron“TheMostWantedWorksofArt”toraisepublicawarenessofsixkeystolenworks(see photo above).
Need for an international data base of stolen works of artTocounterthisscourge,INTERPOLhasdevelopedadatabaseintegratingphotographsanddescriptionsofworksofartsto-lenfromthefourcornersoftheglobe.Thisnowcataloguesover35,000itemsandisconstantlyupdatedbyINTERPOL188Membercountries.Incontinuousevolutionsinceitwas s e tupin1995,thisdatabasehasnowmadeamajorstepforward,havingbeenopenedtothepublicsinceAu-gust2009.
Thisinitiative,crucialtoanyattempttofighttheillegaltradeinstolenarteffectively,per-mitsnotjustlawenforcementservicesbutanyotherinterestedpartytoconsulttheinformationinthedatabasedirectlyandinstantaneously.
Toobtainonlineaccesstothedatabase–www.In-terpol.int/Public/WorkOfArt/dbaccess.asp–usersmustfirstregisterandbegivenapassword.On-lineaccessconstitutesanextremelyimportantstepforwardasitofferseveryoneanopportunitytoverifythataworkofarthasnotbeenreported
stolen,atthesametimemakingitmoredif-ficulttosellfakeculturalproperty.
Whatismore,itisnowdifficultforanysellerorbuyertoarguethatitisimpossibletoverifywhetherornotanobjecthasbeenregisteredasstolen.Thesuccessexperiencedbythedifferentstakeholdersinvolvedinfightingtraffickinginstolengoodsdem-onstratesinhindsightjusthowvitalthisstepwas.Sofaraccesshasalreadybeengrantedtomorethan1,300usersin60ormorecountries,andthisfigureisgrowingallthetime.
Allsectorsofactivitywithaninterestinthisissuearerepre-sented:lawenforcementagencies;headsofculturalinstitutions;artmarketprofessionals;andevenprivatecollectors.ThiswiderangenaturallyincludesCustoms,with40orsorepresentativesfromaround20countriesondifferentcontinents.
ThisinvolvementbyCustomsauthoritiesreflectsthekeyroleplayedbyCustomsadministrationsinthefightagainstunau-thorizedexportsofculturalproperty,withnumerousobjects
seizedonaregularbasis.
Foritspart,theWCOworkscloselywithINTERPOL,andhasdonesoformanyyearsinfightingthistypeofcross-bordercrime–amoregeneralCooperationAgreementhaslinkedthetwoOrganizationssinceNovember1998.
Quiteapartfromthenewsteptakeninmakingthedatabaseaccessibleonlinetoawiderpublic,otherprojectsarecurrentlyunderwaytoimprovetheefficiencyandper-formanceoftheINTERPOLdatabaseevenmore.
Onthetechnicallevel,forinstance,thereareplanstouseasystemofrecognitionbasedonimagesimilaritiesto
facilitatesearchesinthedatabase.
OMD News – No 62 – June 2010 45
Saint Michael Archangel, Mexico, 18th century. ©R.VelascoAlonso,INAH
f O C U s
Painting by Picasso, 1938, stolen in March 1999 in France
©INTERPOL
- En cas de découverte ou de renseignements concernant ces affaires, prière d’aviser les services de police qui informeront leur B.C.N. INTERPOL.- Should any of these items be discovered or any information concerning these cases become available, please inform the police who will contact their INTERPOL NCB.
Publié par INTERPOL - Published by INTERPOL - B.P. 6041 - 69411 LYON CEDEX 06 (FRANCE)
N°39 (b)DecemberDécembre 2009
1 2 3OBJET : Paire de vasesITEM : Pair of vases
AUTEUR : InconnuARTIST : Unknown
DATE DU VOL : Entre le 12 août et le 1er septembre 2009DATE OF THEFT : Between 12 August and 1st September 2009
B.C.N. :NCB :
PARIS
N° de dossier : 2009/31393File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : PalaisPLACE OF THEFT : Palace
DIMENSIONS : Hauteur / Height : 60 cm
OBJET : TableauITEM : Painting
AUTEUR : Ignacio de RiesARTIST :
DATE DU VOL : Entre le 12 février et le 24 mars 2008DATE OF THEFT : Between 12 February and 24 March 2008
B.C.N. : MADRIDNCB :
N° de dossier : 2009/25976File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : Transport publicPLACE OF THEFT : Public transport
DIMENSIONS : 112.1 x 136.8 cm
OBJET : Antéfi xeITEM : Ante-fi xae
AUTEUR : InconnuARTIST : Unknown
DATE DU VOL : Entre le 21 et le 22 juillet 2009DATE OF THEFT : Between 21 and 22 July 2009
B.C.N. : VIENNENCB : VIENNA
N° de dossier : 2009/30068File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : Site archéologiquePLACE OF THEFT : Archaeological site
DIMENSIONS : 21 x 19 x 2 cm
6OBJET
SculptureITEM
AUTEUR : InconnuARTIST : Unknown
DATE DU VOL : Entre le 18 et le 19 septembre 2009DATE OF THEFT : Between 18 and 19 September 2009
B.C.N. : NEW DELHINCB :
N° de dossier : 2009/32911File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : TemplePLACE OF THEFT :
DIMENSIONS : 90 x 56 cm
4OBJET :
StatueITEM :
AUTEUR : InconnuARTIST : Unknown
DATE DU VOL : 1er janvier 2008DATE OF THEFT : 1st January 2008
B.C.N. : SAN SALVADORNCB :
N° de dossier : 2009/36884File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : EglisePLACE OF THEFT : Church
DIMENSIONS : 115 x 45 x 32 cm
5OBJET : TableauITEM : Painting
AUTEUR : René MagritteARTIST :
DATE DU VOL : 24 septembre 2009DATE OF THEFT : 24 September 2009
B.C.N. : BRUXELLESNCB : BRUSSELS
N° de dossier : 2009/31315File No. :
LIEU DU VOL : MuséePLACE OF THEFT : Museum
DIMENSIONS : 60 x 80 cm
46 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
ThisiswhyINTERPOL,alongsideUNESCO,ICOMandtheWCO,ishelpingtomobilizetheinterna-tionalcommunitytoensurethepreservationofHaitianculturalproperty.
ThealertspromptlysentouttoallMembercoun-triesafterthecatastrophe,tomakethemawareofthevulnerabilityofHaitianheritageandtherisksofillegalimportsofculturalpropertyfromthiscountry,wereoneofthefirstresponsestocountertheurgencyoftheproblem.
The imminentpublication,undertheaegisofICOM,ofaRedListofat-riskHaitianculturalproperty,likethelistsdrawnupforCambodiaandAfghanistan,alsodemonstratesthegravityofthesituation.
Finally,themobilizationoftheinternationalcommunityissoontobeformalizedbythesettingup,atUNESCO’sinitiative,ofaninternationalcoordinatingcommitteeforHaitianculturetowhichINTERPOL,inclosecollaborationwithitspartners,willbeoffer-ingitsexperienceandknow-howincrisismanagementmatters.
More informationwww.Interpol.int [email protected]@Interpol.int
OneofthemostimportantobjectivesisbasedonaCouncilofEuroperecommendationtopromoteimproveddatainputintotheINTERPOLdatabase.TheuseofanITmechanismallowingautomaticintegrationofdatafromMembercountriesiscur-rentlybeingexamined.Theimplementationofthiskindofsystemiskeytoinputtingevenmoredataintothedatabase,asitseemsthatmanycoun-triescommunicatefartoolittleinformationtoINTERPOL.
However,itisunrealistictoclaimtobestampingouttraffickingunlessallnationsareonboardandactivelyparticipating.
Inthisareaofcrime,asinmanyothers,theneedforstronginternationalcooperationisprovingessential.
Mobilizing the international community to safeguard world heritageParticularlydramaticeventssuchastheIraqwarortherecentearthquakeinHaitiunderlinethedemandforinternationalco-operationsincetheheritageofthecountriesconcernedisseri-ouslythreatened.
InHaiti,forinstance,artistictreasuresareatrealriskasthereigningchaosispropitioustotheftandtrafficking.
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Ivory plaque from Nimrud, 9th-8th centuries BC (stolen).
©IraqMuseum
47WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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Swift delivery of emergency humanitarian aid
…a priority for the international Customs community
In the event of natural disasters and other catastrophes, humanitarian aid from the international community needs to be delivered on site as quickly as possible in order to help survivors. But at the same time, the absence of adequate control mechanisms at the national level can lead to a flood of inappropriate international “aid” which is not suited to the needs of those who require it.
Reliefconsignmentsneedtobeclearedquicklyandcarefully,whichcallsforspeciallyadaptedprocedures.Givenitsposi-
tionatborders,Customsplaysakeyroleinfacilitatingtheexpe-ditiousmovementofgoodssentasemergencyhumanitarianaid.
AccordingtoastudybytheInternationalFederationofRedCrossandRedCrescentSocieties(IFRC)in2007,thereareamultitudeofinternationalinstrumentsrecommendingfacilitationmeas-urestosimplifyandrationalizetheclearanceofhumanitarianreliefconsignments.Ofthese,threeofthemostimportantoneshavebeendrawnupbytheWCO,namelytheWCORecommen-dationtoexpeditetheforwardingofreliefconsignmentsintheeventofdisasters(8June1970),therevisedKyotoConvention(RKC),inparticularSpecificAnnexJ5,andtheIstanbulConven-tionontemporaryadmission,inparticularAnnexB9.Theseinstrumentsservedasamodelforthedevelopmentin2007ofnew“GuidelinesfortheDomesticFacilitationandRegulationofInternationalDisasterReliefandInitialRecoveryAssistance”thatwereadoptedbytheStatesPartiestotheGenevaConven-tionsin2007.
Itisgenerallyimpossibletoforeseewhenandwherenaturaldisasterswillstrike,ortheirscale,althoughonoccasionsomecanbepredicted.Unfortunately,naturaldisastershavebeeninthenewsalltoooftenrecently.Asaresultthereof,theWCO’sPermanentTechnicalCommittee(PTC)devotedalargepartofits187th/188thSessionsfrom1-3March2010toreviewingthecurrentsituation;whathasbeendoneandwhatmorecouldbedone.
TheUNOfficeforCoordinationofHumanitarianAffairs(OCHA)andtheIFRChadanopportunitytopresenttheirworkatthismeeting.OCHAinparticular,encouragedWCOMemberstosigntheModelAgreementonCustomsFacilitationbetweentheUnitedNations(UN)andgovernmentsconcerningreliefcon-signmentsandthepossessionsofreliefpersonnelintheeventofdisastersandemergencies(astakenintoaccountintheRKC)
sincefewcountrieshavesigneditsofar.Atthenationallevel,discussionspreparatorytothesignatureofthiskindofagree-mentaregenerallyinter-ministerial,althoughthefinaldecisionisoftentakenatthepoliticallevel.
Additionally, inordertomanagetheinterventionofalargenumberofNGOsintheeventofnaturaldisasters,whichob-structstheclearanceprocess,theModelAgreementprovidesfortheuseofaModelCertificateallowingtheUNtoguaranteethatanNGOoranindividualisabonafideparticipantintheUNreliefoperationbeingundertakenattherequestofthegovern-mentandassuchisentitledtotheapplicationoftheCustomsfacilitationmeasuresprovidedforundertheAgreement.
Thecentralisationoftheformalities,andoftheprocessingofreliefconsignments,isessentialifwearetomanagehumani-tarianaideffectively,andCustomsisideallyplacedtooccupyakeyroleinthecoordinationandmanagementofhumanitariancrises.TothisendOCHAmaintainsa“DirectoryofNationalFocalPointsandLegislationforCustomsFacilitationinInter-nationalEmergencyHumanitarianAssistance”onitswebsite:
Haiti : a Makeshift camp
48 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
www.reliefweb.int.WCOMembers are invited toprovidetheUNwiththecontactdetailsofnationalCustomsfocalpointsand/ortoensurethatthesede-tailsareup-to-date.
Foritspart,theIFRCen-couragedWCOMembers
toensurethattheirdomesticregulatoryframeworksareprop-erlypreparedforthemostcommonCustomsproblemsencoun-teredintheeventofadisaster(asdescribedinits2007studyandinseveraldozencasestudiesavailableonitswebsite:www.ifrc.org/idrl.Thedisasterreliefandrecoveryguidelines(mentionedearlierinthisarticle)couldproveusefulinsuchanappraisal.TheIFRCalsonotedthatnationalRedCrossandRedCrescentSocietiesoftenhaveextensiveexperienceandexpertiseinthisfieldthattheycanshare.
Atthecloseofthediscussions,andtakingaccountoftheurgentneedtoestablishefficientclearancesystems,thePTCidentified
thissubjectasoneofitsmainprioritiesoverthenext12months.AworkingsessionwillthereforebedevotedtothisissueatthePTC’snextmeetinginOctober2010.
TheWCOSecretariatiscurrentlydraftingaMemorandumofUnderstandingoncooperationbetweentheWCOandOCHAontheonehand,andbetweentheWCOandtheIFRContheother,whichitintendstosignveryshortly.ItisalsoinvolvedinanAdvisoryConsultativeCommitteerecentlysetupbytheIFRCtodrawupmodelnationallegislationcoveringinternationalaidintheeventofadisaster,whichhelditsfirstmeetinginGenevaon19April2010.Finally,itisinterestingtonotethatthePolicyCommissionhasalsoincludedthisissueontheagendaforitsnextsessioninJune2010.
WCOmeasuresonemergencyhumanitarianaidareavailableonitswebsite.
More informationwww.wcoomd.orgwww.reliefweb.intwww.ifrc.org/idrl
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Haiti: “Rather than give up, Customs must forge ahead!”
At4.53p.m.localtimeon12January2010,adevastatingearthquakeregistering7ontheRichterscalestruckHaiti
approximately15kmwestofthecapital,Port-au-Prince.
ThistremorofunprecedentedviolencecausedthecollapseofmanydwellingsandhotelsaswellasgovernmentbuildingsofsturdierconstructionsuchasthePresidentialPalace,theParlia-ment,theMinistryofFinance,theMinistryofPublicWorks,themainprisonandtheTaxationOffice.Thedeathtollstandsatover300000,withhundredsofthousandsinjuredandmillionsofHaitianslefthomeless.
Sincethequake,over450settlements–mostcommonlycon-sistingofmakeshiftcamps–havesprungupinanunplannedmannerinPort-au-Prince.Theonsetoftherainyseasonisnowthegreatestcauseforconcern,giventhataccesstoproperwa-terproofshelterwillnotbeavailabletoallthedisaster’svictims.Whatismore,therainwillworsensanitaryconditionsandsub-stantiallyincreasetheriskofepidemicsanddisease.
InMay2010,theWCOSecretariatvisitedHaitianCustomsinPort-au-Princetoexpressthesympathyandsupportofthein-ternationalCustomscommunityasawhole.Thequakeobviously
didnotspareHaitianCustoms.NineCustomsofficersperishedinthedisaster,some15wereseriouslyinjuredandallwithoutexceptionlostfamilymembers.
Customsinfrastructurewasalsobadlydamaged.Theirhead-quartersbuildingisonthevergeofcollapseandthefullstaffcomplement has been transferred to the Customs School
Customs headquarters in ruins
©CPB
49WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
premises.ThesepremisesaretoocrampedandtheDirectorateGeneral’sdivisionshavetoworkinshiftsasthereisnotenoughroomforeveryone.ThebuildingsatPort-au-PrinceInternationalAirportarealsooutofcommissionandCustomshastakenupresidenceinahangerfittedoutatveryshortnoticesothatof-ficerscanperformtheirduties.
Port facilities too were completely levelled by the quake(wharves,warehouses,administrativebuildings,etc.).Pendingreconstruction,theUnitedStateshasloanedtheportauthoritiestwofloatingdocksthatenablesomecommercialvesselstoberth.DeepdraughtvesselshavenooptionbuttounloadtheircargointheDominicanRepublic.ThecontainersarethentransportedoverlandviaMalpasseCustomsoffice(theborderpostlinkingthetwocountries),whichdoesnothavesufficientcapacitygiventhecircumstances.Onceattheoffice,thegoodsareplacedunderatransitprocedureuntiltheyreachPort-au-Prince.
Inspiteofalltheseproblems,HaitianCustomssucceededinget-tingthe“ASyCUDA”Customsclearancesystemupandrunningagainwithinafortnightofthedisaster;animportantfeatasCus-tomscurrentlygenerates65%ofthecountry’stotaltaxrevenue.
TheDirectorGeneralofHaitianCustoms,Mr.Jean-JacquesVal-entin,hastheuseofasmallofficeintheCustomsSchoolwherehewelcomedtheWCOrepresentative.Duringthediscussionsheunderscoredhisadministration’soutstandingeffortsduring
f O C U s
thistimeofcrisisandhisstaff’saccessibilityandreceptive-nessdespitethedifficultiesencountered.“Ratherthangiveup,Customsmustforgeahead!”saidMr.Valentin.SuchisthewatchwordadoptedbytheDirectorGeneralandhisDirectorstomaintaintheirmotivationinthefaceofacatastropheofthisscale.
More [email protected]
Port-au-Prince commercial port out of service
(1) A district of Port-au-Prince levelled
by the quake
(2) The remains of the Finance Ministry
(3) Malpasse border office linking Haiti
and the Dominican Republic
(1)
(2)
(3)
50 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
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Using Statistics to Fight Corruptionby Bryane Michael and Nigel Moore
ManyCustomsmanagersthinktheyneedexpensivecomputersystems
andcomputerexpertstodetectcorrup-tionusingstatisticalmethods.Thisisnottrue!Therearemanywaysforadiligentmanagertoquicklyandrelativelyeas-ilyidentifysuspiciousactivitiesacrossawiderangeofCustomsoperations.WewilltrytoshowhowaregionalCustomsmanagercandetectcorruptionjustbylookingatgraphsofdata.
CanyoufindthetwoorthreesuspiciousinspectorsinthedatagraphshowninFig-ure1?Lookfordatapointswhichlookunusual–justuseyourcommonsense.TheFigurecomparestheclearancetimesforanumberofinspectorsandthevalueofinspectionstheycarryout.Ofcourse,theinspectorswhotaketoolongaresus-picious.However,theoneinspectorwhoclearstooquicklyalsorepresentsarisk.Wehavecolouredthesepointsforeasyreference.
Thesimplegraphshowsthebasiccon-ceptofrisk.youmaybeusedtothinkingabouttheloneinspectoratafarawaybordercrossingatnightasacorruption“risk.” The modern manager thoughalsothinksofriskasstatisticalvariance.Namely,howmuchdifferencesarethereingroupsofdata?LookingatFigure1,weactuallyseetwogroupsofdata–onegroup(clearinggoodsbetween3and6hours)andasecondgroupoutsidethisnorm(i.e.around2hoursand7hours
respectively).Thesecondgroupofofficersisaconcernbecausetheyareoutsidethenormalrange.Thestatisticshavethereforehighlightedthemforfurtherattention.Asamanagerweneedtoestablishwhatthereasonsfortheseanomaliesare.
Howcanwelookatthevariance(orriskinourjargon)ofperformanceindicatorsweareinterestedin(likeclearancetimes)withoutprintingthousandsofgraphsanddataplots?Maybeyourememberfromyourmathsclassesthenotionofastandarddeviation.Thestandarddeviation(representedbytheGreekletters)measuresthedispersionorspreadofdata.Averageimportvalues,timesrequiredforclearanceorothervariablesweareinterestedinwillhaveastandarddeviationwhichhelpsusmeasurethe“risk”ofcorruption,inefficiency(orjustrandomunpredictability).ThestandarddeviationinFigure1forclearancetimesisbetween3and6hours.
Figure 1: An Anti-Corruption Rorschach Test
100
150
200
250
300
2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 5.5 6 6.5 7
time for clearance (hours)
value (thousands)
Source: We have made up these data for this example.
Val
ueo
fgoo
ds
(Tho
usan
ds)
51WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
f O C U s
youcaneasilycalculatethestandardde-viationofsuchthingsasimportvaluesorclearancetimesusingMicrosoftExcel.Figure2showshowthiscanbedoneus-inganotherexample–thetimestwobor-derpoints(BlueNorthandBlueSouth)taketodetectaCustomsoffence.Eventhoughgroup1workinginBlueNorthatfirstglanceappearmore“efficient”(theydetectedmoreoffences),theyareinfactalsomoreriskythantheBlueSouthgroupwhenlookingatthestandarddeviationofthetwogroups.This isbecausethestandarddeviationoftimesindetectedoffencesequaledabout2.4daysinBlueNorthwhereasBlueSouth’sratevariedbylessthanoneday.Asshown,tofindthestandarddeviationsofthesegroups,justselectthedata,and–inanewcell–type“stdev.”Inthebrackets,choosethedatayouwant.youseetwostandarddevia-tionsinFigure2.
Fromastatisticalpointofview, riskyCustomsofficers(andgroups)arethere-fore those who are “different.” Theyhavehigherstandarddeviations–theyaremoreabnormal.Theyincludeindi-vidualswhoaredifferentfromtherestofthegroup.Fromastatisticalanalysisperspective, being different is “bad”.Managersneedtoestablishthecauseforsuchdifferences.
Statisticsservesasatoolthatcanhelpusidentifyandquantifyrisks–inthiscasetheriskofcorruption.Andstatisticscanalsoallowustoquantifythecost(onav-erage)ofcorruptioninCustoms.Namely,theexpectedvalueofcorruptioninapartofCustomsoperationsequalsthevalueofgoodsclearedmultipliedbytheprobabil-itythatofficersaretakingbribes.Forex-ample,if50Customsofficershavea15%probabilityoftaking€50,000inbribeseach,thentheexpectedlevelofcorrup-tioninthatgroupisequalto€375,000.Wejustmultiplytheprobabilityofbribe-takingbytheamounttheseinspectorsmaybetaking.
Infraction BlueNorth BlueSouth1 2.4 24.22 1.3 22.13 4.3 23.34 5.3 25.25 3.5 23.16 6.3 24.47 7.4 24.68 5.3 24.59 6.4 22.110 7.5 22.311 2.5 2312 1.3 24.213 11.6 24.7 =stdev(C4:C18)14 7.1 23.915 9.9 24.1
Average 5.5 23.7Standarddev. 2.38 0.85
Manyreadersmayseriouslydoubtthevalueofusingastatistics-basedapproachtohelpfightcorruption.Weknowthejokesaboutstatistics–andhowunusualtheseconceptsmayseemwhenreadforthefirsttime.Statisticsisonlyonetoolamongmanytodetectandpreventcorruption.WearenotsuggestingthatyouturnyourCustomsserviceintoastatisticsfaculty.Nordowesuggestyoufireyourintelligenceofficersandinvestigators.Instead,wesuggestthatyourmanagersaretrainedtousebasicstatisticalanalysisskillstohelpidentifypossiblecorruptactivitiesi.e.onesthatasimplegraphmayshowalltooclearly.
Whilewehavetriedtomakethesubjectsimple,pleasedon’taccuseanyoneofcor-ruptionwithouthavingaprofessionallookatthedatafirst!
FurtherinformationonthesubjectcanalsobefoundinourcompanionarticleintheWorldCustomsJournal(www.worldcustomsjournal.org).Wecanalsobecontacteddirectlyviaemailshouldyouwishtoclarifyanypointsorhaveaspecificquestionyouwouldlikeustoanswer.
Abouttheauthors:
More [email protected]
Figure2:UsingExceltoCalculateStandardDeviations
Nigel Moore is an independent Customs Expert.
Bryane Michael works at the Stockholm School
of Economics.
52 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
On International Customs Day, Baha-masorganizedapublicforumwithlocalbrokerage companies and the generalpublic that included a question andanswersessionandtheexchangeofideasandconcerns.
CambodiaestablisheditsCustoms-Pri-vateSectorPartnershipMechanismaimedatraisingawarenessamongallstakehold-ers,acceleratingbettercooperation,andensuringefficienciesintheimplementa-tionofthegovernment’stradefacilita-tionpolicyandalsopoliciesoftheWCO,especiallytheWCOSAFEFrameworkofStandards.
Cambodia:Q&Aduringtheofficiallaunchofthenewmechanism
TheSecretariattoohastakenupthechallenge by setting in motion a
projecttorevisitall itsMemorandaofUnderstandingwiththeprivatesectorwithaviewtoexploringwhethertheyarestillfitforpurpose,whethertheyneedtobeupdatedandstrengthenedorwhethertheyneedtobecompletelyrenegotiatedtotakeonboardnewopportunitiesandchallengesoftoday’sinternationaltradingenvironment.Acentralpartoftheprojectistoensurethatexchangeofinformationprovisionsarereinforcedtothegreatestextentpossibleassharingofinformationisrecognizedasplayingakeyroleinen-hancingCustoms-Tradeoperationsandperformance.
AsmallsamplingofconcretenationalCustoms initiatives reported to WCONewsappearbelow:
KoreaCustomsService(KCS)signednu-merousMOUswithbusinesses,reinforc-ingtheKCSsurveillancenetworkoverdrugs,gunsandsmugglingactivities.TheKCSbusinesspartnershipisparticularlystrongonIPRissues,illustratednotablybytheCyberMonitoringTeamwhichenablesCustomsandcustomer-grouprepresent-ativestokeepwatchontransactionsofcounterfeitgoodsincyberspace.
TheRoyalMalaysianCustomsDepart-mentconductedaCustoms-PrivateSec-torConsultativeMeetingtodiscussvari-ousaspectsofCustomsmattersinordertoenhancetradefacilitation.
NorwaychosetodedicateInternationalCustomsDaytotheCustoms-BusinessPartnership in the fightagainstcoun-terfeiting,astrategicallyimportantis-suethatillustrateditsgoodcooperationwithbusiness.NorwegianCustomsandExcisecooperatesonadailybasiswiththeConfederationofNorwegianEnter-prises.Theyinvitedthepresstowitnesshowmanycounterfeitproductsaredis-coveredatthemainmailterminalduringasingleweek.
Following the WCO’s decision to dedicate 2010 to promoting the importance and necessity for Customs-Business partnerships especially in light of the fact that partnerships form one of the 10 core building blocks in the WCO Customs in the 21st Century strategic policy, Customs administrations around the world have rallied to concretise the Secretary General of the WCO’s call by undertaking a number of positive initiatives in this area.
Customs community rallies to improve Customs-Business partnerships
Cambodia Customs Management Board and private sector
representatives
Cambodia: Q&A during the official launch of
the new mechanism
Malaysia's Director General of
Customs with the Minister of
Finance who presented Certificates
of Merit to the private sector
Malaysia: Customs and the private sector
consult
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53WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
UkrainianCustomshighlightedthelat-estdevelopmentsinitscooperationwithbusiness:theimplementationoftheAEOconceptfortrustedtraders(theso-called“white”and“green”lists);thelaunchofthe“e-Customs”projectandtheintro-ductionof its firstphase,namely, the“e-Declaration”.Thetradingcommunitywereinvitedtocommentonthesebreak-throughsandonthedynamicsoftheCus-tomsbusiness.
Côted’IvoirelaunchedaTimeReleaseObservatorytoenhanceitsrelationshipwithbusiness.Ithadsetupseveralcon-sultationcommitteeswiththeprivatesectorandannouncedtheestablishmentofanationalcommitteeonIPRs.Businessrepresentativestooktheopportunitytocommentonthechangesmadeand,whilerecognizingprogressmade,highlightedthenecessity toaccelerateclearancesandtomovetoapaperlessenvironment.
WiththeassistanceoftheWCO,MoroccolaunchedanIntegrityObservatoryaspartoftheireffortstoenhancethebusinessenvironment.
BruneiCustomsannouncedthatitplanstodevelopseveralactivitieswiththebusi-nesscommunityduring2010,includinganumberofdialoguesessionstoexchangeideasandexperience.Bruneihighlightedtheneedtochangeitsmindsetandup-gradeworkingprocessesandperform-ance,encourageapro-businessattitude,andbetterunderstandtheneedsofentre-preneurswhodonotwanttobehinderedwithregulationsandproceduresthatarenolongerrelevant.
InMali,aSeminaronCustoms-BusinessPartnershipswasanoccasiontohighlighttheeffortsmadebyCustomssuchasthereviewoftheCustomscode,theagree-mentswithneighbouringcountriesontransitprocedures,theongoingITinte-grationofCustomsprocedures,theuseofscannerequipmenttoreduceclearancetimes,etc.Otherprojectstofacilitateandsimplifyprocedurestosupportbusinessdevelopmentareunderway.
TunisiausedInternationalCustomsDaytolaunchtheTunisianAEOprogrammeandtoexplainindetailtheconditionsand
requirementsacompanyneedstofulfilltoobtainthisnewstatus.
InCameroon,adebatetookplacedur-ingwhichthemainissuesandobstacleshinderingtradewerediscussed.DelegatesrecognizedthatmanythingshavebeenputintoplacetodeveloptheCustoms-BusinessPartnershipincludingaBusinessCustomsForumandacommitteetopro-moteintegrity.Alldelegatesalsounder-linedtheneedforregulationstobewellappliedandforeveryplayerinthe“tradechain”tocomplywiththeirresponsibility.
The2010InternationalCustomsDaycel-ebrationscorrespondedwiththeopeningoftheMeetingofCustomsOfficersfromtheWestAfricanEconomicandMonetaryUnioninNiger.Customsrepresentativesfrom the eight member countries ex-changedexperiencesinordertofindso-lutionsthatwouldfacilitateanincreaseintradeandeconomicintegration.
HongKongCustomsannouncedtherolloutofitselectronicRoadCargoSystem(ROCARS)tofacilitateroadcargoclear-
Korea Customs Commissioner poses with Ambassadors accredited
to Korea
China awards Certificates of Merit to Customs officers and business representatives
Representatives
from the private
sector honoured by
Indonesian Customs
Customs officers and
their business partners
cycle together in
Indonesia
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54 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
ances.ROCARSwasdevelopedinclosecollaborationwithindustryandallowsshipperstosubmitroadcargodataelec-tronically in advance of the Customsclearance.
IsraelicelebrationscoveredbothInter-nationalCustomsDayandits60thanni-versaryduringwhichtheynotedthepastthroughtothepresentwhilelookingintothefuture.Theireventemphasizedthein-volvementofandclosecooperationbe-tweenIsraelCustomsandthecountry’sforeigntradecommunity.
TheworkdonebyHerMajesty’sRevenueandCustomsintheUnitedKingdomtohelpinternationaltradewasplacedunderthespotlight.Thisworkcoverseverythingfromhelpingmajorcarmanufacturerstosharingandexchanginginformationonseacontainers,throughtoreducingtheamountofpaperworkforFastParcelOp-eratorswhocompleteCustomsentriesonbehalfofimporters.
JordanCustomscontinuedtoenhanceitspartnershipwiththeprivatesectorwithparticularemphasisonsupplychainse-curityandtheprotectionofintellectualpropertyrights.TheirCustoms-BusinessPartnershipCouncilprovidesaplatformforthefrankexchangeofviewsonissuesthatdetereconomicgrowthandhindertheflowofgoods.
Portugal’sCustomsadministrationandtheLisbonTradeAssociationmettoim-provetheirperformancethroughpartner-shipandSudanCustomssignedanMOUwithamajorcompanytocombatcom-mercialfraud.
Moregenerally,ceremoniestookplaceacross theglobecelebrating theworkofCustomsinkeepingthemovementofgoodsflowingandthereforeencourag-ingtrade.ManyCustomsadministrationawarded Customs officers with WCOCertificatesofMeritfordisplayingpro-fessionalismandskill.
Given the focus on Customs-BusinessPartnershipsin2010,theWCOdecidedthatitwouldbeappropriatetoalsoawardCertificatesofMerittoprivatesectorin-dividuals and organizations that wereplayingapositivepartinthisarea.ManyCustomsadministrationsfollowedsuitbyawardingcertificatestotheirnationalpri-vatesectorrepresentativeswhoseworkhadcontributedtotransparencyandim-provedtrade.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
Japan awards certificates to private sector representatives Italy honours deserving Customs officers Canada Border Services Agency hosts a public
information event
New Zealand Customs holds an open day that included a number of displays, detector dog demonstrations and tours of the Hawk IV vessel.
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55WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Canada Border Services Agency hosts a public
information event
Canada Border Services Agency hosts a public information event German Customs investigators receive Certificates
of Merit
Awarding Certificates of Merit to Customs
officers in the Dominican Republic
A Portuguese Customs officer receives a WCO
Certificate of Merit Dutch Customs officers pose with their Certificates of Merit
Israel's Director General of Customs and the Director General of the Tax Au-
thority hand out a Certificate of Appreciation to the previous Director General
of the Department of Customs & VAT in the presence of senior officials
New Zealand Customs holds an open day that included a number of displays, detector dog demonstrations and tours of the Hawk IV vessel.
An ICD poster in Norway showing fake medicines and the words
"Do not let this into the country".
Private sector and Customs representatives meet in Ukraine
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56 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
Fusing data to deliver integrated business solutions
The page turns at the German Zollkriminalamt
Thiswasonlythesecondtimethat
the WCO has helditsannualITConfer-
enceandExhibitioninEuropesincetheveryfirsteventinBrusselsbackin2002.TheunexpectedroleoftheIcelandicvol-canoaddedanewdimensiontotheproc-essandwhileregistrationswereaffectedinthelastweekorso,participantshadatrulywonderfulexperienceintheIrishcapitalfrom28-30April.Thisoutcomewasdowntotheeffortsofmanyindividu-als,buttheWCOowesahugethankyoutoitsco-host,theIrishRevenueCom-missioner,JosephineFeehily,whotookanenormousamountoftimefromherbusyscheduletobeaveryvisiblepartofallproceedings.
AfteralongandverysuccessfulcareerwiththeGermanCustomsadminis-
tration,Karl-HeinzMatthias,theHeadof theGermanZollkriminalamt (ZKA)retiredon30April2010afterhavingdi-rectedtheZKAfor20years.TheZKAisresponsibleforCustomscriminalinves-tigations.GuestsfromvariouscountriesjoinedKarl-HeinzattheZKAofficesinColognetosayfarewellandtowishhimwellinhisretirement.
TheWCOhascountedondedicatedsup-portbytheZKAinmanydifferentCus-tomscompliancemattersovertheyears.Duringtheearlynineties,Karl-Heinzandhisofficerssupportedmanyoperationalprogrammesandprojectsinitiatedbythe
Thereweremanyotherindividualeffortsinvolvedinmakingthe2010eventsuchanoutstandingsuccess;theentireteamattheOfficeoftheRevenueCommis-sionersworkedtirelessly,withflairandgreatfriendlinessinsupportingtheWCOcontingentandtheofficialconferenceor-ganizers.Itisimportanttonotethecon-tributionfromourmaineventsponsor,Accenture,andalltheothersponsorsandexhibitorswithoutwhomnothingwouldhavebeenpossible–thisistheWCOyearoftheCustoms-BusinessPartnershipandtheITConferenceandExhibitionisatan-gibledemonstrationofthatpartnership.
Thereweremanymemorablemomentsforallparticipants.Onthefirsteveningatthehistoricallyimportantandverylovely
WCO.TheyhostedtheBalkanInfo,MarInfoandCargoInfosystemsandactivelyassistedinorganizinganumberofdrugrelatedenforcementoperationssuchasCarmenItoIV,andlaterOperationRoad-runnerandfollowupoperationswhichtargeteddrugs,counterfeits,precursorsandotherenforcementissues.Progress-ingfromtheseoperations,theWCOlaterdevelopeditsvariousCENapplicationswhicharethecornerstoneofmodernCus-tomsandlawenforcementcooperation.
Karl-Heinzveryearlyrealizedtheimpor-tanceofcommunicationandintelligenceinCustomslawenforcementandofferedtheZKAasa“home”fortheWCO’sRe-gional Intelligence Liaison Office forWestern Europe (RILO WE). RILO WEwillalwaysbeassociatedwithhisnameandhissupporttotheWCO.Hisvision,hisdeterminationandhisinternationallyrecognizedcompetenceinenforcementmattersmadehimmanyfriendsintheinternationallawenforcementcommu-nityandunderlinedinmanyinstancesthe
MansionHouseindowntownDublinallweretreatedtothecrystalclearpurityofthevoicesofatroupeofCelticsing-ersthatprovidedanevocative,almosthauntingexperiencethatallpresentshallneverforget.NomentionofIrelandcanbecompletewithouttheword“Guinness”andthenexteveningwashostedatoneofthetrulysymboliciconsofIreland–theGuinnessStorehouse–andtherecannotbeamoreappropriatesettingforatra-ditionalIrisheveningwithgreatviewsofthecityofDublin,thelovelydancingandofcourse,theGuinness!
FromtheopeningaddressbyConorLeni-han,theIrishMinisterforScience,Technol-ogyandInnovationtotheclosingspeechesbyJosephineFeehilyandSergioMujica,theWCODeputySecretaryGeneral,therewasanexcellentline-upofspeakersfromCus-tomsandtheprivatesector.TheWCOhasbuiltanenviablerecordofsuccesswiththeITConferenceandExhibitionatlocationsallovertheworldand2010haskeptthatrecordintact.Therewerehighlypertinent
crucialroleCustomshastoplayinfightingallformsofCustomsandExciserelatedcrime.TheWCOalsobenefitedthroughKarl-Heinz’ssupportinprovidingmanyhighlyqualifiedexpertstorunoperationsandtoevaluateWCOdrivenprogrammes.
Hislegendary“Newyear’sReception”atoraroundthedateofInternationalCus-tomsDayon26January,wasoftenusedbyKarl-HeinztopersonallyawardWCOCertificatesofMerittodedicatedCus-tomsofficials.AsafriendoftheWCO,Karl-HeinzwillalwaysberememberedforhislonglastingcommitmenttotheZKAandtheWCO,andforhispersonalcontri-butiontoimprovingglobalCustomslawenforcement.
WewishKarl-Heinzandhisfamilyalltheverybestforthefuture.
More informationwww.zoll.de
FUSING DATA TO TRANSFORM
BUSINESS PROCESSES
2010 WCO IT Conference & Exhibition
28-30 April 2010 • Dublin • Ireland
S
Corporate Event Sponsor
Hosted By
Irish Tax & Customs
Karl-Heinz Matthias at his farewell reception
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57WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
“Looking back, looking forward”
TheTechnicalCommitteeonCustomsValuationheldalandmarkeventdur-
ingitsrecentsessionatWCOHeadquar-terstocelebratethe30thanniversaryoftheGATT/WTOValuationAgreement.
TheeventwasanopportunitytotakestockofhowtheValuationAgreementwasworkingintoday’sinternationaltrad-ingenvironment,takingintoaccountthevastchangeswhichhavetakenplaceoverthepast30years.ItwasrecognisedthattheAgreementwasfirstdraftedatatimewheninternationaltradeasweknowit
todaywasstillinitsinfancy-worldtradevolumehassincein-creasedby525%.Thisposes difficulties fortoday’sCustomsvalu-ationspecialists;sup-ply chains and multi-nationalstructureshavebecomeevermoreso-phisticatedandcomplex,andlargepaymentsarebeingmadefor intellec-tualpropertyrightsandotherservicesconnectedwithimportedgoods.Forthesereasons,theTechnicalCommitteehasbeenworkinghardontrickytechnicalquestionssuchaswhethercertainroyaltypaymentsshouldbepartoftheCustomsvalue,therelevanceoftransferpricingtoCustomsvalue,anddeterminingwhichpartiesinachainshouldberegardedasthebuyerandsellerforCustomsvalua-tionpurposes.
Inmostdevelopingcountries,effectiveimplementationandapplicationoftheWTOValuationAgreementisoftenquot-edasoneofthemainproblemsfacedbyCustomsadministrations.Informaltradeacrossnationalbordershasincreasedandbecomemorediverse,oftenaccompaniedbysuspectedfalseinvoicesandunder-valuation.Theseissueswereaddressedduring the anniversary event and arealsobeingconsideredinthecontextoftheWCO’sRevenuePackagewhichwasdesignedtostrengthenfairandefficientrevenuecollectioninlightoftheglobalfi-nancialcrisisandconsequentialdecliningdutyrates.AseriesofWorkshops,fundedbyJapan,iscurrentlybeingheldineach
ofthesixWCOregions.WCOMembersarebeingencour-agedtoutilizeexistingrele-vanttoolsandinstrumentsandarebeinggiventheop-portunityto identifyanddiscussareaswheretheywould appreciate moreguidance.Todate,valu-ation,particularlyinthecontext of commercialfraud, has emerged asthemainthemewherefurtherhelpissought.
Aswellaslookingbackoverthepast30yearsatthelessonslearnt,speak-ersandpanellistsalsolookedforwardtofuturechallengesforCustomsvaluationandconsideredwaystoaddressthem.Thereisaneedforincreasedcommercialawareness,sothatCustomscanenhanceits understanding of modern businesspracticesandmeetbusinessexpectations.TheimportanceofstrongpartnershipsbetweenCustomsadministrationswasalsoemphasized.TheclosetiesbetweentheWCOandtheWTOwerefurtherre-inforcedduringtheeventwhichstretchesbacktothecreationoftheWTOin1995.
Finally,thecelebrationwasalsoatimefornostalgia;aValuationMuseumofin-terestingartefactsandphotoswassetupandsomefamiliarfacesfromthevalua-tionworld,pastandpresent,wereabletocatchupwitholdfriendsandcolleagues.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
presentationson thecomplex subjectofbusinesstransformationthroughthefusionofdataandtheexhibitionstandsallowedvendorstoshowcasetheirexper-tiseandworld-classsolutionstoaneageraudience.
FinallythereisthesubjectofDublinit-selfandIrelandmorebroadly.Everybodythereshallhavelastingimpressionsofthekind,welcomingandhumorouspeo-plewhoarethebasisoftherichculturalexperiencethatIrelandoffers.
More informationwww.wcoomd.org
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58 WCO News – No 62 – June 2010
WCO’s continued commitment to enhancing tariff classification
Improvingtariffclassificationwork isrecognisedasapriority in theWCO
StrategicPlan,whichcallsfortheimple-mentationofbestpracticesinthisarea.These best practices are enshrined intwoveryimportantWCOCouncilRec-ommendationsonthe introductionofprogrammesforbindingpre-entryclas-sificationinformation(1996)andontheimprovementoftariffclassificationworkandrelatedinfrastructure(1998).
Since1988,whenthefirstversionoftheHScameintoforce,theWCOSecretariathasbeenassistingWCOMembersintheireffortstoimplementtheHSandenhancetariff classification work. In the earlymonthsof2010,fiveHSseminarstookplaceattheregionalandnationallevelwiththesupportoftheOrganization.
Seminar in East and Southern AfricaModernisationoftariffclassificationworkwasthetopicofaseminarthattookplaceinMombasa(Kenya)from8-11FebruarywhichgatheredalmosttheentireregionofEastandSouthernAfricatogether.Twenty-sevenCustomsofficersfrom20countriesdiscussedhowbesttoorganisetheirtariffclassificationinfrastructurebyprojectingthestandardsrecommendedbytheWCOontocurrentpractices,byidentifyingcom-monstrengthsandweaknesses,andbycontemplatingmeasuresneededtokeeptariffclassificationworkinlinewithmod-ernstandardsandrequirements.TheSemi-naralsofocusedonaddressingproblemsintheareaofestablishingadvancetariffrulingprogrammes–anissuethatremainshighontheWCOagenda.
Seminar in West and Central AfricaFrom15-19February,aregionalseminarfortheWestandCentralAfricaregionfocusingonHS2007tookplaceinOua-gadougou (BurkinaFaso).Twenty-twoparticipantsfromsevencountrieswereintroducedtotheworkoftheWCOHScommittees and sub-committees, toWCO Council Recommendations, andtotheHS2007amendments.TheywerealsoacquaintedwiththeWCOcommod-itydatabasewhichoffersthepossibilityofsearchingbykeywordorbyusinganHScodenumber,HSpublications,andtheWCOHSe-learningtools.
Workshop in Timor-LesteEnhancingtheabilityofTimor-LesteCus-tomsofficerstoclassifygoodsandtojus-tifytheirclassificationdecisionswasthemainreasonbehindanationalWCOHSCapacityBuildingWorkshopheldinDili(Timor-Leste)from8-12February.
The25participantslearntthemechanicsofclassification–thestep-by-stepproc-essoffirstidentifyinggoods,andsecondidentifyingthepossiblechaptersusingtheTableofContents,thenlocatingtheappro-priateheadings,next,consideringtherela-tiveSectionandChapterNotesand,finally,classifyinginthesixdigitsubheading.
Diagnostic in LiberiaIn2009aWCOdiagnosticmissionwasconducted inLiberiaduringwhichtheneedtoassistthecountryintheHSareawasidentified.Asaresult,aworkshopontheimplementationoftheHSConventionandtheWCOclassificationworkmodelwas organised during March 2010 toidentifytheorganizationalstrengthsandweaknessesoftariffclassificationworkinordertodeterminespecificneedsforas-sistance.WiththehelpofWCOexperts,participantsanalyzedthecurrentsitua-tion,identifiedobjectivesanddevelopedanactionplanforthemodernisationoftariffclassificationworkinLiberia.
Seminar for the Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and the Russian FederationAseminaronmanagingthechallengesposedbyacommontariffandCustomspolicyincludingtariffclassificationissuesinthenewlyestablishedCustomsUnionbetween Belarus, Kazakhstan and theRussianFederationtookplacefrom17-18FebruaryinMinsk(Belarus).Theseminarprovidedclarificationoncertainproce-duresandmechanismsformanagingtheCustomsUnion’sHSrelatedactivities,aswellasmorepracticalinformationontheuseoftheHSindailywork.
ConclusionThesetrainingopportunitiesareastepto-wardstheconcreteimprovementofthesituationinthefield.Customsadminis-trationstoomusttakepracticalmeasurestoimplementWCOinstrumentsontariffclassificationworkandthelatestversionoftheHSwhichcatersforgoodscurrentlybeingtradedinternationally.
ThenextversionoftheHSnomenclaturewillenterintoforceon1January2012.Customsadministrationsareencouragedto begin the process of implementingHS2012intheirnationalCustomstarifforstatisticalnomenclatures.
More [email protected]
In Timor-Leste
In Kenya
In Liberia
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