With sponsorship of the Japanese Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan), a WCO Sub-Regional Train-the-Trainer Workshop on the Harmonized System (HS) was held at the Regional Training Center in Fiji, from 9 to 13 June 2014. 15 participants from six Customs Administrations (Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Timor-Leste, Tonga and Vanuatu) participated.

At the opening of the Workshop, Mr. Tekolevu, CEO of Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority, welcomed participants and noted that all administrations in the region had common issues. The matter of collecting revenue and secure boarders was not easy. He emphasized that classification was critical in international trade transactions. Most administrations in the Region were lacking equipment, but good staff could compensate. Capacity building was therefore very important and he invited participants to gain knowledge and share information and solutions in the spirit of this year’s WCO theme "communication". He thanked the ROCB and WCO for organizing and Japan for the funding of the Workshop.

During the Workshop a wide range of HS-related matters was addressed and the 15 participants were thoroughly informed about classification infrastructure and the fundamental principles of the General Rules and practicalities of HS classification to ensure correct and uniform application. Following presentations on training techniques, participants had an opportunity to practice their skills when presenting their classification questions and facilitating the ensuing discussions. As a result, participants are now better prepared to conduct HS training in their home administrations.

At the end of the seminar, administrations were recommended to continue capacity building, improve their classification infrastructure, introduce advance ruling programmes and to improve the internal and cross border communication. Countries that were not yet HS Contracting Parties were also invited to accede to the HS Convention.