Based on a recommendation from a WCO-led Valuation diagnostic mission completed in Sierra Leone in September 2016, the WCO conducted a Workshop for the National Revenue Authority (NRA) to strengthen its Customs valuation training capacity. The Workshop took place in Freetown on the 9 to 12 of October 2017.

The Workshop combined sessions on technical valuation issues and trainer delivery skills. A number of exercises were held and each participant was given the opportunity to make a presentation on a Customs valuation topic. The mission was led by a representative of the Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate and co-facilitated by a WCO-accredited expert valuation trainer from the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA).

As part of the mission, a meeting was arranged with the Commissioner of Customs Service Department, Mr. Sahid Conteh, and senior managers. In this meeting, the expert from GRA shared Ghana’s experience in the termination of destination inspection contracts. Under paragraph 5.1 of Article 10 to the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, Members shall not require the use of preshipment inspections in relation to tariff classification and Customs valuation. The WCO has developed guidance under its Revenue Package programme to assist Members in preparing for termination of such contracts, which stresses the importance of developing the necessary capacity in advance to take over these core Customs functions.

This mission took place as part of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Programme which is a partnership between Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD) aiming at supporting developing and least-developed countries to effectively implement the provisions of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA) under the auspices of the WCO Mercator Programme. This programme is financially supported by the Government of the United Kingdom through HMRC.