Following the recommendations of the 2016 Mercator Programme Diagnostic Report for Bangladesh, the WCO delivered a PCA diagnostic for the National Board of Revenue in Dhaka 4-7 February 2019. This WCO PCA diagnostic was delivered under the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Programme funded by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) via Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom, under the auspices of the WCO Mercator Programme.

Mr. Khondaker Muhammad Aminur Rahman, Honourable Member of the National Board of Revenue (Customs Audit, Modernization and International Trade) officially opened the mission which included extensive consultations with different departments and sections within the NBR, including the Central Risk Management department, IT, ASYCUDA, Customs Valuation and Audit, Post Clearance Audit among others.

In addition to the four days of engagement at Customs headquarters in Dhaka, the mission also included a one day, onsite visit to the Customs House in Chittagong on the 11th of February, to directly observe Customs pre - and post clearance processes and their impact on trade facilitation in that country.

A meeting was also held with external stakeholders, to discuss the role of PCA in trade facilitation and how compliance levels can be improved by increasing the understanding of PCA among traders and Customs brokers. The discussions also covered traders’ responsibilities to keep records to enable effective post clearance control. The exchange was fruitful.  The external stakeholders were pleased to learn about the WCO concept of PCA and NBR’s commitments to implement the PCA function in accordance with WCO guidelines and international best practices. The NBR also expressed its satisfaction with the ongoing support provided by the WCO in other areas identified in the Mercator Programme Diagnostic Report. The WCO is looking forward to continue its collaboration with the NBR under the framework of the Mercator Programme.