On 9 July 2021, the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA) hosted an online diagnostic workshop on advance rulings. The workshop was held in the context of ZIMRA’s ongoing effort to modernise its tariff classification work model, in cooperation with the EU-WCO Programme for the Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme).

The workshop was preceded by a comprehensive analysis of the most essential aspects of Zimbabwe’s national advance ruling system as well as the underlying regulatory and organisational framework. This analysis was carried out against WCO standards related to advance rulings, such as the Council Recommendation on the introduction of programmes for binding pre-entry classification information (1996), as well as the WTO-TFA Article 3 requirements.

Workshop participants welcomed a presentation by a WCO accredited expert from the Spanish Customs administration on the EU Binding Tariff Information (BTI) system, as an example of a best practice approach to managing modern and trade facilitative advance ruling systems. It was felt that the EU BTI system would be a good source of inspiration for the ZIMRA as to how the advance ruling system in Zimbabwe could be fine-tuned and optimised so that it could effectively serve its purpose.

During the workshop, further information for the diagnostic assessment was gathered, points for improvement of the advance ruling system identified and solutions discussed. ZIMRA experts reiterated their administration’s firm commitment to bringing the existing advance ruling system into full conformity with all relevant international standards, with the support of the WCO and the HS-Africa Programme.

For more details, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.