The 28th Meeting of the Revised Kyoto Convention Management Committee (RKC/MC) was held from 7 to 11 March 2022. Over 180 Participants representing about 74 Contracting Parties to the RKC and 15 Observers joined the hybrid Meeting that was held both virtually via the KUDO platform and in-person at WCO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.
In his opening remarks, the Director of the Compliance and Facilitation, Mr. Pranab Kumar Das welcomed and congratulated the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Guatemala as the 130th and 131st Contracting Parties to the RKC. He also provided a brief update on the work done and progress made on the comprehensive review of the RKC.
This RKC/MC meeting mainly focused on progressing the review of the RKC with the goal of discussing the draft revised work plan of the comprehensive review process and possible way forward on “Step 4” of the Four-Step Framework.
At this Meeting, under “Step 4” of the four-step framework, the RKC/MC discussed and determined the way forward with respect to the potential draft text of the five concepts related to the General Annex, including the input from the European Union (EU) that do not relate to any specific concept. The concepts included measures to ensure consistency in applying national legislation, coordinated border management, establishment and publication of average release times (TRS), and temporary admission.
The 28th RKC/MC meeting decided to continue discussions on the draft revised work plan and to discuss the potential draft text relating to the Specific Annexes at the 29th RKC/MC Meeting. Since the comprehensive review of the RKC has entered into a critical phase, the meeting urged all Members and Observers to provide their full commitment and to actively participate throughout the process.
The RKC/MC also had the opportunity to hear from the Union of Comoros and the Republic of Guatemala about their experiences as they undertook the process to accede to the RKC.
The next RKC/MC will hold its 29th Meeting from 30 May to 3 June 2022.