Under the umbrella of its multi-year strategic partnership with the WCO Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, a team of four Customs officials from Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) undertook an ASYCUDA World benchmarking mission to Zambia from 24 to 28 April 2023. The objective of the benchmarking visit was to share experiences and expertise in the functional and technical aspects of the ASYCUDA World system through the WCO’s Customs-to-Customs cooperation approach. The mission was part of a longer-term journey to support NamRA in its vision to become a world-class Revenue Agency and to effectively implement measures of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by applying automation to its best potential.
The Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) has vast experience in ASYCUDA World system-related matters and is well placed to help guide NamRA to effectively implement several measures of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by applying automation. The NamRA delegates were welcomed by Ms. Patricia Lungu, the Acting Deputy Commissioner – Operations NORTH, who emphasized the importance of knowledge-sharing among WCO Members, most notably within the region. The delegates were provided with an in-depth summary of the key modules in the ASYCUDA World system that was developed in-house by ZRA, including the e-payment concept, valuation controls, self-assessment, the Centralised Processing Centre, and the Mineral Output Statistical Evaluation System (MOSES), with non-standard features embedded.
The Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme looks forward to its continued partnership with NamRA for the effective implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and inclusive trade-led sustainable development and economic growth. Going forward, NamRA will provide an action-orientated outlook to apply the obtained knowledge and insights – working towards fostering the Namibia trading environment by facilitating the smooth movement of exports/imports via all points of entry and optimising revenue collection through a risk-based controlled system.
For more information on the Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme as supported by the United Kingdom’s His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), please see here.
For more information on WCO capacity building, please, contact Capacity.Building@wcoomd.org.