Under the framework of the EU-WCO RoO Africa Programme, funded by the European Union, the World Customs Organization (WCO) hosted a study visit for the East Africa Community (EAC) on Self-Certification of Origin from the 1 to 4 April 2025, with an aim of enabling participants to learn good practices of origin self-certification systems and gain insights that will guide development and implementation of self-certification in the EAC region.  The participants comprised of Customs and Other Government Officials from Member States, as well as representatives from the EAC Secretariat.

The visit was designed to provide the participants with a tailormade and valuable learning opportunity to gain deeper understanding on the implementation of Self-Certification systems.  In this regard, the agenda was rich in experiential learning, including visits to the EU Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD), Belgium Customs and Netherlands Customs, where participants were taken through the legal framework enabling self-certification; administration and procedural requirements; infrastructure requirements; human resource requirements; and Customs controls inherent in self-certification systems.

At the conclusion of the visit, the participants had a reflective discussion session where they identified key lessons learnt and developed recommendations that would facilitate the implementation of Self-Certification of Origin within the framework of the EAC Rules of Origin.  Additionally, the delegates provided constructive feedback on the study visit and expressed their gratitude to both the EU and the WCO for the support offered which is expected to have long term impact on intra-regional trade facilitation. 

The RoO Africa Programme remains committed to its overall objective of contributing towards facilitation and increase of intra-African trade, trade between Africa and Europe, and between Africa and the rest of the world.  In this regard, the Programme will continue to work with the EAC and other Regional Economic Communities (RECs) within the Continent for actualization of this commitment.

For further information please contact EU-WCORoOAfrica.Program@wcoomd.org