WCO and UPU meet to enhance cooperation between Customs and postal administrations with the support of innovation and technology

30 marzo 2010

WCO and UPU meet to enhance cooperation between Customs and postal administrations with the support of innovation and technology

Bern, 26 March 2010

Report

At the invitation of the Director General of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), Edouard Dayan, WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, visited UPU headquarters in Bern, Switzerland on 26 March 2010 to discuss ways to enhance cooperation between Customs and postal operators.

Following the signing of a new MOU in 2007, the two organizations have intensified cooperation through the WCO/UPU Contact Committee. To facilitate postal traffic while ensuring compliance, the UPU has been developing an electronic version of its paper-based Postal Export Guide (PEG) which will include additional funtionalities. This new database (Guide) of prohibited and restricted import items by country of destination will enable postal operators and consumers to carry out searches by country, HS code and product description. In addition, it will facilitate trade by providing accurate information to postal users on regulatory matters, thereby assisting regulatory authorities to get reliable data from traders.

Another facilitative measure being developed by the UPU is the Post-Customs EDI message; an electronic pre-arrival message from postal operators to Customs at destination that covers the existing UPU paper-based formalities that Customs processes. The two organizations are working together to ensure its conformity with Version 3 of the WCO Data Model.

Secretary General Mikuriya and Director General Dayan agreed on the great potential for these initiatives in facilitating trade, especially for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) and individuals, while increasing the compliance level of traders. The WCO will support these initiatives and both organizations have undertaken to encourage dialogue and cooperation between Customs and postal operators at the national level through on-going and new projects to ensure the accuracy and adequacy of data for these initiatives.