In the context of the "Customs Capacity Building Project for WCO Member States 2012-2015", funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the WCO recently conducted a mission to Vietnam.

Thesupport to Vietnam Customs is focused on two areas:

• Improving the Customs Brokers licensing regime and the related policies and procedures: creating the conditions for Customs brokers to play a more active role in the Customs clearance process;
• Developing and implementing an enhanced Stakeholder engagement strategy: equipping Vietnam Customs with greater capacity to address organizational challenges through strengthened stakeholder relations;

Building on the scoping mission that was conducted in March of this year, this second mission to Vietnam, held from August 7 to 16, was conducted in collaboration with experts from the International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations (IFCBA) and Japan Customs. It focused on conducting a comprehensive review of the legislative framework as it pertains to Customs brokers, and in sharing best practices in increasing the knowledge of the broker community. On stakeholder engagement, the mission resulted in a draft of an improved strategy that will aim for improved voluntary compliance and the implementation of consultation mechanisms as part of future policy development.

During the mission, a first consultation meeting was held with representatives from the Customs Brokers that allowed to collect their initial feedback on the proposed changes to the legislative framework. The opportunity was well appreciated and will pave the way for the creation of a Customs broker association in the future.

Future work will include the implementation of regional consultative committees, the development of a Client service strategy, as well as the provision of training to Vietnamese customs officials in a number of areas to further support stakeholder engagement.

This project is also providing assistance to the Customs administrations of Liberia, Tanzania, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Rwanda and Timor Leste in a number of unique areas of development.

For further information on this project, you may contact Ms. Sonia Pagliaro, Project Manager via email at Sonia.Pagliaro@wcoomd.org