As part of a series of missions under an agreement signed between the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Bahamas Customs and Excise Department (BCED) in March 2018, to provide Bahamas Customs with capacity building support for a comprehensive organizational development and training programme, a WCO Workshop on Risk Assessment and Selectivity took place from 22 to 26 October 2018 in Nassau, Bahamas. It was attended by 20 officials from risk analysis, investigation, Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) and other relevant units.
The main objective of the Workshop was to boost the institutional capacity of the BCED to effectively implement risk assessment, profiling and targeting methodologies. Although the organizational and operational aspects of risk management were addressed throughout the Workshop, with compliance management, trader segmentation and intelligence support for risk management also covered, risk-based selectivity and targeting remained the main focus. Each session was followed by a discussion on how to put the theory into practice.
During the five-day Workshop, participants deliberated on how to identify and address risks as well as how to develop an effective profile by using the methodology described in the WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium. They also reflected on how best to categorize traders for risk assessment purposes. In addition to the theoretical presentations, the group tasks, case studies and practical exercises also helped deepen participants’ understanding of the different topics.