Following the August 2018 Mercator Scoping mission for Swaziland, the WCO conducted a five-day diagnostic mission on Post Clearance Audit (PCA) from 3 to 7 December 2018 in Mbabane, Swaziland. This WCO PCA diagnostic mission was delivered under the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Programme funded by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) via Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs of the United Kingdom, under the auspices of the WCO Mercator Programme.

After a brief opening and introduction session with the Commissioner General of Swaziland Revenue Authority (SRA), the mission included extensive consultations with different directorates and units within the SRA including the Intelligence and Investigations Unit, Anti-Smuggling Unit, Warehouse Inspections Unit, ICT Directorate, ASYCUDA Unit, Legal Directorate, Origin Tariff and the Valuation Unit, Human Resources, among others. This PCA diagnostic mission was delivered in parallel with a Risk Management diagnostic mission wherein extensive discussions on the critical role of PCA in enhancing the risk management processes and improving trader compliance was covered. Considering the ongoing initiatives to encourage voluntary compliance, the PCA function is critical in mantaining a balance between control and facilitation in Swaziland. The mission also included a visit to the Ngwenya Border Post, Customs Processing Hub (CPH) and the Inland Container Depot (ICD) to directly observe the clearance processes and impact on trade facilitation.  

As a result of the mission, SRA’s current needs in improving PCA and Risk Management capacities were identified and recommendations for forward support were presented to the SRA Management including the Commissioner General and the Commissioner for Customs on the last day. The Commissioner General expressed his appreciation for the support provided by the WCO under the framework of the Mercator Programme.