Following the recommendations of the Mercator Implementation Plan for  Antigua and Barbuda, the WCO conducted a five-day diagnostic on Post Clearance Audit (PCA) from 25 February to 1 March 2019 in St John’ s. This PCA diagnostic was funded by funded by the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) via Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) of the United Kingdom, under the auspices of the WCO Mercator Programme.

Through meetings and extensive consultations with different departments and sections of the Antigua and Barbuda Customs Division including the Senior Management, Risk Management, IT, Enforcement, Operations, Research and Development, among others, the WCO team was able to get a good overview of the current situation related to PCA implementation.  Moreover, sight visits were organized to the Deep Water Harbour and the Airport, to directly observe the examination processes and impact on trade facilitation.  

A meeting was also held with external private stakeholders at the Customs Headquarters in St John’s, attended mainly by licensed Customs brokers. The discussions evolved around the role of PCA in trade facilitation, the understanding and expectations on PCA among traders and Customs brokers’ as well as obligations to keep records for effective PCA and compliance improvement.  The external stakeholders were very pleased to learn about the WCO concept of PCA and that Antigua and Barbuda Customs Division has taken initiatives to implement a PCA function in accordance with WCO guidelines and international best practices.

The mission resulted in the identification of current challenges and needs in the area of PCA and a report will shortly be shared with the Antigua & Barbuda Customs Division. The WCO looks forward to continued collaboration with the Antigua & Barbuda Customs Division under the framework of the Mercator Programme.