World Customs Organization (WCO), with the support of the Japanese Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan), successfully completed a national Time Release Study (TRS) Workshop held from 4 to 8 November 2019 in Apia, Samoa.
The workshop was attended by Customs officials, representatives of the Samoa Quarantine Service, the Foreign Ministry, the Samoa Port and Airport, as well as by various key private sector stakeholders.
During the workshop, the WCO experts shared knowledge and experiences on different aspects of the TRS, such as the purpose, methodology and issues which motivate countries to conduct TRS exercises. It is important to highlight that although the TRS Guide allows a Customs Administration to carry out a TRS without the involvement of other trade stakeholders, the experts provided a clear explanation that the TRS Guide highly advocates for Customs Administrations to partner with other trade stakeholders.
With a clear understanding about the TRS methodology, the participants were able to draft a national TRS Action Plan which Samoa may wish to use when carrying out the TRS. The workshop was very positive, creating opportunity for discussions and interaction between the Samoa Customs and other trade stakeholders, and taking into account some of the possible challenges that Samoa might face in carrying out TRS.