The first Regional Workshop to assist WCO Members of the WCO Asia Pacific Region with the uniform interpretation and application and the timely implementation of the Harmonized System Nomenclature 2017 Edition and the improvement of fair, efficient and effective revenue collection, funded by Japan Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF/Japan), was held at the WCO Asia Pacific Regional Training Centre in Kashiwa, Japan, with the coordination of the Asia Pacific Regional Office for Capacity Building (ROCB A/P), from 18 to 22 April 2016. Thirty-three Customs officers representing 25 Customs Administrations of the WCO Asia Pacific Region (Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; Cambodia; China; Fiji; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; Japan; Laos; Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; Pakistan; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Samoa;, Sri Lanka; Thailand; Tonga; Vanuatu and Vietnam) participated in this workshop, facilitated by experts from the WCO Secretariat and Japan Customs.
At the opening of the Workshop, a minute’s silence was held to express sincere condolences and sympathies to the people of Japan at their time of loss and sorrow following the powerful earthquake which had occurred in the Kyushu area of Japan immediately before the Workshop.
The Workshop was officially opened by Mr. Fujishiro, the Deputy Director General of the Customs and Tariff Bureau of Japan. He welcomed all participants and highlighted that the HS was widely recognized as an indispensable tool for international trade. This workshop would bring all members a deeper understanding of the HS 2017 amendments and would contribute to the fair and efficient collection of Customs duties. In this sense, he emphasized that this workshop was crucially important to all Members in the Asia Pacific region.
During the Workshop, comprehensive explanations on the scope of the HS 2017 amendments were presented, including the background to their development, with a view to ensuring the uniform interpretation and application of the HS Nomenclature 2017 Edition by Customs Administrations in the Asia Pacific Region.
The materials developed under the WCO Revenue Package Phase II were also presented to respond to the Members’ needs in respect of fair, efficient and effective revenue collection.
Through the workshop, all participants presented the current status regarding their Administration’s implementation of the HS 2017 amendments and shared experiences and challenges in modernizing and improving their classification work and infrastructure. In this context, the explanation on the new Guide for Technical Update of Preferential Rules of Origin was also highly appreciated by the participants. This Guide provides practical information on how to conduct a technical update of Rules of Origin in relation to changes in the Harmonized System.
In the Workshop, the participating WCO Members of the Asia Pacific Region stated that they foresee no difficulties with the implementation of the complementary 2018 amendments on 1 January 2017.