At the invitation of the Armenian State Revenue Committee, the WCO with the support of the German Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF-Germany) conducted a national training workshop on the implementation of the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) from 25 to 28 April 2016 in Yerevan Armenia. The workshop was attended by 23 senior Customs officers from different Customs divisions.

Based on the current national situation in Armenia, WCO experts explained respective Standards, Transitional Standards and Recommended Practices of General Annex and Specific Annexes of the RKC together with related WCO tools and instruments and best practices. Detailed information were also presented on risk management, authorized person/authorized economic operator, audit based controls, transparency and predictability, and use of information and communication technologies for Customs modernization.

Additionally, WCO experts elaborated the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA), explaining the complementary nature of the RKC and TFA, and how WCO tools can support the implementation of the TFA in a harmonized and efficient manner, as Armenia is also engaged with the preparations for the implementation of the TFA.

Since acceding to the RKC in July 2013, Armenia has taken several measures to implement provisions of General Annex of the RKC. Facilitated by WCO experts, participants carried out self-assessment of the current implementation situation using the WCO RKC Toolkit, and identified a few areas to further consolidation/enhancement.

The workshop was well received by participants. Participants gained an enhanced understanding of the RKC provisions and related implementation processes. The WCO is committed to provide further support, if needed in future.