The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Customs Administration plans to end the pre-shipment assistance contract signed between the government and a private company. The contract covers pre-shipment inspection and its scope includes valuation, origin determination and tariff classification missions.

It was against this background that a national workshop took place in Kinshasa from 1 to 5 February 2016, jointly organized by the DRC Customs Administration and the WCO. It was aimed at training trainers in the use of new computers configured to contain all the HS-related tools, given that the DRC has acquired 2,000 of these computers from its own budget.

The workshop brought together 30 participants, demonstrating trainer skills, from the DRC's regions and Customs offices. They were quick to master the use of the computer at their disposal, putting their newly gained expertise to the test during tariff classification exercises.

The workshop concluded with a panel discussion on the challenges facing DRC Customs with the process of regaining control of tariff classification. It gave rise to a number of recommendations, the key ones being providing each trainer with an "HS" computer and developing programmes in each province to pass on the knowledge acquired, as part of a vocational training scheme coupled with enhanced integrity and professional conduct.