With the aid of the German Customs Cooperation Fund, a WCO National Workshop on the modernization of the Customs Laboratory in Albania was held at the Customs Laboratory in Tirana from 23 to 25 November 2016.

The Customs Laboratory is a well-equipped, medium-sized laboratory that will be relocated to a new modern building next year.

At the opening of the Workshop, Mr. Arber Misja, Director of the Customs Laboratory of Albania, highlighted the importance of Customs Laboratories that, apart from their traditional role as an instrument for the determination of tariff classification, Customs duties and other taxes, Customs laboratories are nowadays playing a greater role in safeguarding human health and welfare, as well as drug enforcement and in the fight against terrorism. He concluded by thanking the representatives from the Spanish Customs Administration and from the WCO Secretariat’s Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate for facilitating the discussions on the modernization of the Customs Laboratory of Albania.

In response to the special interest indicated by Albanian Customs, Mr. Juan Moreno Peceño, Chemist from the Customs Laboratory of Madrid, Spain, explained, by using actual textile samples, how to analyze textiles that are often covered or laminated with plastics or other materials. He also demonstrated how to examine and evaluate analysis data and results for the purposes of correct identification of textiles in terms of the Harmonized System (HS) classification. In this connection, the importance of exploring further regional cooperation in sharing best practices on Customs chemical analysis with a view to improving the accuracy and effectiveness of Customs laboratory analysis work, as stipulated in the Action Plan for Phase III of the Revenue Package, was also explained.