In January 2017, Cameroon Customs took part in the first Regional Workshop on Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) organized for the 23 Customs administrations of the West and Central Africa (WCA) region.

In this connection, and in response to a request by the Cameroon authorities for capacity building in respect of PCA, the WCO conducted a PCA-related diagnostic mission in Yaoundé, Cameroon, from 27 November to 1 December 2017

After presenting the WCO’s PCA concepts to Cameroon Customs’ management team, the experts were able to meet with the various parties responsible for PCA, as well as those in charge of the clearance chain, human resource management, risk management, legislation and disputes, facilitation and IT.

These meetings enabled the WCO experts to gain an overall understanding of how Cameroon Customs is organized, and of the role played by PCA in the clearance and control process. They also allowed the WCO experts to identify the possibilities and challenges associated with the development of more efficient post-clearance auditing within Cameroon Customs.

The experts concluded their visit by putting forward, in consultation with the various stakeholders and in line with the WCO standards, a number of concrete, realistic recommendations to be implemented as part of an 18-month work programme for the development of a professional, stable organizational structure within Cameroon Customs which is consistent with modern PCA standards.

Expected benefits include the smoother flow of compliant trade, the switching of certain on-the-spot controls to PCA, and improved revenue collection by Customs.