Following an invitation from Jordan Customs Department (JCD), the WCO successfully completed a Time Release Study (TRS) workshop in the MENA RTC/Amman-Jordan from 14 to 18 May 2017 with a financial support from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) fund.  

The core objective of the mission was to support the JCD in building capacities to conduct a TRS in line with Jordan’s commitments under the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). The mission came in line with Jordan Customs’ Strategic Implementation Plan, which defines a specific objective on minimizing the time requested for the release of goods at borders.  

The workshop allowed participants to gain an increased understanding of the concept of TRS as a key instrument to identify bottlenecks in the clearance process and its importance for trade facilitation. Moreover, participants had the opportunity to strengthen their knowledge in performance management and how this can be facilitated by the WCO TRS tool. The participants represented both Customs officials as well as a broader group of stakeholders from the public and private sector involved in the clearance process of goods, such as Food and Drugs Administration, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Transport,  Jordan Metrology and Standardization Organization, Telecommunications Regulatory Commission, brokers’ and freight forwarders and port authority

The mission concluded in the drafting of process maps for various Customs procedures which will be refined with time. It also led to the development of an action plan including specific deadlines for the completion of a second TRS in Jordan of which one of the next steps under the country’s tailor-made Strategic Implementation Plan.