Following an invitation from the National Revenue Authority (NRA) of Sierra Leone, the WCO successfully completed a follow-up mission on the 6-10th of February 2017 to spearhead reform initiatives related to the deployment of the nCEN (National Customs Enforcement Network) under the auspices of the broader risk management programme. The mission also included a follow up on the progress of the implementation of the tailor made track of the Mercator Programme covering valuation initiatives and the use of e-learning on technical Customs matters. The mission was delivered thanks to the generous support of the Government of the United Kingdom through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) under the framework of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD TFA Capacity Building Programme.

The objectives of the mission were to familiarize the NRA with the forthcoming implementation of the nCEN system, including the user-training; to discuss the outcomes and recommendations supporting Valuation and Performance Measurement (i.e. Time Release Study); and to agree on the future support missions based on the needs of the Customs Administration.

The mission consisted of bilateral meetings with key stakeholders from different units of the NRA including Risk Management, Post Clearance Audit (PCA), Valuation and Training, which helped the mission team to better understand the ground realities on which the future support plan will be based. The mission also included a one-day workshop in which participants gained an increased understanding of risk management, nCEN and related trade facilitation measures.

The outcomes of this mission will be used to establish a joint action plan covering WCO technical support missions for the rest of 2017 to be delivered under the Mercator Programme.  The WCO looks forward to continuing its collaboration with the NRA.