Following a request from the Rwanda Revenue Authority (RRA) for support in a range of Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) specific areas, a diagnostic mission was undertaken between 20 to 24 November 2017 by two officials from the WCO Secretariat in Brussels and a WCO Member Expert from the South African Revenue Authority (SARS).

The mission was made possible thanks to support from the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs TFA Fund.

The objectives of the mission was not only to provide an analysis of the current position in these areas, but also to identify, in general terms, areas where further Customs capacity building and/or technical assistance may be needed. It was also required to  ensure that all TFA-related activities was fully aligned with that of other government stakeholders involved in the implementation of TFA-related reforms. 

The mission was conducted under the framework of the tailor-made track of the WCO Mercator Programme specifically designed to support developing countries to implement the TFA using the WCO’s extensive range of instruments and tools.

Through enthusiastic discussion and a process walk-through with RRA senior management in charge of Field Operations, Appeals, Operations Policy, Compliance & Enforcement, Trade Management, Post Clearance, Risk Management and Tax Payer Service a detailed report was compiled for the RRA.

The WCO team made thirteen (13) recommendations to the RRA for consideration. These recommendations are stipulated in a detailed diagnostic report to be shared with the RRA. A summary of these findings and recommendations were presented to the senior team of the RRA on Friday the 24th November 2017.