As part of the overseas component of the Indian Customs Administration Mid-Career Training Programme (MCTP), two delegations of high-level Customs officers visited WCO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium on 17 and 24 November 2017, respectively.
The delegations were met by WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya and the Director of the WCO Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, Ms. Ana Hinojosa.
In his welcome address to the delegation, Dr. Mikuriya described some of the main challenges facing Customs in the current international trade environment. He went on to underline the reasoning behind the six WCO priorities for 2017/2018: Trade Facilitation; E-Commerce; Security; Customs-Tax Cooperation; Illicit Financial Flows; and Performance Measurement.
Both visits continued with a general introduction to the WCO, followed by more specific presentations on the current WCO activities under each Directorate. The first one consisted of the WCO approach to combating illicit trade and the WCO programmes, as well as instruments and tools made available to Members under the Compliance and Enforcement Package.
Expertise was then shared on the opportunities and challenges offered by digitalization, trade facilitation, e-commerce, regional integration and transformative technologies, and the related WCO instruments and tools under the Economic Competitiveness Package. Particular reference was made to the importance of the Revised Kyoto Convention as the blueprint for a modern Customs administration, the Single Window and Globally Networked Customs concepts as ways of enhancing Customs IT interoperability, and the SAFE Framework of Standards which boosts security and facilitates trade along the supply chain.
The background to the WCO Revenue Package was also explained, together with the latest developments in the Origin, Harmonized System and Valuation areas in relation to the WCO Strategic Goals.
The way in which the WCO and regional structures work together under the WCO Organizational Development Package was also presented, along with an explanation of capacity-building delivery programmes in the various WCO regions, and especially the Asia/Pacific region, and the benefits WCO Members can reap from CLiKC!, an essential e-learning tool.