The World Customs Organization (WCO) organized a one-day Workshop on Time Release Study (TRS) for the Togo national Customs Administration. The workshop was held on 30 July 2020, virtually, with a view to discussing and evaluating the progress achieved so far by the Togo Customs Administration in carrying out a TRS.

Three WCO experts and Members of the Togo national TRS Working Group (WG) participated in the event. During the discussions, the WCO’s experts were informed of the state of play regarding the implementation of the TRS in Togo, including some of remaining actions expected to be carried out by the Togo TRS WG.

The WG made a special request to the WCO for further support from the WCO Secretariat in order to upload the TRS national data collected in the WCO TRS Software. The request was well received by the experts.
The event also provided an excellent opportunity for the experts to guide the national TRS WG on some additional key steps that Togo needs to complete in the current national TRS cycle.

In spite of the existing uncertainty and negative impact of COVID-19 globally that is limiting Customs administrations ability to start or execute their respective TRS projects, the WCO experts acknowledged the significant efforts that have been made by the Togo TRS WG to conclude the national TRS cycle.

To provide a strategic roadmap for the Togo Customs to continue leading the current TRS cycle, the participants from Togo reaffirmed their commitment to further review the TRS action plan, with the expectation that the Customs Administration will be able to release its first national TRS report in full collaboration with other trade stakeholders before the end of year.