In the context of assistance provided to Niger to implement the WTO's Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), a workshop aimed at building capacity in the areas of advance rulings (AR) and the Harmonized System (HS) was held in Niamey, Niger, from 31 August to 25 September 2020. The workshop was organized jointly by the WCO within the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for the HS in Africa, funded by the European Union, and the International Trade Center (ITC) as part of its project to support Niger in implementing the WTO-TFA, funded by the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA).

The Directorate General of Customs of Niger has adopted a regulation on the AR system for tariff classification, with the support of the ITC. The new legal framework for AR is based on the requirements of Article 3 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement, and takes into account other international standards and good practices in this area, in particular those of the WCO.

During the workshop, the mechanism of the AR system, which will soon be implemented, was presented and explained to officials from the Niger Customs Administration. The participants successfully completed a tailor-made HS course using WCO e-learning modules through the CLiKC! learning portal. In addition to the online training part, several virtual sessions led by WCO experts were organized, devoted in particular to the structure of the HS, the General Interpretative Rules, and the examination of tariff classification cases of certain goods.

In addition, on 18 September 2020, an awareness-raising session on the AR system was organized for the benefit of the National Trade Facilitation Committee and other stakeholders by the ITC and the WCO. The purpose of the session was to inform members of the National Trade Facilitation Committee and other stakeholders in Niger on the benefits offered by the AR system as well as the related procedural requirements.

For more information, please contact capacity.building@wcoomd.org.