The 32nd Revised Kyoto Convention Management Committee (RKC/MC) Meeting was held from 6 to 9 November 2023 at WCO Headquarters in a hybrid format. In attendance were representatives of Contracting Parties, Member administrations, and partner organizations.
The meeting kicked off with opening remarks from Pranab Kumar Das, Director of the Compliance and Facilitation Directorate who welcomed participants and invited them to actively contribute to the discussions for a fruitful outcome.
Thereafter, the Republic of El Salvador deposited its instrument of accession to the RKC, thus bringing the total number of Contracting parties to the Convention to 135. The accession, which is among the first in Central America, was greatly received by the RKC/MC.
During the meeting, the RKC/MC deliberated on the final set of draft updated Guidelines to both the General Annex and the Specific Annexes of the Convention thus bringing the 2017 mandate for the revision of the RKC to a close. The deliberations covered concepts such as Customs role in security, Advance Rulings, Relationship with third parties, Coordinated Border Management, Establishment and publication of average release times, Temporary Admission, Warehouses, free zones, travellers, relief consignments, Express/Expedited Shipments, and Rules of Origin.
As a result, the RKC/MC welcomed the progress made through the comprehensive review of the RKC. Noting that the RKC would benefit from continuing the work in progress, it was decided to continue updating the Convention and its Guidelines within the usual frequency of the RKC/MC.
In light of this development, the meeting reviewed the draft RKC/MC Work Programme and agreed to continue the discussion at its next meeting.
The next RKC/MC Meeting will take place in the first half of 2024. For further information, please contact us at RKCReview@wcoomd.org.