As the year of Digital Customs draws to an end, the WCO launches its national Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) application in the Philippines, adding to a growing group of twenty countries having already implemented this tool.
The National Customs Enforcement Network (nCEN) is a system developed by the WCO to assist Customs administrations with the collection and storage of law-enforcement information at the national level, with the additional capability of sharing this information at the regional and international levels. It is a tool which aims to strengthen a country’s capacity to conduct effective, risk based and intelligence supported customs operations, allows for information gathering on non-compliance and non-compliant actors as a key foundation for identification of effective action items in key risk areas, and improves a country’s analytical capability to permit targeted controls of shipments.
In anticipation of the launch, an nCEN training workshop was organized in Manila by Philippines Customs from 12-21 December 2016. A group of ten local trainers worked with WCO technical experts on mastering the theoretical and practical aspects of the application, discovering the extensive functionality of the nCEN and the possibilities it offers in supporting enforcement activities. Towards the conclusion of the workshop the group engaged in a discussion on the best practices for the use of the application in view of supporting the most efficient work of Philippines Customs.
The nCEN software is made available to all WCO Members free of charge. The costs of the hardware needed to run the nCEN application, the costs associated with the training, and possible costs for modifications to the local IT infrastructure (if applicable), are however the responsibility of the implementing Customs Administration. More information on the nCEN can be obtained by contacting the WCO CEN Programme at nCEN@wcoomd.org.