A WCO National Workshop on Advance Ruling on Origin, funded by CCF Japan, was held in Melaka, Malaysia, from 25 to 28 April 2016.

The objective of this workshop was to assist the Royal Malaysian Customs Department in increasing its institutional capacity to carry out origin work and in developing an advance ruling system for origin, as required under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). This workshop was a follow-up of the Regional Workshop on Revenue Package and Advance Rulings which had been held from 25 to 29 January 2016 in Melaka, Malaysia.

Twenty mid- to high- level Customs officers from Malaysia Customs participated in the workshop, facilitated by the WCO Secretariat and a WCO Accredited Expert from China.

The facilitators emphasized the importance of a well-organized origin infrastructure as well as well-defined and effective origin practices in order to develop a functioning advance ruling system. Presentations were made with respect to the WCO Revenue Package, WCO tools related to origin, the theoretical and practical aspects of implementing an advance ruling programme, as well as good practices in the areas of organizing origin work and related infrastructure.

All the participants actively participated in the discussions and used the "WCO Diagnostic Tool on Tariff Classification, Valuation and Origin Work and Related Infrastructure" to review and evaluate the current situation, and to identify possible solutions with regard to the development of an advance ruling system for origin.

At the end of the workshop, the participants presented a number of action points in relation to the development of an advance ruling system for origin and the modernization of origin work and related infrastructure in Malaysia.