The WCO successfully facilitated a national workshop on Post-Clearance-Audit (PCA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia on the 12 to 16 June 2017 following a PCA Diagnostic completed in February. This workshop was organized under the framework of the HMRC-WCO-UNCTAD Programme with the financial support of the United Kingdom through Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC). Moreover, this workshop forms part of the ongoing support provided to Ethiopia through the Mercator Programme which is designed to provide multi-year, interactive and results-oriented capacity building support to WCO members to enable the effective implementation of the WTO’s Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA). The national Mercator Implementation Plan for Ethiopia highlights seven technical priorities of which Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) is one of them.

The workshop, which was attended by 20 representatives from team leaders to auditors from different Customs branches in Ethiopia, provided an introduction to the WCO PCA concept of measuring and improving compliance. Furthermore, participants gained an insight in the important role of PCA in realising Customs Risk Management Strategy and Risk Management processes in order to achieve effective post clearance customs controls and increased trade facilitation. Participants also increased their knowledge of the three phases of PCA, with emphasis on targeting methodologies, sampling selection and the execution of onsite audits using a system based audit approach. By using role plays and examples through case studies, participants were also able to practice interview techniques.

Furthermore, the workshop included fruitful discussions around Valuation challenges and possible solutions for the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority (ERCA) to apply. The participants showed willingness to continue improving their skills and understanding of PCA techniques. The WCO looks forward to continuing its collaboration with ERCA in line with the tailor-made track of the Mercator Programme.