The Data Model Projects Team (DMPT) met from 14 to16 May 2018 at WCO Headquarters in Brussels. The meeting was attended by over 60 participants from WCO Members, the private sector and international organizations. Mrs. Ana Hinojosa, Director of the WCO Compliance and Facilitation Directorate opened the meeting by emphasizing that digital interconnectivity and exchange of information would be the key imperatives for Customs and border agencies in the rapidly changing international trade environment. Therefore, standardization and harmonization of data are basic building blocks for modern Customs work. Mrs. Hinojosa appreciated the continuous effort of the DMPT in setting standards for global interoperability and promoting and supporting the adoption and implementation of standards by WCO Members and partner government agencies, as well as private sector stakeholders.
The DMPT continued working in preparing new version of the WCO Data Model, namely version 3.8.0, that will be published by the end of 2018. There were 34 Data Maintenance Requests (DMRs) processed by the DMPT; 11 DMRs were accepted,1 DMR was withdrawn and 22 other DMRs relating to E-Commerce dataset were deferred until the Working Group on E-Commerce (WGEC) finalized the dataset.
The DMPT developed and discussed new guiding materials in order to support Members adopt the WCO Data Model. The WCO Data Model Mapping Guidance was developed to provide guidance on the adoption of the WCO Data Model at the practical level. In addition, the Business Guide of WCO Data Model was developed to reach-out non-technical audience.
In addition, the DMPT discussed the level, criteria and definition of the conformity as part of the updating process of the WCO Data Model Framework of Conformity, reviewed and updated the Business Process Models relating to Customs formalities described in the WCO DM, and advanced the work on revising the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Facilitation (FAL) Compendium and finalization of data elements to be included in the IMO Reference model with an aim to report the progress to the IMO Facilitation Committee at its 42nd Meeting in June 2018. The work promises a significant enhancement to the standardization and harmonization of data requirements in the maritime sector.
Following the successful practice at the DMPT Meeting in January this year, another Lunch & Learn session for newcomers was organized, where participants were provided with a practical knowledge on how to map a data set with the WCO Data Model.
Back to back with the DMPT Meeting, the 74th Session of the Information Management Sub-Committee (IMSC) was held on 17 and 18 July 2018. The Meeting was opened by Mr. Luc De Blieck, the Deputy Director of the Procedure and Facilitation, Compliance and Facilitation Directorate, WCO, welcoming delegates and underlining the strategic importance of information management in the data deluge environment.
Through breakout and plenary sessions, the IMSC discussed the preliminary draft Handbook on the Information Security and provided valuable inputs for further development. The draft Handbook is being developed to provide guidance on raising organizational awareness and readiness with respect to securing information, identifying and mitigating risks in the ICT environment, and working on continued improvements. In addition, another preliminary draft guidance on electronic services (e-services) was discussed with a view to provide reference guidance for implementing and enhancing e-services.
The IMSC approved the new Derived Information Package (DIP) on AEO Master Data that had been finalized by the DMPT. The new DIP would be incorporated as an annex to the Guidelines on Trader Identification Number that has been developed by the SAFE Working Group with the support of the IMSC and DMPT.
Continuing to explore new and emerging concepts and technologies, the IMSC discussed the Blockchain from an operational perspective based on the experiences shared by Korea, the Netherlands and IBM, noting its potential uses in Data pipeline platform or Single Window environment.
The IMSC also discussed the Product Identification Number (PIN) as a useful complement the use of HS, in the context of Customs having more granular information about a product and its provenance that could be useful for an effective risk management. In the area of Single Window, the IMSC enumerated some criteria and indicators concerning performance measurement of the implementation of the Single Window to ensure that the progress of building a Single Window meets the organizational objectives.
Finally, the IMSC re-elected its Chair, namely Mr. Sung Sig KIM (Korea) and Vice Chair Mr. Alvaro Palmigiani (Uruguay) and agreed on the future work programme for a two-year period of 2018/2019 – 2019/2020.