In cooperation with the Sri Lanka Customs and the India Customs Cooperation Fund, the WCO conducted a Workshop on Rules of Origin and Advance Ruling in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from 10 to 13 March 2020.

The Director-General of Sri Lanka Customs, Mr. G.V. Ravipriya inaugurated the workshop at the ceremony and highlighted the important role of Customs in implementing rules of origin. He stated that this workshop would contribute to not only enhancing participants’ knowledge on rules of origin but also establishing advance ruling in Sri Lank Customs. The Sri Lanka Customs is going to introduce advance ruling system on origin required by the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement by the end of 2021.

With the participation of the Department of Commerce, thirty seven officials participated actively in the discussions throughout the Workshop, which was facilitated by one expert from the WCO Secretariat and two pre-accredited experts from the Asia Pacific region.

During the Workshop, the WCO facilitators presented various technical and practical issues for proper origin determination by providing a lot of case examples under their rules of origin in force, including the Guidelines on Origin Certification, Preferential Origin Verification and Advance Rulings, which have been designed to assist WCO Members in smoothly running origin related procedures. Participants were also informed about the infrastructure necessary for efficient origin management, issuance of advance ruling and provision of effective training and private sector outreach. 

At the end of the Workshop, many participants noted that the workshop was very practical and rich in understanding rules of origin. They proposed to set up a specialized unit on origin in their Customs administrations and to have more trainings on rules of origin.

The feedback from participants were shared as recommendations to their management for further action on origin. The Director-General of Sri Lanka Customs, Mr. G.V. Ravipriya thanked the WCO for the fruitful results of the workshop and indicated that the Sri Lanka Customs would consider a pilot project to lay foundation for the origin unit.