Following a request by the Customs Administration of Serbia (CAS) for a capacity-building activity on post-clearance audit (PCA), the World Customs Organization (WCO) facilitated a national workshop for CAS in that domain. The workshop was held in Belgrade (Serbia) from 28 November to 2 December 2022. It was delivered thanks to financial support from the CCF Germany funded by German Government. The workshop was led by two experts from Denmark and Germany.

A total of 26 CAS officials dealing with PCA and also from other Customs directorates and departments, including from Headquarters and from the Origin and Customs Valuation Departments, together with coordinators and consultants from Customs offices throughout Serbia benefitted from participating in the workshop.

The workshop was opened by a member of CAS senior management, Mr. Dragutin Matic, Acting Assistant Director General -Tariff Affairs Division, who greeted participants. He underscored the importance of the workshop and shared his best wishes for a successful outcome.

CAS officials were introduced to the WCO PCA concept of measuring and improving compliance. This gave them a greater understanding of the importance of PCA as an integral part of the Customs risk management strategy and processes, in order to increase the efficiency of controls and promote trade facilitation.

The workshop also provided an opportunity for participants to learn about the different targeting approaches (trader-focused and issue-focused) and data and information-gathering methods. Through case studies, participants were able to better understand the different methods of verifying the Customs value and to learn about preferential origin and the classification of the goods.

The workshop drew to a successful close with participants displaying enthusiasm for piloting PCA techniques, in keeping with the WCO Guidelines for PCA and international best practice. In addition, participants practiced their appreciation for the practical part of the workshop which would be useful for the further development of PCA within the CAS.