On 29 December 2021, the Federal Customs Commission of Ethiopia (ECC) notified the WCO Secretary General that the new edition of the Harmonized System (HS 2022) would enter into force in the country on 1 January 2022. Ethiopia has thereby become the first African country to have submitted a notification on the implementation of HS 2022 amendments to the WCO.
In the notification letter, Mr. Debele Kebeta Hursa, the ECC Commissioner, thanked the WCO and the European Union for the support provided to Ethiopia in the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the EU. He stressed that the assistance received from the WCO did help the ECC to migrate to the HS 2022 version in a timely manner, and expressed his hope that this co-operation with the WCO would continue.
The timely implementation of the HS 2022 amendments comes as a result of a series of activities that the HS-Africa Programme and the ECC organized to review and optimize the workflow of migration to new versions of the HS. The first diagnostic mission on the improvement of tariff classification work held in September 2019 was followed by a 5-day national workshop on HS 2017 and HS 2022 amendments delivered in November that same year, as well as regular consultations and contacts between the ECC and the WCO to ensure the necessary follow-up and monitoring.
As the date of entry into force of the HS 2022 amendments has passed, the WCO Secretariat urges all HS Contracting Parties and non-Contracting Parties alike to notify the WCO Secretary General on the implementation of the 2022 edition of the HS, indicating the effective implementation date. Members experiencing difficulties in the process of migration to the new version of the HS are strongly encouraged to contact the WCO Secretariat for any necessary assistance. African administrations and Regional Economic Communities are moreover invited to get in touch with the HS-Africa Programme to receive the required support in that regard.
For more details, please contact hs@wcoomd.org or capacity.building@wcoomd.org.