An online workshop was held on 12 April 2024, with the participation of 12 Colombian Customs officials working with tariff classification. The workshop, conducted in Spanish, was organized in response to a request from the Customs administration of Colombia for support to provide technical assistance in that regard.
The presentations covered the procedures for implementation of an Advance Rulings system, as well as an introduction to Advance Rulings under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). It was organized jointly by the WCO and the Customs Administration of Colombia, with the support of the SECO-WCO Global Trade Facilitation Programme, and was facilitated by two experts from the WCO Secretariat.
The participants could interact with the facilitators in the end of the presentations during a Q&A session.
The Deputy Director of Services and Foreign Trade Facilitation of Colombia Customs, Ms. Ana Carolina Jimenez, highlighted the importance of an efficient system of Advance Rulings on HS classification as one of the pillars of Customs and recognized the need of imparting the necessary knowledge to the officials that work in this area. She thanked the WCO for working together with Colombia Customs in order to strengthen this important technical area.
According to the feedback received from participants, the workshop achieved its objective of improving the skills of customs officers. The WCO pledged to continue to provide the required support to Colombia to build the capacity of the Customs officers working in the area of tariff classification.