Collection of revenue has historically been the cornerstone of a Customs administration’s responsibilities. For a number of years, Customs has been actively involved in protection of society and trade facilitation initiatives. More recently, the role of Customs has expanded; issues such as the fight against counterfeiting, counter-terrorism activities and the protection of the environment have featured high on the agenda of international Customs work programmes. However, alongside these important topics, the role of revenue collection, the founding and fundamental role of Customs, continues to be an area of concern for Customs administrations.
The Revenue Package was initiated as a response to Members’ concerns over declining revenue returns, following WCO Council’s Resolution in June 2009. Work on the Phase I Revenue Package Action Plan was finalised in June 2012 when the first set of new tools and materials were launched.
In June 2015, the Phase II Action Plan was finalised including the development of a further series of tools and materials.
The Phase III Action Plan was endorsed by the Policy Commission at its 75th Session in June 2016; details can be found in document SP0566E1b. Policy Commission document SP0638E1a, prepared for the 79th Session in June 2018 reports the completion of Phase III with a series of new and updated tools and materials.
In June 2019, the Policy Commission endorsed the Action Plan for a Phase IV of the Revenue Package, details of which can be found in document SP0678E1a. The Phase IV was completed in June 2021 and the Report on its completion was made to the Policy Commission at its 84th Session in document SP0736Ea.
The Revenue Package retains a high level of relevance. The Global Pandemic situation commencing in 2020 and the resulting disruptions to trade and revenue collection highlighted the on-going need for robust revenue collection systems.
The Revenue Package consists of all available tools and instruments relevant to revenue collection. This includes, inter alia, formal instruments and conventions, guidance notes and training material. The term “package” was adopted to underline that this set of tools and instruments is offered as a whole in the sense that they should be used and implemented in their entirety to achieve the expected result.
A Revenue Package Schedule has been developed which acts as a single point of reference for all new and existing Revenue Package material. The Schedule provides direct access, via hyperlinks, to the material in question and is available on the WCO Members’ website.
Members are encouraged to consult the Schedule to ensure that necessary requirements have been met and that all relevant material has been obtained by the administration and is being utilized as appropriate.