DUSHANBE, June 9, 2016, Asia-Plus — A three-day national workshop on compatibility of customs legislation applied in Tajikistan with the provisions of the revised Kyoto Convention started in Dushanbe on June 8, gathering national experts from the Customs Service under the Government of Tajikistan dealing with customs control arrangement, customs clearance and tariff regulation, legal issues and risk management.
The workshop is conducted within the framework of Border Management in Central Asia Programme (BOMCA), funded by the European Union.
The Delegation of the Europe Union to Tajikistan notes that during this three-day activity invited EU experts together with the national customs officers are discussing international standards and principles for advanced and effective customs control set out in revised Kyoto Convention, in particular related to customs control arrangement at the checkpoints, declaration of goods, payment of customs duties and taxes.
As the result of the workshop a comparative analysis including recommendations will be prepared, which will reflect compatibility of customs legislation applied in Tajikistan with the provisions of the Revised Kyoto Convention.
The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs procedures (Kyoto Convention) entered into force in 1974 and was revised and updated to ensure that it meets the current demands of governments and international trade. The World Customs Organization (WCO) Council adopted the revised Kyoto Convention in June 1999 as the blueprint for modern and efficient Customs procedures in the 21st century. Once implemented widely, it will provide international commerce with the predictability and efficiency that modern trade requires.
The revised Kyoto Convention elaborates several key governing principles- chief among these are the principles of: transparency and predictability of Customs actions; standardization and simplification of the goods declaration and supporting documents; simplified procedures for authorized persons; maximum use of information technology; minimum necessary Customs control to ensure compliance with regulations; use of risk management and audit based controls; coordinated interventions with other border agencies; and partnership with the trade.
The revised Kyoto Convention promotes trade facilitation and effective controls through its legal provisions that detail the application of simple yet efficient procedures. The revised Convention also contains new and obligatory rules for its application which all Contracting Parties must accept without reservation.
The revised Kyoto Convention entered into force on February 3, 2006.
First BOMCA operations began in Central Asia in 2003, and since then, BOMCA has strengthened partnership of the Central Asia Governments in the field of border management. The European Union allocated a sum of EUR 33.6 million to BOMCA for the period of 2003 – 2014 and almost EUR 5 million for its 9th implementation phase (2015 – 2018). The overall objective of the current phase of the Program, which is to increase effectiveness and efficiency of border management in Central Asia, will be reached by introducing advanced elements of the Integrated Border Management (IBM), assisting governments in developing and reforming their migration governance, mobility and trade facilitation policies and strengthening capacities of Border and Migration Agencies.
