Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs has been considered as the fiscal subject that charges customs duties and other taxes on import and export. In recent decades, the views on the functions of customs have considerably expanded and now covers three basic issues: taxation, security, and trade facilitation.
UN/CEFACT is the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business. It was established as an intergovernmental body of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) in 1996 and evolved from UNECE's long tradition of work in trade facilitation which began in 1957.
UN/LOCODE, the United Nations Code for Trade and Transport Locations, is a geographic coding scheme developed and maintained by United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE). UN/LOCODE assigns codes to locations used in trade and transport with functions such as seaports, rail and road terminals, airports, Postal Exchange Office and border crossing points. The first issue in 1981 contained codes for 8,000 locations. The version from 2011 contained codes for about 82,000 locations.
The Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, also known as the Harmonized System (HS) of tariff nomenclature is an internationally standardized system of names and numbers to classify traded products. It came into effect in 1988 and has since been developed and maintained by the World Customs Organization (WCO), an independent intergovernmental organization based in Brussels, Belgium.
The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) is a government agency responsible for the protection of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region against smuggling; the protection and collection of revenue on dutiable goods on behalf of the Hong Kong Government; the detection and deterrence of drug trafficking and abuse of controlled drugs; the protection of intellectual property rights; the protection of consumer interests; and the protection and facilitation of legitimate trade and upholding Hong Kong's trading integrity.
SITPRO Limited was a UK non-departmental public body that was constituted as a limited company and was focused on the removal of barriers to international trade through the simplification and harmonisation of trade procedures. Based in London, SITPRO was dedicated to encouraging and helping business trade more effectively and to simplifying the international trading process. It was closed as part of government cut-backs in September 2010.
Trade facilitation looks at how procedures and controls governing the movement of goods across national borders can be improved to reduce associated cost burdens and maximise efficiency while safeguarding legitimate regulatory objectives. Business costs may be a direct function of collecting information and submitting declarations or an indirect consequence of border checks in the form of delays and associated time penalties, forgone business opportunities and reduced competitiveness.
Custom brokers or Customs House Brokerages are working positions that may be employed by or affiliated with freight forwarders, independent businesses, or shipping lines, importers, exporters, trade authorities, and customs brokerage firms.
UN/CEFACT TBG5 is the entity responsible for financial services under the United Nations Centre for Trade facilitation and Electronic Business, (UN/CEFACT) under the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE).
A Certificate of Origin or Declaration of Origin is a document widely used in international trade transactions which attests that the product listed therein has met certain criteria to be considered as originating in a particular country. A certificate of origin / declaration of origin is generally prepared and completed by the exporter or the manufacturer, and may be subject to official certification by an authorized third party. It is often submitted to a customs authority of the importing country to justify the product's eligibility for entry and/or its entitlement to preferential treatment. Guidelines for issuance of Certificates of Origin by chambers of commerce globally are issued by the International Chamber of Commerce.
The ATA Carnet, often referred to as the "Passport for goods", is an international customs document that permits the tax-free and duty-free temporary export and import of nonperishable goods for up to one year. It consists of unified customs declaration forms which are prepared ready to use at every border crossing point. It is a globally accepted guarantee for customs duties and taxes which can replace the security deposit required by each customs authority. It can be used in multiple countries in multiple trips up to its one-year validity. The acronym ATA is a combination of French and English terms "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission". The ATA carnet is now the document most widely used by the business community for international operations involving temporary admission of goods.
Rules of origin are the rules to attribute a country of origin to a product in order to determine its "economic nationality". The need to establish rules of origin stems from the fact that the implementation of trade policy measures, such as tariffs, quotas, trade remedies, in various cases, depends on the country of origin of the product at hand.
Success in export markets for developed and developing country firms is increasingly affected by the ability of countries to support an environment which promotes efficient and low cost trade services and logistics.Ttrade facilitation and economic development policies reflect the idea that trade can be a powerful engine for accelerating economic growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.
According to the World Customs Organization (WCO), an authorized economic operator (AEO) is
"a party involved in the international movement of goods in whatever function that has been approved by or on behalf of a national Customs administration as complying with WCO or equivalent supply chain security standards. Authorized Economic Operators include inter alia manufacturers, importers, exporters, brokers, carriers, consolidators, intermediaries, ports, airports, terminal operators, integrated operators, warehouses and distributors"
Until 2019, Customs Handling of Import & Export Freight (CHIEF) is the computer system of the United Kingdom's revenue and customs services, HMRC, used for managing the declaration and movement of goods into and out of the United Kingdom and allowing UK traders to communicate with counterpart customs systems in the other member states of the European Union. It also managed movement of goods across EU borders where the moved material belonged to a UK party. It has been partly replaced by the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). CHIEF is due to be retired during 2022.
The State Customs Committee of Azerbaijan Republic is a governmental agency within the Cabinet of Azerbaijan in charge of customs clearance for imports and exports, and regulation of all customs activities within Azerbaijan Republic. The committee is headed by Safar Mehdiyev.
Paperless trade refers to "trade taking place on the basis of electronic communications, including exchange of trade-related data and documents in electronic form" in the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific, adopted at United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific in May 2016.
The United Nations Network of Experts for Paperless Trade and Transport in Asia and the Pacific (UNNExT) is a community of trade facilitation specialists and practitioners focusing on simplifying import, export and transit procedures by enabling traders and governments to exchange information electronically and through automated and integrated systems, including national and regional Single window. The Network has made significant contributions to the development of Trade facilitation and Paperless trade in the region.
The Kenya Trade Network Agency (KenTrade) is a state agency established by the National Government of Kenya designated with easing cross-border trade through the establishment, management, and implementation of the first National Electronic Single Window System in the Republic of Kenya.
The Pakistan Single Window (PSW) stands as a prominent undertaking spearheaded by Pakistan Customs. Its overarching objective is to diminish the time and expenses associated with conducting business by transitioning Pakistan's cross-border trade into a digital realm, thereby eliminating the need for paper-based manual procedures.
