Abbreviation | WCO |
---|---|
Formation | 26 January 1953 [1] |
Type | Intergovernmental organization |
Location | |
Membership | 186 customs administrations |
Official language | English and French |
Secretary General | Ian Saunders (January 2024 - present) |
Website | www |
The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. The WCO works on customs-related matters including the development of international conventions, instruments, and tools on topics such as commodity classification, valuation, rules of origin, collection of customs revenue, supply chain security, international trade facilitation, customs enforcement activities, combating counterfeiting in support of intellectual property rights (IPR), illegal drug enforcement, combating counterfeiting of medicinal drugs, [2] illegal weapons trading, integrity promotion, and delivering sustainable capacity building to assist with customs reforms and modernization. The WCO maintains the international Harmonized System (HS) goods nomenclature, and administers the technical aspects of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreements on Customs Valuation and Rules of Origin. [3] [4] Additionally, the WCO oversees the implementation of new technologies, artificial intelligence, to improve the efficiency of customs operations. Furthermore, the WCO is involved in addressing emerging issues, such as the digitalization of customs systems. [5]
On 23 August 1947 the Committee for European Economic Cooperation created a European Customs Union Study Group (ECUSG) to examine economic and technical issues of inter-European Customs Union concerning the rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In total, six ECUSG meetings were held in four years from November 1947 to June 1950. [6] This work of ECUSG led to the adoption in 1950 of the Convention establishing the Customs Co-operation Council (CCC), which was signed in Brussels. On 26 January 1953 [1] the CCC's inaugural session took place with the participation of 17 founding members. CCC membership subsequently expanded to cover all regions of the globe. In 1994, the organization adopted its current name, the World Customs Organization. Today, WCO members are responsible for customs controls in 186 countries representing more than 98 percent of all international trade. [1]
One of the major turning points in the WCO’s history was its expansion beyond Europe, which allowed it to become a truly global organization. This expansion was fueled by the recognition of the need for standardized customs procedures across different regions of the world, particularly in the post-colonial period when many new nations were emerging. The WCO played a crucial role in helping these nations establish efficient customs administrations. [7]
The WCO is internationally acknowledged as the global centre of customs expertise and plays a leading role in the discussion, development, promotion and implementation of modern customs systems and procedures. Moreover, the WCO has been instrumental in assisting over 180 countries in modernizing their customs procedures through various initiatives such as the Revised Kyoto Convention and the Harmonized System. [5] It is responsive to the needs of its members and its strategic environment, and its instruments and best-practice approaches are recognized as the basis for sound customs administration throughout the world.
The WCO's primary objective is to enhance the efficiency effectiveness other members customs administrations, thereby assisting them to contribute successfully to national development goals, particularly revenue collection, national security, trade facilitation, community protection, and collection of trade statistics.
In order to achieve its objectives, the WCO has adopted a number of customs instruments, including but not limited to the following:
The World Customs Organization (WCO) released a new online platform, WCO Trade Tools, [8] that encompasses the Harmonized System, preferential Rules of Origin and Valuation. It includes the 2002, 2007, 2012, 2017 and 2022 editions of the HS, around 400 Free Trade Agreements with their preferential Rules of Origin/ and Product Specific rules, and the set list of Valuation texts, including those of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.
The WCO Secretariat is headed by a Secretary General, who is elected by the WCO membership to a five-year term. Ian Saunders from the United States was elected WCO Secretary General in June 2023 and took office on 1 January 2024. The WCO is governed by the council, which brings together all members of the organization once a year, in a meeting chaired by an elected chairperson. Additional strategic and management guidance is provided by the Policy and Finance committees. There are several other WCO committees, including the Harmonized System Committee, the Permanent Technical Committee, the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, Technical Committee on Rules of Origin, the Capacity Building Committee, and the SAFE Working Group.
Under the leadership of recent Secretaries General, the WCO has increasingly embraced digital transformation in customs practices, focusing on the adoption of technology to streamline border processes. These initiatives, such as the implementation of artificial intelligence in customs operations, have placed the WCO at the forefront of modern customs administration, ensuring that its members are well-equipped to face the challenges of an increasingly interconnected global economy. [5]
Region | Member | Date Of Membership |
---|---|---|
South America, North America, Central America and the Caribbean | Antigua and Barbuda | 10/04/2017 |
Argentina | 01/07/1968 | |
Bahamas | 16/08/1974 | |
Barbados | 07/01/1999 | |
Belize | 22/04/2008 | |
Bermuda | 01/07/1990 | |
Bolivia | 14/08/1997 | |
Brazil | 19/01/1981 | |
Canada | 12/10/1971 | |
Chile | 01/07/1966 | |
Colombia | 11/07/1993 | |
Costa Rica | 29/08/2001 | |
Cuba | 01/07/1988 | |
Curaçao | 11/07/1988 | |
Dominican Republic | 28/07/2004 | |
Ecuador | 16/12/1997 | |
El Salvador | 07/07/2005 | |
Guatemala | 22/02/1985 | |
Guyana | 29/07/1976 | |
Haiti | 31/01/1958 | |
Honduras | 08/12/2005 | |
Jamaica | 29/03/1963 | |
Mexico | 08/02/1988 | |
Nicaragua | 24/09/1998 | |
Panama | 08/03/1996 | |
Paraguay | 03/10/1969 | |
Peru | 27/01/1970 | |
Saint Lucia | 12/05/2005 | |
Suriname | 26/11/2018 | |
Trinidad and Tobago | 15/10/1973 | |
United States | 05/11/1970 | |
Uruguay | 16/09/1977 | |
Venezuela | 01/07/1996 | |
Europe | Albania | 31/08/1992 |
Andorra | 03/09/1998 | |
Armenia | 30/06/1992 | |
Austria | 21/01/1953 | |
Azerbaijan | 17/06/1992 | |
Belarus | 16/12/1993 | |
Belgium | 11/12/1952 | |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 04/07/2008 | |
Bulgaria | 01/08/1973 | |
Croatia | 01/07/1993 | |
Cyprus | 31/08/1967 | |
Czech Republic | 01/01/1993 | |
Denmark | 19/10/1951 | |
Estonia | 18/06/1992 | |
European Union* | ||
Finland | 27/01/1961 | |
France | 06/10/1952 | |
Georgia | 26/10/1993 | |
Germany | 04/11/1952 | |
Greece | 10/12/1951 | |
Hungary | 16/09/1968 | |
Iceland | 15/02/1971 | |
Ireland | 23/09/1952 | |
Israel | 23/05/1958 | |
Italy | 20/11/1952 | |
Kazakhstan | 30/06/1992 | |
Kyrgyzstan | 10/02/2000 | |
Kosovo | 25/01/2017 | |
Latvia | 22/06/1992 | |
Lithuania | 18/06/1992 | |
Luxembourg | 23/01/1953 | |
Malta | 06/07/1968 | |
Moldova | 28/10/1994 | |
Montenegro | 24/10/2006 | |
Netherlands | 23/01/1953 | |
Norway | 06/08/1951 | |
North Macedonia | 01/07/1994 | |
Poland | 17/07/1974 | |
Portugal | 26/01/1953 | |
Romania | 15/01/1969 | |
Russian Federation | 08/07/1991 | |
Serbia | 27/03/2001 | |
Slovakia | 01/01/1993 | |
Slovenia | 07/09/1992 | |
Spain | 13/07/1952 | |
Sweden | 17/10/1952 | |
Switzerland | 19/12/1952 | |
Tajikistan | 01/07/1997 | |
Türkiye (Republic of) | 06/06/1951 | |
Turkmenistan | 17/05/1993 | |
Ukraine | 26/06/1992 | |
United Kingdom | 12/09/1952 | |
Uzbekistan | 28/07/1992 | |
East and Southern Africa | Angola | 26/09/1990 |
Botswana | 25/08/1978 | |
Burundi | 20/10/1964 | |
Comoros | 01/07/1993 | |
Djibouti | 19/03/2008 | |
Eritrea | 08/08/1995 | |
Eswatini | 15/05/1981 | |
Ethiopia | 06/08/1973 | |
Kenya | 24/05/1965 | |
Lesotho | 02/08/1978 | |
Madagascar | 18/02/1964 | |
Malawi | 06/06/1966 | |
Mauritius | 29/03/1973 | |
Mozambique | 01/07/1987 | |
Namibia | 01/07/1992 | |
Rwanda | 03/03/1964 | |
Seychelles | 25/07/2000 | |
Somalia | 04/10/2012 | |
South Africa | 24/03/1964 | |
South Sudan | 18/07/2012 | |
Tanzania | 07/11/1964 | |
Uganda | 03/11/1964 | |
Zambia | 27/09/1978 | |
Zimbabwe | 19/03/1981 | |
North of Africa, Near and Middle East | Algeria | 19/12/1966 |
Bahrain | 18/04/2001 | |
Egypt | 26/10/1956 | |
Iraq | 06/06/1990 | |
Jordan | 01/01/1964 | |
Kuwait | 04/10/1993 | |
Lebanon | 20/05/1960 | |
Libya | 11/01/1983 | |
Morocco | 01/07/1968 | |
Oman | 11/09/2000 | |
Palestine | 24/03/2015 | |
Qatar | 04/05/1992 | |
Saudi Arabia | 08/05/1973 | |
Sudan | 08/06/1960 | |
Syrian Arab Republic | 19/11/1959 | |
Tunisia | 20/07/1966 | |
United Arab Emirates | 07/02/1979 | |
Yemen | 01/07/1993 | |
West and Central Africa | Benin | 09/11/1998 |
Burkina Faso | 16/09/1966 | |
Cameroon | 09/04/1965 | |
Cape Verde | 01/07/1992 | |
Central African Republic | 28/07/1986 | |
Chad | 16/02/2005 | |
Congo (Republic of the) | 02/09/1975 | |
Côte d'Ivoire | 02/09/1963 | |
Democratic Republic of the Congo | 26/07/1972 | |
Equatorial Guinea | 22/12/2021 | |
Gabon | 18/02/1965 | |
Gambia | 14/10/1987 | |
Ghana | 01/08/1968 | |
Guinea | 30/10/1991 | |
Guinea-Bissau | 19/08/2010 | |
Liberia | 07/01/1975 | |
Mali | 07/08/1987 | |
Mauritania | 02/10/1979 | |
Niger | 01/07/1981 | |
Nigeria | 21/08/1963 | |
Sao Tome and Principe | 23/09/2009 | |
Senegal | 10/03/1976 | |
Sierra Leone | 06/11/1975 | |
Togo | 12/02/1990 | |
Far East, South and South East Asia, Australasia and the Pacific Islands | Afghanistan (Islamic Republic of) | 10/08/2004 |
Australia | 05/01/1961 | |
Bangladesh | 01/07/1978 | |
Bhutan | 12/02/2002 | |
Brunei Darussalam | 01/07/1996 | |
Cambodia | 03/04/2001 | |
China | 18/07/1983 | |
Fiji | 01/07/1997 | |
Hong Kong, China | 01/07/1987 | |
India | 15/02/1971 | |
Indonesia | 30/04/1957 | |
Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 16/10/1959 | |
Japan | 15/06/1964 | |
Korea (Republic of) | 02/07/1968 | |
Lao People’s Democratic Republic | 16/01/2007 | |
Macao, China | 07/07/1993 | |
Malaysia | 30/06/1964 | |
Maldives | 08/09/1995 | |
Mongolia | 17/09/1991 | |
Myanmar (The Republic of the Union of) | 25/03/1991 | |
Nepal | 22/07/1986 | |
New Zealand | 16/05/1963 | |
Pakistan | 16/11/1955 | |
Palau | 02/02/2024 | |
Papua New Guinea | 18/03/2002 | |
Philippines | 01/10/1980 | |
Solomon Islands | 26/01/2023 | |
Samoa | 01/10/2001 | |
Singapore | 09/07/1975 | |
Sri Lanka | 29/05/1967 | |
Thailand | 04/02/1972 | |
Timor-Leste | 19/09/2003 | |
Tonga | 01/07/2005 | |
Vanuatu | 17/11/2009 | |
Vietnam | 01/07/1993 |
A free trade area is the region encompassing a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement (FTA). Such agreements involve cooperation between at least two countries to reduce trade barriers, import quotas and tariffs, and to increase trade of goods and services with each other. If natural persons are also free to move between the countries, in addition to a free trade agreement, it would also be considered an open border. It can be considered the second stage of economic integration.
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.
Free economic zones (FEZ), free economic territories (FETs) or free zones (FZ) are a class of special economic zone (SEZ) designated by the trade and commerce administrations of various countries. The term is used to designate areas in which companies are taxed very lightly or not at all to encourage economic activity. The taxation rules and duties are determined by each country. The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCM) has content on the conditions and benefits of free zones.
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 United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) is a subsidiary body of the U.N. General Assembly (UNGA) responsible for helping to facilitate international trade and investment.
UNIDROIT is an intergovernmental organization whose objective is to harmonize private international law across countries through uniform rules, international conventions, and the production of model laws, sets of principles, guides and guidelines. Established in 1926 as part of the League of Nations, it was reestablished in 1940 following the League's dissolution through a multilateral agreement, the UNIDROIT Statute. As of 2023 UNIDROIT has 65 member states.
A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement according to international law to form a free-trade area between the cooperating states. There are two types of trade agreements: bilateral and multilateral. Bilateral trade agreements occur when two countries agree to loosen trade restrictions between the two of them, generally to expand business opportunities. Multilateral trade agreements are agreements among three or more countries, and are the most difficult to negotiate and agree.
The arm's length principle (ALP) is the condition or the fact that the parties of a transaction are independent and on an equal footing. Such a transaction is known as an "arm's-length transaction". It is used specifically in contract law to arrange an agreement that will stand up to legal scrutiny, even though the parties may have shared interests or are too closely related to be seen as completely independent.
The Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS), also referred to as the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Annotated (HTSA), is the primary resource for determining tariff classifications for goods imported into the United States. It can also be used in place of Schedule B for classifying goods exported from the United States to foreign countries. The Harmonized Tariff Schedule classifies a good based on its name, use, and/or the material used in its construction and assigns it a ten-digit classification code number, and there are over 17,000 unique classification code numbers. Although the U.S. International Trade Commission publishes and maintains the Schedule in its various forms, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the only agency that can provide legally binding advice or rulings on classification of imports.
Supply chain security activities aim to enhance the security of the supply chain or value chain, the transport and logistics systems for the world's cargo and to "facilitate legitimate trade". Their objective is to combine traditional practices of supply-chain management with the security requirements driven by threats such as terrorism, piracy, and theft. A healthy and robust supply chain absent from security threats requires safeguarding against disturbances at all levels such as facilities, information flow, transportation of goods, and so on. A secure supply chain is critical for organizational performance.
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.
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.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987, creates the goods nomenclature called the Combined Nomenclature, or in abbreviated form 'CN', established to meet, at one and the same time, the requirements both of the Common Customs Tariff and of the external trade statistics of the European Union. It is closely related to the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States.
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.
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"
Customs valuation is the process whereby customs authorities assign a monetary value to a good or service for the purposes of import or export. Generally, authorities engage in this process as a means of protecting tariff concessions, collecting revenue for the governing authority, implementing trade policy, and protecting public health and safety. Customs duties, and the need for customs valuation, have existed for thousands of years among different cultures, with evidence of their use in the Roman Empire, the Han dynasty and the Indian sub-continent. The first recorded customs tariff was from 136 in Palmyra, an oasis city in the Syrian desert. Beginning near the end of the 20th century, the procedures used throughout most of the world for customs valuation were codified in the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994.
The International Certificate of Origin Guidelines is a set of global guidelines on the issuance of Certificates of Origin published by the International Chamber of Commerce, in Paris, France, rolling out in 2021-2025 and beyond. It "aims to provide chambers of commerce and exporters with updates on new processes, including digitisation of the CO [Certificate of Origin] process". The ICC represents more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries These Guidelines cover Certificates of Origin as used in international trade, as opposed to any other purpose.
The Armenian Customs Service is a subsidiary department of the State Revenue Committee responsible for customs services on behalf of the Armenian government, headquartered in Yerevan.