Ninth CAREC Customs Cooperation Committee Meeting

Hosted by the Afghan Customs Department, the annual meeting reviewed progress made since the Customs Cooperation Committee’s (CCC) inception in 2002, and discussed plans for the next 5 years on how to achieve its objectives in the five identified priority areas:

(i) simplification and harmonization of customs procedures and documentation,

(ii) information and communication technology for customs modernization and data exchange,

(iii) risk management and post-entry audit,

(iv) joint customs control, and

(v) regional transit development.

Technical working group meetings were held prior to the CCC’s ninth annual meeting to review the accomplishments in the last 9 years on the five priority areas. Draft summary tables of accomplishments were prepared, and the CAREC customs authorities will update them over the coming months to provide richer data for the review.

The meeting also provided training on the objectives and approach of the World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Time Release Study (TRS) methodology and single window development, with a focus on learning from Japan’s experience in implementing the TRS and a single window.

Japan Customs hosted the participant’ visit to the Yokohama Port. The participants observed storage management and handling of containerized cargoes, and saw how it is connected to the Nippon Automated Cargo and Port Consolidated System, Japan’s single window system, and risk management operations by Yokohama Customs.