Historical perspective

Romans were one of the first civilizations to introduce Customs duties Customs officials of the day had a responsibility to ensure that the right amount of duties were collected and that would-be smugglers were brought to account. On the other side of the counter would have been many honest traders who would render to Caesar that which was Caesars, and some not so honest traders who would seek to render as little as possible.
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It is therefore probable that the Romans faced the same types of challenges that are being faced by Customs administrations around the world today - Customs officials seeking to ensure that the law is upheld; traders seeking uninhibited(0pen) passage of their cargoes; and honest traders seeking recognition of their good track record of compliance.

What has changed, and changed dramatically, is the trading

environment - the manner in which goods are carried and traded, the speed of such transactions and the sheer(huge,total) volume of goods that are traded around the globe.

There have been a number of significant changes in global

trading practices, and Customs administrations around the world

have been required to continually adapt their methods of operation in an effort to maintain their effectiveness and
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Emergence of wide bodied aircraft, shipping containers, ecommerce and the increasing complexities of international trade agreements have all impacted on the way in which CAs have

fulfilled their responsibilities, and CAs world-wide have seen a

dramatic increase in workload across all areas of activity, fuelled by the technological advances that have revolutionized trade and transport.

Nevertheless, the basic elements of CA appear to remain essentially the same

government officials are seeking to enforce the law and traders are seeking to minimize government intervention.

An effective CA must find the proper balance between those two

positions

CA

.the govert service which is responsible for the administration of Customs law and the collection of import and

export duties and taxes and which also has responsibility for the
application of other laws and regulations relating, inter alia, to the importation, transit and exportation of goods(WCO).

The actual responsibilities of Customs will vary from country to

country but typically involve

Revenue collection, Some form (or forms) of border protection or security, The responsibility for collection of other taxes such as VAT or G & S tax (GST).

More specific responsibilities are likely to include the enforcement of trade agreements, detection and interdiction of narcotics and other prohibited or restricted imports or exports, counter terrorism, protection of cultural heritage and enforcement of intellectual property laws.

Additionally, Customs administrations tend to carry out border control functions on behalf of other agencies. These activities are likely to be undertaken on behalf of and/or in conjunction with immigration, quarantine and health authorities, border or economic police, agriculture and environmental agencies and many others

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According to WCO CA around the world face a number of important challenges and the envt in which they operate will continue to be characterized by:

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1.

2.

Globalization with continued growth and devt of international trade, as well as increased recognition of international trade as a key driver to promote investment and economic growth Increased investment by the private sector in modern manufacturing, information and supply chain mgt systems, supported by information and communication technologies, and a resultant increase in expectations for prompter and more cost-efficient and predictable border processing of goods and people
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3. Heightened awareness of the external drivers that add complexity to the global trade landscape, including initiatives to further liberalize trade, more complex trade rules, and the proliferation of regional trade agreements

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4. Greater awareness of the factors that increase the vulnerability of the international trade supply chain, including international terrorism, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking and revenue fraud, and the resultant increase in expectations for strengthened border control while ensuring continued improvts in trade facilitation

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5. Greater policy and procedural requirements directly associated with developing and meeting international commitments and standards for efficient and effective border procedures, while avoiding a plethora of duplicating and conflicting requirements on the part of national and other agencies 6. Increased awareness of the importance of Customs as a key vehicle for economic growth, social devt and national security, and the resultant need for govts and donor orgs to invest in sustainable capacity building activities in Customs, supported by research-based strategy and professionalism
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7. Increased awareness of the implementation of good governance and sound integrity within Customs services in co-operation with stakeholders, as a foundation for devt policy and capacity building 8. Constraints on budget and human-resource allocation notwithstanding the increase in workload and government expectations; and 9. Changes in organizational arrangements reflecting changes in government priorities.
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CAs, identified the issues they saw as most likely to impact upon Customs b/n them and the year 2020. Some of the key issues were identified as:
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

Globalisation / regionalisation / Free Trade Agreements Changes in international trade and services Trade & supply chain security Decreasing human resources Corruption / integrity Security / terrorism / transnational crime WTO / WCO requirements Risk management Accountability Trade facilitation Technology Change management / people management International cooperation

Identify two issues most likely to impact upon our CA b/n now and 2020. Please explain why you believe these will be the most important issues and what impact each issue is likely to have upon our CA
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Rules of origin are the criteria used to determine the nationality of a product. Rules of origin are the criteria used to define where a product was made. Rules of origin are also used to compile trade statistics, and for made in ... labels that are attached to products.

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They are an essential part of trade rules because a number of policies discriminate between Exporting Countries: Quotas, Preferential Tariffs, Anti-dumping Actions, Countervailing Duty (charged to counter export subsidies), and more.

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Once the origin of a good is known, the importing country can apply :
any country-specific or trade area-specific trade preferences restrictions to the imported good such as duty free entry for goods originating in a free trade area quantitative restrictions on goods originating in a country subject to a quota anti-dumping duties

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Because rules of origin are a means of implementing discriminatory trade regimes, its importance has grown significantly as countries increasingly have treated similar imported goods differently according to where the product was made. Rules of origin becomes more important because the degree of differentiation among similar goods from different countries increases.

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The increased treatment of similar goods places number of restrictions on the use of traditional tariff goods. The rise of multinational corporations and the production of goods in multiple stages using parts produced in different places around the world provided an opportunity to use rules of origin as an effective means of protection. In a world where goods are produced from parts from around the world, there is no single, correct definition of origin.

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Rules of origin can serve an effective means of protectionism in two ways.

1. Applications of preferential rules of origin may deny trade preferences to products. 2. Second definitions and applications of non-preferential rules of origin will extend country-specific trade restrictive measures to products.

The technical nature of rules of origin made it difficult to realize that they were being used for restrictive purposes.

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While the GATT increasingly restricted the ability of countries to use tariffs or traditional non-tariff barriers to protect domestic industry from foreign competition, it did not regulate rules of origin. Therefore, the use of rules of origin to insure trade restrictive effects provided a means for countries to satisfy pressure from domestic industry for protection from foreign competition.

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Rules of origin are divided into two categories: preferential and non-preferential rules of origin.
Preferential rules of origin are used to determine whether certain products originate in a preference-receiving country or trading area and hence qualify for the trade preference. Non-preferential rules of origin are used for all other purposes, including enforcement of product and country specific trade restrictions or restrict or prevent market entry The Rules of Origin Agreement requires WTO members to ensure that their rules of origin are transparent; that they do not have restricting, distorting or disruptive effects on international trade; that they are administered in a consistent, uniform, impartial and reasonable manner
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When a product is wholly obtained and produced in a single country, it is relatively easy to determine its origin. Difficulties arise in determining the origin of a product that is manufactured in, assembled in, or uses materials originating in more than one country.

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At least three different methods or criteria exist for determining the origin of goods that are manufactured in, assembled in, or use materials originating in more than one country:
1. Using the concept of substantial transformation as a rule; 2. Using an ad valorem percentage test; 3. Listing specific manufacturing or processing operations which confer or do not confer origin upon the goods

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The following operations shall not be taken into consideration when determining the origin of imported goods, whether or not accompanied by a change in the tariff classification: 1. Operations carried out to insure that the goods are preserved in good condition during transport or storage; 2. Operations carried out to facilitate transportation of goods; 3. Operations carried out to package or prepare goods for sale;

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4. simple operations on goods such as ventilation,

spreading out, drying, cooling, removal of damaged parts, greasing or rust removal, adding a coat of paint to protect against natural elements, washing, cleaning, sifting or screening, sorting or classifying, scaling, testing or calibration, packaging or breaking up of assembled packages or repackaging,

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.dividing the bulks, affixing marks, labels or other distinguishing signs on the packages of goods, dilution by water or any other aqueous solution, ionization, salting, peeling, crushing, removal of seeds from fruits and slaughtering of animals; 5. simple assembly of parts to constitute a complete product; 6. any combination of the above.

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