The World Customs Organization (WCO) in collaboration with the Oceania Customs Organization (OCO) and the WCO Asia Pacific Regional office of capacity Building (ROCB A/P),and with the sponsorship of Japan customs cooperation fund (CCF) held a sub-regional train the trainers workshop on the Harmonized coding System (HCS) at the regional training centre in Suva Fiji from the 9th to 13th June 2014.
The workshop has been facilitated by three WCO accredited experts, Jorn Hindsdal from the WCO secretariat, Mamoru Goto and Miyako Miyashita from the Japan customs including Ms Ben Chamkrom who is the ROCB A/P program coordinator.
Workshop participants, CEO of Fiji Revenue & Customs Authority, Head OCO secretariat and Facilitators.
The workshop w organized in response to the needs of WCO members in the Pacific Islands in respect of the HCS. The core objective of this workshop is to establish a pool of capable trainers on the Harmonized coding system (HCS)for the Pacific Islands. During the workshop participants were able to receive an update on the relevant WCO instruments and tools and supporting HCS materials and also participants were guided on how to effectively deliver the training modules through the proper use of training methods. In fact HCS is a multipurpose tool developed by WCO and currently used by more than 200 customs administrations throughout the globe as a basis for customs tariffs and the compilation of international trade statistics. Also HCS is used for many other purposes such as trade policy, rules of origin, monitoring of control goods, internal taxes, freight tariffs, transport statistics, quota controls and economic research and analysis. Therefore as each administrations continues to encounter the challenges of the 21st century, capacity building is seen as one of the enabler that would assist member administrations to effectively and efficiently implement the WCO tools and instruments such as HCS to meeting their objectives of revenue collection, facilitate legitimate trade and border protection.
As a member of WCO, two participants from Vanuatu customs represent Vanuatu in this important training on Harmonize Coding System.
Participants from PNG, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga and Vanuatu who attended the workshop are encouraged to share the knowledge and skills learned to their respective administrations and urged to take the leading role in improving their national HCS practices. To fulfill this obligation the Vanuatu customs administration will soon be establishing a HCS working committee who will be responsible for the HCS in-house and customs brokers’ trainings, HCS amendment, HCS customs rulings and also to prepare for the upcoming WCO national HCS workshop schedule for the second week of August 2014.
