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Guidelines on Cooperation between Customs and Port Authorities
The Customs and Ports Authorities Cooperation Guidelines outlines best practices between Customs and Port Authorities from advanced, emerging and developing countries over the last decades.
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WCO/WTO Study Report on Disruptive Technologies 2022
The Study Report 2022 intends to further raise the awareness and knowledge of WCO and WTO Members of the use of disruptive technologies in international trade and particularly in the border management environment, including the benefits and opportunities, and the challenges and gaps identified.
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WCO Guidance for Customs administrations in Small Island Economies (SIEs)
The WCO Guidance for Customs administrations in Small Island Economies (SIEs) is a tool developed in order to assist Small Island Economies address their unique challenges in the pursuit of Customs modernization and reform programmes, including accession to and implementation of key WCO instruments and tools, as well as other relevant international standards.
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WCO Guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity
The “WCO Guidelines on disaster management and supply chain continuity” comprise a set of guiding principles and best practices shared by WCO Members and relevant stakeholders. They were drafted in the framework of the WCO COVID-19 Project, an initiative funded by the Government of Japan and launched in June 2020. Through this new tool, the WCO aims to enhance the preparedness of Customs administrations to respond to, and recover from, disruptive events, such as infectious diseases and natural disasters, while ensuring the continuity of the global supply chain.
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Guide to Stress Tests
The WCO Guide to Stress Tests allows Customs administrations to learn more about the implementation of business continuity and contingency plans, and to test and validate such plans through simulation exercises, thus making sure that procedures, systems and personnel are ready to guarantee the continuity of operations in the event of disruptions.
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Data Analysis Practitioner's Handbook
03 December 2018
The Handbook aims at presenting a high-level overview of data analytics and, more specifically, what it is, how it works, and how useful it may be to Customs and other governmental agencies.
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Strategy Guide for AEO Mutual Recognition
The Mutual Recognition Arrangement/Agreement (MRA) Strategy Guide assists Members with the development of MRA plans, negotiations and implementation thereof. The Guide includes, among others things, a comprehensive strategic approach to MRA laying down a clear vision and roadmap with a set of activities to be undertaken to reach the pre-defined goals in terms of planning, negotiating, and implementing MRAs with partner Customs administrations.
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Coordinated Border Management
Coordinated border management is now recognized by the Customs community as a potential solution for the challenges that the 21st century presents especially with respect to efficient and effective border management.
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WCO Customs Risk Management Compendium
The Compendium is comprised of two separate but interlinked volumes. Volume 1 sets out the organizational framework for risk management and outlines the risk management process. Volume 2 deals with risk assessment, profiling and targeting tools that inform selection criteria for identifying high-risk consignments, passengers and conveyances for Customs intervention.
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Single Window Guidelines
A Single Window is deemed as the highest standard of excellence in the area of public service delivery. As such a Single Window is a paradigm of governance in which traditional government regulatory functions are re-engineered into transparent, efficient and predictable services to meet the needs and expectations of citizens and businesses.
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WCO Data Model
The WCO Data Model (DM) has been the data foundation for global trade interoperability for over two decades. It is a compilation of clearly structured, harmonized, standardized, and reusable sets of data definitions and electronic messages designed to meet the operational and legal requirements of Customs and other cross-border regulatory agencies (CBRAs) responsible for border management. The DM provides the universal language for cross-border data exchange necessary for the implementation of Single Window systems and fuelling Data Analytics.
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Immediate Release Guidelines
The WCO developed a set of release/clearance procedures in early 1990 to assist both Customs and trade with expediting the clearance of large number of small or negligible value goods across borders that were primarily being carried by courier and express mail services.
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IT Guide for Executives
The Guide provides information and insights into the strategic management process concerning the use of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) in Customs.
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ICT Guidelines
The WCO has developed Guidelines to help Administrations implement the Standards and Recommended Practices contained in the Revised Kyoto Convention. The intent of the ICT Guidelines of the Revised Kyoto Convention is to focus the attention of Customs administrations on the impact of IC technologies on the business of Customs, and to outline the potential advantages to Customs that will result from the use of IC technologies to enhance their program and service delivery.
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Time Release Study
No time to read this? No time to do that? But for Customs, less time is better!! The Time Release Study provides guidance to Customs administrations on the best way to review, jointly with other agencies in a cross-border and coordinated border management environment, the time required for the release of goods, and take potential corrective measures for continuous improvement.
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API Guidelines & PNR Reporting Standards
The flow of passenger-related information from carriers (airlines) to border control authorities can be divided into two main streams: Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR).
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Guidelines on Customs-Tax Cooperation
The Guidelines aim to provide reference guidance to Customs and Tax authorities who wish to go further in their cooperation and develop operational models which enable agencies to work together to their mutual benefit.
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Survey on Cross-Border E-Commerce
The WCO has carried out a short survey to collect Members’ current practices and ongoing and/or future initiatives on cross-border low-value e-commerce. The survey findings are structured into different sub-categories based on the key findings of each section. They are: facilitation, risk management, data exchange/Cooperation with E-Commerce Operators, control and enforcement, and revenue collection.
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The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the WCO Mercator Programme Approach to Implementation
This publication provides an overview of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), the history behind it, the key steps required for accession to and compliance with the TFA, including sequencing of implementation, provision of technical assistance/capacity building (TA/CB) and monitoring, bringing forth the lessons learnt under the WCO’s TA/CB activities and national best practices shared by Members, as well as TFA-related recommendations stemming from WCO working bodies.
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Practical Guidance on Free Zones
The Practical Guidance on Free Zones (hereafter “FZ Guidance”) aims at providing practical guidance, based on the findings and analysis of WCO Research Paper No. 47 and WCO Members’ best practice, to help Customs enhance the Customs procedures/control to be globally applied in FZs, while effectively supporting the healthy development and competitiveness of FZs.
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National Committees on Trade Facilitation - A WCO Guide
The purpose of this document is to share relevant information on WCO Members’ experiences and their roles in the Na-tional Committees on Trade Facilitation (NCTFs) for the implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA). This guidance on the establishment and maintenance of NCTFS supplements many WCO tools that already support the implementation of the TFA and related cooperation of all stakeholders.
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Study Report on Customs Brokers
This document provides a general background and overview of Customs brokers’ role in the international supply chain together with some suggested policy and organizational considerations on Customs broker regimes and a model checklist for licensing/regulating brokers.
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WCO Customs Brokers Guidelines
The Customs Brokers Guidelines provide reference guidance to Members and stakeholders in establishing/adjusting their Customs brokers’ regime in line with the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC) and the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (TFA).
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Trader Identification Number (TIN)
The Guidelines on Trader Identification Number (TIN) provide technical standards and guidance for establishing a globally unique TIN for the exchange of AEO master data and the efficient identification of economic operators.
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AEO Compendium
Want to know who is doing what, across the globe, to secure and facilitate trade through Customs-Business partnership? The revised edition of the AEO Compendium, encompassing SAFE AEO programmes, Compliance programmes and the Authorized Operator scheme of the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF), is available.
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Customs-Business Partnership Guidance
A detailed guidance for developing a robust and sustained engagement/partnership mechanism with Business. It would also assists Members in the implementation of relevant provisions of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), in particular Articles 2, 7.7, 12 (1) and 23 (2), which foresee closer cooperation with private sector stakeholders. Additionally, the Guidance contains an Advanced Pillar which provides a range of new opportunities to further strengthen and advance an existing well-established relationship.
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WCO UPU Postal Customs Guide
The WCO–UPU Postal Customs Guide is a joint WCO–UPU tool, for Posts and for Customs administration staff dealing with postal customs clearance.
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WCO-UPU guidelines for developing a Memorandum of Understanding between Customs and Post at national level
The Joint WCO-UPU Guidelines for developing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Customs authorities and Posts at national level are meant to provide both postal operators and Customs authorities with guidance and ideas with working examples for formalizing and further enhancing their cooperation at the national level.
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Joint WCO-UPU Guidelines on the exchange of electronic advance data between Posts and Customs
The WCO, working with the UPU and other relevant stakeholders, has been at the forefront of promoting the implementation of the exchange of electronic advance data between Posts and Customs for effective risk management and enhanced facilitation of large number of legitimate parcels driven by e-commerce.
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Joint WCO/ICAO Brochure
The Joint Brochure provides basic information to all those involved in the air supply chain who are interested in understanding the various security and facilitation measures implemented by ICAO and WCO Members.
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Glossary of International Customs Terms
The purpose of the Council's Glossary is to set down in a single document definitions of certain Customs terms in order to establish a common Customs terminology.
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Compendium of best practices in the area of transit
The compendium contains good practices that illustrate in practical terms how various WCO Members are implementing the guiding principles for efficient transit regimes as outlined in the WCO Transit Guidelines.
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Transit Guidelines
The main objective of the Transit Guidelines is to render practical support to WCO Members in implementing efficient and effective transit regimes on their territories.
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Transit Handbook
The WCO Transit Handbook deals with various aspects of the operation of Customs transit procedures, and is accordingly intended to serve as a practical guide to assist WCO Members to develop a functional and effective transit system which may contribute to the enhancement of economic competitiveness and secure their revenue. In particular, this Handbook helps developing and least-developed Members to assess the effectiveness of their transit schemes and identify any further improvements needed.
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Voluntary Compliance Framework
The Voluntary Disclosure Programmes give clients a chance to correct inaccurate or incomplete information or to disclose information that clients have not reported during previous dealings with Customs authorities, without penalties in the appropriate circumstances. The Voluntary Compliance Framework will help traders comply voluntarily and correctly with Customs law, regulations or requirements.
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Transparency and Predictability Guidelines
Transparency and predictability of regulations and procedures at borders are widely recognized as an essential element of trade facilitation. Transparency and predictability are the starting point for ensuring the efficiency and, ultimately, the stability of a rules-based environment for goods crossing the border.
The Guidelines aim to provide Customs administrations with comprehensive and practical guidance on how to enhance and commit to their transparency and predictability, with a view to trade facilitation and integrity.
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Customs International Benchmarking Manual
The Customs International Benchmarking Manual was developed to provide guidance to administrations for improving their efficiency and effectiveness by comparing procedures or processes with the same or similar procedures or processes carried out by others. This process would then assist administrations in identifying and implementing best practice.
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Unique Consignment Reference (UCR)
The Unique Consignment Reference UCR is a reference number for Customs use and may be required to be eported to Customs at any point during a Customs procedure.
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WCO Handbook on Inward and Outward Processing Procedures
Efficient inward and outward processing (IP/OP) procedures can support Members in better connecting to Global Value Chains. Furthermore, IP/OP procedures are mandatory under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (Article 10.9) which entered into force in February 2017.
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WCO Railway Guidance
With discussions and development at the PTC, the Council in June 2022 approved the WCO Railway Guidance, which aims: to promote Customs procedures in railway transportation; to simplify and harmonize Customs regulations and procedures applicable to railway transportation; to encourage the use of advanced technologies; and, to strengthen Customs to Customs and Customs to Business cooperation, etc.
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