Cargo at the port of Mombasa. The Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA)
aims to expedite release and clearance of goods. PHOTO | FILE
By George Omondi
In Summary
- Under the TFA protocol, each signatory will have to publish procedures and documentation required for importation, exportation, and transit via port, airport, and border points.
At least 107 states are set to open up customs and
port procedures by the end of this year, easing cross-border movement of
goods across the world.
The states are expected to sign the Trade Facilitation
Agreement (TFA) in Nairobi by December 18 during the World Trade
Organisation’s first ministerial conference in Africa.
“The TFA can make sure that trade really works.
This is why it is so important to put it into effect as soon as
possible. The ratification and entry into force of the TFA must be high
on every WTO member’s agenda,” said Foreign Affairs and International
Trade secretary Amina Mohamed who will chair the December global event.
Under the TFA protocol, each signatory will have to
publish procedures and documentation required for importation,
exportation, and transit via port, airport, and border points.
They must also provide shippers with details of
tax, regulatory fees, rules for the classification or valuation of
products for customs purposes, rules of origin, penalties, procedures
for appeal and trade restrictions.
“Each member (signatory) shall adopt or maintain
procedures allowing for the submission of import documentation and other
required information, including manifests, in order to begin processing
prior to the arrival of goods with a view to expediting the release of
goods upon arrival,” the TFA reads in part.
The TFA protocol is one of the proposals that the
trade ministers agreed on at the Bali Conference held two years ago. It
is supposed to enter into force once two-thirds of the WTO’s 161
members have completed their domestic ratification processes.
To live up to its expectation of easing movement,
release and clearance of goods, member states must invest in equipment
and technology infrastructure.
It further contains provisions that allows
developing states such as Kenya to receive technical assistance from
rich countries. Kenya is already ahead of the pack in the region having
invested heavily in ICT upgrade of its port and custom systems.
From January, the country has been implementing a
single customs territory model of collecting tax, bringing into the fold
Rwanda and Uganda. It has also put millions of shillings into ICT
upgrade of operations in Mombasa. From July, the country has been
applying the single electronic window system that allows traders to
access and file regulatory documentation online.
The TFA states: “Each Member shall, as appropriate,
provide for advance lodging of documents in electronic format for
pre-arrival processing of such documents.”
It adds: “Each Member shall, to the extent
practicable, adopt or maintain procedures allowing the option of
electronic payment for duties, taxes, fees, and charges collected by
customs incurred upon importation and exportation.”
The protocol requires signatories to release goods
even as authorities use information supplied to them to determine
customs taxes and other regulatory charges.
omondi@ke.nationmedia.com
No comments :
Post a Comment