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Indonesia’s customs office plays major role in World Customs Organization
Since its induction into the World Customs Organization (WCO) on April 30, 1957, the Indonesian Customs and Excise Office has continued to take an active role in all WCO activities.
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ince its induction into the World Customs Organization (WCO) on April 30, 1957, the Indonesian Customs and Excise Office has continued to take an active role in all WCO activities, in both Brussels and the Asia-Pacific.
As an independent intergovernmental organization, the WCO aims to amplify effective and efficient customs administration in achieving its objectives while facilitating trade, protecting society and securing fair revenue collection as well as providing support to customs offices around the world.
Nirwala Dwi Heryanto, the Director of Communication and Guidance for Customs Service Users, explained that the Customs and Excise Office had played an important role since July 1, 2020, when it became the WCO Asia-Pacific vice-chair for 2020-2022.
The WCO Asia-Pacific vice-chair serves to coordinate relevant activities in the region, encourage the progress of regional members and represent the region’s interests at the WCO as well as other international cooperation forums.
"By becoming the vice-chair, the Customs and Excise Office has an opportunity to show its ability to lead the 32 member countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which includes several developed countries such as Australia, China, Japan and Korea," said Nirwala.
As the Asia-Pacific vice-chair, the office participated in a series of meetings from June 20 to 25 at the WCO headquarters in Brussels, which involved the 86th session of the WCO Policy Commission and the 139th and 140th meetings of the WCO Council.
During the meetings, the Indonesian Customs Office helped determine various important WCO policies, foster good ties among the world’s customs agencies and collaborate on improving services and supervision.
The 86th session of the WCO Policy Commission saw its members steer discussions on WCO policies, practices and procedures before they were advanced to the WCO Council meetings.
Meanwhile, the WCO Council is the organization’s highest body that all internal bodies report to. It is tasked with making the final decision on all WCO policies, issues and activities.
“Unlike the Policy Commission, every WCO member may attend the Council sessions. In short, it is the highest meeting between the customs heads or leaders of WCO members," said Nirwala.
During the two events, discussions focused important issues such as the organization’s COVID-19 action plan and work program and extending the working group's authority, as well as the WCO Strategic Plan 2022-2025, the Implementation Plan 2022-2023 and the WCO Data Strategy. Other discussion points revolved around e-commerce, green customs, fragile borders and regulating work practices during pandemic conditions.
Nirwala said the Council meetings covered several other agenda items, including WCO technical committee reports on capacity development, tariffs and trade, provisions on origin of goods, customs values, nomenclature and classification, compliance, trade facilitation, as well as financial and budgetary issues.
Toward the end of the Council meetings, members elected the WCO Finance Committee’s deputy secretary-general, chair and vice-chair, the Audit Committee’s chair and vice-chair as well as the WCO Council chair. It also saw the appointment of members to several WCO committees, including the Policy Commission as well as the finance and audit committees.
"This occasion also served to mark the end of Indonesia's term as the WCO Asia-Pacific vice-chair and install Australia as the vice-chair for the 2022 to 2024 period," he added.
In its capacity as the 2020-2022 WCO Asia Pacific vice-chair, Indonesia’s Customs and Excise Office worked to fulfill its global and regional responsibilities despite the challenging conditions presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"During our tenure, the Customs and Excise Office successfully held a variety of regional meetings, such as the Regional Contact Points (RCP) Meeting and the Regional Heads of Customs Administration (RHCA) Conference, as well as formed the Regional Private Sector Group Asia-Pacific (RPSG-AP) as a communication forum between governments and privates sector in the Asia-Pacific region,” Nirwala said.
He added that the Customs Office continued to participate in the Permanent Technical Committee, the Policy Commission and the Global Meeting of WCO Regional Structures, as well as several other international events of the global forum.
To ensure the smooth transition from Indonesia to Australia, the Customs and Excise Office is supporting Australia’s WCO vice-chairmanship from 2022 to 2024 through various initiatives, such as updating the operation manual in particular relation to holding virtual meetings under conditions of crisis. The Customs Office is also open to holding follow-up meetings to discuss the transition in more detail.
"We believe that with its previous experience as vice-chair and its leadership within the WCO, Australia will lead the Asia-Pacific region well. The Customs and Excise Office is also committed to providing continual support to Australia," Nirwala underlined.
