General Measures

The aim of general trade facilitation measures related to the Customs clearance process is to implement and foster key trade facilitation principles such as predictability, consistency and transparency, as contained in the preamble to the Revised Kyoto Convention, and also to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Customs administration in general and the Customs clearance process in particular.

General trade facilitation measures, as they relate to the clearance process, include the use of internationally standardized Customs terminology and trade data definitions, formal trade consultation, the use of Customs Brokers, an appeal system and integrity programmes. These measures will help Customs and other government authorites to increase the predictability and transparency of the organization and the entire regulatory cross-border process.

The use of risk management and selectivity, Customs automation and Single Window sytems are long-term modernization efforts that will help Customs and other regulatory entities at the border to become more effective and consistent and to improve their performance. Authorized trader programmes, post-clearance audit, de minimis schemes and the setting of opening hours of Customs offices, for example, besides improving the effectiveness of a Customs administration, will predominantly improve the efficiency of the organization in which the clearance process is managed.