Customs

New WCO Guide to Customs Valuation and Transfer Pricing- http://www.wcoomd.org/en/topics/key-issues/revenue-package/~/media/36DE1A4DC54B47109514FFCD0AAE6B0A.ashx The WCO is launching a major new guide on the topic of Customs valuation and transfer pricing. The interaction between these two regimes has been an important issue both for Customs administrations and the trade over recent years. The issue concerns international transactions within a multi-national group. Customs aim is to ensure that the price for transactions of imported goods is not influenced by the relationship between buyer and seller (based on the methodology for Customs valuation contained in the WTO Valuation Agreement). Tax administrations, on the other hand, are examining the same transactions to ensure the conditions are consistent with the 'arm’s length principle' for profit tax purposes. Generally, the methodology used for this purpose is based on the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The Technical Committee on Customs Valuation (TCCV) has confirmed that the examination of transfer pricing studies, prepared primarily for direct taxation purposes, may be of use to Customs when examining related party transactions for Customs valuation purposes. Further work is being conducted by the TCCV in order to provide examples of situations where transfer pricing data has proven useful to Customs in this regard. The new Guide, designed to be accessible to both experts and non-experts in both fields, sets out the relevant methodology for both regimes and explores the linkages and the possibilities for Customs to use transfer pricing information to examine related party transactions.

Unece
- 中國國家口岸辦與聯合國歐洲經濟委員會(UNECE)聯合舉辦的「單一窗口及口岸通關貿易便利化」研討會日前在上海召開。研討會上透露，目前上海、天津、福建、廣東四地均已啟動國際貿易單一窗口試點，其中率先進行試點的上海正在推進「單一窗口」2.0版本建設工作，未來有望實現貿易數據與他國共享。據悉，2015年上半年該「單一窗口」1.0版建成，下半年推進2.0版建設工作。單一窗口的引入使報關公司、物流公司等的報關架構和操作模式發生重大改變，一票報關單的申報時間從以前的10分鐘縮短到現在的1到2分鐘，報關組人員減少了三分之二。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2015/10/27/a16-1027.pdf

The Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP) is a set of rules on the issuance and use of letters of credit. The UCP is utilized by bankers and commercial parties in more than 175 countries in trade finance. Some 11-15% of international trade utilizes letters of credit, totaling over a trillion dollars (US) each year.

Historically, the commercial parties, particularly banks, have developed the techniques and methods for handling letters of credit in international trade finance. This practice has been standardized by the ICC (International Chamber of Commerce) by publishing the UCP in 1933 and subsequently updating it throughout the years. The ICC has developed and moulded the UCP by regular revisions, the current version being the UCP600. The result is the most successful international attempt at unifying rules ever, as the UCP has substantially universal effect. The latest revision was approved by the Banking Commission of the ICC at its meeting in Paris on 25 October 2006. This latest version, called the UCP600, formally commenced on 1 July 2007. A significant function of the ICC is the preparation and promotion of its uniform rules of practice. The ICC’s aim is to provide a codification of international practice occasionally selecting the best practice after ample debate and consideration. The ICC rules of practice are designed by bankers and merchants and not by legislatures with political and local considerations. The rules accordingly demonstrate the needs, customs and practices of business. Because the rules are incorporated voluntarily into contracts, the rules are flexible while providing a stable base for international review, including judicial scrutiny. International revision is thus facilitated permitting the incorporation of the changing practices of the commercial parties. ICC, which was established in 1919, had as its primary objective facilitating the flow of international trade at a time when nationalism and protectionism threatened the easing of world trade. It was in that spirit that the UCP were first introduced – to alleviate the confusion caused by individual countries’ promoting their own national rules on letter of credit practice. 

The ATA Carnet is an international customs document that permits the tax-free and duty-free temporary export and import of goods for up to one year. The Carnet eliminates the need to purchase temporary import bonds. So long as the goods are re-exported within the allotted time frame, no duties or taxes are due. Failure to re-export all or some of the goods listed on the Carnet results in the payment of applicable duties and taxes. Failure to remit those duties results in a claim from the foreign customs service to the importer's home country. The ATA Carnet is jointly administered by the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Chamber of Commerce through its World Chambers Federation.^{[citation needed]}The acronym ATA is a combination of French and English terms "Admission Temporaire/Temporary Admission.""ATA Carnet". The Canadian Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved November 20, 2017. In 1961 the World Customs Organization (WCO), then known as the Customs Cooperation Council (CCC), adopted the Customs Convention on the ATA Carnet for the Temporary Admission of Goods (ATA Convention). More specific conventions for each type of applicable good were subsequently worked out and agreed on by the CCC. Today, WCO administers the international conventions. In 1990, the Istanbul Convention was adopted; it combines in one single instrument the various conventions on the temporary admission of goods.

The Interface Public-Members (IPM) platform, the World Customs Organization’s unique tool in the fight against counterfeiting, became operational in 2011 and has already seen many improvements since its conception.  From the basic functionality of a genuine and fake database, featuring pictures and basic descriptions of products, this has now developed to a more complex system offering additional options, including the ability to send alerts to Customs officers, an e-learning feature and a mobile application launched last year. The WCO is pleased to announce that the IPM tool has been redesigned and that the new platform, both Web and mobile versions, was made available to WCO Members on 4 September 2015. The changes are both architectural and visual, and were based primarily on feedback collected from all stakeholders. Particular emphasis has been put on offering users the ability to search a product simply by scanning the barcode and, when available, verifying a product using security features. This functionality helps Customs officers access actionable information intuitively and efficiently.


aeo
- 中國海關總署昨日發佈消息稱，在中國國務院總理李克強和日本首相安倍晉三的共同見證下，中國海關總署與日本關稅局簽訂了「經認證的經營者」（AEO）制度互認安排，簡化進出口通關手續。專家表示，此舉意在縮短通關時間，令兩國間進出口物流迅速化；業內預計獲得AEO認證的中日企業間貿易通關時間至少縮短三分之一，並降低企業貿易成本，有望促進兩國貿易的擴大，亦有望促進兩國生鮮食品等行業貿易。http://pdf.wenweipo.com/2018/10/28/a10-1028.pdf
-  記者21日獲悉，廣州海關聯合廣東省外事辦舉行AEO（經認證的經營者）政策宣講會，據悉，AEO相當於海關貿易「綠色通行證」，主要通過海關對信用狀況、守法程度和安全水平較高的企業實施認證，認證企業可獲通關便利，如優先辦理通關手續、降低貨物查驗率、大幅縮短通關時間等。目前，中國海關已與世界9個經濟體36個國家與地區簽署了AEO互認安排，其中，廣州海關培育相關企業308家，數量居內地第一。http://paper.takungpao.com/resfile/PDF/20181122/PDF/a19_screen.pdf

Custom brokers or Customs House Brokerages are working positions that may be employed by or affiliated with freight forwarders, independent businesses, or shipping lines, importers, exporters, trade authorities, and customs brokerage firms.
- usa

• Customs brokers in the United States prepare and submit documentation to notify or obtain clearance from government agencies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Fish and Wildlife Service. They also arrange the transhipment (i.e., local delivery) of merchandise via trucking companies. Many customs brokers specialize in certain goods like apparel, perishables, or clearing the crew and manifest of large cargo vessels. Most are located at major airports and harbors with international traffic.^[2] However, with the advent of the Automated Broker Interface and rules allowing customs brokers to be permitted nationally (as opposed to specific ports), customs brokers no longer need to be located near a port.

- eu

• For customs brokers and clearing agents operating within the European Union, there is no licensing system. The onus is firmly on the importer or exporter to ensure that any party acting on their behalf is in possession of the facts to do so.

- hk

• https://www.tibagroup.com/hk/customs-brokers

curious case
- 中國一名男子周日下午乘飛機從非洲埃塞俄比亞首都亞的斯亞貝巴，飛抵四川成都雙流國際機場。他在過安檢時，被安檢人員發現其行李內，竟裝有共重四點四公斤的蟻巢，巢內還藏有大量活體螞蟻。他供稱，該些螞蟻是用來泡藥酒。據悉，這宗大量活體螞蟻與巢穴一起非法入境的案件，為四川當地首次查獲。http://orientaldaily.on.cc/cnt/china_world/20180320/00178_024.html