Transit guidelines in the southern African region came under the spotlight at a recent World Customs Organisation (WCO) workshop in Lusaka, Zambia which drew experts from Customs administrations in the East and Southern Africa region.
The five-day workshop focused on the possible content of the transit guidelines, which will offer clear guiding principles and recommended practices for the establishment of effective transit regimes and will incorporate members’ existing transit practices.
Discussions revolved around issues like information exchange, guarantee systems, fees and charges for transit, Customs seals and coordinated border management. Participants visited the One Stop Border Post of Chirundu on the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe where they were able to see how Zambian and Zimbabwean Customs coordinate and cooperate with each other as well as with other relevant border agencies in order to facilitate trade, including transit operations.
The development of the guidelines will be completed next year and this new WCO tool will be launched at the WCO Global Conference on Transit to be held on 10 and 11 July 2017 at WCO headquarters in Brussels.
