Head of the State Revenue Committee Meets with Secretary General of the World Customs Organization Kunio Mikuriya

On January 21, the head of the RA State Revenue Committee, Edward Hovhannisyan, held a working meeting with the Secretary General of the World Customs Organization, Kunio Mikuriya. During the meeting, a number of issues related to mutual cooperation were discussed, particularly the implementation of the agreement signed between the RA State Revenue Committee and the WCO in 2020 regarding the use of the WCO nCEN program.

The measures necessary for the further implementation and efficient operation of the system were discussed, which would allow the State Revenue Committee to utilize the nCEN (National Customs Enforcement Network) program for the registration and analysis of customs violations.

Also discussed was the feasibility of organizing a WCO IT conference in Armenia in the near future, its possible timelines, and the readiness of the SRC to participate in WCO accreditation workshops, emphasizing the importance of having accredited experts on the WCO Data Model within the State Revenue Committee.

This information was provided by the Information and Public Relations Department of the RA State Revenue Committee.

During the discussion, agreements were reached concerning the conditions of operation for the customs attaché of the RA in the EU and the potential for hosting several WCO workshops during this year.

As a result of the agreements reached during the meeting, the cooperation between the WCO and the SRC will be elevated to a qualitatively new level, through a renewed impetus to the retraining and educational processes of SRC customs service employees.

It is noteworthy that the Republic of Armenia has been a member of the World Customs Organization since 1992. Cooperation takes place within the framework of various WCO programs, particularly through the implementation of provisions of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation and various workshops organized with the participation of WCO experts, among other initiatives.

Significantly, in 2020, the Republic of Armenia was unanimously re-elected as a member of the WCO Audit Committee for another year. Cooperation is becoming more stable and intense, especially with the presence of the customs attaché of the Republic of Armenia in the WCO. It should be noted that the current customs attaché will be replaced by a newly appointed attaché starting March 2021.