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Customs Organs and Institutions

Stephen Otieno

Customs Organs and Institutions

The World Customs Organization

  • The World Customs Organization (WCO) was established in 1952 as the Customs Cooperation Council.  
  • It is an independent intergovernmental body whose aim is to enhance effectiveness and efficiency of Customs Administrations.  Currently, the WCO has 183 Member countries that process approximately 98% of the world’s trade.  
  • All the East African Partner States – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan- are Members of the WCO.

The WCO Roles 

    • Develops international standards, 
    • Fosters cooperation and builds capacity to facilitate legitimate trade, to secure a fair revenue collection and to protect society, 
    • Provides leadership, guidance and support to customs administrations.  

The organization’s structure consists of:

  1. The Council – It is the supreme decision-making body of the WCO and convenes once a year.  All Member States are represented in the Council.
  2. Policy Commission- The Policy Commission submits policy recommendations and the WCO Strategic plan to the Council.  It comprises of thirty members and it meets twice a year.
  3. Finance Committee- It provides support and advice to the Policy Commission and Council in budgetary and financial matters. It comprises of seventeen Members and meets once a year.
  4. Audit Committee- Its responsibility is to undertake management audits.  It comprises of six Members and meets once a year.  
  1. The WCO Secretariat comprises of:
  2. The Secretariat- The WCO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium. The Secretariat staff assist in running daily operations of the organization, under the leadership of the Secretary General.
  3. The Secretary General- He provides leadership and executive management for the global Customs community’s priorities.

iii. The Directorates- There are three Directorates in the WCO: 

  • Tariff and Trade Affairs Directorate (responsible for classification, valuation and rules of origin matters); 
  • Compliance and Facilitation Directorate (responsible for compliance, enforcement, procedures and trade facilitation matters); 
  • Capacity Building Directorate (responsible for coordinating and delivering capacity building, technical assistance and training to WCO Members).

WCO Working Bodies

    1. Harmonized System Committee; 
    2. Technical Committee on Customs Valuation; Technical Committee on Rules of Origin; 
    3. Enforcement Committee; 
    4. Permanent Technical Committee; 
    5. Capacity Building Committee; 
    6. Integrity Sub-Committee; 
    7. Private Sector Consultative Group.

The East African Community

Article 9 of the Treaty on Establishment of the EAC provides for the following organs of the community:

  1. The Summit- It consists of the Heads of State who give general directions and impetus as to the development and achievement of the objectives of the Community.
  2. The Council- It consists of the Ministers responsible for East African Community Affairs of each Partner State; Minister of the Partner States as each Partner State may determine; and the Attorney General of each Partner State.  The council is the policy organ of the Community.
  3. The Coordination Committee- It consists of the Permanent Secretaries responsible for East African Community affairs in each Partner State and such other Permanent Secretaries of the Partner States as each Partner State may determine. 
  4. Sectoral Committees- This Committees are responsible for preparation of comprehensive implementation programmes; monitoring of the implementation; and making recommendations to the Coordination Committee concerning the implementation.
  • The East African Court of Justice- This is a judicial body which ensures the adherence to law in the implementation and application of and compliance with the Treaty.  
  • The East African Legislative Assembly- It comprises of nine members elected by each Partner State; and ex-officio members consisting of:
    • the Minister responsible for the EAC affairs from each Partner State;
    • the Assistant Minister/ Deputy Minister/ Minister of State responsible for East African Community affairs from each Partner State; and 
    • the Secretary General and the Counsel to the Community.
  • The Secretariat- This is the executive organ of the Community which consists of the Secretary General, the Deputy Secretaries General; the Counsel to the Community; and such other offices as may be deemed necessary by the Council.

Customs Administrations in the Partner States

  • The four main roles of Customs Administrations globally include
    • Trade facilitation; 
    • Revenue collection; 
    • Protection of society; 
    • Collection of national statistics.  
  • The focus of Customs with regard to its roles has been evolving over the years as shown in the diagram below:

Role of Customs Administrations in Cargo Clearance

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