IPNEWS: – The World Customs Organization (WCO) has launched a five-day training program for Post-Clearance Audit (PCA) staff at the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA).
The training, which focuses on Gap Analysis and Post-Clearance Audit Enhancement, aims to improve customs efficiency and strengthen the LRA’s capacity in implementing Article 7.5 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA).
Article 7.5 of the WTO TFA mandates that customs administrations conduct post-clearance audits to ensure compliance with customs regulations. These audits must follow a risk-based selection process and maintain transparency, with findings serving as the basis for further administrative or judicial actions.
The training is also expected to equip LRA customs personnel with advanced skills and strategies to enhance compliance and modernize customs operations in line with international best practices.
The workshop, organized under the WCO Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, comes at a crucial time as the LRA seeks to modernize its customs administration. Key topics covered in the training include, review of PCA processes, PCA information exchange & collaboration and engagement with internal and external partners, risk management & customs clearance process, data analysis for PCA, valuation, tariff, and harmonized system (HS) & origin analysis, among others.
LRA Customs Commissioner Saa Saamoi expressed gratitude to the WCO for its support, emphasizing the importance of post-clearance audits in modernizing customs operations.
“This mission highlights the importance we place on post-clearance audits as a key tool for trade facilitation, compliance, and enforcement measures. The training will equip our customs staff with new skills, enhancing their efficiency and contribution to revenue collection,” Commissioner Saamoi stated.
He further encouraged participants to actively engage in the training and transfer their newly acquired knowledge to fellow customs officers to strengthen overall institutional capacity.
Russel Jim Clark, Facilitation Specialist of the WCO Accelerate Trade Facilitation Programme, underscored the critical role of post-clearance audits in trade facilitation.
“The need to enhance the skills of LRA PCA staff is vital to customs operations, particularly in importation and trade facilitation. Keep in mind that whenever we talk about PCA, it is fundamentally about trade facilitation,” Clark noted.
The training is also being facilitated by Danielle Bernard, Senior Program Advisor at the Canada Border Services Agency, and Basenza Joel Samson, WCO Technical and Operations Advisor on Post-Clearance Audit from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
Additionally, William Gegeg, Manager of the LRA Customs Modernization Unit, and Daniel Jaiblai, Manager of the LRA Post-Clearance Audit Unit, delivered insightful presentations on LRA’s customs administration and post-clearance audit measures.
