The World Customs Organization (WCO) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are discussing ways to beef up resources that bolster the non-revenue role of customs, such as trade facilitation and border security.
WCO Secretary General Kunio Mikuriya met recently with Victor Gaspar, director of IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, to discuss the adequate resourcing of customs.
He noted that customs authorities are actively engaged in revenue protection, but their remit also extends to very important non-revenue functions such as trade facilitation and border security, aspects that support economic development in a safe environment and that contribute to the generation of revenue in the future.
It is critical that the non-revenue role of customs is properly resourced, he added.
Mikuriya underlined the necessity for the IMF to highlight these non-revenue roles in any material made available to members when they are considering structural reform.
He said the collection of customs data, under the proposed memorandum of understanding between the WCO and the IMF, will help support arguments for a properly resourced customs.
Photo: Numéro 1963
