BSEC Working Group On Customs Matters – sharing experience and good examples to expand in the region

The Meeting of the BSEC Working Group on Customs Matters was held online on 9 November 2020.

BSEC-URTA as BSEC Sectoral Dialogue partner contributed to the meeting with International Road Transport Union (IRU) and Customs and Tourism Enterprises (GTI, Turkey).

The Meeting was chaired by Mr. Dorel Fronea, Senior Inspector, E-Commerce Monitoring Office, Directorate for Surveillance and Customs Control, National Agency for Fiscal Administration, General Directorate of Customs of Romania.

The attendees exchanged views on the measures taken by the member states to cope with the negative affect of COVID-19 on the border crossings.

The participants discussed road transportation. The discussion took place within the framwork of such BSEC-URTA priorities as harmonization and simplification of Customs Procedures in the region. The working group decided to invite interested Member States to send to the BSEC PERMIS information on their extraordinary measures taken in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, in order to elaborate a Manual adapted to the current situation.

BSEC-URTA supported the importance of exchanging experience on the methodology of the time-release study and agreed on the usefulness of the exchange of information and experience. The Working Group also renewed its recommendation to the Customs Administrations of the BSEC Member States to continue their efforts for reducing the average release time of goods.

BSEC-URTA Secretary General Mr. Adrian Albu in his speech provided information on the study-visit to Kapıkule-Kapitan Andreevo and, acknowledging the usefulness of such study-visits, suggested the further continuation of similar visits to other cross-border points in the BSEC Region. The Working Group decided to invite the Member States to send to the BSEC PERMIS their proposals in this regard.

BSEC-URTA also supported the proposal of the delegation of Romania inviting the working group to consider the possibilities for transboundary joint customs operations in the BSEC region.

GTI delivered a presentation on its facilities which it operates on numerous border-crossing points of Turkey and gave information on the movie on Kapikule Truck park shot in the cooperation with BSEC-URTA. BSEC PERMIS stressed that the modernized border facilities can be an example or template which interested Member States could follow for border crossing points of their choice. BSEC PERMIS encouraged the Member States to elaborate comprehensive proposals for consideration of potentially interested IFIs or other sources of financial support.

Mr. Adrian Albu shared with participants that the idea of establishing similar border facilities in the BSEC region has been also presented to the European Commission.