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Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures  
Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures  

Customs organizations implement government policies that help to increase and liberalize trade and, in an era of trade globalization, it is highly important that customs rules and procedures are internationalized.

The Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) was established in 1994 and its main objective is to simplify and harmonize regional customs procedures to ensure that goods and services move efficiently, effectively and safely through the region, and to reconcile and facilitate border control.

The SCCP holds to the following basic principles:
  • Facilitation: While ensuring proper enforcement of customs law and regulations, APEC Customs Administrations should strive to improve customs clearance procedures
  • Accountability: Customs Administrations should be accountable for their actions through a transparent and accessible process of administrative and/or judicial review
  • Consistency: Customs law, regulations, administrative guidelines and procedures should be applied in a uniform manner within each economy
  • Transparency: Customs law, regulations, administrative guidelines and procedures should be publicly available in a prompt and easily accessible manner
  • Simplification: Customs law, regulations, administrative guidelines and procedures should be simplified to the greatest extent possible so that customs clearance can proceed without undue burdens.

Achievements

Customs Business Dialogue
The SCCP will hold its annual APEC Customs-Business Dialogue (ACBD) in Lima/Callao, Peru on 12 August, 2008. Last year, following closely after the meeting in Cairns, the SCCP held its annual
APEC Customs-Business Dialogue (ACBD) in Sydney, Australia on 29 June, 2007. The objective of the ACBD is to foster understanding and cooperation between customs authorities and the business sector in the APEC region in order to promote trade facilitation.

Trade Facilitation
The SCCP at its first meeting in 2008 identified the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for the new Trade Facilitation Action Plan (TFAP2) which was endorsed by the Ministers Responsible for Trade on 6 July, 2007. SCCP KPIs have been presented to the Committee on Trade and Investment. TFAP2 has the goal of achieving a further five percent reduction in transaction costs by 2010.

Ongoing agenda
The SCCP's achievements in relating to its ongoing agenda are outlined in a report released in August 2007, the "SCCP 2007 Blueprint: A Window to the Future." It contains comprehensive information about the activities of the SCCP and the implementation of its Collective Action Plan (CAP) items and work program. The CAP items on which progress has been made include:
  • Harmonization of Tariff Structure with the HS Convention
  • Simplification and Harmonization Based on the Revised Kyoto Convention
  • Harmonizsed APEC Data Elements
  • Integrity
  • Implementation of APEC Framework based on the WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade
  • Time-Release Surveys (TRS)

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Current Activities

At its
first meeting in Lima, Peru, the SCCP set out its priorities and actions for the year in the 2008 Work Program document. The priorities are: trade facilitation, secure trade, intellectual property rights (IPR) enforcement, and transparency.

At the meeting of the SCCP Single Window Working Group (SWWG) the phase two terms of reference and work plan were endorsed. The Single Window Strategic Plan, adopted in 2007, provides a framework for the development of Single Window systems by members to achieve paperless trading targets and enable seamless data sharing. It contains six recommendations to assist members in this endeavor and provides the mechanisms for APEC members to work collaboratively and agree on various issues where appropriate. The recommendations are that:
  • The SCCP establish a working group to further single window activities across APEC. The working group will engage the private and public sectors and other relevant APEC sub-fora and international bodies.
  • The United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) definition of "single window" be adopted by APEC economies. This definition is provided in UN/CEFACT Recommendation 33 which states: "A facility that allows parties involved in trade and transport to lodge standardized information and documents with a single entry point to fulfill all import, export and transit related regulatory requirements. If information is electronic, then individual data elements should only be submitted once."
  • APEC economies adopt the use of internationally recognized instruments and standards in single window design to increase international interoperability.
  • The SCCP establish a repository to capture information regarding relevant single-window related initiatives in international trade facilitation and supply chain security.
  • The SCCP identify and coordinate relevant capacity building single window activities.
  • The SCCP prepare a roadmap and implementation plan to achieve the single window vision.

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Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures (SCCP) - Key Contacts

Chair
Mr Armando Arteaga
National Associated Superintendent of Customs
Gamarra Avenue 680, Chucuito-Callao
Peru
Tel: (511) 465 9206
Fax: (511) 469 0420
Email:
jarteaga@sunat.gob.pe

APEC Secretariat
Mr Takashi Hattori
Director (Program)
E-mail: th@apec.org

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Achievements
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Find Out More
SCCP Events
Downloads
2007 SCCP Blueprint: A Window to the Future
(PDF,3933 Kb)
Customs-Business Partnership Program (Revised in September 2006)
(PDF,695 Kb)
Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement Strategies, September 2006
(PDF,245 Kb)
Trade Facilitation (Shanghai Accord) Report, September 2006
(PDF,424 Kb)
APEC Customs 'Best Practices' Handbook
(PDF,223 Kb)
The Revised Kyoto Convention: A Pathway to Accession and Implementation
(PDF,789 Kb)
External Related Links
APEC SCCP
APEC Tariff Database