PreviousNext

A south-south Customs cooperation initiative was successfully implemented on 16-20 February 2016, with fifteen Customs officers from Bhutan’s Department of Revenue and Customs attending a five-day training program on Risk Management in Customs, delivered by experts in the field from India’s Central Board of Excise and Customs at the National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics (NACEN), based in Faridabad, India.

Changes in the strategic landscape of Customs’ operating environments around the world, together with long-term growth in trade and travel volumes, has affected the way Customs administrations are managed and approach their tasks. A structured and systematic way to manage risk as early in the supply chain as possible enables Customs to better meet current demands to facilitate trade while simultaneously regulating ensuring security at national borders.

Bhutan is committed to development and implementation of a robust risk management system appropriate for its specific context of cross-border trade and movement. The NACEN training was structured to provide tailor-made knowledge and skills building to DRC’s core group for risk management development. The areas covered included:

• Overview of RMS and Automation in Customs with examples from India;
• Import and Export Risk Management;
• Risk Management tools with emphasis on targets, interventions and risk rules;
• Review and revision of the targets, interventions and risk rules in risk management;
• Institutional arrangement, role of National Risk Management Committee, role of Local Risk Management Committee and role and functions of Local Risk Manager;
• Designing a Risk Management System;
• Compulsory Compliance Requirements;
• Trusted entity programs and Risk Management;
• Developing a risk management system for national single window scenario;
• Management of corridor based selection for post-audit clearance (PCA);
• Document management system; and 
• Post-clearance compliance verification, PCA and OSPCA.

A field visit was conducted to CBEC’s Internal Container Depot, New Delhi to observe firsthand how risk management is implemented, and its effectiveness in clearing high volumes of cargo traffic on a regular basis.
The training was inaugurated by Director General, NACEN and supported by technical resource persons from NACEN’s Risk Management Division. CBEC/NACEN provided financial assistance and logistical support for the training, together with the Asian Development Bank which also contributed through its Technical Assistance Special Fund.