The WCO supports the Directorate General of Customs (DGD) of Côte d’Ivoire in its efforts to strengthen its tariff classification and Customs valuation control infrastructure, which will enable it to carry out its work effectively and independently.

The first aspect of this support was a diagnostic mission by two WCO Secretariat experts to assess the tariff classification and Customs valuation control system. This successful first mission took place in Abidjan between 9 and 13 April 2018, thanks to financial support from the Japanese Customs Co-operation Fund (CCF/Japan) and the effective co-operation of the Ivorian Customs Administration.

During the mission, the WCO experts held working meetings with the heads of Ivorian Customs departments, whose concerns on the organization of Customs valuation and tariff classification operations were addressed. These exchanges helped to provide a clearer view of the current situation of goods monitoring infrastructure and to shed light on measures to be taken and potential obstacles to be overcome to improve the monitoring of Customs valuation and goods classification procedures.

The mission also involved a visit to a major operational service to observe practices for monitoring goods imported into Côte d’Ivoire, meetings with the relevant private-sector partners to discuss Customs clearance practices for imported goods, and a visit to the private goods inspection company which forms part of the chain for monitoring goods imported into Côte d’Ivoire.

At the feedback meeting on the final day of the mission, the experts’ activities as a whole were brought together in a presentation of the overall situation of work carried out in these two areas of Customs operations, accompanied by a list of draft recommendations that will be developed subsequently in a detailed report.