ACFA Sri Lanka goes international

The Heads of Customs Brokers Associations of Australia, China, India, Korea, Japan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka and members of the Federation of Asia-Oceania Customs Brokers Associations, ‘FAOCBA’, met in Yokohama, Japan, recently at a meeting chaired by Stephen Morris, Executive Director of Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council of Australia.

It is the first seminar for FAOCBA members to join together and discuss mutual concern of Customs Brokers business, which was jointly, initiated by Hideo Hirose of Japan Customs Brokers Associations and Huang Rufeng of China Customs Brokers Associations.

Darryl Sharp of Customs Brokers and Forwarders Council, CBFC of Australia, Huang Rufeng of China Customs Brokers Association, CCBA, Ram Sharma Chunduru of Federation Of Freight Forwarders in India, FFFI, Young Kim of Korea Customs Brokers Associations, KCBA and Hirose of Japan Customs Brokers Association, JCBA, led their respective delegations, and Ms. Marivic Briones of Federation of Accredited Customs Brokers, FACB Philippines and M.S.M. Niyas of Association of Clearing Forwarding Agents ACFA Sri Lanka, attended.

The Meeting also Shared Information on the Development and Implementation of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Concept on a Global standard of the Authorized Economics Operator AEO and addressed the business benefits of an AEO. The meeting urged the WCO and its member Customs Administrations to agree to recognise the needs of Small-And Medium - size enterprises.

The meeting confirmed the importance of Electronic Data Interchange EDI, in particular the need for a ‘Single Window’ in Trade - related procedures, and that EDI between authorities in Exporting and Importing Countries should be developed and promoted while maintaing national sovereignty and privacy principles.

The meeting endorsed Capacity Building Activities for Customs Brokers and these should be further strengthened and coordinated where possible with the WCO Columbus capacity building initiative so as to enable Customs Brokers, as Service Providers to International Trade, to provide Cost Effective Services, Niyas said.