What The Customs Revenue Benchmarking Database Will Do For International Trade
In modern trade, a Customs Revenue Benchmarking Database seems to be the Holy Grail that several nations seek. Disproportionate treatments and product classifications across various countries lead to different applicable duties on products in each country.
Therefore, the decision to export or import is fraught with complexities. Technological advancements have greatly streamlined the import/export process and made it easier for companies to engage in international transactions. Developments such as the Harmonized Tariff Schedule have also made product classification easier.
However, difficulties and complexities in international transactions still exist.
Customs Receipts: Are they about to be eliminated?
Many surveys have been conducted by organizations in Switzerland. These surveys helped to investigate the advantages of developing a Customs Revenue Benchmarking Database. Upon investigating the current situation, one of the primary challenges in developing the database is that customs receipts are beginning to lose importance.
This situation prevails in several countries that are members of the World Customs Organization (WCO). However, the ever-increasing
number of free trade agreements plays a significant role in this development.
Therefore, as of now, customs receipts comprise a small part of the total receipts that a country's administration receives.
For example, in Switzerland, the Customs Administration received CHF 20 million in customs receipts, which comprised approximately 33% of the total receipts that the Confederation received. Hence, Import duties comprised a mere 5% of these total receipts. Similar situations prevail in several countries. As of now, eliminating customs duties on goods in total is being considered.
Changing the duties of customs administrations
However, the tasks that customs administrations perform have changed significantly over time. In addition to collecting customs duties, they are also responsible for protecting and promoting domestic economies. Therefore, ensuring public safety and security through border protection is another responsibility.
Recently, customs administrations have had to perform tasks to protect the environment. This is done by imposing consumption-based incentive fees and taxes. Customs administrations are also creating other duties and taxes to generate revenue that will compensate for the decline in customs duties.
How a Customs Revenue Benchmarking Database would help
A well-developed CRBD would provide information on the receipts that a customs administration receives, irrespective of the reason for collection.
Ideally, the database should allow countries to gain an overview of the duties and taxes that customs administrations in different countries collect. Hence, this information should ideally be public knowledge so that nations and businesses may benefit from it.
The database would be of great use as countries will be able to easily understand all the taxes and applicable duties that each country imposes on all manner of international transactions.
The WCO would be an excellent platform for countries to exchange this information and provide the impetus for beginning the development of the database. A database would also facilitate setting an exemption limit for importing consignments that aren't that big.
As of now, a harmonized collection of import taxes and duties seems to be a distant and lofty goal. However, an overview would facilitate shared understanding and the development of common goals between countries, which, in turn, will provide impetus for developing the database.
Our Latest Blogs
What is an ESMA certificate? UAE product certification explained
Many businesses preparing to sell in the UAE are told they need “ESMA approval”. They then go looking for an authority that no longer runs the scheme. The Emirates Authority for Standardization and Metrology (ESMA) was merged into the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) in 2020. The certification it was known for still exists, and the market still calls it by the old name. Knowing where it sits now saves weeks of applying to the wrong place. An ESMA certificate, as the market calls it, is UAE product conformity approval. It shows that a regulated product meets the applicable UAE, GCC, or international standards before it is sold. Today, it is issued under two MoIAT schemes: the Emirates Conformity Assessment Scheme (ECAS) and the Emirates Quality Mark (EQM). The legal basis is Federal Law No. 28 of 2001. The schemes are federal, so the same rules apply in every emirate. Because approval comes before market entry, the scheme follows the same principle as pre-shipment conformity verification in other markets.
What is TDRA approval? UAE type approval for wireless and telecom devices
Your device may already carry CE marking, have passed its RED tests, and be sold across Europe, and still be stopped at a UAE port. Almost every device sold today has a wireless function. In the UAE, that function needs its own approval before the product can be imported, sold, or even switched on, and the application cannot start until a UAE-registered dealer is in place. TDRA approval, formally called type approval, is that authorization. It is issued by the Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA) and confirms that a device meets UAE technical standards and will not interfere with national networks. It applies to radio and telecommunications terminal equipment (RTTE), meaning any equipment that connects directly to a public telecommunications network or contains an intentional radio transmitter. TDRA was known as the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) until it was renamed in 2021. It is a federal regulator, so one approval covers every emirate.
EAR99: What the Designation Means, and When it Still Needs a License
EAR99 tells you what an item is not. Under the US Export Administration Regulations (EAR), it marks goods that fall under the regulations but are not listed on the Commerce Control List (CCL). What it does not tell you is where the item may go, who may receive it, or what it may be used for. Most shipments clear all three without a license. Some do not.