ACTION PLAN OF THE
BSEC WORKING GROUP ON CUSTOMS MATTERS
(proposed by Turkey as the Country Coordinator of the Working Group)
1. Country Coordinator: Turkey
2. Action Duration: 1 July 2010 – 30 June 2012
3. Responsible institution: Prime Ministry Undersecretariat of Customs, Directorate General for the EU and External Relations
4. Contact point: Ms. Asli Gurates, EU Expert
Tel: +90 312 3067881
Fax: +90 312 3093739
E-mail: gurates@gumruk.gov.tr
The Working Group on Customs Matters will carry out its activities taking into account the provisions of the BSEC Charter, the BSEC Economic Agenda for the Future, the Resolutions, Decisions and Recommendations adopted by the BSEC Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs, the decisions of the Meetings of the BSEC Heads of Customs Administrations.
The Working Group will be working towards the following tasks:
1. Considering the proposals on the possibility of establishing a preliminary information exchange mechanism among the interested BSEC Member States about goods and vehicles moved through the state borders of BSEC Member States.
2. Discussing the possibilities of concluding bilateral/multilateral agreements on cooperation and mutual administrative assistance in customs matters between the interested BSEC Member States.
3. Encouraging cooperation among the customs laboratories on unification methods for analysis of goods and their classification.
4. Promoting the harmonization and simplification of customs procedures taking into account the principles of the Convention on a Common Transit Procedure and exchanging the experience in this respect.
5. Promoting the inter-agency cooperation within each BSEC Member State by means of MoU and/or other cooperative instruments.
6. Exchanging the experience on implementing the single window concept among the BSEC Member States.
7. Considering the issue related to simplification of customs formalities by encouraging the BSEC Member States to accede to and implement the Revised Kyoto Convention and other international conventions in the field of customs, and monitoring the state of play regarding the Member States’ accession to those conventions.
8. Discussing the possibilities of alignment and simplification of the procedures at the borders through local arrangements between neighboring customs and border guard authorities.
9. Discussing the revision of the Terms of Reference of the Working Group.
The activities of the Working Group for the mentioned period will comprise the following actions:
1. Meetings of the Working Group – March 2011, October 2011, April 2012
2. Workshop on specific subjects – November 2011, May 2012
3. Conferences and Seminars – December 2011, June 2012
The present Action Plan shall be implemented without any prejudice to the international obligations, EU commitments or provisions of the national legislation of the BSEC Member States.