FACILITATING INTRA-OIC TRADE:

Improving the Efficiency of the Customs Procedures in the OIC Member States

which has been ranking at first place according to various indicators has a very dynamic

Customs Website which is providing useful information on the country’s export, import

and transit procedures.

The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement also gives utmost importance to the publication

of relevant information. According to Article 1.1 of the Agreement, each Member shall

promptly publish the following information in a non-discriminatory and easily

accessible manner in order to enable governments, traders and other interested parties to

become acquainted with them:

(a) Importation, exportation and transit procedures (including port, airport, and other

entry-point procedures) and required forms and documents;

(b) Applied rates of duties and taxes of any kind imposed on or in connection with

importation or exportation;

with importation, exportation or transit;

(d) Rules for the classification or valuation of products for customs purposes;

(e) Laws, regulations and administrative rulings of general application relating to rules

of origin;

(f) Import, export or transit restrictions or prohibitions;

(g) Penalty provisions against breaches of import, export or transit formalities;

(h) Appeal procedures;

(i) Agreements or parts thereof with any country or countries relating to importation,

exportation or transit;

(j) Procedures relating to the administration of tariff quotas.

The Agreement also urges the Member Countries to publish this information in one of

the official languages of the WTO (Article 2.2), which are English, French and Spanish.

Furthermore in its Article 2.3 the Text encourages the Member Countries to make this

information available through the internet.

- Establishment of enquiry point, to reply to inquiries of various stakeholders on all

relevant information

Providing or publishing the relevant information may be not enough in many cases. The

exporters, importers or their agents may have some questions or enquiries on some

procedures or specific issues. To make it easier for the parties who have such enquiries,

the Government shall notify a focal point, which is called as “Enquiry point” by the

WTO. In Article 3.1 it states that “Each Member shall, within its available resources,

establish or maintain one or more enquiry points to answer reasonable enquiries of

governments, traders and other interested parties on matters covered by paragraph 1.1 as

well as to provide the required forms and documents referred to in subparagraph

1.1(a).” Moreover, According to 3.3 and 3.4., the enquiry points shall not require a fee

for answering the enquiries or providing forms and documents and shall answer the

enquiries within a reasonable time period.