Burundi takes a step forward towards an advance ruling system

Under the framework of the EU-WCO Programme for Harmonized System in Africa (HS-Africa Programme), funded by the European Union, and in partnership with the East African Community (EAC), the World Customs Organization held a national workshop on implementation of advance ruling system with Burundi Revenue (BRA) Authority from 5 to 6 December, 2022.

The workshop was organized as part of the work plan of support established between the HS Africa Programme and EAC and intervened as a follow-up activity to the assessment conducted by the EAC and the HS-Africa Programme in September 2021 to evaluate the status of implementation of advance rulings in EAC Partner States.

The workshop was attended by more than 25 senior and mid-level Customs officers, representatives of the EAC, COMESA, the WCO and experts from Rwanda, Tanzania and Kenya. The objective was to share best practices and experiences within the EAC Partners States and define the challenges and next steps in a successful implementation of advance rulings in Burundi.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Adolphe Manirakiza, Commissioner Customs highlighted the important role played by advance rulings in trade facilitation. He pledged his commitment to ensure that Burundi Customs Administration aligns its existing system to international standards and EAC provisions, and thanked the WCO and the European Union for the continued support on the implementation of Customs international standards.

The workshop was an occasion to present the WCO tools and instruments developed under the Revenue Package as well as other relevant provisions from the WTO TFA, the EAC and AfCFTA. The co-facilitators from the East African partner states - Rwanda, Kenya and Tanzania in which national advance ruling programmes were already up and running shared their experience and lessons learned with Burundian colleagues and provided their perspective on best practices to implement a modern, well-functioning and user-friendly advance ruling system.

Through discussions, the participants agreed on the way forward to align Burundi's existing system to international and regional standards. They highlighted the need for comprehensive stakeholder sensitization, development of a simplified procedure manual and publication of information to support the functioning of the system.

At the end of the workshop, a representative from Burundi Customs Administration thanked the WCO and the European Union for continued support towards the implementation of advance rulings.

For more details, please contact [email protected].