March 1, 2016

Jordan’s Customs Agency has become a regional resource for training in the safe and efficient movement of goods as well as a leader in commitment to public service. The agency’s Regional Customs Training Center, accredited by the World Customs Organization, on November 10, 2015, completed its first offering, a three-day course for 25 customs officials from Bahrain, Jordan, Libya, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan.

The officials learned about advance rulings, a mechanism for determining such matters as the origin and value of goods before they reach an international border. The center also has been offering three-day courses on coordinating border control; implementing WCO’s SAFE Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Global Trade; understanding and enforcing requirements for country-of-origin markings; and screening cargo containers before they enter a country.

Additionally, Jordan Customs moved up last year to rank second among Jordan’s agencies in the Ministry of Public Sector Development’s annual survey of government services development. The agency had ranked 34th in 2014.

Jordan Customs received a 94 percent rating in the 2015 survey, released this month. The survey of government services development aims to measure departments’ level of commitment to better service.

WCO Accreditation

The regional center, which is in Amman, received WCO accreditation in June 2015. The training is made available by invitation to 18 customs agencies across the Middle East and North African Region.

Customs brokers also receive training, as do representatives of agencies other than customs that have trade-related responsibilities. Jordan Customs won accreditation with assistance from Nathan Associates.

Under the Jordan Fiscal Reform Bridge Activity project, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Nathan Associates supported workshops to build the capacity of Jordan’s customs officials to conduct training courses.

Seventy-two trainers within various customs disciplines became WCO-certified. WCO accreditation began in 2011 under the Jordan Fiscal Reform II (FRP II) project, with a review of existing practices at the Customs Training Center based on WCO standards and visits to accredited Regional Training Centers in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

Jordanian customs officers receive WCO training in Amman on combatting counterfeiting and other theft of intellectual property.