New Duty Collection Models Among Issues Discussed at First WCO E-Commerce Working Group Meeting
The first meeting of the World Customs Organization's e-commerce working group included discussion of a wide range of issues, such as new revenue collection models and the potential for criminal exploitation, the WCO said in a news release (here). During the meetings in Brussels over Sept. 21-23, more than 175 delegates looked at the "opportunities and challenges stemming from the growing trade in e-commerce," the WCO said. "Participants agreed that e-commerce has changed the landscape for Customs: from a few well known importers and exporters, it now has to manage a large number of e-enabled exporters and importers that are not well-known, and which transactions may be irregular."
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
If your job depends on informed compliance, you need International Trade Today. Delivered every business day and available any time online, only International Trade Today helps you stay current on the increasingly complex international trade regulatory environment.
Among areas of discussion were "the de minimis threshold for duties and taxes, the rationale behind such a measure, and the latest policy changes in this domain in some countries, aimed at preventing potential revenue loss and fraud," the WCO said. New revenue collection models that would allow all duties and taxes to be collected more efficiently were also mentioned, it said. Attendees included representatives of customs administrations and members of the express and e-commerce industries. At CBP, the growth of e-commerce is seen as a major challenge going forward (see 1605170008).
Presenters also outlined the criminal side of e-commerce, the WCO said. The working group looked at the "existing tools and investigation practices to fight the illegal use of the internet and, in particular, the 'darkweb' -- the portion of the web only accessible through special browsers that guarantee anonymity," the WCO said. "Delegates are now tasked to work together to tackle the different dimensions of e-commerce by collecting and exchanging best practices in the field, stocktaking and leveraging some of the ongoing work being carried out by other entities and drawing up proposals geared towards the development of practical solutions for the clearance of these shipments, including appropriate duty/tax collection mechanisms and control procedures."