The World Customs Journal has dedicated its October issue to the capacity building subject.  This special edition has also dedicated an article on the WCO e-learning program.

Click here to read the article.

Coming Thursdag, 27th November, Porthus is organizing a Customs Event in Metropolis Antwerp.  Objective of this event is to provide information on the new European electronic customs regulations, which are going to have a major impact on the operations of companies trading internationally with, and within, the European Union.  At this event, you will find out how you can use these new compliance regulations to save costs and bring additional benefits to your business.

Info sessions will take place with guest speakers from FedEx, WCO, JP Morgan, Gartner, Omron and Customs4trade.

Topics are:

• Security&Compliance
• From Supply Chain to Supply Chain Optimization
• OnDemand
• July 2009

The event takes place from 14h00 to 17h00 at Metropolis Antwerp, Groenendaallaan 394, 2030 Antwerp, Belgium.

For more information and subcription, click here  

Kunio Mikuriya has been elected as the new Secretary General of the World Customs Organization at the Council session held on 28 June. Mr. Mikuriya has extensive international experience, and has abroad knowledge not only in the customs and trade area but also in the fields of economy, public finance, and financial markets. As Deputy Secretary General since 2002, Mr. Mikuriya has demonstrated outstanding ability to achieve outcomes highly appreciated by other international organizations such as the WTO as well as the WCO Membership, exemplifying the necessary experiences and abilities for the WCO Secretary General.

Our Belgian Administrator of Customs and Excise Noël Colpin was one of the nine candidates for this important post at the WCO. The World Customs Organization (WCO) is an international organization consisting of 171 members, which aims to promote harmonization and unification of customs procedures and international cooperation. The WCO has significantly contributed to the development of global trade and economy by securing and facilitating trade, as well as protecting intellectual property rights and the environment. The Secretary General is the chief executive of the WCO Secretariat who plans and implements the policy and budget of the WCO, including assistance to developing countries, and represents the WCO Secretariat to attend meetings of other international organizations.

Do you want to learn more about the new players within the logistics world, the role of the WCO, the evolutions within customs worldwide and the consequences for the activities within the customs administrations?

On March 11th, Lieve Meyers of the blog Taxtalk, Ann Vissers (C4T) and Pieter Haesaert (C4T) had an interview with Noël Colpin. The report and podcast of this interview are available in Dutch.

• Listen to the podcast!
• Link to the full report (in dutch)!

Noël Colpin, the actual Administrator of the Belgian Customs and Excise Administration is candidate for the post of Secretary General of the World Customs Organization (WCO). www.colpin.be is the official website for our belgian candidate. In June it will be announced who will succeed the actual Secretary General, Michel Danet from France for a term of 5 years.

The WCO is the only international organisation focused on customs matters. Located in Brussels, it has 171 members across the globe at all stages of economic development that collectively process approximately 98% of world trade. More info on www.wcoomd.org.

Yesterday, March 11th, Lieve Meyers from the blog Taxtalk, Ann Vissers (C4T) and Pieter Haesaert (C4T) had an interview with Noël Colpin about customs worldwide, the World Customs Organisation, the new players in the logistic field and the consequences for customs.

This podcast interview will be available next week on our site.