WCO

[|The World Customs Organization (WCO)] is an intergovernmental organization based in Brussels and established in 1952 under the name Customs Cooperation Council. The WCO today has 178 members from Customs administrations across the world. Its mission is to improve the effectiveness of Customs administration by, for example, creating international instruments for the harmonization of Customs systems and by effective communication between its member states. To fulfil this mission, WCO develops and administers various international instruments, tools and standards for the harmonization and uniform application of simplified and effective Customs systems and procedures governing the cross-border movement of commodities, people and means of transport. =WCO's Work Related to Trade Facilitation= Trade facilitation, in the WCO context, means the avoidance of unnecessary trade restrictions. The WCO argues that this can be achieved by applying modern techniques and technologies, while improving the quality of controls in an internationally harmonized manner. A key trade facilitation instrument of the WCO is the Kyoto Convention for Harmonizing Customs Procedures that came into force in 1974, and was followed by the Revised Kyoto Convention in 1999. Other important instruments include the Harmonized System, and the SAFE Framework. A selection of WCO´s most important conventions, methods, standards and capacity-building programmes are presented in the main parts of this guide.

=WCO instruments that are covered in this wiki=
 * Arusha Declaration, 1993 ||
 * International Convention on the Harmonized System (HS Convention), 1988 ||
 * Revised Kyoto Convention ||
 * WCO Authorized Economic Operator Guidelines ||
 * WCO Compendium How to build a Single Window Environment ||
 * WCO Data Model ||
 * WCO Framework of Standards to Secure and Facilitate Trade (SAFE) ||
 * WCO Glossary of International Customs Terms ||
 * WCO Guidelines on Mutual Recognition Agreements/Arrangements ||
 * WCO Immediate Release Guidelines ||
 * WCO Kyoto ICT Guidelines ||
 * WCO Model Code of Ethic and Integrity ||
 * WCO Nii Guidelines ||
 * WCO Time Release Study (TRS) ||