Namibia Customs strengthens its Rules of Origin competency through an advanced training workshop

Under the framework of the EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme, funded by the European Union, the World Customs Organization (WCO), in partnership with the Namibia Revenue Authority  (NamRA), held a national training workshop on rules of origin for Namibia Customs. The workshop was held in Windhoek, Namibia, from 15 to 19 April 2024 with the objective to assist NamRA in enhancing its knowledge and application of preferential rules of origin and contribute to a seamless implementation of the AfCFTA and relevant FTAs.

This workshop was conducted as part of the comprehensive technical assistance and partnership with NamRA, including in relation to the implementation and launch of an advance rulings system in Namibia in July 2022, and builds on the acquis from an intermediate training conducted in January 2023. The support provided under the RoO Africa and the EU-funded HS Africa Programmes allows for the deployment of all-inclusive and wide-ranging capacity building activities, to enhance the infrastructure and capacity of NamRa both on RoO and HS.

In his opening remarks, Mr Willbroad Poniso, Head of Customs, thanked the WCO and the EU for their continued support in building capacity on rules of origin and stressed the need for Customs officials to be capacitated to ensure compliance as well as trade facilitation in line with the NamRA vision to positively impact the livelihood of every Namibian.

During the workshop participants dug deeper into key concepts for proper origin determination, including cumulation, as well as related operational and procedural issues, including origin certification and verification. Case studies allowed the participants to detangle the spaghetti bowl of rules of origin in various free trade agreements applicable in Namibia and they also had the opportunity to observe the practical application and management of rules of origin through a field visit to a producer and exporter of originating products.

The EU-WCO Rules of Origin Africa Programme will continue its work with Namibia Customs to equip Customs officials with extended knowledge for efficient implementation and application of rules or origin. The Programme will conduct a training of trainers which will enable Customs to further cascade their knowledge to colleagues as well as to other relevant stakeholders.

For further information please contact EU-WCORoOAfrica.Program@wcoomd.org