What is COMESA customs management regulations and how does it work

1. COMESA Regional
Capacity Building
Workshop
Presented By:
Mohamed Suliman Hussein
COMESA Privet sector representative

2. WHAT IS COMESA?

3. WHAT IS COMESA
IT IS THE MOVEMENT OF:
PEOPLE,
GOODS AND
SERVICES

4. Architecture of Trade Integration:
1. Rules of Origin
2. Elimination of NTB’s
3. Simplified Customs Documents
4. Simplified Trade Regime

5. COMESA Focal Programs
In order to create an environment conducive to free trade and
investment into the region, COMESA promotes, as a priority:
 Trade liberalisation
 Trade facilitation
 Liberalisation of financial & monetary systems
 Investment promotion &private sector support
 Free movement of people

6. Custom Union

7. Regulatory harmonization:
standards
Taxation (double taxation)
Border processes (OSBP) – less border controls
and use of RoOs.
Border coordination and Information exchange
Benefits of the COMESA CU

8. Benefits of the COMESA CU
 Producers (economies of scale, fair competition, equal
protection against third country imports)
 Traders (bargaining power)
 Importers (importing goods becomes faster and cheaper)
 Consumers (wider choice and lower prices)
 Land linked countries (improved access to ports and
transportation corridors)
 CU Members (enhanced intra-regional trade, cross-border
investment and foreign investment)
 Governments (security, revenues, economic prosperity)
8

9. Customs Union - Issues
Implementation has been a challenge due to:
 Fear of loss of revenue
 Impact of the CET on consumer prices and/or competitiveness;
 Some countries have their tariffs very much diverging from the CET;
 Fear of injury to indigenous companies
 Different interpretation of RoO (e.g value addition criterion)
 Slow resolution of trade disputes
 Slow progress towards attaining full FTA status
 Competition faced by local industries from other FTA Members
 Cost infrastructural deficiencies

10. Custom Management
Regulation
(CMR)

11. The CMRs is a regionally agreed customs law consisting of 373
provisions divided into 45 Chapters, covering a wide range of
customs matters, including:
 Clearance procedures,
 Customs controls and formalities,
 Clearance of travelers,
 Risk analysis and
 Management techniques,
 Application of information technology.
 opening days and hours of customs offices
 Rules for the determination of the origin
 Cooperation practices at juxtaposed customs offices
 Relationship between customs and third parties
Main contents of the CMR’s

12. GAP Analysis

13. Key Outcome of the Gap Analysis between CMR and International
Standards:
• There is no conflict between the COMESA CMR and international best
practices
• CMR is consistent with the international best practices; and
• COMESA CMR is more than 90% compliant with the provisions of the
WCO RKC and the WTO TFA
 Insignificance divergences between the COMESA CMR and the EAC
CMA
 COMESA CETs are identical in text and rates by up to 74%.
 The four countries with overlapping membership in the EAC (Burundi,
Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda) can immediately implement the COMESA
CMR using the existing EAC CMA as it is their national levels.
Outcome of the Gap Analysis

14. • Concrete level of alignment between the COMESA CMR and the respective
national customs legislation of the MS;
• On average 98% of the national customs laws articles are compliant with
COMESA CMR; and
• The activity created positive momentum among MS who held National
Workshops
• Six MSs’ customs laws are almost 100% aligned to the CMR (Burundi,
Comoros, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, and Uganda)
 Three MSs (Ethiopia, Malawi and Zambia) have only 1 provision not
compliant and two MSs (Swaziland and Zimbabwe) have only 2
provisions not compliant; and
 Others Madagascar (4), Eritrea (9), Sudan and Mauritius (11), DR Congo
(19), Djibouti (21); and Egypt (22) provisions not compliant
Outcome of the National Gap Analysis

15. Conclusion
 The COMESA FTA has been in place for fourteen years and
benefits have been realized.
 Instruments for the FTA such as RoO are in place
 Trade facilitation instruments are being implemented and others
are being developed
 Need for good understanding of the RoO and their administration
as well as trade facilitation instruments by the relevant economic
players in COMESA to promote intra-COMESA trade.
 COMESA Focal programs and Institutions support trade

16. Conclusion
 A new approach have to be taken in viewing CRM
 We need to enhance the involvement of the private sector
in the mechanizes of implementation and even in the M&E
 Reducing rules and regulation and easing it will increase
the revenues
 Easing the movement of people means accelerating the
integration
 Ensuring transparency and equality reduces corruption