The Ethiopian Revenues and Customs Authority (ERCA) is to set up an inspection laboratory for tariff classification of imports. The lab will help determine the tariff classifications of imports on the basis of their material and chemical composition.
The inspection laboratory is a recommendation from the Dutch Customs Authority (DCA) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). The two agencies were invited to evaluate existing tariff classifications and recommend possible changes by ERCA. The contract was sponsored by the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA).
Experts from the two organizations evaluated the customs operations used by ERCA in a three day visit. The representatives also conducted a workshop for 32 ERCA employees on the workings of custom laboratories. The visiting team was able to visit the Ethiopian Standards Agency and the Commercial Commodities Facilitation office in Addis Ababa.ERCA had to depend on what importers declare to set tariffs or resort to using the ESA laboratory which could become a lengthy process according to some importers.
Chemicals, textiles and Juice are amongst items that consistently cause disagreement between ERCA estimations and figures declared by importers said Fekadu Bekele Director of Customs Tariff Valuation for ERCA.
There are already six laboratories with enough equipment to test all sorts of material according Tekiye Berehane Public Relations Officer for the Ethiopian Conformity Assessment Enterprise (ECAE), disputing ERCA’s claim that it lacks use of a laboratory for essential testing.
The visiting team of experts noted the existence of well equipped laboratory with adequate staffing at the ESA. The experts warned that an additional laboratory would result in the duplication of equipment.
Source: Addis Fortune
