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Reform Support
| Supporting reforms to ensure efficient and effective revenue administration and public financial management.

Supporting reforms to ensure efficient and effective revenue administration and public financial management

Funding Programme
Technical Support Instrument (TSI)
Year
2021

Enhancing customs’ organisational and operational control set-up in Belgium

With this project, the Commission provided technical support to Belgian Customs in the context of modernising the supervision of the container supply chain. Through the formulation of recommendations to strengthen customs supervision and through guidance on the professionalisation of the authority’s project and programme management capabilities, Belgian Customs is better prepared to improve its organisational and operational customs control set-up.

Context

Belgian Customs faces significant challenges in handling the growing regular trade flows and in curbing persistent illicit traffic. The customs authority is therefore determined to enhance its control policy substantially and has for this reason initiated a programme and projects to improve the supervision and non-intrusive inspection of containers through a phased and multi-dimensional approach. Following the exploratory and feasibility study on state-of-the-art technologies (concluded in June 2019) and the analysis on integrating new technologies in the risk management system (concluded in August 2020), the technical support focused in this third phase on the customs control’s organisational and operational dimensions.

Support delivered

At the end of the 12-month project, the authority has at its disposal:

  • Programme management guide, programme governance set-up plan, programme and projects workplans, programme communication plan, programme communication strategy;
  • Analysis of the current organisational and operational customs control set-up;
  • Operational, organisational and strategic recommendations in light of the envisioned goal of enhancing the supervision of containers.

Results achieved

The technical support aided Belgian Customs in professionalising and institutionalising its project and programme management capabilities, which are much needed to achieve the strategic goal of renewing the customs control policy. The project also enhanced the beneficiary authority’s understanding on how to strengthen its customs supervision.

As such, the technical support helps Belgian Customs to take action to continue working towards a more efficient and effective customs control, resulting in positive outcomes for Belgium, the Customs Union and the European Union (e.g. revenue, safety and security, trade).