Some 30 high-ranking officials specializing in tariff classification-related areas attended the workshop which was co-facilitated by a Senior Technical Officer from the WCO Secretariat and by an accredited expert from the MENA region.

The workshop’s main focus was to secure uniformity in the interpretation and application of the HS 2022 Nomenclature by the Customs administrations of the MENA region. Comprehensive explanations regarding the scope of the HS 2022 amendments were presented, along with the background of their development. Furthermore, the workshop offered an opportunity to discuss the WCO tools and instruments developed to assist users of the HS in modernizing their tariff classification work and related infrastructure.

The workshop gave the participants an opportunity to take stock of the implementation of the HS 2022 amendments by their respective administrations. Some administrations presented examples of the transposition into their national nomenclature of particular amendments featured in the Council Recommendation of 28 June 2019.

The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for networking and exchanging views on a wide range of topics in tariff classification and management of tariff and statistical nomenclatures, and was highly appreciated by those who attended.

At the closing session, Mr. Konstantinos Kaiopoulos, WCO Director of Tariff and Trade Affairs, thanked all the participants for their active contributions and for the high level of professionalism and dedication which contributed to the workshop’s success. He also noted the WCO’s unwavering support for any capacity-building activity and any initiative introduced for enhancing and developing the proper application of the HS in the MENA region.

For his part, Mr. Naïf El Chambre, Director of the Saudi Customs Training Institute, commended the participants, organizers and WCO experts for the workshop’s success. He underlined the importance of this workshop to the synchronized and coordinated implementation of the HS 2022 amendments by the region’s Customs administrations and thanked the WCO for its efforts in this regard.