Malawi Revenue Authority celebrates Customs Day
Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) is this Friday, January 25, 2019 commemorating the International Customs Daunder the theme SMART border for seamless trade, travel and transport.
A statement MRA released Thursday signed by the body’s Commissioner General, Tom Gray Malata, said the day recognises the role of customs officials and clearing agents play in maintaining border security and facilitating trade.
Malata added that the day also focuses on the working conditions and challenges that customs officers go through in course of discharging their duties.
He said the SMART concept stipulated in the this year’s theme seeks to encourage customs administrations to have processes that are secure and measurable, automated, risk management-based and technology-driven to facilitate legitimate flow of people, goods and services at borders.
“To support the requirement, MRA has put in place real time online systems that enable seamless trade facilitation at central level in the ASYCUDA world,” Malata said.
ASYCUDA is an automated system for customs data whose objective is to streamline the operations of customs clearance and reducing the needs of human intervention.
Malata, therefore, said MRA would continue working closely with other government agencies and departments involved in providing border services to ensure that right from the border, the revenue collecting body achieves more in seamless trade, travel and transport.
International Customs Day is observed annually in commemoration of the very first official conference of the Customs Cooperation Council in l952 which later became the World Customs Organisation (WCO).
Minister of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, Goodall Gondwe is expected to grace the occasion which will be held at Mwanza Border Post.
