Afghan and Tajik customs officers learn about airport customs procedures in OSCE training course

DUSHANBE, 10 July 2013 – Fourteen senior and mid-level customs officers from Afghanistan and Tajikistan successfully completed a week-long training course on international airport customs procedures at the OSCE Border Management Staff College in Dushanbe today.

The course, co-organized with the Austrian Finance Ministry, aimed at strengthening the institutional capacity of the customs administrations and management of Afghanistan and Tajikistan. It covered the working methods of customs offices of airports in EU countries, organizing customs and post-clearance audits, passenger entry procedures, and risk management in customs clearance on national and international levels.

“Strengthening customs co-operation between the neighbouring countries of Afghanistan and Tajikistan and expanding Afghan and Tajik customs officials’ knowledge by sharing the best practices, latest technologies and lessons learned is what this training initiative aims at,” said Hans Peter Larsen, Deputy Head of the OSCE Office in Tajikistan.

“We reviewed with participants the alternative EU vision and methods to organize and proceed with customs clearance methods. It included the strategy and philosophy of the EU countries with respect to the working procedures of customs at airports, in particular granting benefits to compliant customers, carrying out risk analysis, acceleration of customs processes, and effective fraud combat,” said Stefan Fleischhacker, Head of the Custom Office at Vienna International Airport and the course instructor.

During the course participants visited the customs office of Dushanbe International Airport and observed the existing procedures and practices.