EU experiences on Customs Guarantees were showcased during a series of trilateral meetings between Moldova’s Customs Service, Ukraine’s State Fiscal Service and the Customs Administration of the Czech Republic held in April. Czech legislation and practical implementation of Customs Guarantees were explained to seven Moldovan and Ukrainian officials during briefings in Prague and Ceske Budejovice, with demonstrations of the Customs Guarantee IT module and practical examples of guarantees given. The visit was conducted in conjunction with the European Commission’s DG TAXUD, with financial support from the EU’s “Customs 2020” Programme.

This experience-sharing event was initiated by EUBAM following its 2016 evaluation of Customs practices in Moldova and Ukraine which revealed that this issue requires further efforts to integrate it as an essential part of Customs practice. Indeed, the Customs guarantee management system is one of the most important requirements for the full introduction of simplified procedures, deferred payment of Customs debt and other modern Customs instruments, including post clearance audit. Several follow-up activities were agreed and EUBAM will continue providing assistance to both partner services in the coming months.