Belize Hosts National Workshop on Time Release Study

On May 15, 2023, the Directorate General for Foreign Trade and the Belize Customs and Excise Department, co-chairs of the National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF), launched a National Sensitization Workshop on a Time Release Study (TRS) for Belize with technical support from the World Customs Organization (WCO). This event will take place from May 15 to 19 at the Customs and Excise Department conference room in Belize City.

For context back on September 2, 2015, Belize ratified the World Trade Organization (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement and has since established its implementation coordinating body (the NCTF) and developed its National Trade Facilitation Implementation Roadmap. In compliance with the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, members are required to periodically measure and publish average release times for goods in a consistent manner, using tools such as the TRS developed by the WCO.

Earl Stewart Jr., Pre-Accredited Expert for Time Release Study, W.C.O., “I like to refer to the time release tool developed by the WCO as an opportunity for improvement. It’s a tool of opportunities. So, there are benefits to be derived for the government, there are benefits to be derived for the customs administration and for the stakeholders and even the end consumer. So, we are talking about efficiency in terms of how goods move with efficacy through the border, efficiency, the effectiveness, seamlessly. And that contributes to economic activities. So, if you understand economics –economics 101 – we like to say the faster goods get to market the more profitable business will be.”

The national workshop will build the capacity of the Customs Department and other regulatory border agencies to conduct Time Release Studies. The first two days will provide invited guests and participants of the TRS Working Group with an overview of (i) the status of the TRS Project and the work completed in 2018; (ii) the WCO facilitation instruments and tools; (iii) the TRS methodology; and (iv) Belize’s reform and modernization initiatives. Subsequent days will be dedicated working group sessions focusing on the application of the WCO TRS software, the TRS process mapping, the analysis, and reporting writing. The key outputs from the workshop will be to finalize the scope of the TRS, revise business process maps and the action plan, and formalize a TRS Working Group.

Estella Leslie, Comptroller, Customs & Excise Department, “We have always been called upon to speed up the process in how we do business because like I explained in my opening remarks, time is money for the importers and the trading community. So, this study will map the time, the actual time it takes from the time the goods enter until it is cleared by customs. Bear in mind that I spoke to us having ASYCUDA World that has improved our performance greatly, but customs is not the only entity engaged in the clearance process. We also have the ports, we have the shipping agencies, the customs brokers – so all these people play a vital role in the entire process. So, this time-release study will take all of that into consideration and map the time that each entity takes and the amount of documentation that is required so that we know exactly where there are any holes in the system so that we could find ways to improve on our efficiency and effectiveness.”

The TRS is an important tool for Belize since it will identify the physical release time of goods. Additionally, it will provide guidance to the NCTF to take the necessary measures to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures. It will also provide evidence-based information to the international community on Belize’s performance capacity, which is useful for policymakers and investors.

The workshop is made possible through funding from the Government of Belize and the Caribbean Development Bank.