The Oceania Customs Organisation represents the interest of 23 member countries in the Pacific region. Its mission is to facilitate and where appropriate help customs administrations align with customs international standards and best practice leading to greater economic prosperity and increased border security within the Oceania region. The OCO is pleased to announce the appointment…
The OCO Secretariat organized the Pacific Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System (PACHS) Review Meeting on 16-17 September, 2019 in Nadi, Fiji. The Meeting was attended by 19 Customs Officials representing 12 Customs Administrations of the OCO (CNMI, Cooks Islands, FSM, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu). Also present were…
The OCO with financial support under the PACER Plus Project Readiness Package co-facilitated the PACER Plus ROO consultation in Tonga from 13-14 August, 2019 attended by 25 Customs Officials and 57 private sector representatives. The objective of the workshop was to deepen the knowledge and enhance customs capacity on the implementation of PACER Plus ROO….
Through its capacity building programme to members, the OCO with financial support under the PACER Plus Project Readiness Package conducted a PACER Plus ROO Workshop & legislative consultation in Niue from 7-8 August, 2019 attended by officials from the Niue Customs and Treasury Department and private sector representatives. The main objective of the workshop was…
In collaboration with the Vanuatu Department of Customs and Inland Revenue and United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD), the OCO organized an automation study visit for 10 Pacific Island Countries (PICs) (Cooks Islands, Federated State of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Tuvalu) on 25-26 July,…
The Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) in collaboration with the Vanuatu Department of Customs & Inland Revenue (DCIR) organized a Regional PACER Plus Transparency Provision Workshop in Port Vila, Vanuatu from the 22-24 July, 2019. The workshop was opened by Mr. Harold Tarosa, DCIR. In his opening remarks, he emphasized that transparency and predictability of regulations…
(Excerpt: The Guardian Article, The new drug highway: Pacific Islands at center of cocaine trafficking boom, dated 24 June 2019) It is the drug route you’ve never heard of: a multi billion-dollar operation involving cocaine and methamphetamine being packed into the hulls of sailing boats in the US and Latin America and transported to Australia…
The 21st Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) annual conference commenced on 13th May, 2019 in Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI), hosted by the CNMI Customs division with the theme “A united Pacific working towards a common solution”. The conference was opened with statements from the CNMI Director of Customs, Mr Jose Mafnas, Governor of…
OCO in partnership with the USPTO had 4 of its members attend an Asia Regional Workshop on Enforcement Against Trade in Counterfeit Food, Beverages, Cosmetics, and Fast Moving Consumer Goods, which was held on April 2-5, 2019, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and was co-organized and co-sponsored by the USPTO and the U.S. Department…
On the morning of February 26 2019, the Acting Governor Arnold I. Palacios touched base with the Oceania Customs Organisation Secretariat. Acting Governor Palacios met with Roy Lagolago, Head of Secretariat and Kalei Billings-Dugu, Human Resource & Logistics Coordinator. Director of Revenue and Taxation Dave Atalig, CNMI Div of Customs Service Director Joe Mafnas, Planner…
