The OCO attended the WHO Meeting in Manila on Accelerating the Raising of Tobacco Taxes and the Ratification of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products in the Western Pacific. The meeting was attended by 36 Participants from 20 different countries. A Total of 11 countries from the pacific were represented by 17…
More than 60 personnel from various law enforcement agencies underwent a five-day National Workshop on Financial Crime. The Training was organized by OCO in collaboration with its key law enforcement partners in CNMI, that ran from the 13th – 17th November 2017. The training covered a range of Topics which included: illicit financial flows, customs…
As part of its capacity building on one of its strategic priorities, Customs Leadership, the OCO in partnership with the World Customs Organization (WCO), organized a Leadership and Management Development (LMD) Workshop from 28 November to 8th December, 2017 in Nadi, Fiji for OCO members. The workshop was delivered to 19 senior officials from ten…
The Guam Customs and Quarantine Agency (CQA) in partnership with the Oceania Customs Organisation (OCO) organized a National Workshop on the Revised Kyoto Convention on 18-22 September 2017 in Guam. Accession to and compliance with the RKC is one of the strategic thrusts of the OCO Strategic Plan 2017-2022. The National Workshop on RKC discussed…
From 11-15 September 2017 the OCO delivered a National Workshop on the Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (as amended), known as the Revised Kyoto Convention (RKC), in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The RKC is a World Customs Organization (WCO) legal instrument regarded by the international Customs community…
Customs administrations in the Pacific, recognize the importance of the implementation of the World Customs Organisation’s (WCO) Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System (HS) for tariffs and trade statistics and for other purposes e.g. the rules of origin and economic research and analysis. In all free trade agreements that members are parties to and negotiating,…
Mr James Movick, Director General of the Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA), paid a visit at the OCO headquarters in Suva on 10th August 2017 and held discussions with the OCO Head of Secretariat Seve Paeniu. The discussions revolved around options and arrangements for broader maritime law enforcement cooperation, which will be further discussed in greater…
OCO attended the annual WCO Council in Brussels on 6-8 July 2017 The Head of Secretariat Mr Seve Paeniu represented the OCO, as an Observer organization, at the annual WCO Council which met in Brussels, Belgium on 6 – 8 July 2017. The Council session is the annual governance meeting in which over 180 heads…
The OCO Secretariat in partnership with PFTAC and PITTA will be conducting a Regional workshop on VAT fraud and Customs Commercial Fraud, from the 7th to the 11th of August at the Tanoa International Hotel in Nadi. Anecdotal evidence suggests that VAT fraud is on the increase and if not addressed could potentially result in…
Oceania Customs Organisation members moves towards Revised Kyoto Convention compliance On 26-30 June, 2017, six of the OCO members (Cook Islands, Federated State of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu) joined Vanuatu Customs at their National Workshop on the Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, known as the Revised Kyoto Convention…
