PRESS STATEMENT; Ministry of Customs and Revenue
RESPONSE TO SAMOA OBSERVER ARTICLE TITLED ‘BLOWING THE WHISTLE ON THE GREEN LANE” BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD AS PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY 19TH AUGUST 2021.
Dear Editor,
1. Reference is made to the above article published on the stated date.
2. We wish to provide our comments on the ‘Green Lane’ in view of information from unknown sources. Please, we kindly request that our ‘long’ but necessary response is publish verbatim to avoid misinterpretation by the public.
3. As background, the ‘green lane’ is one of the selectivity lanes introduced by the World Customs Organization (WCO) with the concept of Risk Management approach and was adopted by the Ministry (then known as the Samoa Customs Department) with the introduction of its ASYCUDA system in the year 1999. This was in response to the growing trade volumes but very limited resources to carry out a hundred percent (100%) physical check of all consignments. Thus the four selectivity lanes, (Green, Red, Yellow and Blue) were then used from 2000 to facilitate clearance of trade.
4. The ‘green lane’ in question is particularly for the highly compliant companies and goods which are considered NOT risky in the view of Customs and other border agencies as well as other government entities but always within international standards and criteria.
5. The processing of this green lane like other existing color coded lanes are automatically done by our Asycuda system in accordance to our risk profiles configured in this system. Different criteria and requirements not only for MCR but also for other agencies such as Quarantine, MNRE, MOF etc. have already been configured in our Asycuda system which assists in the allocation of entries into their appropriate lanes.
6. The classification of goods and companies, and customs entries to go through the lane is a result of our post clearance audits, ongoing intelligence and investigations cases, legal and procedural interest of our Ministry and other entities who deal with imported and exported goods, as well as the daily compliance levels of importers with all import and export requirements.
7. The clearance in the green lane or any lane does not exempt any importer, both commercial or personal, from paying duties and taxes. Unless there is duty concessions or exemption in our legal frameworks, all goods are subject to duties and taxes.
8. Even with this automatic selection by the system in place, there is still a random selection made at the release stage of the process by our ACEO-Border Operations or Principal Customs officers of this division, on these goods to undergo physical examination. To improve facilitation of trade and strengthen border security on imported goods, the Ministry will soon procure a container x-ray scanner in 2021/2022, funded under the ADB Samoa Ports Authority Project to enhance and sustain security and safety of the Apia Port area.
9. All personal effects shipments, whether it be containerized, palletized or packaged in smaller packings are all subject to the Red Lane and not in the Green Lane. The only exception pertains to the personal effects belonging to locally based diplomatic staff when they move to take up posts within the diplomatic missions in Samoa. All documents for these shipments are provided through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade with confirmation of their eligibility status. Other than these confirmed diplomatic shipments, container or any shipment containing personal effects are required to be released under the green lane.
10. In view of the manifest and paperwork, all goods entering Samoa, regardless of their nature and purpose are listed in the manifest that are submitted to our Customs office via the Asycuda system. These manifests are checked against the manual copy submitted to our office and verified before any transfer or release in made. All goods are subject to the same minimum required documents, that is the bill of lading/airway bill and the invoice/proof of value. There are additional requirements depending on the type of goods imported, and regardless of the processing lane that the entry is routed to, all goods are manifested, not just the goods under the green lane.
11. Our Internal Audit division especially the government’s Audit office actively and regularly audit our internal processes with greater focus on high risk areas of our revenue collection, trade facilitation and border management functions. The green lane is regularly monitored and checked as to ensure no abuse or misuse by staff or excutive staff who are responsible with respective roles relating to all color coded lanes. Any diversions found, is understandably subject to further and indepth audit and investigation.
12. Like in any organization, or in any system, whether in public or private sector, there is always gaps and weaknesses found during these checks, as nothing is totally 100% secured, hence why we have live documents such as Risk Management Framework and Compliance Improvement Plan that identifies our high risks areas for our priority focus and urgent attention given limited resources and also the responsibilities of our Ministry’s to our nation.
13. We highly appreciated the Samoa Observer and the public’s feedback and critics that are constructive as we truly value our taxpayers’ confidence and perception in our work as public servants to effectively and efficiently collect and protect with integrity their fair share of taxpayer dollar for our Government’s many plans and initiatives to improve public goods and services as to improve the standard of our economy and improve the quality of life for all Samoans.
