Brazil's Federal Revenue Secretariat, Receita Federal do Brasil, launched its first nationwide Time Release Study (TRS) during a live online event attended by more than 4000 participants, including border agencies and the private sector, as well as customs administrations from around the world, the World Customs Organization reported on Thursday (02.07.2020).
According to the statement, the TRS, which follows the WCO TRS Methodology, constitutes a milestone for the Brazilian Customs Administration, since improves transparency while providing a opportunity for dialogue evidence-based consultation among all key stakeholders to address identified bottlenecks and improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures.
The report TRS was validated by the WCO in collaboration with the World Bank Group and with the support of the UK Prosperity Fund. At the opening session of the launch event, the Deputy Secretary General of the WCO, Ricardo Treviño Chapa, He said: "This is a major step forward towards greater trade facilitation and provides a baseline for measuring the impact of actions and reforms.” He also stressed that the Brazilian experience would be valuable to share with the customs community at large, adding that "The current health emergency shows that it is key to maintain the flow of goods«. Throughout the event, several speakers highlighted the importance of the WCO TRS methodology as a vital tool for strategic planning and implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
The study shows an average measured time of 7,5 days considering air, sea and road transport modes.. The customs clearance stage represents less than 10% of the total time measured, while those actions under the responsibility of private agents represent more than half of the total time spent in all the flows analysed.
To further increase transparency for importers and exporters, Brazil's Federal Revenue Secretariat also intends to publish raw TRS data.
The recording of the full launch event with Portuguese/English translation can be viewed here (Youtube).
The TRS report and its Executive Summary are available here.
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