This Tuesday (20.10.2020), a meeting of the Trade Facilitation Committee of the World Trade Organization was held. There, the head of the Superintendency of Tax Administration of Guatemala and representative of the Regional Office for the Americas and the Caribbean of the World Customs Organization, Werner Ovalle, explained the characteristics of the Dispatch Time Study implemented in Guatemala.
This is a strategic, internationally recognized tool for measuring the current time required for the clearance and lifting of goods, from the moment of arrival at the point of entry to the moment of departure. Its objective is to identify delays in the flow of trade and design the actions that correspond to each actor to improve the effectiveness of the clearance procedures.
Guatemala is the first Central American country, and second in Latin America, to implement this necessary measure to simplify, streamline and harmonize import, export and transit procedures. In this way, it achieves greater transparency and reduces the costs associated with foreign trade.
In the virtual meeting, according to SAT Guatemala, Werner Ovalle highlighted "The importance of public-private communication and coordination to facilitate trade”. And he reiterated “the commitment to continue strengthening joint strategies before the World Trade Organization and the World Customs Organization, in favor of simplifying the country's customs trade."
According to the authorities, the project represents an international commitment, within the framework of the Trade Facilitation Agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the Mercator Program of the WCO.
During its preparation, the study was supported and cooperated by other government authorities and the private sector, in order to generate commitments to customs control, facilitation and modernization.
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