Revenue Agency launches SADC e-CoO to facilitate easy movement of goods
The Namibia Revenue Agency (NamRA) on Tuesday launched the Electronic Certificate of Origin at an event held in Windhoek.
The SADC Electronic Certificate of Origin (e-CoO) is a notable achievement for Namibia and SADC in general as it will allow manufacturers, producers, and exporters to electronically register their products for preferential treatment and apply for Certificates of Origin for an export shipment, said the Khomas Regional governor Laura McLeod-Katjirua at the launch.
“The pace that NamRA is taking in customs modernisation is indeed commendable. I am confident that this would enable the seamless flow of intra-trade across the region,” she said, adding that The implementation of e-CoO resonates well with this year’s theme of the World Customs Day titled “scaling up Customs Digital Transformation by Embracing a Data Culture and Building a Data Ecosystem”.
This is indeed a welcome move as the world is migrating to a digital space where we are required to do away with the traditional way of doing things and adopt a paperless system, she said.
“Key institutions such as NamRA cannot afford to lag behind digital migration, hence we need to provide our support for efficiency in our system which will eventually culminate in improved revenue collection,” she added.
Meanwhile, the envisaged implementation of the SADC e-CoO will not only ensure that NamRA meets its strategic objectives of enhancing trade facilitation and pursuing innovation but will also enhance compliance with regional and international requirements.
The main objective of the SADC e-CoO is to facilitate the easy movement of goods, in addition to reducing the cost of doing business within the region, about goods that conform to the SADC Rules of Origin. The expected benefits from the use of the SADC e-CoO include improving intra-regional trade, promoting a paperless environment, time efficiency, increased trade, and reduction of origin fraud risks.
