On 15 February 2023, the World Customs Organization (WCO) held the first symposium on E‑Commerce and Customs Valuation. During the hybrid event, international organizations, Customs administration, and the private sector discussed the challenges in calculating Customs Value for E‑Commerce. The participants agreed to the importance of working together and sharing knowledge and best practices to find innovative solutions to the many challenges brought about by E-Commerce.

In his opening speech, Dr. Kunio Mikuriya, the Secretary General of the WCO, recognized the that “E-Commerce brings enormous opportunities for economic and social development by fostering innovation, introducing new trade models, creating job opportunities and leading new consumer trends”.  He also underlined the challenges associated with E-Commerce and called for a concerted effort on the part of the Customs community and their partners for tangible solutions to those challenges.

The WCO delivered presentations on the impact of E-Commerce on Customs valuation, the challenges from compliance perspective and the initiatives taken by the Secretariat in this regard, such as the WCO Framework of Standards on Cross-Border E-Commerce.

For more information, please see here.