A National Workshop on the use of the Harmonized System (HS) for the classification of goods and best practices for the HS Infrastructure was held in Chisinau, Moldova, from 20 to 24 June 2022. The Workshop was organized jointly by the WCO and the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova, with the sponsorship of the Customs Cooperation Fund (CCF) of Germany, and was facilitated by two experts from the WCO Secretariat. It was attended by 21 officials, who represented a mix of officers who work on tariff classification related areas from various offices, including the Headquarters, of Moldova Customs, and officers who work at the Customs Laboratory.
The Workshop focused on current HS related matters, the implementation of 2022 edition of the HS, uniformity in the interpretation and application of the HS Nomenclature, and potential improvements of the current work model for tariff classification work and issuing of advance rulings. Furthermore, the Workshop offered an opportunity to discuss the WCO tools and instruments to assist users of the HS in order to modernize their tariff classification work and related infrastructure.
The head of Classification of Goods Section, Customs Value, Classification and Origin of Goods Division, Ms. Daniela Furtuna, highlighted the importance of HS classification as one of the pillars of Customs and recognized the need of imparting the necessary knowledge to the officials that work in this area. She thanked the WCO and the CCF Germany for working together with Moldova Customs in order to strengthen this important technical area.
The participants worked on several case studies of tariff classification in different areas such as food supplements, medicaments, agricultural machines, and goods made of plastics. They also discussed possible improvements of tariff classification work and related infrastructure, based on the WCO Guidelines for Tariff Classification Infrastructure. In connection with the discussions regarding the WCO recommendations, they prepared a summary of the work to be presented to the higher management, including an action plan with proposals and solutions related to the modernization of classification work within the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova in order to correspond to the best international practices.
