WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  TN/TF/W/60 
8 August 2005 
 
 (05-3529) 
Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Original:   Spanish 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC 
 
 
The following communication, dated 3 August 2005, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the Dominican Republic. 
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PROPOSAL BY THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ON REINFORCING THE 
ETHICAL CONDUCT OF STAFF AND THE INTEGRITY 
OF CUSTOMS ADMINISTRATIONS 
 
 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. The strengthening of the integrity of customs ad ministrations through the introduction of legal 
rules and regulations governing the conduct of offi cials and employees helps to uphold best practices 
while contributing to the enforcement of domestic laws and procedures in the countries concerned and 
ensuring strict compliance with international commitments. 
2. Efforts to improve and clarify the relevant aspects of Articles V, VIII and X of the GATT 
have drawn attention to the issue of the conduct of public servants in customs administrations. 
3. Violations and inappropriate conduct act as further barriers to international trade that stand in 
the way of goods transit traffic;  they amount to "a dditional invisible charges", aggravated by the lack 
of transparency in applying the laws and pro cedures in force in the different countries.  
4. These bad customs practices have an impact on investment, fiscal revenue, business 
competitiveness, and economic activity, undermining judicial systems and respect for the law and human rights.  This, in its turn, has a direct effe ct on trade and custom practices by impeding goods 
traffic, increasing the cost of transactions a nd complicating the international environment. 
II. INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT 
5. In past decades, the subject of the conduc t of customs officials was not discussed in 
international meetings.  More recently, however, it has been r ecognized that these problems are 
threatening the efficiency of customs services and the general well-being of soci ety.  Accordingly, the 
various international instituti ons have committed themselves to eliminating such practices. TN/TF/W/60 
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 6. For more than decade, a strategy has been deve loping to promote rules of conduct for public 
officials in customs administrations.  Below is a lis t of some of the more important steps that have 
marked this process: 
1. Arusha Declaration (WCO-1993). 
2. Global Forum I on Fighting Corruption (i nitiative of the Unite d States Government, 
meeting held in Washington D.C. in 1999). 
3. Global Forum II on Fighting Corruption (organized by the Government of the 
Netherlands in the Hague, 2001). 
4. Development of the WCO Integrity Self-Assessment Guide. 5. Preparation of a M odel Code of Conduct for customs officers (WCO). 
6. Revised Arusha Declaration (WCO-2003). 
7. Preparation of an Integrity Development Guide for customs administrations (WCO). 
8. Development of a WCO Integrity Action Plan (updated in 2003/2004). 
9. Global Forum III on Fighting Corrupti on (held in Seoul, Korea, from 29 to 
31 May 2003). 
10. Global Forum IV on Fighting Corruption (held in Brazil in June 2005). 
 
7. There are other documents on the subject prepared, inter alia , by the World Bank, the 
Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Organization for Econ omic Cooperation and 
Development (OECD), and the Organization of American States (OAS), which shed considerable light on the rationale underlying this proposal. 
III. PROPOSED MEASURES 
8. The introduction of the WTO rules to reinforce the ethical conduct of public servants in 
customs administrations is fitting, and entirely in keeping with the mandate to improve and 
supplement Articles V, VIII and X of the GATT 1994.  
9. We propose measures for adoption at the domestic level in the Member countries, subject to 
the establishment by the WTO of general obligations th at would help ensure that national legislations 
introduce procedures to enforce these ru les.  These measures are as follows: 
 
(a) Establishment of a code of conduct in the customs services, spelling out the rights and 
obligations of the public servants; 
(b) Introduction of computerized systems to  reduce (or eliminate) the discretion 
exercised by officials and employees with  respect to basic customs decisions; 
(c) Establishment of a system of penalties, to be directly incorporated in the country's 
customs legislation.  Offences by customs officials should be considered as criminal 
acts; 
(d) Technical assistance to create and build up  the country's national capacity to prevent 
and control customs offences; 
(e) Establishment of coordination and control mechanisms between customs 
administrations and the organizations involved in devising ethics policies in customs services.  TN/TF/W/60 
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 IV. BENEFITS OF IMPLEMENTATION 
10. Customs administrations throughout the world have been playing a fundamental role in 
protecting the vital interests of the national comm unity and the State while implementing government 
policies to achieve national development objectives. 
11. With an efficient and productive customs administration, it is possible to achieve pre-
determined policy objectives in respect to revenue  collection, trade facilitation, trade statistics, 
protection of society, and the environment. 
12. However, customs administrations represent the pub lic institutions most inclined to engage in 
practices that stray from the rules of ethics.  An administrative monopoly with the power of discretion, which receives individual demands from en terprises in a work environment that sometimes 
lacks any precise definition of the rights and duti es of users, in the absence of proper control 
procedures and systems, can spontaneously  generate such unacceptable practices. 
13. The financial benefits of elim inating such barriers would be enormous for the State and 
enterprises alike, particularly small- and medium-enterprises in the developing countries, whose alternatives and opportunities are scarce in this world of unlawful customs practices. 
14. Thus, goods transit traffic would be able to fl ow more smoothly in a healthier environment.  
Duties and charges must be in line with the quality of the customs service offered.  As unethical 
customs practices are abolished, the transparent a pplication of laws and re gulations becomes both a 
necessity and consequence of the process. 
15. Ultimately, this proposal is intended as a cont ribution to improving the trade environment and 
the implementation of provisions aimed at reduc ing transaction costs and combatting the negative 
symptoms that could be reflected in the trading system. 
16. A transparent environment can only be fully ope rative if we eliminate the secret and unlawful 
arrangements and the established procedures that distort market competition. 
V. COSTS 
17. These ideas, which are particularly relevant in th e modern world, are entirely in tune with the 
basic interests of the current trade facilitation negotiations aime d at improving and supplementing 
Articles V, VIII and X of the GATT 1994. 
18. In some countries, where implementation of th ese measures is already sufficiently advanced, 
these proposals would not generate high costs. 
19. However, drawing up a code of conduct, professionalizing customs services, introducing 
efficient managerial systems, and amending the rele vant legislation governing the conduct of officials 
and employees could require working time, special ized human resources for training, and possibly 
additional resources to implement programmes for the improvement of operational procedures in the customs administration. 
VI. SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
20. Bearing in mind that certain countries are sufficiently advanced in the implementation of 
these measures, whose purpose is to clarify and supplement Articles V, VIII and X of the 
GATT 1994, while others are facing difficulties of vari ous kinds in applying them, we think that the TN/TF/W/60 
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 developing countries should be granted sufficien t time and other flexibilities for the implementation 
of any rules that result from these negotiations. 
VII. ASSISTANCE AND CAPACITY-BUILDING DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF 
THE RESULTS 
21. Members, in particular the developing countries,  must identify their difficulties, requirements, 
and priorities by conducting a self-assessment if they  are to effectively implement the programme of 
measures needed to strengthen the integrity and b est practices of their customs administrations. 
22. In view of the need for technical assistance a nd capacity-building support, we must work in a 
practical manner to help Members to implemen t the measures put forward in this proposal. 
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