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New Zealand will deposit an Instrument of Accession with the depositary of the Convention after consideration of the Protocol of Amendment by the House. The process takes into account the opportunity for formally depositing the Instrument at the World Customs Organisation Council Session to be held in Brussels 6 - 8 July 2000.
New Zealand acceded to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) on 20 August 1975 and subsequently adopted 26 of the 31 Annexes to the Convention, the greatest number of acceptances by any Contracting Party. Overall, the Contracting Parties to the 1973 Kyoto Convention account for some 79% of world trade.
The provisions of the original Convention have been extensively reviewed by Contracting Parties, under the auspices of the World Customs Organisation, to ensure the standards and recommended practices remain relevant to modern trading conditions and expectations. Rapid changes in international trade, control methodologies and information technology make it necessary for Customs administrations to modify their procedures and practices to take account of new developments.
The World Customs Organisation recognised that developing country Members, countries in transition to a market economy, the international trade and transport communities as well as intergovernmental organisations striving to enhance the efficiency of international trade require an up to date blue print for straightforward and efficient Customs procedures in the 21st Century. This revision of the Kyoto Convention is aimed at addressing the current demand of international trade that procedures to be applied to goods crossing national borders be simple and transparent, and the rules uniform and predictable so that delays and costs to trade and national economies are minimised.
As one of the original Contracting Parties to the Kyoto Convention, New Zealand remains committed to the ongoing modernisation of Customs procedures and has this opportunity to express its commitment internationally through accession to the Protocol of Amendment.
The Kyoto Convention (as revised) provides the underlying conditions and instruments to assist Contracting Parties to achieve a modern Customs administration without prejudice to effective controls. New Zealand, along with comparable economies, already achieves a high level of compliance with the standards and recommended practices provided for under the Convention, and is recognised for this internationally.
The prime benefit to New Zealand of the revised Convention is that it creates an opportunity for the World Customs Organisation to promote the advantages of modernisation to a wider group of countries than have currently acceded to the original Convention. This benefits New Zealand exporters seeking to trade goods into those overseas markets. The manner in which Customs administrations conduct their business has an impact on the costs of moving people and goods internationally. It is expected that implementation of the revised standards and practices will contribute to lowering compliance costs for New Zealand traders, and increase the level of certainty and uniformity in the international trading environment.
There are no disadvantages to New Zealand arising from accession to the Protocol of Amendment.
The amended Kyoto Convention is made up of the Body, a General Annex and a number of Specific Annexes. The General Annex deals with the core principles for all procedures and practices to ensure that these are uniformly applied by Customs administrations. The Specific Annexes and their Chapters cover the individual Customs procedures and practices.
The Body of the Convention and the General Annex become obligatory on accession to the Convention. A Contracting Party is free to accede to all the Specific Annexes or only those that are relevant to its specific requirements. Should a Contracting Party accede to a Specific Annex or Chapter thereof, the Standards set out in that Annex or Chapter are binding on the Party upon accession.
No reservations are allowed to the provisions of the General Annex or to the Standards in the Specific Annexes to which a Contracting Party has acceded. Reservations are allowed to Recommended Practices contained in a Specific Annex to which a Contracting Party has acceded.
A Contracting Party bound by a Specific Annex or Chapter therein incurs an obligation to examine the possibility of withdrawing any reservations to the Recommended Practices and notifying the depositary of the treaty of the results of the review every three years.
On accession to the Protocol of Amendment, it is intended that New Zealand accedes to the Body of the Convention and the General Annex (both of which are obligatory) and to the following Specific Annexes without reservation:
It is also intended that the following Specific Annexes will be accepted, with reservations to Recommended Practices as noted:
The reservations noted against the relevant Recommended Practices are primarily technical and reflect the fact that New Zealand’s current legislation does not fully align with the procedure or practice described in the Recommended Practice. As there is a requirement for Contracting Parties to review reservations within three years of the treaty coming into effect for them, the opportunity will be taken to review the ongoing need for each of the reservations listed and, where appropriate, to seek amendments to legislation to allow withdrawal of reservations within the three year period. Any such legislative changes would be non-controversial.
The potential economic benefits to New Zealand from the revised Convention are discussed above in relation to an expected reduction in compliance costs for New Zealand traders. There are no adverse social, cultural or environmental effects from accession.
Contracting Parties have to bring the Standards and Recommended Practices which they have accepted into force nationally within three years of the treaty coming into force. There is also a requirement to review reservations every three years and, where appropriate, amend legislation to allow withdrawal of reservations. No significant legislative changes will be required in New Zealand’s case, but minor technical amendments are likely over the three year period allowed. The cost of considering and progressing those changes is therefore noted.
In addition to legislative measures, Contracting Parties must provide facilities, personnel and equipment to give actual effect to the objectives of the Convention. Because New Zealand has been a Contracting Party to the original Convention since 1975, and has a high level of compliance with the requirements of that Convention, no significant new operational costs are anticipated from accession to the revised Convention.
The objectives of the Kyoto Convention include meeting the needs of international trade and Government authorities for simplification and harmonisation of Customs procedures, and enabling the Customs to respond to major changes in business and administrative methods, including rapid developments in electronic processing capabilities. It is to be expected of a Convention of this nature that future reviews will identify procedural issues to be simplified or modernised in line with these objectives, and that future Protocols of Amendment will be developed.
There are no legislative or procedural changes required in order for the Protocol to enter into force. A Contracting Party has a period of three years after accession to implement the Recommended Practices in the Specific Annexes or Chapters that it has acceded to, unless reservations have been entered. Whatever minor technical legislative changes are required to ensure full compliance with the Standards and Recommended Practices can be accommodated within the three year implementation period granted to all Contracting Parties.
Transitional Standards in the General Annex must be implemented within five years.
The World Customs Organisation (WCO) has undertaken consultation with all Contracting Parties to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonisation of Customs Procedures (Kyoto Convention) in the course of the review which led to the Protocol of Amendment. The WCO has also involved international trade and business groups in its deliberations, including the World Trade Organisation, the International Bureau of Containers and SIMPRO FRANCE.
Within New Zealand, the New Zealand Customs Service has consulted with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry for Economic Development, as well as with relevant industry stakeholders.
In accordance with Article 17 of the Convention, a Party may denounce the Convention by submitting written notification to the depositary. Such denunciation will be effective 6 months after the date of receipt.
The same provisions apply to withdrawal from any Specific Annex or Chapter.
