Improving Trade Competitiveness Through a Risk-based Approach: Post-clearance Audits in Bangladesh Customs

To create new development opportunities in the Global South, developing countries must enable greater trade facilitation with the global economy. Customs officials, who are at the front line and act as gatekeepers for market access, must often balance competing priorities between ensuring regulatory compliance and efficient processing of a high volume of consignments and goods. Currently, customs processes in developing countries often act as bottlenecks in the global supply chain which create undue costs for exporters and traders, yet these countries must also tackle the growing problem of illegal or unlawful trade. Post-clearance audits (PCAs) provide an effective risk management technique that can be used in conjunction with automated risk-based selectivity. This approach provides a holistic, risk management approach to customs processing. PCAs can also assist customs to promote an expedited release of goods without compromising the control of high-risk consignments. This article examines the weakness and the challenges of implementing PCAs within the domestic regulatory framework of Bangladesh. To achieve this objective, this article has obtained primary evidence from key stakeholders including Bangladesh Customs to develop insight and analysis into implementing PCA into the Bangladeshi regulatory framework. As this article will explore, these challenges include implementing an automated risk-based selectivity approach, online connectivity among relevant agencies, customs-to-customs cooperation, customs-to-business cooperation and developing greater technical capacity through skilling-up the workforce. Post-clearance Audit, Risk Management, Customs Control, Trade Facilitation, Bangladesh Customs