ZRA COMMEMORATES 2020 INTERNATIONAL CUSTOMS DAY WITH WEEK LONG ACTIVITIES

The Zambia Revenue Authority will be commemorating the International Customs Day together with the rest of the Customs world on 26^th January 2020.

This year, 2020, the celebrations are under the theme  “Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet”.  The day will be dedicated to the contribution of Customs towards a sustainable future where social, economic, health and environmental needs are at the heart of our actions. 

The ZRA Commissioner General, Kingsley Chanda highlighted the importance of the day and the critical role Customs Services play in revenue collection, protection of the environment and people from harmful products and facilitation of trade.

The International Customs Day is commemorated under the Auspices of the World Customs Day (WCO) to which ZRA is a member.

Mr. Chanda higlighted that, “the Authority’s membership to the WCO is through CUSTOMS SERVICES DIVISION which is directly responsible for managing trade through enforcement of legislation related to trade, which out-rightly serves as means of protecting the country and its communities from external threats couriered through trade”.

Specifically, the Customs Division has the responsibility of controlling and managing imports, exports and transits, customs is always alert to ensure that:

• Prohibited and hazardous goods do not make their way into the country,
• Controlled goods are imported and/or exported through the right channels,
• Imported and exported goods are duly cleared yielding taxes that contribute to the Government coffers, these revenues are used for the various development programs
• Exported goods are duly processed.

Mr. Chanda added that, “in line with the 2020 ICD we have planned activities for the week. These include; Tree Planting at an identified Court within Lusaka, Open Days – to enable the Public have a walk-through of our processes as Customs, destruction of counterfeit products and expired products, donation of seized fuel to the identified institutions, and awarding of certificates of recognition to Customs Officers of Customs and stakeholders for their outstanding contributions”.

He further stated that, “because of the critical role Customs play, we cannot afford to allow in smuggled goods as these can be harmful to the environment, the country and above all to the citizens of Zambia.  Let us not facilitate, encourage or tolerate smuggling and smugglers”.

The effects of smuggling are adverse as they can affect our health, security and trade.