Hours of waiting, unacceptable custom fees, never ending
formalities, lack of legal protection, vague domestic regulations
are known to be main obstacles to international trade. With a
view to tackling these problems, Member States of the World Trade
Organisation (WTO) adopted a Protocol of Amendment to insert the
Trade Facilitation Agreement into Annex 1A of the WTO Agreement on
27 November 2014.
The main purpose of the Trade Facilitation Agreement is to
expedite movement, release and clearance of goods by means of
harmonising import, export and transit rules of each and every
member state. The agreement aims at simplifying border formalities
as well as reducing fees/charges for customs processing. In fact,
according to WTO, this Agreement could reduce trade costs up to 15
percent. The importance of transparency is highlighted on many
occasions, especially in cases of inspections by competent
authorities and detention of goods at the borders. Member States
will
