International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures
International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures : This Convention, developed by the Customs Cooperation Council, seeks to foster international trade and cooperation by simplifying and harmonizing customs procedures and operations. (The term "customs procedure is not used in the narrow sense of the treatment assigned to imported goods; it covers all provisions relating to a particular sphere of customs activity). The Convention (also known as the "Kyoto Convention") was adopted in May 1973 in Kyoto, Japan as a core legal instrument with three original annexes on customs procedures. Nearly thirty additional annexes (each covering a different area of customs procedures and operations) have since been created. To ensure worldwide harmonization, the convention is also open to non-members of the CCC which are state members of the United Nations or its specialized agencies. A country is only required to accept the convention itself and at least one of the annexes to become a contracting party. (When the U.S. became party to the Covnention, effective January, 1984, it accepted twenty of the annexes and entered certain reservations with respect to some of their provisions). The annexes contain definitions, standards, and recommended practices; and countries can reserve against any standard or recommended practice in a particular annex. There is also a provision obligating countries to review their national legislation every three years to determine if reservations can be removed. See: Customs Cooperation Council
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