Best practices model for licensing customs brokers

Abstract

In some parts of the world, customs brokers have been offering advice and providing services to importers and exporters for hundreds of years. In some other regions, the customs broker is a nascent profession, while in other countries they do not exist as unique service providers. Where there are customs brokers, there has been a tendency to organise and work together to understand the customs function, enhance services offered to importers and exporters, and improve the environment in which trade is conducted within that country. Since 1990, customs brokers from around the world have been represented by the International Federation of Customs Brokers Associations (IFCBA), which, in May 2009, approved a best practices model for the licensing of qualified customs brokers. The IFCBA supports the establishment of transparent, accountable and consistent broker licensing regimes by relevant government agencies worldwide. This paper reflects the principles developed and approved by the IFCBA in that best practices model.