The Customs Service will have its Risk Analysis and Intelligence Centre to facilitate legitimate traffic and reduce the risk of smuggling. Today, the Customs Service leadership, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the USAID Moldova Institutional and Structural Reforms Program (MISRA) attended the event to launch the process of creating the centre.
According to the Customs Service, the situation in Ukraine has influenced an approximately 4-fold increase in the transit of goods across the customs border of the Republic of Moldova, but also the fact that exports and imports are now processed through the western border with Romania involves additional efforts on the part of the Customs Service and increases the risks of smuggling.
“Although the efficiency of customs controls has increased, thanks to the support provided by development partners, the physical control of goods and each means of transport requires the involvement of several customs officials. In this situation, customs authorities must use advanced risk assessment methodologies to accurately identify high-risk transactions. Thus, the risk management to be developed in a centralised subdivision with several tasks – analysis, monitoring, and profiling – will allow the efficient allocation of the necessary resources, targeting customs controls on higher-risk consignments and goods and facilitating compliant ones. These actions will enhance safeguards against illegal activities, protecting public health, national security, and intellectual property rights,” Customs said.
Currently, the institution employs risk analysis to conduct border controls, resulting in a significant reduction in crossing times through customs posts. However, given the war circumstances in the region, more advanced risk assessment techniques are required. Therefore, the Customs Service, with the support of USAID through the MISRA program, will establish a new CARI to enhance customs management, data-driven decision-making, and operational identification of crisis responses.
During the event, the concept of the Risk Analysis and Intelligence Centre and future perspectives were presented, providing an overview of the process of risk identification and profiling, optimisation of customs control measures, implementation of advanced risk analysis mechanisms, and data and intelligence collection.
The Customs Service and MISRA have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which sets out commitments to develop the comprehensive CARI concept, including the completion of the regulatory and operational framework, the development of risk management processes, and the development of digital tools and necessary equipment and software.
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