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Information exchange management between Customs administrations in the international structure to fight Customs crime
The phenomenon of Customs crime occurs all over the world. The value of illicit trade and transnational criminal activities have been estimated at between 8% and 15% of global GDP. The value of drug traffickingis estimated at US$ 750 billion to US$ 1 trillion; the sale of counterfeit goods at US$ 650 billion worldwide; environmental crime at US$ 20 billion - 40 billion; and human trafficking, at US$ 20 billion.. Including money laundering, this figure increases to US$ 3 trillion compared with a legitimate global trade figure of about US$ 10 trillion-12 trillion.1
In addition, it was noticed that the increase in crime that took place recently (including the countries of Central and Eastern Europe) was the biggest in the history (excluding wars and conflicts). The causes of crime increase can be seen in the ongoing social and economic changes. In the case of Poland, it was caused by the dynamic transition from a central planned to a free market economy.2
Therefore, combating Customs crime should be among the priority activities of each administration, as the consequences of failure in combating Customs crime may have serious implications not only in the economic terms, but also in the form of negative non-economic consequences. Effective fight against Customs crime guarantees not only effective collection of state revenues, but also market protection and support for entrepreneurship as well as improvement of citizens' safety, health and life. For this reason, every action aimed at improving solutions for combating Customs crime contributes to the improvement of social welfare in its broadest sense.
A commonly accepted mission3 of Customs services in the world is to develop and implement such a set of procedures that, while ensuring an appropriate level of security, will allow for the
1 World Economic Forum, Out of the Shadows: Why Illicit Trade and Organized Crime matter to us all, Switzerland 2013, s. 1, https://www.oas.org/en/sms/downloads/BROCHURE_GAC14.pdf
2 Grzeszyk C., Transformacja przestępczości w Polsce w ostatnim dziesięcioleciu, w: Zawiślak A., 10 lat transformacji w Polsce. Fakty i opinie, Wyd. Warszawskiej Szkoły Zarządzania, Warszawa 1999, s. 74
3 The mission of the World Customs Organization is: “The WCO provides leadership, guidance and support to Customs administrations to secure and facilitate legitimate trade, realize revenues, protect society and build capacity”; http://www.wcoomd.org/en/about-us/what-is-the-wco/mission_statement.aspx
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proper functioning of legal trade, and also guarantee the collection of duties. Reaching such objectives is possible only with appropriate management and the use of tools contributing to the fight against Customs crime. Effective flow of Customs information on an international scale requires close cooperation between the Customs administration and business, and is an important issue from the point of view of ensuring the competitiveness of legally operating companies. Thanks to the appropriate management of information exchange instruments, the Customs service contributes not only to the fight against Customs crime, but also has the ability to stimulate the growth of legal international trade. Customs administration meeting the requirement to act in accordance with the law is able to create conditions for fair competition for companies (the so called Customs compliance).
The first international organizations of the modern era were established in 19th century. Among them - in 1890 - the International Office for the Publication of Customs Tariffs, which at that time had a limited scope of activity and performed primarily the administrative functions. On the other hand, since the 20th century, the globalization processes were closely related to the scientific and technical progress, and with the use of information and communication technologies. In 1952, the Convention establishing the Customs Cooperation Council entered into force, and in 1994 the organization adopted the name of the World Customs Organization, thereby introducing the global intergovernmental institution.
At the same time, on the basis of the conducted literature review, it was found that the data collected in the Customs Enforcement Network database - CEN database (administered by the World Customs Organization) have been used so far only in the publication discussing the subject of illegal trade in tobacco products in the part devoted to the cigarette smuggling routes and trends occurring in Eastern and Central Europe in 2008-2010.4
Therefore, the main aim of the dissertation is to define the method of managing the exchange of Customs information with the use of the RILO Network that would allow to increase the operational capabilities of Customs administrations in the world in the fight against Customs
4 Czyżowicz W., Nielegalny obrót wyrobami tytoniowymi, alkoholem i piwem w Polsce: przyczyny, formy, skala, konsekwencje i rozwiązania zwiększające efektywność walki z nielegalnym handlem, Wyd. BW, Szczecin 2012, s. 47-51. The data was presented to the European Parliament by prof. Wiesław Czyżowicz: Czyżowicz W., The nature of illicit trade in Tobacco and Alcohol on the Eastern border. Reasons, Forms, Scope, Consequences and Solutions to Increase Managerial Efficiency of Fighting Illicit Trade, Szczecin BW, 2013
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crime as a condition for fair competition of entrepreneurs related to international trade in goods. The implementation of the main goal required the formulation and implementation of specific goals, which had a twofold purpose: theoretical and practical.
The detailed objectives of a cognitive (theoretical) nature included:
identification of tasks for international organizations involved in combating Customs crime;
examination and systematization of documentation devoted to the fight against Customs crime;
identification of types of Customs crimes in the world. Recent trends in Customs crimes considering the regional breakdown;
determination of the conditions to improve the management of Customs information exchange among Customs administrations around the world.
A detailed utilitarian (practical) objective was:
recommendations for further management of workload of regional offices within the RILO Network and possible directions of cooperation with business.
The identified objectives of the dissertation allowed to determine the following research questions:
1. What kind of information is exchanged in the international structure to combat Customs crimes?
2. What common tools to fight Customs crime exist in the international structure of Customs administrations?
3. How to improve management in the existing information exchange structure to combat Customs crime in the international arena?
In an attempt to achieve the main goal, the following research thesis was formulated:
Thesis: It is required to verify the international structure of information exchange on Customs crimes and the tools used by it.
In order to prove the main dissertation thesis, the following research hypotheses were adopted: H1: The use of information in Customs administration is moving towards risk management.
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H2: The RILO Network requires modernization and implementation of corrective actions in order to improve the effectiveness of the fight against Customs crime.
H3: The database as a tool for collecting and exchanging information in the Customs administration requires the reorientation from a quantitative to a qualitative tool.
H4: The total number of seizures does not decrease, but only the structure of Customs crimes is changing.
The scope of the dissertation resulted from the adopted goals and research hypotheses. The material scope was the exchange of information between Customs administrations within the RILO Network. The subjective scope in the empirical part were the National Contact Points from countries affiliated to the RILO Network.In addition, the analytical part was based on the Customs Enforcement Network database for the years 2014-2018. The spatial scope covered the worldwide RILO Network.
In the course of the conducted research procedure, both the main purpose of the dissertation and specific objectives were achieved. Achieving the objectives of the dissertation also allowed for positive verification of all research hypotheses.
As it results from the conducted research, among Customs administrations participating in the field studies, Customs information is useful primarily in the risk management, including profiling and targeting the high-risk shipments. Moreover, it was found that the most important features of Customs information are its usefulness, timeliness (real-time information), reliability and completeness.
Based on the field studies, it turned out that the tool such as Customs Enforcement Network database requires a reorientation from a quantitative to a qualitative tool.
Based on the analysis of the Customs Enforcement Network database over the five-year period from 2014 to 2018, it was found that the overall number of Customs seizures is not only decreasing but is also showing an increasing trend (an increase of 41% in 2018 compared to 2014). A detailed analysis showed that the structure of seizures is subject to annual changes. And so, taking into account the largest group of Customs seizures, which in the analyzed period
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was the infringement of intellectual property rights (IPR), significant changes can be noticed year by year (the share in 2014 was 24.51%, and in 2018 - 11.02%).
In conclusion, in the course of the research procedure, as well as after a detailed examination of the documentation, the following recommendations were formulated for the further management of the RILO Network:
taking care of timely information exchange,
emphasizing the greater involvement of the NCP in the exchange of information within the RILO Network,
starting operational activities within the RILO Network,
establishing close cooperation with the units responsible for risk management in the Customs administration,
providing legal status to the RILO Network,
managing available human resources within the RILO Network in a rational manner,
monitoring the conducted activity in terms of its duplication with other services, such as the police,
building the information exchange process on the principles of the idea of "networking",
establishing the RILO Network evaluation system,
implementing the relationship management with the private sector and academic environment in all areas of the fight against Customs crime.
