World Customs Journal World World Customs Journal Volume 14, Number 1 Volume March 2020 Volume 14, Number 1 ISSN: 1834-6707 (Print) 1834-6715 (Online) World Customs Journal March 2020 Volume 14, Number 1 International Network of Customs Universities World Customs Journal Published by the Centre for Customs and Excise Studies (CCES), Charles Sturt University, Australia, and the Institute of Customs and International Trade Law (ICTL), University of Muenster, Germany, in association with the International Network of Customs Universities (INCU) and the World Customs Organization (WCO). The World Customs Journal is a peer-reviewed journal that provides a forum for customs professionals, academics, industry researchers and research students to contribute items of interest and share research and experiences to enhance its readers’ understanding of all aspects of the roles and responsibilities of Customs. The Journal is published twice a year. The website is at: http://worldcustomsjournal.org Guidelines for Contributors are included at the end of each issue. More detailed guidance about style is available on the Journal’s website. Correspondence and all items submitted for publication should be sent in Microsoft Word or RTF, as email attachments, to the Editor-in-Chief: [email protected] ISSN: 1834-6707 (Print) 1834-6715 (Online) Volume 14, Number 1 Published March 2020 © 2020 CCES, Charles Sturt University, Australia and ICTL, University of Münster, Germany INCU (www.incu.org) is an international not-for-profit association that aims to raise the academic standing of the customs profession through the development and promotion of educational programs, providing academic and applied research, and intellectual input to strategic decision-making. Copyright. All rights reserved. Permission to use the content of the World Customs Journal must be obtained from the copyright owner. Please apply to the Editor-in-Chief. Disclaimer. The views expressed in the World Customs Journal are those of individual contributors and are not necessarily those of the Editorial Board, INCU, the WCO or its individual membership, or the publishers. World Customs Journal Contents Editorial ..................................................................................................................................................iii SECTION 1 – ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS .............................................................................. 1 The extent of the illicit cigarette market in Australia: using publicly available data in a ‘top‑down’ approach to estimation Rob Preece and Alain Neher ............................................................................................................. 3 The role and importance of customs representation to the customs control system in the Republic of Bulgaria Momchil Antov ................................................................................................................................ 17 Collaborative border management Chappell Lawson and Alan Bersin .................................................................................................. 31 Applying ‘mirror statistics’ in cross‑border trade administration: case of general department of Vietnam customs Phan Thi Thu Hien and Nguyen Viet Hung ..................................................................................... 41 Enhancing customs control in Cambodia through risk management policy Hong Sreya ...................................................................................................................................... 55 Tariff barriers and non‑tariff barriers: appraising Colombia’s protectionism Jose Jaime Baena Rojas and Abraham Allec Londoño Pineda ...................................................... 71 Lines, flows and transnational crime: toward a revised approach to countering the underworld of globalization Alan Bersin and Lars Karlsson ....................................................................................................... 95 The World Trade Organization and World Customs Organization key conventions and agreements (TFA, HSC, RKC): membership trends and opportunities Carsten Weerth .............................................................................................................................. 107 Implementing blockchain technology in the customs environment to support the SAFE Framework of Standards Huseyin Yaren ................................................................................................................................ 127 Advertising, marketing and promotional (AMP) expenses in customs valuation Mrudula Dixit ................................................................................................................................ 139 SECTION 2 – SPECIAL REPORT ................................................................................................. 151 WCO Announcement: 2022 Edition of the Harmonized System SECTION 3 – REFERENCE MATERIAL .................................................................................... 155 Guidelines for Contributors ................................................................................................................ 157 Editorial Board .................................................................................................................................... 158 Volume 14, Number 1 i International Network of Customs Universities ii Volume 14, Number 1 World Customs Journal Editorial In past editions of the Journal I have criticised governments for failing to provide the international trading community with the regulatory clarity and certainty required for prudent commercial decision-making. In stark contrast, it is pleasing to see the World Customs Organization (WCO) publishing the next iteration of the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature two years prior to its implementation on 1 January 2022, giving traders and regulators alike ample opportunity to prepare for its introduction. The regular updating of the HS to maintain its relevance in a continually changing world is no mean feat, and its importance to global trade should not be underestimated—it has arguably been one of the most significant contributors to international trade facilitation since its introduction over 30 years ago. We are therefore pleased to present the WCO’s announcement of HS 2022 as this edition’s Special Report, in which it highlights amendments to the nomenclature that address environmental and social issues of increasing global concern. The role played by Customs in addressing such issues was reinforced on International Customs Day, which is celebrated on 26 January each year, at which time the WCO announces a specific theme for its member administrations. This year the Secretary General, Dr Kunio Mikuriya, chose a particularly apposite theme, ‘Customs fostering Sustainability for People, Prosperity and the Planet’. The chosen theme acknowledges the significant but generally unrecognised contribution to a sustainable future that Customs makes through its diverse range of social, economic, health and environmental responsibilities that underpin its critical role in policing international trade that may be harmful to the planet. This includes the enforcement of laws relating to endangered species of wild flora and fauna, ozone depleting substances, hazardous waste, hazardous chemicals and pesticides, persistent organic pollutants and biotechnology that may adversely affect biological diversity, to name a few. Customs administrations around the world should be encouraged to use this year’s theme as a catalyst to raise the profile of the important role they play in protecting our planet for future generations. The Editorial Board would certainly welcome the publication of papers that address these important issues in future editions of the Journal. Professor David Widdowson AM Editor-in-Chief Volume 14, Number 1 iii International Network of Customs Universities iv Volume 14, Number 1 SECTION 1 – ACADEMIC CONTRIBUTIONS Section 1 Academic Contributions International Network of Customs Universities 2 Volume 14, Number 1 World Customs Journal The extent of the illicit cigarette market in Australia: using publicly available data in a ‘top‑down’ approach to estimation Rob Preece and Alain Neher Abstract There have been several recent attempts to estimate the size of the Australian illicit tobacco market. The two most recent studies have provided significantly different results, with the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) arriving at an estimate of 5 per cent as the extent of the illicit component of the market, while a tobacco industry–funded approximation conducted by KPMG has suggested this figure to be 14.1 per cent. This paper investigates whether a new methodology for undertaking such an estimate could produce more accurate results and examines publicly available information to explore if there are datasets that could help determine which estimate of the illicit market may be more accurate. The resulting ‘top-down’ approach identifies an estimate lying between the ATO and KPMG estimates, although it is limited to the illicit cigarette market in Australia. Implications of the results are discussed, and suggestions for further research are presented. 1. Introduction Australia can be described as being innovative in its desire to reduce tobacco consumption levels and thus reduce exposure to non-communicable diseases that are associated with smoking (Preece, 2019). Through unique initiatives such