The effective risk management system in customs is a powerful tool that allows authorities to focus on the most risky areas of border control, to differentiate those involved in trade and, consequently, to keep a proper balance between the facilitation of legitimate trade and prevention of illegal activities in the international trade chain. Thus, it is important to ensure that such a system is in place and is implemented properly by customs/border guard officers. To this end, on January 29-31, a BOMCA expert team met with national partners from the Tajik Customs to jointly assess the existing national practices and procedures for risk analysis and criminal investigation in customs clearance and control. This BOMCA activity aimed to provide technical assistance in the development and improvement of the risk management systems in the Central Asian countries.

By reviewing and consolidating various existing national and international regulations, national and European experts exchanged experience and practices on criminal investigation and its principles, as well as the issue of e-intelligence interconnectivity with risk management. The integration of criminal investigation into the risk analysis system will promote a more harmonised approach to customs control and create a more transparent, up-to-date and effective system of import controls, allowing for more coherence in and the integration of the different control mechanisms in place.