By DALCY LULUA
THE Papua New Guinea Customs Service (PNG Customs) has renewed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Independent Consumer & Competition Commission (ICCC) to strengthen the enforcement of standards on restricted or banned goods.
This partnership ensures that such goods do not enter the country for local consumption.
The deal reinforces close collaboration between the two agencies, with PNG Customs tasked to enforce bans imposed by the ICCC at the borders.
Customs Chief Commissioner David Towe praised the ICCC for its continued partnership and the renewal of this critical agreement.
“The revised MoU is perpetual in that we will continue to operate under the MoU without it having an end date. It’s important to set up a system that allows us to continue to collaborate,” he said.
“Customs plays a very important role at the boarder in terms of regulating and controlling goods that are dangerous to the society which also is a concern to ICCC in terms of goods that are substandard, or goods that can cause harm to our people. As long as ICCC informs us that these goods are dangerous, we will enforce at the border.”
The MoU also includes provisions for enforcing trademark laws at the border to prevent goods that infringe on trademark regulations from entering Papua New Guinea.
“We also collaborate on the packaging requirements of goods that are manufactured locally especially in terms of exercise goods like alcohol, wines and that,” he said.
“I believe ICCC gives some approval to the label as well as the Customs Exercise Regulations also require us to give approvals to the label. Those are some of the collaborations we will continue to have and ensuring that our businesses importers/exporters complied with the laws.”
He further highlighted the importance of PNG Customs’ role as a regulatory agency, ensuring that businesses operate in a conducive environment while streamlining and automating trade processes at the border.
“These are things we do to make trading effective and efficient at the same time our traders comply with the laws. This collaboration will go a long way in ensuring compliance and at the same time we protect the interest of the consumers,” Commissioner Towe added.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, ICCC Chief Executive Officer Paulus Ain commended the officers from both agencies for their work in drafting the MoU.
“It must not become another document that any agencies of governments signs. I want to see this document working at the borders and Infront line shops,” Mr Ain said.
“Consumer Protection Team and enforcement team of our two agencies must work together to serve the interest of this country, we are signing this MoU today for the betterment and the good of our country.”
Mr Ain further stress that it’ll be a long walk but together we can make a difference for this country, and I feel that we can do it, if we can’t do it, who can do it.
“ICCC and Customs must work as a team, work together and try to do what we can do in our time in the office,” Mr Ain added.
