Tbilisi - Green Customs Initiative

8 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE GREEN CUSTOMS TRAINING GUIDEFor the Guide, the participants made the following individual recommendations:• Make the document easy to be understood by all.• Customs officers are interested in the practical side, not when it was signed.Different customs officers have different training and skills. After 2-3 monthstraining the customs officer can start professional activities. They would likesomething with direct practical use. Accordingly, include practical informationsuch as:o Case studies from customs (what to do with seized chemicals) showinghow customs have handled specific examples under each MEA.o What are the measures that should be taken against a person who violatesthe regulations related to a specific MEA?o What are sanctions and punishment if counterfeit papers?o What can be consequences of violating this code?o Is it administrative or criminal punishment?• The main issues should be in form of questions and answers.• The guide needs an overview table of major provisions of each MEA.• The concrete information given on the Montreal Protocol phase-out schedule isfor developing countries only – it should have information for developed countriestoo. Provide a list of countries showing which schedules apply to which countries.• The manual should include the article from national legal codes that deals with thespecific violations what is the punishment that forms the violation of this or thatarticle (i.e. the operative part for the customs officer).• Should have sections produced by Secretariats and sections where countries couldadd local information. For example, national legislation should have provisionsabout what to do with seized substance.• Translate it into Russian.• Distribute the guide also to importers/exporters who are directly engaged in themovement of these substances.• Guide should be placed on website.12