It was published on the 20th of July in the Series I of the Official Gazette the Resolution nbr. 26 /16 approving the accession of the Republic of Angola to the International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures established under the auspices of the Customs Cooperation Council.
The International Convention on the Simplification and Harmonization of Customs Procedures, concluded at Kyoto on 18 May 1973, aims to harmonize customs procedures of the Contracting parties, by eliminating the divergence between the Customs procedures and practices of Contracting Parties that can hamper international trade and other international exchanges
The convention comes as the needs of international trade and customs relating to facilitation, simplification and harmonization of customs procedures and customs practices, to ensure the development of appropriate standards of customs control and to allow customs to adapt the significant changes in trade, methods and management techniques.
It intends to contribute effectively to the development of such trade and exchanges by simplifying and harmonizing Customs procedures and practices and by fostering international co-operation,
Taking into account that significant benefits of facilitation of international trade may be achieved without compromising appropriate standards of Customs control, the Convention is based on the following principles:
However the application of the Convention does not preclude the application of prohibitions and restrictions imposed by national legislation.
In practical terms the accession of the Republic of Angola to the Convention will necessarily have an impact on the actual customs procedures, and it will lead to, although not immediately, the streamlining and simplification of the customs procedure in Angola Therefore we can, with some degree of legitimacy, state that in a near future we will find a more agile and responsive set of customs procedures in Angola.
Also noteworthy of a mention in this newsletter are the bill of expropriations and state assets law.
After 56 years since its entry into force the Law of expropriations was finally revisited, having been discussed in general on 20 July on the National Assembly after being approved in April by the Council of Ministers.
Also the law of the local state assets law was revised during the month of July 2016. The draft law creates the legal framework for asset management control of other public legal persons within the administrative sector, defining the core principles that should be taken into account in the acts and procedures relating to public property, such as the legality, good governance, transparency, competition and accountability. Aiming to bring together in a single text dispersed legislative measures and establish effective control mechanisms covering the assets of local authorities, public institutions, among others.
We will be developing these changes on the next editions of this Newsletter.