ISLAMABAD: International Customs Day will be observed on January 26 across the world including Pakistan with the theme for 2013 "Innovation for Customs Progress."
The day is celebrated under the aegis of World Customs Organisation (WCO), which has 178 members worldwide. WCO came into being in 1952 and is the only inter-governmental organisation exclusively focussing on Customs matters.
To mark the day, various organisations have chalked out special ceremonies to observe it in a befitting manner.
The WCO has dedicated 2013 to the promotion of innovation with the slogan "Innovation for Customs progress".
WCO Members and their partners will have the opportunity to promote innovative ideas and practices that they have implemented, new partnerships that they have developed, as well as new solutions and technologies that they have adopted.
The Convention establishing the Customs Co-operation Council was signed on December 15, 1950 in Brussels and entered into force two years later on November 4, 1952.
The official inauguration session of the Council was held in Brussels on January 26, 1953 with the participation of representatives of 17 countries.
In 1994 the Customs Co-operation Council adopted a new name World Customs Organisation (WCO), thus becoming a global intergovernmental organisation. The Republic of Bulgaria acceded to the Convention establishing the Customs Co-operation Council on June 4, 1973.
On January 26 every year the Customs administrations of 178 Member States of the World Customs Organisation organize various national events to celebrate the first session of the Customs Co-operation Council. On its part, the WCO Secretariat chooses a topic for the International Customs Day. In 2013 the January 26' celebrations are devoted to the topic "Innovation for Customs progress".
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