Cooperative Arrangement between the New Zealand Customs Service and the Customs Department of the Kingdom of Thailand

New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement

Link to Synopsis

The New Zealand Customs Service and the Customs Department of the Kingdom of Thailand (hereinafter referred to as “the Participants"):

Considering the importance of cooperation between the Participants, in order to prevent breaches of customs laws and for the protection of the economic, fiscal, social and commercial interests of their respective countries including ensuring appropriate and efficient customs duty collection;

Recognising the need for international cooperation to mitigate the threat of terrorist activity against world supply chains and to combat trans-border criminal activity;

Having regard to the provisions of Chapter 3 of the New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement and in particular Article 3.4 of that Chapter;

HEREBY EXPRESS their intention to pursue and promote cooperation in accordance with the following Arrangement:

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Scope of Cooperation

1. The Participants will cooperate and provide mutual assistance, in so far as each of them is able and to the extent that their laws allow, within the limits of their competence and available resources, in order to:

1. assist in the detection, investigation and prevention of customs offences, including the illicit migration of persons;
2. secure the supply chain to facilitate the movement of goods between New Zealand and Thailand;
3. cooperate in the research, development, testing and evaluation of new customs procedures, and in the training, exchange of personnel and provision of technical assistance; and
4. maximise the contribution made by them to the work of international organisations, particularly as they relate to the Asia-Pacific region, in simplifying and harmonising customs procedures.
   

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Definitions

2. For the purposes of this Cooperative Arrangement:

1. "craft" includes any aircraft, ship, boat or other vehicle used or capable of being used for the carriage or transportation of persons or goods, or both, by air, land, water, or over or under water;
2. "customs law" means the statutory and regulatory provisions relating to the importation, exportation, movement and storage of goods, the administration and enforcement of which are specially charged to a Participant;
3. "customs offence" means any breach or attempted breach of customs law;
4. "customs procedures" means the treatment applied by each Participant to goods, persons and craft that are subject to customs control;
5. "Heads of the Participants” means respectively the Comptroller of the New Zealand Customs Service and the Director General of the Customs Department of the Kingdom of Thailand.

Implementation of the Cooperative Arrangement

3. The Participants will endeavour to provide to each other, in accordance with the provisions set out in paragraphs 5 to 7 of this Arrangement, information relating, but not limited, to the following:

1. the illicit movement of goods and persons between New Zealand and Thailand;
2. transnational crime impacting on the customs law of New Zealand and/or Thailand including, inter alia, the trafficking in drugs, their derivatives and precursor chemicals;
3. significant interdictions of goods traded between New Zealand and Thailand found to be in breach of the WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights; and
4. information relating to the World Customs Organisation Harmonised Commodity and Description Coding System for the classification of goods, and the origin and valuation of goods traded between New Zealand and Thailand.

4. In accordance with the provisions of Article 3.10 of the New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement, should any significant differences arise with respect to the classification, origin or valuation of goods traded between New Zealand and Thailand, the Participants will consult with the objective of resolving such differences.

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Exchange of Information

5. Each Participant, upon the request of the other, will endeavour to the extent that its laws allow to provide all available information concerning contraventions of the customs law of the other Participant that are under investigation. Each Participant also intends to voluntarily provide information that it considers useful for the activities of the other Participant.

6. Information provided pursuant to this Cooperative Arrangement will be provided in accordance with the laws of New Zealand and Thailand concerning use and disclosure of information. Under the assumption that any conditions are attached to the provision of that information, such information

7. All information, including documents and other communications, received by either Participant under this Cooperative Arrangement shall be treated as confidential and be granted protection equivalent to that which the receiving Participant affords, under relevant laws and regulations, to its own information of the same type. The Participants will not use or disclose such information for purposes other than those specified in this Cooperative Arrangement, except to the extent that the information may be required to be disclosed for law enforcement purposes or in the context of judicial proceedings, or with the written consent of the requested Participant.

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Provision of Assistance

8. The requested Participant will acknowledge any request for information or assistance received within 2 working days and thereafter inform the requesting Participant, on a regular basis, of progress in satisfying the terms of the request.

9. If the request infringes upon the sovereignty, security, public order or other essential interests of the requested Participant, the request may be deferred or refused in whole or in part.

10. The requesting Participant will be informed as soon as possible if a request is deferred or refused. The refusing Participant will state the reason(s) for the deferment or refusal, and consult as to whether cooperation may take another form.

11. Further to paragraph 3, all requests for assistance will contain:

1. the name of the designated authority responsible for conducting the investigation, for the court procedure or for taking other measures;
2. all information or other kinds of cooperation required;
3. the reason for which cooperation is requested; and
4. the date by which the information or other cooperation is required.

Information provided under this Cooperative Arrangement will bear endorsements or caveats governing the conditions for the use and disclosure of the information.

Form of Cooperation and Costs Incurred

12. In the absence of any decision to the contrary, a Participant requesting information or assistance under the provisions of this Cooperative Arrangement will meet the necessary expenses involved in responding to that request, other than staff costs, stationery and communications.

13. Expenses incurred in the provision of technical cooperation referred to in paragraph 1(c) of this Cooperative Arrangement will be subject to special arrangements as determined by the Participants.

14. A request for information may be conveyed electronically or verbally but must be confirmed in writing by a designated official listed in the Annex to this Cooperative Arrangement and authorised for that purpose by the Head of the requesting Participant.

Disclaimer

15. Nothing in this Cooperative Arrangement will be construed as creating any legal right or obligation in respect of either Participant, nor affect any international convention, treaty, or agreement which New Zealand or Thailand has concluded.

16. Any difference concerning the implementation and interpretation of this Cooperative Arrangement

17. Cooperation under this Cooperative Arrangement will begin concurrently with entry into force of the New Zealand-Thailand Closer Economic Partnership Agreement. This Cooperative Arrangement may be modified by mutual consent of the Participants. Cooperation under this Arrangement will cease to continue three months from the date that one Participant has given written notice of its intention to cease cooperation with the other.

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Done at                                  on the                         day of                     in duplicate in the English language.

Martyn John Dunne	Sathit Limpongpan
Comptroller New Zealand Customs Service New Zealand.	Director General The Customs Department The Kingdom of Thailand.

Annex

Thailand

Director of Investigation and Suppression Bureau,
The Customs Department of the Kingdom of Thailand

The Customs Department
1 Sunthornkosa Road, Klong Toey
Bangkok 10110, Thailand

Telephone: (66) 02-249-4205
Facsimile: (66) 02-249-0445

New Zealand

Liaison officer, South East Asia
New Zealand Customs Service

New Zealand Embassy
14^th Floor, M Thai Tower
All Seasons Place
87 Wireless Road
Bangkok 10330

Telephone: (66) 02-254-2530 / 255 1287
Facsimilie: (66) 02-254-9488
Email: nzcsbkk@loxinfo.co.th

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