The Ministry of Customs & Revenue commenced its week long commemoration of the International
Customs Day with a thanksgiving service on Monday, 27th January 2025.

The International Customs Day (ICD) is an annual event that was initiated by the World Customs
Organization in the year 1983, to recognize the important role that Customs play in ensuring border
security. This day is celebrated on the 26th day of January every year, the same date of the inauguaration
of the Customs Cooperation Council, now known as the World Customs Organization, in the year 1952.
A theme is assigned for every year, and this year is on “Customs delivering on its commitment to
Efficiency, Security and Prosperity”. The theme highlights on the current Vision and Mission of the
Ministry.

The keynote address was delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister, who is also the Minister for Customs &
Revenue, Hon. Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio. The Deputy Prime Minister echoed the concerns of the
public, members of parliament and those who have shared these concerns, on the growing problems on
illicit drugs and weapons, undervaluation of Customs invoices, under-declaration of income and non
compliance with requirements of the Tax Invoice Monitoring System (TIMS), among many other issues.
Furthermore, he reminded the Ministry on the equipment and systems now available for operations that
will remove doubt by the public on Customs delivering on its mandate around security. Emphasis was

placed by him on the need to utilize the container x-ray scanner to its full capacity. He further re-
emphasized on the relevancy of the theme to the work of the Ministry and his challenge put to the CEO,

Management and staff of Customs, is to really focus their work, resources and efforts on ensuring “border
security”, a critical national concern that needs to be taken seriously.
The international day for Customs will be celebrated this week with various activities reflecting the theme
for this year. The week long program started with an official opening prayer service held at the Customs
office this morning. One of the featured program of the opening ceremony is the launch of the Ministry
revamped website. The new website has been thoughtfully redesigned on collective efforts with a clear
focus on user-friendliness, accessibility, and efficiency. There are two new features introduced in the new
website. One is the most ground-breaking features of the revamped website is the introduction of the
MCR’s AI Technology, CRISA, which stands for Customs and Revenue Information and Support
Assistant. Powered by advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning technologies, CRISA is
designed to transform the way you interact with the Ministry. The second feature is that of the duty
estimator tool, to assist importers in knowing an estimated cost of duties and taxes on their imports before

they arrive in country. Hon. Tuala Tevaga I. Ponifasio acknowledged this work by the Ministry’s IT team.
He further stated that this has been one of his deliverable for the Ministry and although it has taken about
three years for the Ministry to build, it is a great milestone indeed.
Thirteen Customs officials, including the Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry, were awarded with
Certificates of Merit from the WCO for their service rendered to the International Customs community.
The thirteen awardees were selected based on the longevity and quality of their services to the government
and people of Samoa as well as the international Customs forum for more that twenty (20) years. The
awards were given by Hon. Tuala Tevaga Iosefo Ponifasio with a warm congratulatory remark to each
awardee.
The week long program features a range of activities and includes an awareness session on the Container
X-ray Machine and the refresher session on the Ministry’s Identity Framework. The operability of the
Container X-ray machine is expected to be at full capacity from this week onwards. A media campaign is
also set for this week commencing with interview from the Chief Executive Officer on ICD celebration
and its significance to the work of the Ministry, communication relative to the new website and operations
of the Xray machine, staff capacity building and wellness programs throughout the week.
The Ministry takes this opportunity to Wish all Staff of MCR, partners and stakeholders of the Ministry,
fellow Customs administrations in the Pacific and around the World a “Happy International Customs Day”