TFAF Annex D partners learning event - Wednesday 4 June 2025 13:30-15:00 Geneva time. 

The World Bank (WB) and the World Customs Organization (WCO) are organising an event on the WCO Time Release Study Methodology. It will give delegates an opportunity to hear how the methodology is used by Members and development partners to implement the TFA.

Border procedures remain a major challenge in the import and export clearance and for goods in transit. Measuring release and clearance time is important aspect of increasing predictability for traders. At the same time, it also serves as a performance and room catalysator, as it establishes a metric baseline for government agencies' processing and points to bottlenecks. 

The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement Article 7.6  encourages Members " [...] to measure and publish their average release time of goods periodically and in a consistent manner". It also points to the so-called Time Release Study (TRS) of the World Customs Organization (WCO) as a tool that Members can use. 

The WCO first developed a TRS Guide over 20 years ago. The current “Guide to Measure the Time Required for the Release of Goods (Version 3)” updated in 2018 will be replaced by the new TRS Guide, Version 4 (2025) after its approval by the WCO Council in June 2025. The TRS Guide provides a globally accepted and applied methodology for measuring the actual performance of border clearance processes and for fostering evidence-based decision-making when implementing trade facilitation reforms. It offers a systemic methodology and adequate infrastructure to capture and analyze data on the actual release and clearance times, from the time of arrival until the physical release of cargo. The aim is to find bottlenecks in the trade flow process and take the corresponding policy and operational measures needed to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of border procedures, without compromising efficient trade control. Whilst initially designed with Customs in mind, the methodology has since evolved into a multi-agency tool that encompasses cross-border agencies (CBA) and other relevant stakeholders.

To facilitate the TRS implementation, the WCO developed the TRS software in 2005 which is still used by Members today. The software enables Members to design survey questionnaires, upload verified data, and automatically generate basic statistical outputs such as standard deviation, and average clearance times. It also generates complete survey data report which serves as a main content or basis for the final TRS report. Currently, the WCO is in the process of seeking donors support to develop a new TRS software to meet the requirements of a digital environment of import, export and transit processing, including Single Window environments. Many Members have conducted TRS, often supported by one or several development partners. As TRS is a Government investment and resource intensive, it is important to ensure that developing and LDC Members have the capacity to conduct TRS periodically. 

Many Members have carried out a TRS, often supported by one or several development partners. Carrying out a TRS is an investment from the Government and is resource intensive. It is important to ensure that developing and LDC Members have the capacity to conduct TRS studies in a periodic manner. 

The slides from the experts from the WB, WCO and Bangladesh can be downloaded here