Consultancy: Customs Consultant, Ministry of Finance

General Information

Title of Consultancy: Customs Consultant, Ministry of Finance
Type of Contract: IC – Individual Contract Duration of the assignment: 120 days Duty station: Bosasso – Somalia Expected places of travel: Garowe, Puntland and Nairobi, Kenya Supervisor: Project Manager SIDP Anticipated presence at UNDP premises:

II. Organizational Context Background on UNDP Somalia and the Somali Institutional Development Project:

The Governance Programme of UNDP Somalia currently consists of three pillars: (i) public sector capacity building and institutional development, (ii) democratic governance (constitutional dialogue and elections) and (iii) local governance/ decentralization. The Somali Institutional Development Project (SIDP) focuses on implementing the capacity building and institutional development pillar of UNDP Somalia’s governance portfolio.

SIDP was set up in 2008 and works with governance institutions in South Central Somalia in Mogadishu, in Puntland and in Somaliland to build their capacity so that they can perform their functions more effectively. The SIDP project team operates with staff in Nairobi, Hargeisa (Somaliland) and Garowe (Puntland). Local staff will shortly be recruited for Mogadishu and Bosasso. In 2011, a redesign process shifted the emphasis for support away from specific institutions to thematic support to four key pillars working across a variety of institutions. These pillars are:

1. Public Financial Management, Transparency and Accountability;
2. Development Planning and Aid Coordination;
3. Public Sector and Parliamentary Reform and;
4. Good governance tasks which assist a political transition.

The new project design significantly shifts the way that SIDP is going to operate in the future. It moves SIDP away from providing core operational support to Ministries to supporting strategic public sector reforms. Under the redesign project, SIDP is expected to deliver the following Public Financial Management, Transparency and Accountability outputs between 2012 and the end of 2015:

a. Increase in the amount of domestic revenue collected; b. Budgets are developed through inclusive and transparent processes; c. Increased transparency and accountability in the use of public funds; d. Professional capacities to manage, account and report on public funds.

Background on the Assignment:

The Puntland State of Somalia, is governed by a regional administration which is aligned to the Transitional Federal Government based in Mogadishu. Puntland and was established in 1998. The capital city is Garowe however, the main commercial town and headquarters for the Ministry of Finance is in Bosasso where the port is located. Puntland has managed to maintain relative peace and security. Like in other parts of Somalia, the culture of paying taxes is still very poor, which has led to more reliance on collecting customs taxes that are easier to obtain compared to direct inland revenue taxes.

Bosasso port is the only port in Puntland. It has limited infrastructure, and Customs capacity (manual rather than automated systems), ill-equipped and trained enforcement capability, limited resources (physical and physical) and a poor Legal Framework. The current Customs law is based on a specific duties system rather than the ad valorem tax system, contrary to article VII of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT). These constraints have resulted in a potential substantial loss in Customs revenue and ability to adequately manage the Port

The Government of Puntland has requested support from UNDP to strengthen its revenue collection systems and administration, particularly at the customs port in Bosasso. Customs revenue is the principal source of revenue, financing over 70% of the annual budget of Puntland. The purpose of this assignment is to provide short term and interim support to improve Customs administration and systems whilst a larger programme of support which is coordinated with other ports in Somalia such as Mogadishu and Berbera is put in place. In this regard, initial discussions are underway with the World Customs Organisation, to discuss options for a long term programme of support to reform customs across Mogadishu, Berbera, Bosasso and, security permitting, other ports.

. III. Objective of the assignment The objective of this assignment is to provide short term support to improve customs administration and systems in order to allow the Government of Puntland to increase the efficiency of revenue collection from Customs taxes.

IV. Scope of work a. Support the establishment and implementation of a Customs Controlled Area (CCA): • In collaboration with other relevant government departments, establish a system to register and identify civil servants working in the port; • Provide identification cards and access system to all persons working in the CCA without exception. b. Review existing tariffs and develop new tariffs to permit the adoption of the ad valorem tax system and World Customs Organization’s (WCO) Harmonized Tariff System (HS) for Commodity Description and Coding; c. Review and/or determine Origin and Preference criteria and rules. d. Introduce GATT complaint Valuation methods; e. Conduct a basic training needs assessment of customs staff; f. Based on the training needs assessment; design and implement training modules for customs staff on customs valuation, declaration, tariff classification etc; g. Develop a set of single administrative documents for customs declaration to simplify and standardize the required data; h. Develop two options including budgets and timelines for the implementation of the single administrative documents for: • a manual implementation and storage system; • an electronic implementation and storage system. h. Work with the Public Sector Reform Consultant carrying out the basic capacity assessment of the Ministry of Finance to map out existing customs processes and make recommendations on a more effective and efficient customs revenue collection structure.

V. Deliverables 1) Work plan detailing how assignment will be conducted and deadlines; 2) Proposal and implementation plan for the establishment of a Customs Control Area; (15%) 3) New tariff system; (10%) 4) GATT compliant valuation guidelines; (10%) 5) Training needs assessment of staff;(10%) 6) Training modules developed; (10%) 7) Training sessions conducted for relevant staff. (10%) 8) Options for the implementation of the single administrative documents containing budgets and timelines developed; (10%) 9) Inputs into basic capacity assessment of Ministry of Finance provided (20%) 10) Final report on accomplishments and further recommendations (5%) VI. Monitoring and Progress controls • Monitoring will be carried out by the UNDP SIDP project manager • Consultant payments shall be based on the achievement of the deliverables indicated in this TOR and the consultant’s contract. • The Ministry of Finance, Puntland, shall provide feedback on the work of the consultant

Qualifications

Education: Masters degree in Business Administration, Finance or Economics or any other relevant field. • 10 years working experience in customs and tax reforms • Proven experience in providing technical advisory services in tax reforms in conflict/ post conflict countries; • Proven experience in designing and implementing trainings especially in customs reforms; • Work experience in Somalia is an asset.

Language Requirements

Fluency in both written and oral English is essential.

Review/approval time Approval and payments will be made within 14 days of the successful completion of agreed milestones

TERMS OF SERVICE This is a non-staff contract under the Individual Contractor (IC) modality of hiring of the UNDP. Individuals engaged under an IC serve in their individual capacity and not as representative of a government institutions, corporate body or other authority external to UNDP. The incumbent shall not be considered as staff of UNDP, the UN common system or the government and are therefore not entitled to any diplomatic privileges or any other special status or conditions.

How to apply:

“Interested and qualified candidates are requested to submit electronic application by visiting http://jobs.undp.org/.