The Chief Executive Officer of Fiji Revenue and Customs Service, Mark Dixon says it is vital that the role customs officers play as they are the first impression of Fiji for the tourists coming into Fiji.
This was highlighted by Dixon during the celebration of International Customs Day at their headquarters in Nasese, Suva.
It is celebrated every year on the 26th of January and the theme for this year's celebration is “Nurturing the next generation promoting a culture of knowledge sharing and professional pride in customs.”
Dixon says it was tough during COVID and people do not quite realize what a significant role the customs officers play, not just in the border security sense of protecting future illegal crime, stopping illegal drugs and tobacco and human movement across our borders.
He adds that it is important to continue developing customs relations and partnerships with all customs agents to facilitate trade.
Australian Chargé d’Affaires, John Williams says specific customs functions are unique to each country and play a critical role in supporting national revenue collection, facilitating global trade that is important to global prosperity and the protection of the borders.
Raveena Mala was one of the 20 customs officers that received the World Customs Organization Certificate of Merit to acknowledge the efforts of officers.
Mala is a customs officer for the Tariff Customs Revenue Section and has been part of FRCS for the past 12 years.
She is happy that her hard work has been recognized.
