The evolution of customs valuation in the developing world: From Deregulation to Developing State Capacity

An accurate assessment of the value of imported goods by customs is an essential precondition of an accurate determination of an importer's tax liability. However, customs authorities in many developing countries experience considerable difficulty in discharging this function. Poor compliance of importers, weak administrative capacity in customs, and pervasive corruption are often identified as the major problems. Beginning in the 1980's neo-liberal approaches to customs modernization encouraged states to adopt "market solutions" to customs problems. As a result, core customs functions including revenue determination were contracted out to private inspection companies with the support of international financial institutions. These companies proposed to examine documents and carry out physical inspection of consignments (in exporting countries) and to provide information on quantity, quality, value, and tariff classification of the goods for the benefit of the importing jurisdiction before the actual shipment of the goods. Today some 30 governments have adopted this partial privatization, called Preshipment Inspection (PSI), to address the weakness of customs. Based on a realization that unregulated privatization did not bring about the expected efficiency enhancements, states have recently moved to re-regulate these private companies. This movement has been observed in assessment discussions held at the WTO and in other forums, as well as in improved contracts with PSI firms. States and international financial institutions have also become more focused on directly enhancing the capacity of customs authorities. The inspection industry has responded to this trend. It has begun to offer services that support the business model of customs, rather than replace customs functions. Case studies of four countries that have adopted the PSI service show that benefits have been mixed in terms of both their ability to enhance revenue and improve the integrity of customs administration. There is little evidence of transfer of skills and technology to customs authorities. In fact, the use of the private sector has often resulted in a long-term dependence on expensive PSI contracts. Only governments that made serious efforts in direct customs reform have demonstrated an ability to improve customs operations and exit from the PSI program

Di-μ-oxido-bis­[(2-eth­oxy-6-{[2-(2-hy­droxy­ethyl­amino)­ethyl­imino]­meth­yl}phenolato-κ3 N,N′,O 1)oxidovanadium(V)]

In the title centrosymmetric dinuclear dioxidovanadium(V) complex, [V2(C13H19N2O3)2O4], the VV ion is coordinated by an N,N′,O-tridendate 2-eth­oxy-6-{[2-(2-hy­droxy­ethyl­amino)­ethyl­imino]­meth­yl}phenolate ligand and three oxide O atoms, forming a distorted cis-VN2O4 octa­hedral geometry. The bridging O atoms show one short and one long bond to their two attached VV atoms. The dihedral angle between the benzene ring of the ligand and the V2O2 plane is 75.2 (3)°. The deviation of the VV ion from the plane defined by the three donor atoms of the tridentate ligand and one bridging oxide O atom is 0.337 (2) Å towards the terminal oxide O atom. Two N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds help to establish the conformation of the dimer. In the crystal, the complex mol­ecules are linked by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming [100] chains

Bis{μ-2,2′-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenolato}bis­[(thio­cyanato)manganese(III)]

The reported structure is a monoclinic polymorph of the title compound, [Mn2(C16H14N2O2)2(NCS)2], which has been characterized previously in an ortho­rhom­bic form. Each MnIII atom is chelated by a tetra­dentate 2,2′-[ethane-1,2-diylbis(nitrilo­methyl­idyne)]diphenolate ligand and by the N atom of a thio­cyanate anion, in a square-pyramidal arrangement. The complexes form centrosymmetric dimers, with an Mn—O contact of 2.557 (3) Å trans to each thio­cyanate anion, completing a distorted octa­hedral coordination geometry

Magnetic material based on mixed-valent dinuclear pivalate and cyanidometalate

Mixed-metal complex consisting of ruthenium(II,III) pivalate, ([Ru₂(piv)₄]⁺) (Hpiv = pivalic acid), tetraethylammonium and octacyanidotungstate(V) ions, (Et₄N)[{Ru₂(piv)₄}₂W(CN)₈]·4H₂O, was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared and UV-vis spectra and temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibilities (2-300 K). The magnetic susceptibilities, zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetizations, and AC susceptibility data showed that the present complex is ferrimagnetic with T_{c} value of 80 K. The field dependence of magnetization exhibited a hysteresis with a coercive field of 17000 Oe at 5 K

Synthesis, Crystal Structures, Electronic Spectra, and Magnetic Properties of Thiolato-Bridged Trinuclear Cobalt(II) Complexes with N, N, S-Tridentate Thiolate Ligands

New trinuclear CoII complexes, [{Co(apaet)2}2Co]X2 (apaet– = 2-[(3-aminopropyl)amino]ethanethiolato; X = SCN (1), ClO4 (2), NO3 (3), Cl (4), Br (5), I (6)) and [{Co(apampt)2}2Co]X2 (apampt– = 1-[(3-aminopropyl)amino]-2-methylpropane-2-thiolato; X = NO3(7), ClO4 (8), Cl (9), Br (10), I (11)), and mononuclear CoIII complexes, [Co(apaet)2]X (X = ClO4 (12), NO3 (13)), were synthesized. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography of 1 and 7 confirmed that the trinuclear complexes have a linear arrangement of octahedral CoIIS2N4-tetrahedral CoIIS4-octahedral CoIIS2N4 chromophores where two thiolate ligands are coordinated to each terminal Co atom in a mer coordination mode and the two thiolato S atoms are further bound to the central Co atom, which is consistent with the electronic spectra and antiferromagnetic propertie

Tetra(n-butyl)ammonium salt of a ferrimagnetic complex based on mixed-valent dinuclear ruthenium pivalate and octacyanidotungstate(V)

International audienceA tetra (n-butyl)ammonium (n-Bu4N+) salt of Ru2–W complex consisting of dinuclear ruthenium (II,III) pivalate, ([RuIIRuIII(piv)4]+) (Hpiv = pivalic acid), and octacyanidotungstate(V), [n-Bu4N][{RuIIRuIII(piv)4}2(H2O){WV(CN)8}] (1), was synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, infrared spectra, and temperature dependence of magnetic susceptibilities (2–300 K). The crystal structure of 1 revealed a zigzag one-dimensional chain molecule along the c axis with alternating arrangement of [RuIIRuIII(piv)4]+ and [WV(CN)8]3−, where another [RuIIRuIII(piv)4]+ unit is dangled from the [WV(CN)8]3− moiety. The magnetic susceptibilities and zero-field-cooled and field-cooled magnetization data showed that the present complex is ferrimagnetic with a Tc value of 5.5 K. The field dependence of magnetization exhibited a hysteresis with a coercive field of 150 Oe at 2 K