WORLD TRADE G/VAL/8
21October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4385)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
INFORMATION ONTECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES
Atitsmeeting of12May1995, theCommittee agreed thatgreater transparency oftechnical
assistance activities, pursuant toArticle 20.3oftheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIof
theGATT 1994, would beensured iftheinformation documents prepared fortheTechnical Committee
onCustoms Valuation onsuchactivities were alsomade available asWTO documents.
Thisrevision includes additional information ontechnical assistance activities (indicated inbold)
reproduced from WCO document 40.582 of2September 1995. Itupdates GATT document
VAL/W/29/Rev.9 andWTO document G/VAL/W/4.
______________G/VAL/8
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Information Document
1. Article 20.3oftheAgreement provides fortheestablishment oftechnical assistance programmes
fordeveloping countries. TheArticle goesontostatethatsuchtechnical assistance mayinclude, inter
alia,thetraining ofpersonnel, assistance inpreparing implementation measures, access tosources of
information regarding customs valuation methodology, andadvice ontheapplication oftheprovisions
oftheAgreement. Inthisregard, itisrecognized thatfordeveloping countries which are,byvirtue
ofbeing Parties totheAgreement, committed toapply theAgreement atafixed dateorwhich are
considering applying itinthenearfuture, itwould beamatter ofurgent needtohaveanucleus of
customs officers trained intheCode. Thus, among thevarious technical assistance programmes offered,
thetraining ofpersonnel acquires adegree ofpriority.
2. Asprovided forinAnnex IIoftheAgreement, theresponsibilities oftheTechnical Committee
include thefacilitation oftechnical assistance withaview tofurthering theinternational acceptance
oftheAgreement. TheTechnical Committee atitsfirstmeeting expressed theviewthattheCustoms
Co-operation Council, through itsSecretariat, could provide co-ordination indeveloping atechnical
assistance programme inco-operation withmember administrations willing toprovide assistance and
otherinternational organizations. TheCouncil 'sPlanforthe'90shasalsoplaced considerable emphasis
ontheneedforholding seminars andtraining courses ontheGATT Code.
3. AtitsEighth Session, theTechnical Committee hadexamined document 31.808 describing
seminars andtraining courses organized oncustoms valuation, especially ontheGATT Valuation
Agreement, andtheactivities oftheCustoms Co-operation Council inthisarea. TheCommittee found
thedocument useful andinthisregard directed theSecretariat toperiodically update theinformation.
4. Insuccessive sessions oftheCommittee, anumber ofrevised orsupplementary documents were
prepared which periodically updated thisinformation.
5. Inlightoffurther activities inthisrespect, theSecretariat hasprepared theenclosed revised
information paper onthetechnical assistance programme.G/VAL/8
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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Survey ofSeminars, Training Courses and
Other Technical Assistance Activities onCustoms Valuation
(GATT/WTO Valuation Agreement)
Seminars
- Thefamiliarization seminar oncustoms valuation under theGATT Valuation Agreement
wasorganized bytheCouncil atitsHeadquarters in1980 andwasattended by110
participants from fifty-four countries andsixinternational organizations. Theaimof
theseminar wastofamiliarize participants withthenewCode, drawing, inparticular,
ontheexperience ofthose administrations which hadalready commenced toapply the
system.
- Aninformation seminar ontheAgreement wasarranged bytheEuropean Economic
Community inco-operation withALADI countries. ItwasheldatMontevideo inOctober
1981 andwasattended byforty-two participants from eleven ALADI countries. A
representative from theCCC made presentations attheseminar.
- TheEconomic Community ofWest African States (ECOWAS) Secretariat organized a
seminar oncustoms valuation inco-operation withtheCCC, UNCTAD andGATT.
ItwasheldatCotonou (Benin), inJuly1982. Theobjective oftheseminar wastoacquaint
member States withtheGATT Valuation Code withaview tointroducing auniform
applicationofcustomsvaluationsystemswithintheCommunityofWesternAfricanStates.
Thirty-seven participants fromnineteen countries andorganizations attended themeeting.
- Avaluation seminar ontheAgreement wasorganized bytheMalaysian Administration
andhosted bythePhilippines fortheASEAN countries. ItwasheldatManila in
December 1982. Representatives oftheCouncil, theGeneral Agreement onTariffs and
Trade, theEuropean Community andtheUnited States participated inthepresentation
oftheseminar.
- TheEuropeanCommunityinco-ordinationwiththeALADIorganizedavaluationseminar
inBrazilia inApril 1983withtherepresentative participation oftheCouncil. TwoUnited
States customs officials alsoparticipated.
- TheCouncil wasalsorepresented inaseminar organized bytheUnited States Customs
Administration ontheGATT Code which washeldatBrunswick, Georgia, inAugust
1983. Itwasattended bymember countries ofALADI andtheAdministrations of
Barbados, theBahamas, Belize, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint
Lucia, Saint Vincent andtheGrenadines.
- TheEuropean Community withtheparticipation oftheCCC organized aseminar onthe
GATT Code from 6to10February 1984 atSaint Lucia. Itwasattended bythirteen
participants from CARICOM countries andoneeachfrom Suriname andNetherlands
Antilles.
- Inconjunction withtheWest African Economic Community (CEAO) andtheCanadian
Ministry ofNational Revenue, Customs andExcise, theCustoms Co-operation CouncilG/VAL/8
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organized aseminar oncustoms valuation andtheHarmonized System atCEAO
Headquarters inOuagadougou (Burkina Faso). Theseminar, heldfrom2to6July1984,
wasforsenior andhigher middle-ranking officials fromthecustoms administrations of
French-speaking African countries.
- Avaluation training seminar wasorganized bytheCouncil incollaboration withthe
Department ofNational Revenue, Customs andExcise, theGovernment ofCanada and
Customs andCentral Excise StaffCollege, Government ofIndia. Held atNewDelhi
from 24to30April 1985, itwasattended bythirty-three participants from fifteen
developing countries oftheregion. TheCouncil officials made fourteen presentations
covering every aspect oftheGATT Code while presentations onimplementational
requirements oftheCode were made bytheCanadian officials.
- Incollaboration withtheSenegalese Administration, theCouncil organized aseminar
oncustoms valuation atDakar (Senegal) from 25to29January 1988. Itwasattended
bythirtyofficialsfromeightFrench-speakingAfricancountriesandbythreerepresentatives
from theWest African Economic Community (CEAO). TheCouncil officials made
presentations onthecomparison between theBDV andtheGATT Valuation Agreement,
economic considerations, fraud andtheadministrative organization ofvaluation services.
Anofficial oftheGATT presented apaper onthegeneral structure oftheGATT Valuation
Agreement andtheaccession procedures.
- TheCouncil wasrepresented attheFifth Seminar onCustoms Valuation organized by
theMexican Administration which washeldinMexico CityinAugust 1988. Itwas
attended byforty-seven Spanish-speaking participants from sixteen Latin American
countries. TheCouncil official gavepresentations ontheGATT Valuation Agreement
andonacomparison between theCode andtheBrussels Definition ofValue.
- InNovember 1988avaluation seminar wasorganized bytheSecretariat ofthePreferential
Trade AreaforEastern andSouthern African States incollaboration withtheCustoms
Co-operation Council inwhich arepresentative fromUNCTAD/FALPRO alsomade a
presentation. TheEEC andtheAustrian Administration provided financial support.
Theseminar wasattended bytwenty-nine officials fromthirteen countries oftheregion.
TwoCouncil officials made presentations ontheGATT Valuation Agreement andits
comparison withBDV aswellasonbudgetary andeconomic considerations regarding
theadoption oftheAgreement.
- InMarch 1989 theMexican Administration organized aseminar fortraders, customs
agents andgovernment officials. Representatives oftheGATT, EECandtheCouncil
made presentations ondifferent aspects oftheGATT Valuation Agreement.
- Incollaboration withtheCustoms Administration ofKorea, theCouncil organized a
seminar atSeoul from15to19May1989. Itwasattended byabout 100customs officers
andsenior representatives oftrade andindustry. Special emphasis wasplaced on
examining theKorean experience inadministering theGATT Code.
- Acustoms valuation seminar wasorganized bytheUnited Nations Conference onTrade
andDevelopment (UNCTAD) from4to11November 1989inJakarta, Indonesia, with
thesupport andcollaboration oftheGovernment ofIndonesia. Itwasattended bysenior
andmid-management levelcustoms officials fromASEAN countries. ACouncil official
gavepresentations ontheGATT Valuation Agreement andtheadvantages ofitsadoption.G/VAL/8
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- Incollaboration withtheCustoms Administration ofPakistan, theCouncil organized two
seminars ontheGATT Valuation Agreement inKarachi andIslamabad from 21to23
and26to28November 1989 respectively. Each ofthetwoseminars wasattended by
overthirty customs officers andsenior representatives oftrade andindustry. Atthe
invitation oftheCouncil, anofficer from theAustralian Customs Administration gave
presentations onhisAdministration 'sexperience inadministering theGATT Code. The
participation oftheofficials oftheCouncil wasfinanced bytheJapanese Administration.
- Acustoms valuation seminar wasorganized bytheCouncil inBamako, Malifrom9to
13April 1990. Itwasattended bytwenty-nine localcustoms officials andtheprogramme
wasdevoted toacomparison oftheBDV system andtheGATT Code. Since theMalian
Administration applies theBDV onadefactobasis, theparticipants considered thatthe
seminar wasuseful forafurther consideration oftheadoption oftheGATT Code.
- Aseminar oncustoms valuation washeldinRiyadh, Saudi Arabia from2to6June1990
under thesponsorship oftheDepartment ofCustoms oftheKingdom ofSaudi Arabia.
Fifty-seven senior andmid-management levelofficials from fourcountries oftheArab
GulfStates attended theseminar. Theseminar wasextremely wellreceived bythe
participants and,formostofthem, itwastheirfirstexposure totheGATT Agreement.
Anumber oftheparticipants came away withaviewthattheGATT system would not
bedifficult toadapt intotheirexisting customs structures. TheGulfCo-operation Council
willbeexamining thepossibility ofrecommending theadoption oftheGATT Agreement
foritsmember countries.
- Aseminar oncustoms valuation wasorganized from20to24May1991bytheCouncil
incollaboration withtheTunisian Administration. Itwasattended byfortyofficials from
fivecountries oftheMaghreb Arab Union (MAU) (Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya
andMauritania). ACouncil official gave presentations ontheIntroduction tothe
Agreement, therulesofvaluation andtheComparative Study ontheBDV andtheGATT
Code. There werepresentations byaGATT secretariat official ontheroleandfunctions
oftheGATT, theTokyo andUruguay Rounds oftheMTN andthegeneral structure
andaimsoftheAgreement. Arepresentative oftheFrench Administration spoke on
theorganization ofCustoms control andthepractical application oftheValuation Code.
Theparticipants found theseminar veryuseful, andshowed ahighlevelofinterest and
motivation. They expressed concern atthelossofrevenue which could becaused by
theadoption oftheGATT Valuation System.
- TheEighth Seminar ontheCustoms Valuation ofGoods organized bytheMexican
Administration andtheOrganization ofAmerican States (OAS) washeldinMexico City
(Mexico)from5to30August1991.Fifty-threeCustomsofficialsfromArgentina,Brazil,
Colombia, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, ElSalvador,
Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Paraguay, PeruandVenezuela attended theseminar.
Some participants from Mexico were from theAudit, Fiscal andRevenue Technique
agencies, andthisseminar wastheirfirstsystematic introduction totheGATT Agreement.
ACouncil official, twoconsultants from theOAS andanofficial from theSpanish
Administration gavepresentations. Thecustoms officials showed particular interest in
discussing matters relating totheadministrative organization necessary fortheapplication
oftheAgreement, thepreparation ofdeclaration forms andthesetting upofadatabank.
Asregards theapplication oftheAgreement, those officials whohadexperience inthis
fieldexplained some oftheadministrative difficulties Customs could encounter, such
as:verification ofthefactsofatransaction; thelackofresources andlimited access
tosources ofinformation; thelegalandpractical aspects oftheburden ofproof intheG/VAL/8
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determination ofvalue; transactions between related parties; flexibility intheapplication
ofArticle 1;andtheidentification ofindirect payments. Attheendoftheseminar, a
working group wassetuptoprepare recommendations andconclusions. Among thirteen
points, themostimportant were: theneedforcountries oftheregion toadopt theGATT
Agreement astheirsystem ofvaluation; theneedforco-operation withcountries which
hadexperience initsapplication; theimportance oftheproper training ofcustoms
officials; theneedtoestablish investigation groups; theimportance oftheexchange
ofinformation between customs administrations; theimportance ofArticle 17incases
where thedocuments presented maynotreflect theactual factsofatransaction andthe
importance oftheMTN decision clarifying theissue oftheburden ofproof.
- Avaluation seminar wasorganized andhosted bytheEgyptian Administration, in
Alexandria from20to30January 1992. Overfiftycustoms officers fromEgypt, Jordan,
Libya, Saudi Arabia, Sudan andYemen participated intheseminar while threemembers
oftheValuation Directorate made thepresentations. Abriefhistory ofcustoms valuation
waspresented, along withafullexplanation ofthetwointernational valuation systems,
acomparative study ofthetwosystems, apresentation anddiscussion ofthenational
valuation systems employed bytheparticipating administrations andapresentation and
discussion ofvaluation fraud.
- Aseminar entitled "The Customs Administration andtheInternational Environment"
washeldinParis from 3to28February 1992. Itwasorganized bytheInternational
Public Administration Institute incollaboration withtheFrench Customs Administration
andtheSecretariat oftheCustoms Co-operation Council. Theseminar wasattended by
sixteen participants from Africa, AsiaandEastern Europe. Apresentation wasgiven
byamember oftheValuation Directorate, which consisted ofacomparison ofthetwo
existing international customs valuation systems.
- Acustoms valuation seminar washeld(inFrench) inBamako (Republic ofMali) from
23to27November 1992. Theseminar wasorganized bytheWest African Economic
Community (CEAO) andbytheMilan Administration financed bytheEEC; itwas
attended bytwenty officials fromBenin, Burkina Faso, Côted'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania,
Niger, Senegal andtheCEAO Secretariat. Papers werepresented byaGATT official
(trade policy andmultilateral negotiations) andbytwomembers oftheCCC Valuation
Sub-Directorate (technical provisions oftheGATT Valuation Agreement andcomparison
between thetwointernational valuation systems). Theparticipants showed ahighlevel
ofinterest andparticipated actively inthework.
- Aseminar oncustoms valuation wasorganized inYogyakarta, Indonesia from 11to
21January 1993 withthefinancial support oftheJapanese Customs Administration.
Itwasdesigned formid- orhigh-level customs officials from CCC Members inthe
Asia/Pacificregion.Forty-twoparticipantsfromnineteencountriesattended.Theseminar
wasconducted inEnglish bythemembers oftheValuation Sub-Directorate. A
representativeoftheJapaneseAdministrationalsogaveapresentationontheGATTsystem
andtheUruguay Round Negotiations. Thefirstpartoftheprogramme covered theBDV
inbriefandtheprovisions oftheGATT Valuation Agreement. Thesecond partcovered
related issues, suchasgeneral provisions, comparison ofexisting international valuation
systems, organizational requirements, valuation control andfraud. During thesecond
part,eachparticipant gaveapresentation onthevaluation system currently practised in
theirrespective countries anddiscussed specific value-related problems.G/VAL/8
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- Aseminar oncustoms valuation washeldinJerusalem, Israel from 31January to
6February 1994. Approximately twenty customs officers fromIsraeli Customs attended.
Theseminar wasconducted inEnglish bytwoofficials from theValuation Directorate
withsimultaneous translation intoHebrew. Theseminar presented anoverview ofthe
GATT Valuation Agreement withspecific attention tothebases ofvaluation, Articles
1through 8,thegeneral provisions oftheAgreement, valuation fraud andacomparison
oftheGATT Agreement withtheBrussels Definition ofValue. Theparticipants were
veryinterested andinvolved intheseminar astheywereaware oftheIsraeli Government 's
intent toadopt theGATT Valuation Agreement asearlyasJanuary 1995. Issues related
toplanning forimplementation oftheGATT Valuation Agreement werediscussed with
Israeli Customs authorities.
- InApril 1994, twomembers oftheValuation Directorate participated inaseminar on
customs valuation heldinNewDelhi andorganized bytheIndian Administration with
financial support fromtheJapanese Administration. Theseminar wasattended bytwenty-
seven participants fromAustralia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Korea, Macao,
Malaysia,Nepal,Singapore,SriLankaandThailand.Theseminarfocusedontheprinciple
provisions oftheGATT Agreement, more specifically onthose areas which could give
risetodifficulties inadministration. Presentations weregenerally made intheform of
casestudies which illustrated practical problems being faced andthesolutions arrived
attohandle them. Thiswasthefirstregional seminar onvaluation organized wholly
attheinitiative ofaCouncil Member.
- InApril 1994 aseminar oncustoms valuation washeld inKarachi, Pakistan.
Approximately twenty-five participants representing various districts andregions of
Pakistan Customs attended aone-day seminar. Theseminar focused ontheUruguay
Rounddevelopmentsastheyimpactedcustomsvaluation,giventhatPakistanisasignatory
totheWTO andwillbeadopting theGATT Agreement inthefuture. Itwasconducted
byamember oftheValuation Directorate attheCustoms training centre.
- Inconjunction withtheCustoms Administration ofGabon, aregional seminar onthe
GATTValuationAgreementwasheldinLibreville,Gabonfrom24Octoberto28October
1994. Theseminar wasintended toinform WCO Members oftheWestandCentral Africa
Region oftheprinciples oftheGATT Valuation Agreement withemphasis onthe
consequences resulting from theestablishment oftheWTO andproblems related to
implementation oftheAgreement bydeveloping countries. There were56participants
from Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire,
Equatorial Guinea, Gabon andTogo. Theseminar wasconducted inFrench bytwo
officials fromtheValuation Directorate. Asaconclusion totheseminar, delegates agreed
toaDeclaration tobepresented totheadministrations ofcountries represented atthe
seminar urging theirimmediate attention toinitiating implementation planning activities
fortheintroduction oftheGATT (WTO) Valuation Agreement.
- Aregional seminar washeldinMalacca (Malaysia) from 27March to4April 1995.
Some 40participants from22Asia/Pacific countries attended thisevent, organized with
financial support from theCustoms Administration ofJapan. Thiswasthefirstjoint
valuation/enforcement programme. Thethree objectives ofthisseminar were to:
-recall theprovisions oftheValuation Agreement;
-devise animplementation strategy oftheAgreement;G/VAL/8
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-emphasizetheneedforadoptingpropercontroltechniquesforacorrectadministration
oftheAgreement aswellasforanefficient combat against valuation fraud.
Thesuccess ofthisseminar wasduetotheclose cooperation between theValuation and
Customs Technique Directorates, given thecomplementary roleplayed bythese two
services intheareaofCustoms Valuation.
- Aseminar onCustoms Valuation washeldinKyong-Ju, Korea from 30October
to1November 1995 withthecollaboration andfinancial support oftheKorean
Administration. Itwasattended by16participants from 15Asia/Pacific countries.
Ahistorical background ofcustoms valuation waspresented, along with afull
explanation otheprinciples oftheGATT/WTO Valuation Agreement. Thisforum
alsoprovidedparticipantswiththeopportunitytodiscusstheircurrentimplementation
preparations. Theseminar wasparticularly timely taking intoaccount thefactthat
most oftheAsia/Pacific countries havemade commitments toapply theAgreement
by1998. Theseminar wasconducted byamember oftheValuation Directorate.
- From 15to19January 1996, aseminar ontheimplementation oftheAgreement
washeld inAccra (Ghana) with thecollaboration oftheGhanian Customs
Administration. Thirty participants from 11countries located intheWCO West
andCentral African region attended. Theseminar wasconducted inEnglish and
French bytwoofficials from theValuation Directorate, with simultaneous
interpretation provided bythehostcountry. Following anoverview othebasic
principles oftheAgreement which were illustrated bypractical exercises effected
inworking groups, implementation considerations were discussed withaview to
identifying theimmediate measures administrations need totaketoprepare for
implementation. Theseminar alsodiscussed theproblem ofPreshipment Inspection
which represents acommon concern forthecountries oftheregion.
- Incollaboration withtheChilean Administration, theWCO organized aregional
Valuation seminar forMembers oftheWCO 'sAmericas Region atValparaiso, Chile
from 9to13April 1996. Itwasattended by52Customs officers from 18countries.
Especially, 4non-WCO Member countries were invited bythehostcountry. The
seminar which gathered countries already applying theAgreement andnew
Signatories, provided theparticipants withanopportunity toexchange views onthe
bestways toimplement theGATT/WTO Valuation Agreement. Theobjective of
theseminar wastoenable newContracting Parties totakeadvantage ofthesuccess
achieved andpitfalls confronted byexperienced countries oftheAmericas Region.
- Aregional seminar washeldinLima, Peru from 15to16April 1996. Itwas
organized bytheOrganization ofAmerican States (OAS) incollaboration with
Peruvian Customs Administration andtheAndean PactSecretariat. 36participants
from 5countries attended theseminar. Theobjective oftheseminar wastoprovide
participants withpractical guidelines forproperly implementing theGATT/WTO
Valuation Agreement.
- Aregional seminar washeldinQuatre-Bornes, Mauritius, from 29April to8May
1996. 35participants from 13Eastern andSouthern countries attended theseminar.
AspartoftheSecretariat 'sjoint Valuation andEnforcement programme toassist
newsignatories totheAgreement, theseminar hadthree main objectives:G/VAL/8
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-topromote anunderstanding oftheAgreement, itsAgreement, itsadvantages
andthedifferences between theAgreement andother Valuation systems;
-toreview Members 'implementation plans andstrategy; and
-toexamine modern techniques toimprove compliance, combat valuation fraud
andfacilitate trade.
Theseminar wasorganized bytheSecretariat with thefinancial support ofthe
JapaneseCustomsAdministration.RepresentativesofJapanandtheUntiedKingdom
alsomade presentations attheseminar.
Training courses
1. In1984theCouncil embarked uponaTechnical Assistance Programme topromote theGATT
Valuation Code andtoincrease theefficiency ofvaluation services among thedeveloping countries.
Oneofthemajor activities under thisprogramme hasbeentheorganization oftheValuation Training
Course. Theaimofthese courses hasbeentocreate agroup ofvaluation experts trained intheGATT
Valuation Agreement whocanform anucleus intheirrespective countries.
2. Allthetraining courses consist ofthirty-six lessons ontheGATT Valuation Code, including
acomparison between theCode andtheBrussels Definition ofValue, given bytheofficers ofthe
ValuationDirectorate.Wheneverpossible,guestinstructorsgivepresentationsonthetrainingoftrainers
andonvaluation fraud. Sofar,guest instructors from Belgium, France andtheUnited States have
given suchpresentations.
3. Attheendofthecourse, eachoftheparticipants isgiven acomplete training folder containing
detailed lesson plans andinstructional tactics foreachofthelessons aswellasother relevant material.
Thefolder canbeusedforplanning anexhaustive training course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement
anditscomparison withtheBrussels Definition ofValue.
- TheFirst Training Course ontheGATT Code wasorganized bytheCouncil atits
Headquarters atBrussels from 11to22June1984. Attended bytwenty-two English-
speaking participants from twelve developing countries.
- InJanuary 1984, theCouncil wasrepresented inatraining course inJamaica forJamaican
customs officers which wasconducted bytheUnited States Administration.
- TheSecond Training Course organized bytheCouncil ontheGATT Code washeldat
itsHeadquarters from 22October to2November 1984. Conducted inFrench itwas
attended byfourteen participants from seven countries andinternational organizations.
- InJanuary 1985, theUnited States conducted atraining course inJamaica forJamaican
customs officers andarepresentative ofBelize Customs andExcise. ACouncil official
participated asalecturer inthecourse.
- TheCouncil organized theThird Training Course ontheGATT Code from17to28June
1985. Itwasattended bytwenty-seven English-speaking participants from seventeen
countries andinternational organizations.
- TheFourth Training Course wasorganized bytheCouncil incollaboration withthe
Cameroon Customs Administration. HeldinDouala, Cameroon from11to22NovemberG/VAL/8
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1985 itwasattended bythirty-three French-speaking participants fromninedeveloping
countries.
- TheFifthTraining Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement organized bytheCouncil
washosted bytheTanzanian Government andtheGovernment ofNorway extended
financial support. HeldatArusha, Tanzania, from19to30May1986, itwasattended
byforty-two English-speaking participants from eighteen countries.
- Incollaboration withtheGovernment ofMalaysia, theCouncil organized theSixth
Training Course atMalacca, Malaysia from 20to31October 1986. Itwasheldin
English. Thirty-one participants from eight developing countries attended thecourse.
- Recognizing theneed todirect theTechnical Assistance Programme towards those
developing countries which hadacceded totheGATT Code orwereseriously considering
doing so,aspecial programme combining acondensed training course ontheGATT
Agreement andpreparatory studies forthedraftvaluation legislation wasarranged in
Turkey from4to22August 1986. Theprogramme, conducted bytheTurkish-speaking
Council official, wasattended byfourteen participants. Theofficer alsoprovided expert
advice toagroup ofTurkish officers engaged indrafting valuation laws.
- Another project inthisone-country programme wasthespecial training course heldfrom
7to18July1986inTheHague forsixteen Indonesian customs officers. Itwasconducted
attherequest oftheDutch Customs Administration which alsoprovided thefinancial
andlogistic support.
- TheSeventh Training Course wasorganized bytheCouncil intheSpanish language in
collaboration withtheArgentine Customs Administration. HeldatBuenos Aires from
30March to10April 1987, itwasattended bythirty-two officers from seven Latin
American countries.
- AtitsHeadquarters, theCouncil organized theEighth Training Course from 25May
to5June1987. Attended bynineteen participants from fifteen countries, itwasheld
inEnglish.
- TheNinth Valuation Training Course wasorganized bytheCouncil atNicosia, Cyprus
from16to27May1988. Itwasattended bythirty-two mid-management levelofficers
oftheCyprus Customs Administration. Cyprus willbeapplying theGATT Valuation
Agreement shortly. Therefore, thetraining course generated considerable interest and
wasfound particularly timely.
- Incollaboration withtheNigerian Customs Administration, theTenth Training Course
ontheGATT Agreement wasorganized bytheCouncil inAbuja, Nigeria from 2to
13April 1990. Fifty-four mid-management level officers from sixcountries andone
regional organization (ECOWAS) attended thecourse. Fivesessions were devoted to
country presentations made byNigeria, Zimbabwe, Liberia, Niger andGabon. There
wasunanimity amongst theparticipants thatthetraining course wasextremely useful.
They feltthatthecourse cleared upanumber ofmisgivings which existed withrespect
totheCode although concern regarding thepossible lossofrevenue andtheproblem
ofvaluation fraud asaresult oftheadoption oftheCode remained amatter ofsome
concern.G/VAL/8
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- TheThird Sub-regional Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement wasorganized in
Lima (Peru) from 5to23November 1990 bytheSecretariat oftheOrganization of
American States (OAS) aspartoftheInter-American Programme fortheImprovement
ofCustomsSystemstoPromoteRegionalTrade(PIMSAPOC).Itwasattendedbytwenty-
three middle-ranking orsenior officials from thefiveAndean Pactcountries (Bolivia,
Colombia, Ecuador, PeruandVenezuela). Presentations weregiven byaCouncil official,
aCustoms Technique Consultant attheOASandtheHead oftheOASCustoms Mission
inEcuador. AsthePact'srepresentatives toJUNAC haddecided toadopt acommon
valuation system based ontheGATT Valuation Agreement, witheffect from1January,
thecontent ofthetraining course wasconsidered tobeextremely useful forthe
participants. Thequestions which aroused thegreatest interest andconcern regarding
thepossible application oftheGATT Valuation Agreement were: thelegalandpractical
aspects oftheburden ofproof indetermining thecustoms value ofimported goods; the
non-consideration ofthetimeelement forapplication ofArticle 1oftheValuation
Agreement; thetreatment ofthediscounts; thetreatment ofdumping; theimpossibility
fortheCustomstochecktheaccuracyofinformationprovidedbyimportersindetermining
thecustoms value andtherelationship ofthisfacttovaluation fraud; andtheneedto
haveaneffective system forexchange ofinformation between contracting parties tothe
Agreement.
- TheEleventh Training Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement, organized bythe
Customs Co-operation Council andtheCustoms Administration ofZimbabwe washeld
inHarare, Zimbabwe from 26November to5December 1990. Twenty-four mid-
management Zimbabwean level customs officers andonefrom Botswana attended the
course. TheCouncil wasrepresented bytwoofficials from theValuation Directorate.
AstheZimbabwean Administration hasbeenapplying theAgreement since 1988, some
sessions weredevoted todiscussions oftheproblems encountered inadministering the
Agreement. Inaddition tothetechnical aspects oftheissue, questions relating tothe
fraud andtheverification ofdeclared value wereexamined. Itwasrecognized that,at
theinternational level, various instruments oftheCouncil forexchanging information
would assist administrations intheirenquiries. Itwasalsosorted outthatawell-defined
legislation, aproper andwell-structured customs organization andtheexpertise ofcustoms
officers wereindispensable elements toensuring aneffective system ofvaluation control.
Intheirevaluation ofthecourse, theparticipants expressed theirsatisfaction, finding the
course veryinformative.
- Anintensive customs training course under theCCC/Japan Customs Technical Co-
operation Programme washeldattheCustoms Training Centre inKashiwa City, Japan,
from 23to29October, 1991. Thetraining course wascomposed ofseven different
sections covering various customs areas ofinterest. Twelve customs officials from
Thailand,Malaysia,Bangladesh,China,Zimbabwe,SriLanka,thePhilippinesandLesotho
attended thecourse. Amember oftheValuation Directorate gaveapresentation which
focused onhistorical background, recent developments intheGATT Valuation System
andvaluation control, including areview oftheCouncil 'sValuation Control Handbook
andadiscussion ofnational systems ofvaluation control.
- TheTwelfth Training Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement washeldinMarmaris,
Turkey from 14to23September, followed byanInstructional Techniques Training
Programme from24September to2October. There weretwenty-six participants from
Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Kirghizstan, Poland, Turkey, Ukraine andUzbekistan.
ThiswasthefirstCouncil Training Programme forthenewRepublics aswellasthefirstG/VAL/8
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combined valuation andinstructional techniques programme. Three instructors fromthe
ValuationDirectorateandonefromtheDanishAdministrationpresentedtheprogrammes.
- TheThirteenth Training Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement washeldfrom 1
to12February1993inCasablanca,Moroccoandwasattendedbyeighteenofficials(fifteen
Moroccans, twoAlgerians andoneTunisian). Theparticipants were experienced and
motivated; mosthadworked formany years incustoms valuation. Their calibre enabled
thetrainers topresent theprovisions oftheGATT Agreement indetail, andensured a
highlevelofdebate. Thetopics werepresented bytwoinstructors fromtheValuation
Sub-Directorate andonefrom theFrench Administration.
- Japan offers several intensive training courses forcustoms officers inthedeveloping
countries. During theperiod of7to15April 1993, within thecontext ofCustoms
Clearance Techniques course, aprogramme relating tovaluation wascarried outinTokyo
forcustomsofficersfromKorea,Mongolia,Myanmar,SaudiArabiaandCuba.Amember
oftheSecretariat gavepresentations oncustoms valuation ingeneral, BDVandtheGATT
Agreement inparticular. National practices andproblems were alsodiscussed.
Participants received certain publications oftheCouncil onValuation. Theprogramme
waswholly financed byJapan andfound veryuseful bytheparticipants.
- TheFourteenth Training Course ontheGATT Valuation Agreement washeldinAbidjan
(Côte d'Ivoire) from6to17September 1993. Itwasattended bythirty-six officials (all
Ivorians except foronefromComoros andonefromtheCentral African Republic) who
proved veryattentive andactive participants. Thelarge attendance andhighlevel of
interest wasprobably attributable tothedecision byCôted'Ivoire toimplement theGATT
Valuation Agreement on1January 1994. Thecourse consisted ofadetailed examination
oftheprovisions oftheAgreement, supplemented bypractical cases. Thecourse was
given bytwoinstructors fromtheValuation Sub-Directorate andatrainer fromtheFrench
Administration.
- InApril 1996aTrain-the-Valuation-Trainer course wasorganized bytheMalaysian
Customs toprovide Valuation training topersonnel whowillconduct Malaysia 's
ValuationtrainingprogrammepriortotheintroductionoftheAgreement.Thecourse
wasconducted byanofficer from theU.S.Customs Service onbehalf oftheWCO
Valuation Directorate.
- ACustoms Training Course forAsia/Pacific Customs officers washeldinSeoul
(Gwanchun), Korea from 16to22May 1996 withthecollaboration andfinancial
support oftheKorean Administration. Amember oftheValuation Directorate gave
presentations onthebasic rules andprinciples oftheGATT/WTO Valuation
Agreement, including valuation control, risk assessment andpost clearance
verification. Asignificant proportion oftimewasalsodevoted toimplementation
planning issues suchlegislation, regulations, administrative procedures, compliance
techniques, organization, computerization andtraining.
Other technical assistance activities
Inorder toobtain better results fromtheTechnical Assistance Programme, other activities were
undertaken bytheCouncil according totheneeds ofindividual countries.
- InMay1984,theUnitedStatesconductedaseriesoflecturesforKoreancustomspersonnel
inSeoul, Korea, atwhich theCouncil wasalsorepresented.G/VAL/8
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- ACouncil official examined thelegalandorganizational requirements fortheadoption
oftheGATT Valuation Agreement byThailand, including itsbudgetary andeconomic
implications. Thefinalproject report wassubmitted inMay1989.
- In1989, Council officials alsoadvised theAdministration ofMalionways inwhich it
could improve theefficiency ofitsvaluation administration.
- Aseries ofmeetings were heldinEcuador from 17October to2November 1991, to
prepare fornewlegislation andvalue declaration forms asEcuador willbegin application
oftheGATT Agreement onadefacto basis in1992. Amember oftheValuation
Directorate provided technical assistance during these working meetings inQuito and
alsoexamined thedraftDecree onValuation withofficials fromtheMinistry ofFinance
andtheSub-Secretariat ofIncome. Inaddition, withtheassistance oftheOrganization
ofAmerican States (OAS), amember oftheValuation Directorate heldconferences in
theGATT Valuation Code forcustoms officials, importers andbrokers attheChamber
ofCommerce inGuayaquil.
- On10and29April 1992, attherequest oftheBelgian Administration (which hadreceived
around fifteen African trainees under along-term training programme), amember of
theValuation Directorate gaveapresentation comparing theBrussels Definition ofValue
withtheGATT Valuation Agreement.
- Aworkshop wasconducted inKarachi, Pakistan from23to27January 1994which dealt,
inpart, withcustoms valuation. Thebasis principles oftheGATT Agreement were
presentedalongwithadiscussionofthevaluationmethodscurrentlyemployedinPakistan.
ThevaluationsegmentoftheworkshopwasconductedbyarepresentativeoftheAustralian
Administration (onbehalf oftheCCC) andtheremainder oftheworkshop dealing with
International Agreements waspresented byarepresentative oftheNetherlands
Administration.
- InApril 1994, amember oftheValuation Directorate undertook anexpert mission to
visittheNepal Customs Administration asNepal iscurrently conducting areview ofits
valuation lawsandprocedures onthebasis ofastudy being undertaken bytheAsian
Development Bank. Discussions wereheldwithsenior officials oftheMinistry ofFinance
andtheCustoms Department.
- InApril 1994, amember oftheValuation Directorate undertook anexpert mission to
visittheThailandCustomsAdministrationinBangkok.Themissionincludedthefollowing
fouractivities: discussions withsenior customs officials regarding Thailand 'saccession
totheGATTValuationAgreementasaresultofitssigningtheWTOAgreement;meetings
withtheCustoms GATT Implementation Committee andpresentations ontheresults of
thecomparative study onlegislation, regulations andadministrative practices oftheGATT
AgreementcarriedoutbytheTechnicalCommittee;anexchangeofinformationonvarious
aspects oftheAgreement suchastheprovisions ofArticle 20,information onidentical
andsimilar goods andconfidentiality ofinformation required inArticle 10ofthe
Agreement; and,briefings ontheGATT Valuation Agreement, given toapproximately
ninety customs senior appraisers, intended toprovide abasic overview oftheGATT
valuation system.
- Amember oftheValuation Directorate metwithofficials oftheCommon Market for
Eastern andSouthern Africa (COMESA) inLusaka (Zambia) on21October 1994. The
objective wastoreview theregional organization 'splans forproceeding onacommonG/VAL/8
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basis withtheimplementation oftheAgreement. Atthissame meeting, therequest for
aregional seminar which theCOMESA made during theCouncil 's83rd/84th Sessions,
wasdiscussed.
- InJune1995, amember oftheValuation Directorate undertook anexpert mission to
theVietnamese Customs Administration inHanoi. Since itwasthefirstvaluation mission
everorganized bytheWCO Secretariat inthatcountry, theobjectives were: toreview
anddiscuss theadministration andorganization ofvaluation inVietnam including the
valuation problems faced bythatAdministration, topromote theadoption ofthe
GATT/WTO Valuation Agreement byVietnam likemost oftheAsian countries.
- InJune1995, amember oftheValuation Directorate visited Ukraine Customs toobserve
valuation procedures, discuss valuation problems andexplain recent international
developments, inparticular thechanges introduced bytheestablishment oftheWorld
Trade Organization. Ukraine Customs advised thatithoped tointroduce theGATT
Valuation System onadefactobasislaterin1995. Avaluation reform project wasunder
way. Ukraine isalsotaking steps tobecome amember oftheWTO.
- InJune1995, amember oftheValuation Directorate undertook anexpert mission to
theMoroccan Customs Administration. Theobjective wastofollow uponthe
implementationoftheGATT/WTOValuationAgreementinthatcountrywhichhadacceded
toitin1993 andtoevaluate theimplementation work thathadbeencarried outsince
then. Adraftlegislation oftheValuation Agreement which wasprepared bytheMoroccan
Administration wasdiscussed. Further discussions wereheldonvarious issues tofacilitate
theimplementation oftheAgreement andtoimprove theimage ofCustoms.
- InNovember 1995officers from theValuation Directorate andtheEnforcement Sub-
directorate visited theUganda Revenue Authority inKampala toconduct aworkshop
ontheGATT/WTO Valuation Agreement aspartofthediagnostic study project
funded byCanadian Customs andtheCanadian International Development Agency.
Theworkshop focused onthelegislative, procedural andadministrative changes to
beconsidered inpreparation fortheintroduction oftheAgreement inUganda. The
issues examined included thedifferences between theWTO andBDV systems,
compliance assurance andimprovement, integrity, training andpublic education
aswellaspotential obstacles tobeencountered andovercome. Finally, theworkshop
developed aproposed strategy andaction plan fortheimplementation ofthe
Agreement inUganda by2000.
- InFebruary 1996amember oftheValuation Directorate undertook anexpert mission
toBurkina Faso. During themission, theofficer visited Burkina Faso Customs to
provide specific advice onactions tobetaken bytheCustoms administration in
preparation fortheimplementation oftheValuation Agreement. Theoffice also
metwith Senior Officials oftheWest Africa Economic andMonetary Union
(UEMOA). TheUEMOA would have amajor involvement inensuring the
implementation oftheAgreement onacommon basis byitsMembers.
- InMarch andApril 1996anofficer from theValuation Directorate visited Thailand
andIndonesia. InThailand aworkshop ontheAgreement wasorganized foragroup
ofThai officials. Meetings were alsoheld with thetaskforce responsible for
implementing theAgreement. InIndonesia, theofficial attended aworkshop
organized bytheASEAN Secretariat withtheassistance offunding from theUNDP.
TheWorkshopexaminedareasforharmonizationofvaluationpracticewithinASEAN.G/VAL/8
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Representatives oftheseven ASEAN countries aswellasCambodia, Laos and
Myanmar participated intheworkshop. Representatives ofAustralia, India, Japan,
Rep.ofKorea, NewZealand andtheUntied States alsoparticipated intheworkshop.
InJakarta, incollaboration withanofficial from Japanese Customs, aseminar was
conducted for40senior officials ofIndonesia Customs. Theseminar highlighted
practical examples ofsituations thatCustoms willencounter under theAgreement.
Compliance andprocedural structures were alsoexamined during theseminar.
Funding forthismission wasprovided bytheJapnese Customs Administration
through theCustoms Co-operation Fund.
- InMarch 1996, anInternational Symposium onCustoms andtrade facilitation was
organized bytheBrazilian Union ofFiscal Auditors inFortaleza, Brazil. InMay
1996 asimilar Symposium wasorganized byKorean Customs inSeoul, Korea, A
representative oftheValuation Directorate made apresentation onthebenefits of
GVA inthecontext oftrade facilitation toeachofthese events.
- InJune1996, anofficial from theWCO Valuation Directorate conducted anExpert
mission inAntananarivo, Madagascar. Inclose consultation withSenior officials
ofMadagascar Customs, theofficial setouttheprincipal elements forformulating
animplementation planforintroducing theGATT/WTO Valuation Agreement in
Madagascar bytheyear2000. Specific advice wasprovided intheareas oflegislation
andadministrative/organization development, training, control andenforcement,
each ofwhich areimportant areas forchange andreform inpreparing forthe
introduction ofnewvaluation procedures.
- Between January andSeptember 1996, theAfrica, Caribbean andpacific Group
ofStates (ACP), incollaboration withtheWTO andEuropean Union, organized
anumber ofregional seminars toexplain theresults oftheUruguay Round. Regional
seminars were heldinBotswana, Papua NewGuinea, Guyana, Ghana andCôte
d'Ivoire. Ateachofthese events, presentations onbehalf oftheWTO were made
bytheDirector General ofCustoms inthehostcountry.
Training facilities which include customs valuation, available inmember countries
1. Inaddition totheseminars exclusively dealing withcustoms valuation (GATT Code), anumber
ofdeveloped countries organize onaregular basis, general training courses oncustoms. Asapart
oftraining incustoms lawsandprocedures, these courses cover customs valuation, particularly the
GATT Code. Inthefollowing paragraphs these courses arebriefly described.
2. Australian Government policy istodirect training towards aspecific country orregion. The
target areaatpresent istheSouth Pacific Region.
Requests forassistance withvaluation training ortraining materials maybeaccepted from
individual countries other thanthose intheSouth Pacific Region. Each request isdealt withonits
merits andmetwhere possible.
3. Intheframework ofaspecial training seminar, theCustoms Administration ofAustria organizes
courses forcustoms officers fromdeveloping countries ofAfrica. Special emphasis isgiven toproblems
ofvaluation. Seminars areconducted inEnglish andareofabout two-months duration. Onemajor
subject included intheseminar istheGATT Agreement anditscomparison withtheBDV.G/VAL/8
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4. TheCustoms Administration ofFinland organizes aspecial training course forcustoms officers
ofdeveloping countries which isheldevery other year. Thecourse isconducted inEnglish andis
ofabout two-months duration. Thesubject-matter ofthecourse willchange periodically andwillbe
limited toaspecific areaofcustoms.
5. TheCustoms Administration ofFrance arranges acustoms course ofone-year 'sduration. About
twothirds ofthesyllabus isidentical withthatofthepreliminary training course forFrench customs
inspectors, theremainder being intended specifically forforeign trainees mostly coming fromFrench-
speaking developing countries withwhich France hasconcluded technical assistance orco-operation
agreements. Some participants come from other countries particularly inLatin America.
6. TheFederal Republic ofGermany holds normally oneortwocustoms courses eachyearfor
middle andsenior-level customs officers ofdeveloping countries. These courses areofthree tofour
months duration andareheldinEnglish, French orSpanish. Customs valuation isinthesyllabus.
7. Japan conducts atwo-month course formiddle-level customs officers fromdeveloping countries.
Thecourse isconducted inEnglish covering every aspect ofcustoms administration through lectures,
seminars andobservation tours. Customs valuation isoneofthesubjects covered bythecourse.
8. Switzerland holds acustoms training course forthesupervisory/management levelofficers of
thedeveloping countries. Conducted intheFrench language thecourse isofabout two-months duration.
Customs valuation iscovered bythecourse.
9. TheUnited States Customs Service hasinstituted training courses ontheGATT Code tobe
given byUnited States customs instructors whotravel tothecountry which requests technical assistance.
Thelanguage ofinstruction isEnglish. However simultaneous interpretation could bearranged under
special circumstances withadvance notice andiffunding isprovided.
10. Under mutually agreed terms, theEuropean Economic Community provides technical advice
andother assistance oncustoms matters, including valuation under theGATT Code. Thelanguages
usedcanbeEnglish, French, Spanish orother Community languages. Requests forsuchassistance
should beaddressed totheEuropean Communities.
11. Paragraphs 1to10giveaverybriefdescription ofthesetraining courses which include valuation
asapartofgeneral customs training. Fordetails, theCouncil 'sbrochure ontraining which describes
thetraining courses heldeachyearshould beconsulted. Direct contact withthecountry organizing
thecourse could alsobeestablished.
12. Asregards thefinancial grants, formostcases mentioned inthispaper thetraining isprovided
free.Inaddition somehostcountries bearthetravelling expenses offoreign officials toandfromcourses
andother expenses suchasboard andlodging.
13. Apartfromthespecialtrainingcoursesorganizedspeciallyfortheofficialsofdevelopingcountries,
customs administrations ofsome countries alsoadmit foreign trainees intheregular training courses
meant fortheirownofficials. Information onitcanalsobeobtained fromtheCouncil 'sbrochure on
training.