. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/65/Add.1
19 April 2000
(00-1591)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  Spanish
COMMUNICATION FROM CUBA CONCERNING PARAGRAPH 1 OF
ANNEX III TO THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION
OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Addendum
The following communication, dated 17 April 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Cuba.
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The Permanent Mission of the Republic of Cuba has the honour to attach herewith a
communication supplementing its initial request fo r an extension to implement the Agreement on
Customs Valuation.
Pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Annex III to the Agreement on Implementation
of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (Agreement on Customs
Valuation), the Government of the Republic of Cuba requests the Members of the World Trade
Organization's Committee on Customs Valuation to gran t a further extension of one year so that Cuba
will be in a position to implement the provisions of the Agreement fully.
We wish to indicate that, in Cuba's case, th e time-limit for implementation of the Agreement
on Customs Valuation expires on 20 April 2000, the date on which the five-year transitional period
given to Cuba pursuant to paragraph 1 of Article 20 of the Agreement (Provision on Special and
Differential Treatment for Developing Countries), comes to an end and it has not been sufficient to
enable the necessary measures to be taken to ensure proper application of the Agreement.
This request is based on the major objective of reinforcing the application process in the
customs system, and ensuring proper preparation of the personnel responsible for administering and
applying the provisions and obligations under the Agreement, taking into account the experience
shared and the recommendations made by the WTO experts who provided technical assistance in
1999.
Background to the request:- Customs matters are dealt with in Cuban legislation through Resolution 6/97, issued
by the Ministries of Foreign Trade and of Finance and Prices, which incorporates thevarious provisions laid down in the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994.
- At present, work is going on to complete the updating of domestic legislation on
customs matters so that it will fully regula te the valuation procedures in conformity
with the Agreement.G/VAL/W/65/Add.1
Page 2
- During the technical visit by customs valuation experts organized by the WTO
Secretariat in April 1999, it could be seen that the Republic of Cuba was making
considerable efforts to improve the training and capacity of the personnel working in
the customs service and the valuation methods they apply.
- It is recognized that the customs service of the Republic of Cuba does not have an
adequate data bank of reference prices, which is an essential precondition for meeting
the obligations arising from the Agreement.
- It is essential to pursue the work on mode rnizing the customs infrastructure so as to
simplify the customs valuation procedures.
For the reasons set out above, the  Republic of Cuba requests an extension for an additional
period of one year to allow it to terminate the technical training programmes both for the customs
personnel and the business sector, to complete the work being done on setting up a data bank of
reference prices, and to prepare domestic legisl ation to facilitate compliance with the obligations
arising from the Agreement.
The following is the programme of work to be carried out:
Activities to be undertaken Date of completion
1. Comprehensive training programmes for customs
inspectors working in branch offices of the customsservice and the business sector concerning the
provisions of the WTO AgreementJanuary 2001
2. Modernization of the customs infrastructure January 2001
3. Creation of a data bank of reference prices April 2001
4. Programme of seminars and conferences to train
the personnel responsible for administering andapplying the WTO AgreementApril 2001
5. Updating and enforcement of the new domestic
legislationApril 2001
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