RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/VAL/W/21
10October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4379)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
DRAFT REPORT OFTHE COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS
A. Background
1. TheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs and
Trade 1994(theAgreement) entered intoforce on1January 1995. Thisreport covers theyear1997.
Itaddresses thework undertaken bytheCommittee onCustoms Valuation (theCommittee) inrespect
oftheobjectives oftheAgreement, which are: toprovide greater uniformity andcertainty inthe
implementation oftheprovisions ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994; toestablish afair,uniform and
neutral system forthevaluation ofgoods forcustoms purposes thatprecludes theuseofarbitrary of
fictitious customs values; toensure thatthebasisforvaluation ofgoods forcustoms purposes should,
tothegreatest extent possible, bethetransaction value ofthegoods being valued; andtosecure
additional benefits fortheinternational trade ofdeveloping countries.
2. During theperiod under consideration, theCommittee hasheldtwoformal meetings, on
25April 1997 (G/VAL/M/5) [and23October 1997 (G/VAL/M/6 -tobeissued)]. TheCommittee
elected Mr.Tullio diPietro (Italy) asChairman andMr.Ernesto delaGuardia (Argentina) asVice-
Chairman for1997.
3. Participation intheCommittee isopentoallWTO Members. Inaddition, Governments granted
observer status bytheWTO General Council attended Committee meetings asobservers. AttheApril
meeting, theCommittee granted observer status tothose organization which hadhadobserver status
onanadhocbasis, namely UNCTAD andtheWCO, aswellastotheACP andtheIADB. The
Committee tooknoteofthefactthattheWorld Bank andtheIMFhadobserver status byvirtue of
theAgreements between these organizations andtheWTO.
4. TheCommittee 'srulesofprocedure, which wereapproved bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods,
arecontained inG/L/146.
B. Implementation oftheAgreement
5. TheCommittee examined thenational legislations of[six]Members, [four] ofwhich hadbeen
submitted during theperiod under consideration. TheCommittee concluded itsexamination ofthe
legislations ofBulgaria, Fiji,andLiechtenstein and[Singapore]. With respect totheMexican and
Indian legislations, theCommittee tooknoteofthevarious points raised andtheexplanations furnished,
andagreed tocontinue theexamination.
6. Inconformity withArticle 20.1oftheAgreement, [52]developing country Members have
invoked delayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement. Understanding hasbeenreached in
theCommittee thatthetextsofthenational legislation ofthese developing country Members willbe
supplied totheCommittee before thedeveloping country Members begin applying theprovisions of
theAgreement (G/VAL/5, para. B2(ii)).G/VAL/W/21
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7. Todate[15]Members havesubmitted communications indicating thattheirlegislation notified
undertheTokyoRoundCustomsValuationAgreementremainedvalidundertheWTOCustomsValuation
Agreement; inaddition [12]Members havenotified either theircomplete national legislation oncustoms
valuation oramendments thereto; [34]Members havenotyetmade anynotification. (SeeAnnex).
TheChairman oftheCommittee hasrepeatedly expressed concern thatanumber ofMembers have
notyetcomplied withthenotification requirements, andurged those Members whohavenotyetdone
sotosubmit theirnotifications without further delay.
8. [Two] Members havenotified thedateoftheirapplication ofparagraph 2oftheDecision of
theCommittee onCustoms Valuation onValuation ofCarrier-Media Bearing Software forData
Processing Equipment (SeeAnnex).
9. TheCommittee tooknoteofaletter fromtheDirector oftheValuation Directorate oftheWCO,
circulated inG/VAL/W/12 providing explanation ofthecircumstances where thecostofsoftware
"imported" bysatellite mayformpartofthecustoms value ofimported goods. Thiswasinresponse
totheChairman 'sletter totheChairman oftheWCO Technical Committee circulated indocument
G/VAL/W/7. Ittooknoteofthediscussion intheTechnical Committee onthisissue anditsreferral
ofthismatter toappropriate experts, andagreed toconclude examination ofthisquestion. The
Committeealsoagreedtorectifytheterm"entretenimiento"intheSpanishtextoftheAgreementthrough
theissuance ofaProcès Verbale subsequently circulated indocument WT/Let/147. TheCommittee
alsotooknoteofthereport onthework oftheFourth (3-7March 1997) and[Fifth (6-10 October 1997)]
Session[s] oftheTechnical Committee oftheWCO.
10. AttheApril meeting, theCommittee discussed aproposal bytheUnited States indocument
G/VAL/W/18 ontechnical assistance activities. Three informal meetings weresubsequently heldto
allow further discussion aswellastoimprove awareness andunderstanding ofthetechnical activities
carried outorbeing carried outbyinternational organizations andMembers either bilaterally or
regionally. [AttheOctober meeting, theCommittee agreed toengage inamore active rolewithregard
totechnical assistance activities initially bydiscussing technical assistance needs andactivities aimed
atimplementation oftheAgreement inamore systematic andformal manner. Oneoftheaimsofthis
work istostreamline andtailor technical assistance activities totheparticular needs ofeachdeveloping
country Member. Arequest forinformation wascirculated bytheChairman toallMembers
(G/VAL/W/20) forcompletion andsubsequent review.]
[Tobecompleted afterthemeeting oftheCommittee on23October 1997.]G/VAL/W/21
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ANNEX
(i) Members whohaveindicated thattheirlegislation remains valid under theWTO Customs
ValuationAgreementinaccordancewiththedecisiontakenbytheCommittee(G/VAL/M/1)(15)
Australia (G/VAL/N/1/AUS/1) NewZealand (G/VAL/N/1/NZL/1)
Argentina (G/VAL/N/1/ARG/1) Norway (G/VAL/N/1/NOR/1)
Brazil (G/VAL/N/1/BRZ/1) Romania (G/VAL/N/1/ROM/1)
Hong Kong (G/VAL/N/1/HKG/1) SlovakRepublic(G/VAL/N/1/SVK/1)
Hungary (G/VAL/N/1/HUN/1) Switzerland (G/VAL/N/1/CHE/1)
Japan (G/VAL/N/1/JPN/1) Turkey (G/VAL/N/1/TUR/1)
Korea (G/VAL/N/1/KOR/1) United States (G/VAL/N/1/USA/1)
Zimbabwe (G/VAL/N/1/ZWE/1)
(ii) Members whohavesubmitted theirlegislations oramendments inaccordance withArticles 22.1
and22.2oftheAgreement (12)
Bulgaria (G/VAL/N/1/BLG/1) Liechtenstein (G/VAL/N/1/LIE/1)
Canada (G/VAL/N/1/CAN/1) Macau (G/VAL/N/1/MAC/1)
Czech Republic (G/VAL/N/1/CZE/1) Mexico(VAL/1/Add.25/Suppl.1/Rev.1,
European Communities (G/VAL/N/1/EEC/1/Rev.1) Suppl.2, andSuppl.3)
Fiji(G/VAL/N/1/FJI/1) Slovenia (G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1)
India (G/VAL/N/1/IND/ 2) Singapore (G/VAL/N/1/SGP/1)
South Africa (G/VAL/N/1/ZAF)
(iii) Members whohavedelayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement inaccordance with
Article 20.1oftheAgreement (52)
Bahrain (WT/Let/149) Kuwait (WT/Let/72)
Bangladesh (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Madagascar (WT/Let/85)
Bolivia (WT/Let/48) Malaysia (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Brunei Darussalam (WT/Let/36) Mali(WT/Let/78)
Burkina Faso(WT/Let/19) Malta (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Burundi (WT/Let/24) Mauritania (WT/Let/82)
Cameroon (WT/Let/41) Mauritius (WT/Let/1/Rev.2)
Central African Republic (WT/Let/19) Morocco (Decision inWT/L/38)
Chile (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Myanmar (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Colombia (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Nicaragua (WT/Let/29)
Costa Rica(WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Nigeria (WT/Let/106)
Côted'Ivoire (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Pakistan (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Cuba (WT/Let/19) Paraguay (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Djibouti (WT/Let/108) Peru(Decision inWT/L/38)
Dominican Republic (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Philippines (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Ecuador (WT/Let/72) Senegal (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Egypt (WT/Let/19) Singapore (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
ElSalvador (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) SriLanka (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Gabon (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Thailand (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Ghana (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Togo (WT/Let/19)
Guatemala (WT/Let/24) Tunisia (WT/Let/1/Rev.2)
Honduras (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Uganda (WT/Let/108)
Indonesia (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) United Arab Emirates (WT/Let/72)
Israel (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Uruguay (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Jamaica (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Venezuela (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Kenya (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Zambia (WT/Let/28)G/VAL/W/21
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(iv) Members whohavemade nonotifications (34)
Antigua &Barbuda Maldives
Barbados Mozambique
Belize Maldives
Benin Namibia
Botswana Papua NewGuinea
Chad Poland
Cyprus Qatar
Dominica Rwanda
Gambia Saint Kitts&Nevis
Grenada Saint Lucia
Guinea Bissau Saint Vincent &Grenadines
Guinea, Rep.of Sierra Leone
Guyana Solomon Islands
Haiti Suriname
Iceland Swaziland
Lesotho Tanzania
Malawi Trinidad &Tobago
(v) Members whohavenotified thattheyapply paragraph 2ofthedecision oftheCommittee on
Customs Valuation onValuation ofCarrier Media Bearing Software forData Processing
Equipment
Brunei Darussalam (G/VAL/N/3/BRN/1)
Singapore (G/VAL/N/3/SGP/1)