RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/M/23
7 December 2001
(01-6231)
Committee on Customs Valuation
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 25 OCTOBER 2001
Chairman: Mr. K. J. Weerasinghe (Sri Lanka)
The agenda proposed for the meeting, circulated in WTO/AIR/1651 was adopted as follows:
Table of Contents
1. Report on the Work of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation...........................2
2. Information on Implementation and Administration of the Agreement .............................2
(a) Notification of na tional legi slation ........................................................................................ .....2
(i) Albania..................................................................................................................... ...................2
(ii) Colo mbia................................................................................................................... ..................2
(iii) Cost a Rica................................................................................................................ ...................3
(iv) Cuba ....................................................................................................................... ...................3
(v) Dominica.................................................................................................................... .................3
(vi) Dominican Republic ......................................................................................................... ..........3
(vii) Indone sia................................................................................................................. ....................3
(viii) Ko rea .................................................................................................................... .................3
(ix) Madagascar ................................................................................................................. ...............4
(x) Malaysia.................................................................................................................... ..................4
(xi) Maur itius.................................................................................................................. ...................4
(xii) Paki stan .................................................................................................................. ...................4
(xiii) Philip pines .............................................................................................................. ....................4
(xiv) Senegal ................................................................................................................... ..................5
(xv) Swaziland.................................................................................................................. ..................5
(xvi) Turkey .................................................................................................................... .................5
(xvii) Uruguay .................................................................................................................. ...................5
(b) Notification that national legislation under the Tokyo Round Customs Valuation
Agreement remains valid under the WT O Customs Valuation Agreement................................6
(c) Notifications made by de veloping country Members.................................................................6
3. Information on the application of Decisions of the Committee on Customs
Valuation...................................................................................................................... ..............7
4. Technical Assistance ......................................................................................................... ........7
(a) Article 20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade-Related Technical Assistance .............................7
(b) Report from the Secretariat on it s technical assist ance activit ies ...............................................8
5. India - Information on Certain Aspects of the European Communities Valuation
Policy......................................................................................................................... .................9G/VAL/M/23
Page 2
6. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Annual Reviews of the Implementation and Operation
of the Customs Valuation Agreement .....................................................................................9
7. Preshipment Inspec tion....................................................................................................... .....9
8. Other business............................................................................................................... ..........10
ANNEX .......................................................................................................................... .......................11
_______________
1. Report on the Work of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation
1.1 The observer of the World Customs Organization reported on the activities of the WCO
Technical Committee which is contained in Annex I to this report.
2. Information on Implementation and Administration of the Agreement
(a) Notification of national legislation
2.1 The Chairman recalled that Article 22 of the Agreement required each Member to inform the
Committee of any changes in its laws and regulations relevant to the Agreement and any changes in
the administration of such laws and regulations.  In addition, the Decision on Notification and
Circulation of National Legislation, adopted by the Tokyo Round Committee, required each Member
to notify its legislation to the Committee.  He noted  that legislation had recently been received from
the delegations of Brunei Darussalam and Peru and circulated in G/VAL/N/1/BRN/1 and
G/VAL/N/1/PER/1, respectively.  These would be taken up at the next meeting.
(i) Albania
2.2 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/ALB/1 which contained the
updated Albanian Customs Code, implementing provisions, Law No. 8719, Law No. 339, and four
internal instructions.
2.3 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the Albanian legislation.
(ii) Colombia
2.4 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/COL/1 which contained
Title VI of Decree 2685 modifying the customs legi slation, and Title VI of Resolution 4240 of 2 June
2000.  At the last meeting it was agreed to revert to  this matter pending translation of the legislation
into English.  In addition, he drew attention to th e responses to the Checklist of Issues contained in
G/VAL/N/2/COL/1.
2.5 The representative of the European Communities noted that the legislation referred to
reference and official prices.  He asked for assurance that these referred to those minimum values for
which Colombia maintained a reservation under paragraph 2, Annex III.
2.6 The representative of Colombia confirmed that the term official prices corresponded to the
minimum prices which were authorized by the Committee in the Decision contained in G/VAL/26.
She asked that the EEC present any additional concerns in writing.G/VAL/M/23
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2.7 The representative of the United States asked if their was a "sunset provision" in the
legislation that corresponded to the use of these minimum values.
2.8 The representative of Colombia confirmed that her Government was adhering strictly to the
time-frame in the Decision.  As could be seen by the notification in G/VAL/N/4/COL/2, her
Government had issued a phase-out resolution for the first group of products subject to minimum
values, as stipulated in G/VAL/26.
2.9 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Colombia.
(iii) Costa Rica
2.10 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/2/CRI/1 which contained
Costa Rica's responses to the Checklist of Issues.
2.11 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of Costa Rica's responses to the Checklist
of Issues.
(iv) Cuba
2.12 The Chairman drew  Members' attention to document G/ VAL/N/1/CUB/1 which contained the
Rules for the Customs Valuation of Goods for Cuba.
2.13 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Cuba.
(v) Dominica
2.14 The Chairman draw Members' attention to  document G/VAL/N/1/DM A/1 which contained
Dominica's legislation relevant to Customs Valuation.
2.15 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Dominica.
(vi) Dominican Republic
2.16 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/DOM/1 which contains
Law No. 147-00 to implement the Agreement, Decr ee No. 667-01 containing the Customs Valuation
Regulations, Standards 01/2001 and 02/2001 regulating the declaration form and implementing the
range of acceptable transaction values, and a public information leaflet.
2.17 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of the Dominican
Republic.(vii) Indonesia
2.18 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/IDN/ 1 which contained the
Government Regulation on Customs Valuation of the Calculation of Import Duties.
2.19 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Indonesia.
(viii) Korea
2.20 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/KOR/2 which contained the
revised Korean Customs Act and its sub-regulations relating to customs valuation.G/VAL/M/23
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2.21 The representative of the European Communities noted the technically sophisticated nature of
the legislation.  His delegation was still examining the treatment of goods under the deductive value
method where there was a reference to the domestic unit price.  Additionally, his delegation wanted to
examine the treatment of leased goods, aspects of royalties, the approach to difficult cases, and thesophisticated method for dealing with small consig nments in the legislation  He asked that the
Committee revert to this matter at the next mee ting to provide his delegation more time to examine
the legislation.
2.22 The representative of Korea asked for the EEC to provide its questions in writing.
2.23 The Committee agreed to revert to this matter at the next meeting.  Any additional questions
or issues should be submitted to the Secretariat before 15 April 2002.(ix) Madagascar
2.24 The Chairman drew Members' attention to  document G/VAL/N/1/MDG/1 which contained
Articles 24, 24 bis and 24 ter of the Customs Code, Order No. 11722 of 25 October 2000, and Decision
No. 548 of 25 October 2000 establishing the form of the declaration of elements pertaining to customs
valuation.
2.25 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Madagascar.
(x) Malaysia
2.26 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/MYS/1 which contained
Malaysia's Customs Act and Customs Regulation s.  In addition, document G/VAL/N/2/MYS/1
contained Malaysia's responses to the Checklist of Issues.
2.27 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Malaysia.
(xi) Mauritius
2.28 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/MUS/1 which contained
the amended Customs Act of Mauritius and the amended Customs Regulations.  In addition,
document G/VAL/N/2/MUS/1 contained Mauritius' responses to the Checklist of Issues.
2.29 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Mauritius.
(xii) Pakistan
2.30 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/PAK/1 which contained the
relevant section of Pakistan's Customs Act.
2.31 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Pakistan.
(xiii) Philippines
2.32 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/PHL/1 which contained
Republic Act No. 9135, otherwise known as the Tariff and Customs Code of the Philippines, as
Amended.
2.33 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of the Philippines.G/VAL/M/23
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(xiv) Senegal
2.34 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/SEN/1 which contained the
West African Economic and Monetary Union, to which Senegal belonged, and two customs
administration circulars establishing the general principles and the procedures for implementing theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement.
2.35 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Senegal.
(xv) Swaziland
2.36 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/2/SWZ/1 which contained the
Swaziland's responses to the Checklist of Issues.  He noted that Swaziland had not notified its national
implementing legislation.
2.37 The Committee agreed to revert to the responses from Swaziland after receipt of its
legislation, and that the Chairman would write to Swaziland requesting notification of its national
legislation.
(xvi) Turkey
2.38 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/2/TUR/1 which contained the
responses to the Checklist of Issues.
2.39 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the responses from Turkey.
(xvii)  Uruguay
2.40 The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/N/1/URY/1 which contained
Uruguay's national legislation putting into effect the "Rules Applicable to the Customs Valuation of
Goods" (Decree 574/994 of 29 December 1994).  In addition, Uruguay's responses to the Checklist of
Issues had been circulated in document G/VAL/N/2/ URY/1.  It had been agreed to revert to this
matter at the last meeting pending translation of the legislation.
2.41 The representative of Uruguay thanked the Secretariat for the translation of the legislation.
2.42 The Committee agreed to conclude the examination of the legislation of Uruguay.
2.43 The representative of the United States expressed his delegation's satisfaction with the recent
increase in the number of notifications to this Committee.  This was particularly true for those
countries which had benefitted from extensions of the transition periods and reservations for
minimum values.  Notification was an integral part of the Committee's review of implementation ofthe Agreement.  His delegation urged those who had not yet notified to do so as soon as possible.
2.44 The Chairman also expressed his satisfaction at the number of notifications of national
legislation received.  He also urged those Members who had not yet notified to do so as soon as
possible.G/VAL/M/23
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(b) Notification that national legislation under the Tokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement
remains valid under the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement.
2.45 The Chairman informed the Committee that it was agreed at the last meeting to suspend
consideration of this item until there was something to report on the three Members, Botswana,  Lesotho
and Mexico, whose legislation was outstanding in this regard.  He reminded Members that, under this
item, those Members that were Tokyo Round parties to  the Agreement, were required to notify whether
the legislation notified under the Tokyo Round was still valid.  If there were changes, they should notify
these changes to the WTO Committee.  Since there ha d been no notifications in this regard, he proposed
that the Committee further suspend consideration of this sub-item.
2.46 The Committee so agreed.
(c) Notifications made by developing country Members
2.47 The Chairman drew Members attention to document G/VAL/2/Rev .13 which contained the
updated lists of all Members who had invoked special and differential treatment provisions under the
Agreement.  In addition, he draw attention to document G/VAL/W/76 /Add.2 which contained an
updated inventory of notification requirements pursu ant to extension decisions and minimum value
reservations.  He suggested that the Committee take  note of the information contained in these two
documents.
2.48 The representative of Thailand asked which reservations were maintained by the nine countries
listed in paragraph II of G/VAL/2/Rev.13.2.49 The Secretariat clarified that the nine countries listed maintained reservations under paragraphs
3 and 4 of Annex III which did not have any expiration dates, unlike paragraphs 1 and 2 of Annex III
and Articles 20.1 and 20.2.
2.50 The Committee took note of the information contained in these two documents.
- Extension requests of delay period
2.51 The Chairman informed the Committee that under this sub-heading, there were four pending
requests being dealt with by the Committee, name ly from Bahrain, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and the United
Arab Emirates.  He drew Members' attention to the document G/VAL/W/90/Add.1 which was recently
circulated.  It contained the draft decision for an additional 6 month extension of Sri Lanka's Article 20.1
delay period.  He proposed that the Committee adopt this Decision.
2.52 The Committee adopted the draft D ecision contained in G/VAL/W/90/Add.1.
2.53 The representative of Sri Lanka expressed her Government's appreciation to the Committee for
approving its request for delayed implementation and application of the Agreement on Customs
Valuation until 30 April 2002.  The short period was requested due to unforeseen delays in the
enactment of the domestic legislation for implemen tation of the Agreement ar ising from the dissolution
of Parliament.  Therefore, under exceptional circum stance, the justifiable and legitimate reasons had
been recognized by this Committee.  Sri Lanka had taken a number of measures in the areas of
administrative reform and human resource development to implement the Agreement.  In this regard,
her delegation thanked those Members, both develope d and developing country trading partners, which
had provided technical assistance.  Her Government  currently limited its application of minimum values
for customs purposes to used motor vehicl es, classified under HS 8701, 8702, 8703 and 8704.  They
were not used for protectionist measures but ma inly for preventing under-invoicing and regularising
imports of used motor vehicles.  Therefore, her dele gation wished to state that, pursuant to paragraph 2,G/VAL/M/23
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Annex III, and the relevant provisions of the Agreement, her Government intended to submit a request
for a reservation for minimum values for used moto r vehicles before the expiration of the extension
period.
- Minimum value reservations
2.54 The Chairman informed Members that under pa ragraph 2, Annex III, tw o requests were pending
before the Committee, namely from Morocco and Guatem ala.  He was not in a position to report on any
agreements on these requests.
- Notifications made under Decisions concerning delay extensions and minimum value
reservations
2.55 The Chairman noted that under this sub-item, the Committee was to consider the notifications
made under the Decisions concerning delay extensi ons and minimum value reservations.  Five such
notifications had been received.
2.56 The representative of Colombia referred to its notification in G/VA L/N/4/COL/2 in which
Colombia notified the Resolution she spoke about earlier regarding the phase-out of minimum values in
Annex I of the Decision in G/VA L/26. She reported that Colombia had not changed the information
sources nor the methodologies for the establishment of the minimum values which had been submitted
to the Committee earlier.  Also, no new minimum values had been established.
2.57 The Committee took note of the statements made.
3. Information on the application of Decisions of the Committee on Customs Valuation
3.1 The Chairman informed the Committee that unde r this agenda item, the Committee noted any
new notifications of application of the Decisi ons of the Committee on Customs Valuation on the
"Treatment of Interest Charges in the Customs Valu e of Imported Goods and on the Valuation of Carrier
Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment", both adopted by the Committee and
contained in document G/VAL/5.  Since the last  meeting, document G/VAL/W/5/Rev.10 had been
circulated which included the addition of notifications from the Kyrgyz Republic.
3.2 The Committee took note of the information.
4. Technical Assistance
4.1. The Chairman drew Members' attention to document G/VAL/8/ Add.8 which contained
information on completed WCO technical assistance activities.  The information compiled was based on
the information provided to the 12th and 13th sessions of the Technical Committee on Customs
Valuation.  In particular, he noted Annex I of the report, which contained an  Evaluation of Technical
Assistance Activities Undertaken by the WCO Secretaria t.  He considered that this kind of information
could provide useful guidance to Members and the Co mmittee as it looked at reinvigorating its technical
assistance activities.  He proposed that the Committ ee take note of the information provided in the
document.
4.2 The Committee so agreed.
(a) Article 20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade-Related Technical Assistance
4.3 The Chairman recalled that the Committee had adopted a Work Programme on Technical
Assistance for Capacity Building as Regards the Implementation and Administration of the WTOG/VAL/M/23
Page 8
Agreement on Customs Valuation, contained in  document G/VAL/W/82/Rev.1.  He asked for
comments related to the follow-up of the adoption of this text.
4.4 The representative of Japan recalled that at the July 2001 meeting of the Committee, his
delegation had summarized his Government's technical assistance activities.  His delegation was
presently preparing a paper to explain its activities and hoped it would be ready shortly.
4.5 The representative of the European Communities stated that his delegation was encouraged with
the on-going activities both in the WTO and the WCO a nd with the critical analysis contained in the
report of the WCO technical assistance activities.  In addition, he encouraged Members to continue to
implement their national work programmes and to continue to keep the Committee informed of such
activities.  He added that the Work Programme adopted by the Committee called for the convening of aseminar.  He suggested that in the next year, Members and the Secretariat reflect on how and when this
would best be held.  His delegation considered that it might be more useful to hold such a seminar after
a period of implementation of the Agreement, perhaps in the second half of next year.
4.6 The representative of the United States supported the views expressed by the EC.  In 1997 the
Committee began a more active approach to technica l assistance and his delegation looked forward to
reinvigorating this work.
4.7 The representative of India noted that signifi cant work was being done to extend participation of
a customs valuation workshop to be hosted by the I ndian Government to developing country Members
in the Asia-Pacific region.  It would be held from 26 November to 14 December 2001.  It would provide
hands-on training to participants which would go  beyond the usual seminars and workshops.  She
supported the EC idea of dealing w ith implementation-related matters in the technical assistance work
and the forthcoming seminar.  She reminded Member s that India was a developing country that had
been applying the Agreement for over 13 years, and, as such, had a lot of experience with the
implementation issues relevant to applying the Agreement.
4.8 The representative of the Philippines thanke d India for inviting her Government to the
upcoming workshop in India.  Her delegation would be circulating some specific technical assistance
needs and was hoping that donors would come forward to meet these needs.
4.9 The representative of the United States informed the Committee about a new programme
recently agreed between the WCO and the United St ates Agency for International Development to
provide technical assistance for five African countrie s, Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal, and Tanzania.
The programme would run over a two-year pe riod and would focus on practical aspects of
implementation of the Agreement.  It would be a ha nds on approach for these countries and could serve
as a model for other efforts.
4.10 The Chairman asked Members to reflect on the seminar contained in the Work Programme and
how the Committee should proceed on this matter next year.  He would consult informally among
Members on this matter.
4.11 The Committee took note of the statements made and agreed  to maintain this item on its agenda
for the next meeting.
(b) Report from the Secretariat on its technical assistance activities
4.12 The Chairman informed Members that he was circ ulating copies of a recent publication that had
been made available to the Committee by the Comm onwealth Secretariat and the International Trade
Centre.  It was a publication that had been produced  through the support of these two organizations and
he believed would serve as a very useful reference guide for many delegations.  He thanked theG/VAL/M/23
Page 9
Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Trad e Centre for making the effort to produce such a
useful guide, and for providing copies to the Members of the Committee.
4.13 The Secretariat reported that it was in the pro cess of finalizing preparations for the workshop
mentioned by the representative of India to be  held in Mumbai, India from 26 November to 14
December 2001.  Further, the Market Access Divisi on had recently acquired a new member who would
be working primarily on providing technical assist ance on customs valuation.  Finally, the Secretariat
reported that it was in the process of preparing the 2002 technical assistance programme in cooperation
with the Technical Cooperation Division and othe r relevant organizations such as the WCO.
4.14 The Committee took note of the statements.
5. India - Information on Certain Aspects of the European Communities Valuation Policy
5.1 The Chairman informed the Committee that at the last meeting of the Committee, it was agreed
to revert to this item at this m eeting following an exchange of views between India and the EC. He had
urged both parties to use the interim time between mee tings to engage in bilateral discussions with a
view to reaching a resolution on this matter.  He understood that the two parties were still exchanging
information so he suggested that the Committee revert to this item at the next meeting.
5.2 The representative of Chile informed the Committ ee that his Government had also had bilateral
meetings.  He asked that the Committee be kept info rmed of the discussions between the two parties on
this matter.
5.3 The Committee agreed to revert to this matter at the next meeting and took note  of the
statements made.
6. Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Annual Reviews of the Implementation and Operation of the
Customs Valuation Agreement
6.1 The Chairman reported that at the last meetin g, the Committee took note of the three documents
containing the Fourth, Fi fth and Sixth Annual Reviews and agreed  that the incoming Chair would take
up the matter through consultations among the intere sted Members.  At this meeting, the Seventh
Annual Review was added, contained in document G/VAL/W/89.  He informed the Committee that he
had consulted some Members on this matter.  India maintained its position that the documents were
factually incorrect in paragraph I(b)(iv) and requested  that it be included in the list of Members which
had reserved its rights under para graph 2, Annex III.  Other Members maintained their position that, in
light of the Decision on Reservations, contained in document G/VAL/5, once a Member began applying
the Agreement, the possibility of requesting a rese rvation under the Agreement to maintain a system of
minimum values no longer applied.  Given this situ ation, he was not able to report on a favorable
outcome of his consultations.  He emphasized th at the Committee had been unable to carry out a
requirement of the Agreement for the past four year s.  Given no alternative, he suggested that the
Committee take note of the four documents c ontaining these draft Annual Reviews, namely
G/VAL/W/29, G/VAL/W/ 43, G/VAL/W/77, and G/VAL/W/89 and that this matter be referred to the
next meeting of the Committee.
6.2 The Committee so agreed.
7. Preshipment Inspection
7.1 The Chairman informed the Committee that, fo llowing adoption of the final report of the
Working Party on Preshipment Inspection in document G/L/300, the General Council agreed that
future monitoring of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection should be undertaken initially by theG/VAL/M/23
Page 10
Customs Valuation Committee, where PSI would be a standing agenda item.  He reminded Members
that, according to Article 6 of the Agreement on PSI, the Ministerial Conference was obliged to
review the provisions, implementation and operation of the Agreement "at the end of the second year
from the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement and every three years thereafter…"  The first
review had been carried out from 1996 through 1999, the year which in fact marked the three-yearperiod for the second review.  Given that it was presently 2001, he noted two aspects to this question.
The first was whether Members wished to carry out this review for which there was a legal obligation
to do so.  And the second aspect concerned the body  in which the review would be carried out which
was likely a question for the General Council.  He did not expect Members to have clear ideas on this
matter at this meeting, but invited Members to take note of this information and reflect on an
appropriate course of future action for the Committee.
7.2 The Committee took note of the statement made.
8. Other business
(a) Communication from Thailand on the use of minimum values for canned pineapple
8.1 The representative of Malaysia, speaking on behalf of Thailand, stated that the delegation of
Thailand was seeking clarification from the Mexican delegation regarding Mexico's use of minimum
value criteria, instead of transaction value criteria, to value importations of canned pineapple.  The
Mexican official Gazette, published on 28 February 2001, established the minimum importation value
on canned pineapple (H.S. 20.08.20.01) at US$ 0.701 since 1 March 2001.  Thailand's concern was
that the customs value of imported goods must be the transaction value unless a Member was granteda reservation for using minimum value by virtue of Annex III, paragraph 2.  Thailand sought further
clarification from the Mexican delegation on the foll owing questions:  What would be the reasons for
using minimum values on canned pineapple;  did the Mexican Government make a reservation for the
use of minimum values as provided in Annex III, paragraph 2 of the Agreement;  regarding Article X
of GATT 1994, did Mexico notify the relevant Gaze tte to the WTO;  how long would the minimum
value criteria be used;  how was the value of US$ 0.701 being calculated;  and could Mexico provide
details of the procedures in the Gazette or in the relevant regulations?  Finally, Thailand reserved the
right to raise this matter again, particularly if it learned that it applied to other products as well.
8.2 The representative of Mexico took note of Thai land's concerns and would forward them to his
capital.
8.3 The Chairman requested Thailand to present the questions in writing to Mexico for response.
(b) Communication from the EEC on Indian customs valuation legislation
8.4 The respresentative of the European Communities stated his understanding that there had
been a recent amendment to India's customs valuation legislation.  He asked for confirmation of this
and, if it was true, for some information on the contents and objectives of the amended legislation.
8.5 The Chairman stated that the delegate of India had had to leave the meeting, but had informed
him that her delegation took note of the EC request for information.
(c) Date of the next meeting
8.6 The Chairman proposed that the next meeting of the Committee, barring any unforeseen need
to convene beforehand, would be held on 30 April 2002.
8.7 The Committee so agreed.G/VAL/M/23
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ANNEX
Report to the Committee on Customs Valuation on the activities of the
Technical Committee on Customs Valuation and on technical assistance
My name is Aziz El Kassimy and I am the Deputy Director of the WCO's Valuation
Sub-Directorate.  I am reporting to you today on behalf of the Chair of the Technical Committee on
Customs Valuation and also on behalf of the WCO Secretariat.
As my last report to you was prior to the Technical Committee's Twelfth Session, which was
held in May 2001, I will be reporting the outcomes of that meeting to you today as well as the
Thirteenth Session of the Technical Committee which was held during the week of 15 to19 October 2001.
Twelfth Session
The Twelfth Session of the Technical Committee was held during the week of 28 May to
1 June 2001.  This Session also included the Technical Committee's second theme meeting on the
Monday and Tuesday of that week.  You will recall th at the theme meetings are an alternative form of
technical assistance for developing country Members which was agreed by the Technical Committee
in 1999.
The theme topic was "Valuation management in a post-import audit environment" and
presentations were made by Canada, South Africa , the Netherlands, Indonesia, the United Kingdom,
Uganda, Morocco, the United States, Japan, Kenya, Brazil and the International Chamber of
Commerce.
A Checklist on Drafting National Valuation Legislation for Implementation of the WTO
Valuation Agreement was endorsed by the Technical Committee and placed on the WCO Valuation
Sub-Directorate's website.  The Checklist is another means of assisting developing country Members
to implement the WTO Valuation Agreement.
Technical items including "application of the WTO Valuation Agreement with respect to
Decision 6.1, and the relationship, if any, between Articles 1 and 5 of the Agreement were examinedand intersessional work was identified for furthe r examination of these issues at the Thirteenth
Session of the Technical Committee.  One other technical item was examined and the Technical
Committee agreed that until appropriate practical examples of "time element regarding Articles 1, 2
and 3" were submitted by Members, that the item would not be discussed further.
The topic of the next theme meeting at the Fourteenth Session to be held in April 2002 was
agreed to be "Administrative Considerations in the Implementation and Application of the WTO
Valuation Agreement".
Elections for Chair and two Vice-Chair positions were held and Ms. Virginia Brown of the
United States was re-elected as Chair with Mrs. Azizi Hakima of Morocco andn Mr. A.M. Masrur
Ahmed of Bangladesh as Vice-Chairs.
Thirteenth Session
At its Thirteenth Session, the customs administ rations of Costa Rica and the Slovak Republic
presented oral status reports on their implementation progress to the Technical Committee.  It should
be noted that Costa Rica stated that it had not experienced a loss of revenue as a result ofG/VAL/M/23
Page 12
implementing the WTO Valuation Agreement.  A representative of the ICC also presented a paper on
the "documentation typically available and/or required to substantiate valuation in order to be
compliant with the WTO requirements".
The Technical Committee, with minor adjustments, endorsed the programme for its theme
meeting to be held during the Fourteenth Session and speakers will be sought by the Secretariat
during the intersession.
A number of technical items were examined including "valuation treatment of goods imported
from Free Trade Zones" and the relationship, if any, between Articles 1 and 5 and each will have
further intersessional work conducted by the Secretariat for further examination at the Fourteenth
Session of the Technical Committee.
I ask the Committee to specifically note that a Case-study on "practical application of the
WTO Valuation Agreement with respect to Decision 6.1" was finalized and approved by the
Technical Committee.  The Case-study will be published as an instrument of the Technical Committee
in the WCO Valuation Compendium.
Both of the Technical Committee's sessions that I have reported to you today were extremely
productive and I would like to further inform you that the contributions of developing country
Members have increased significantly.
Technical assistance
At the Twelfth Session of the Technical Committee, the customs administrations of Australia,
Canada, France, Japan, Peru and the United States reported their technical assistance activities.
Australia had delivered valuation technical assistance in Samoa and Vanuatu under the UNCTADASYCUDA Sub-Regional Project for the South Pacific;  Canada in Jamaica sponsored by the
Caribbean Customs Law Enforcement Council;  France in Lebanon;  Japan in a number of countries;
Peru to Ecuador and Venezuela;  and the United States to Mongolia (conducted in the US), Moldova
and Egypt.
The Secretariat reported on its technical assistance activities in Ethiopia;  Thailand;
Mozambique;  Azerbaijan;  Nepal;  Thailand (regional);  Sudan;  Myanmar;  Jamaica (with Canadianparticipation)L;  Tanzania;  Madagascar;  Korea (regional);  Colombia;  Venezuela;  China;  Bolivia;
Benin (regional);  Vietnam;  I ndonesia;  and Rwanda.  The first component of the Tanzania mission
was on behalf of the WTO.
At its Thirteenth Session, the Technical Committee was advised of the valuation assistance
provided by Japan to a number of countries;  Peru in the Dominican Republic;  and Malaysia in a
number of Pacific Rim countries.  The United States also advised that valuation technical assistance
had been provided to CARICOM countries, th e ANDEAN nations and Bolivia.  The US is also
planning to deliver valuation assistance in Botswana and the People's Republic of China before the
end of the year.
The Secretariat reported that the Valuation Sub-Directorate had delivered valuation technical
assistance to the customs administrations of Pakistan, Brazil (regional), Chile, Fiji Islands (Part 2 of a
two-part programme) and South Africa.  The Secretariat also provided the Technical Committee with
an evaluation of the valuation technical assistance undertaken.
The Secretariat further reported to the Technical Committee that the WCO and USAID
valuation technical assistance contract had been signed and that preliminary work had commenced to
assist the selected Sub-Saharan countries with their implementation and maintenance programmes forG/VAL/M/23
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the WTO Valuation Agreement.  The five countries are Kenya, Lesotho, Nigeria, Senegal and
Tanzania.  The contract is due to be completed on 31 July 2003.
I would like to inform you that the positiv e working relationship between the WTO and WCO
Secretariats in regard to valuation technical assist ance has continued and will continue in the form of
mutual technical assistance delivery.  The WTO Secretariat continues to report to each Session of the
Technical Committee on the work of the WTO in the area of valuation.
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