RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/VAL/W/13
15October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4297)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
SECOND ANNUAL REVIEW OFTHE IMPLEMENTATION AND
OPERATION OFTHE AGREEMENT ONIMPLEMENTATION
OFARTICLE VIIOFTHE GENERAL AGREEMENT
ONTARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Background Working Document bytheSecretariat
This working document iscirculated bytheSecretariat inpreparation forthesecond annual
review oftheimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIof
theGeneral Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994, tobeconducted attheforthcoming meeting on
25October 1996. Asindicated inthetextbelow, thisdocument willhave tobeupdated inlight of
thediscussion atthatmeeting inorder togiveafullpicture ofthedevelopments intheCommittee during
thecurrent year.
_______________
Article 23oftheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGeneral Agreement on
Tariffs andTrade 1994 provides that"the Committee shall review annually theimplementation and
operation ofthisAgreement taking intoaccount theobjectives thereof".
Themain objectives oftheAgreement arethose listed intheGeneral Introductory Commentary.
Theannual review oftheCommittee should cover theimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement
inthelight ofitsobjectives andspecific obligations.G/VAL/W/13
Page 2
Thecontents ofthisdocument areasfollows:
Page
1. Members, delayed applications, reservations andobserver status 3
2. Officers oftheWTO Committee onCustoms Valuation 8
3. Meetings oftheCommittee 8
4. National legislation presented 8
5. Amendments, interpretations andrectifications ofthe
textoftheagreement 9
6. Other decisions taken bytheCommittee 9
7. Technical assistance 9
8. Report bytheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation 10
9. Consultation anddispute settlement 10
10. Annual report totheCouncil forTrade inGoods 10G/VAL/W/13
Page 3
1. MEMBERS, DELAYED APPLICATIONS, RESERVATIONS AND OBSERVER STATUS
(a) MEMBERS (125)
Antigua andBarbuda
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Canada
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
European Communities
Fiji
Finland
France
Gabon
Gambia
Germany
GhanaGreece
Grenada
Guatemala
Guinea, Rep. of
Guinea Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Korea
Kuwait
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macau
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
NigeriaNorway
Pakistan
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Qatar
Rwanda
Romania
Saint Kitts andNevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent &Grenadines
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
South Africa
Spain
SriLanka
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad andTobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
ZimbabweG/VAL/W/13
Page 4
(b) Delayed Application andReservations1
Theprovisions forspecial anddifferential treatment available fordeveloping country
Members have been invoked asfollows:
(i) Article 20.1 (delayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement)
Bangladesh
Bolivia
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
Ghana
Guatemala
Honduras
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
KenyaKuwait
Madagascar
Malaysia
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru2
Philippines
Senegal
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
1Forthetextofthecommunications received from these Members, refer todocuments WT/Let/1/Rev.1, dated 2March
1995; WT/Let/1/Rev. 2,dated22May1995; WT/Let/19,dated15June 1995; WT/Let/24,dated28June 1995; WT/Let/28,
dated 21August 1995; WT/Let/29, dated 23August 1995; WT/Let/36, dated 8November 1995; WT/Let/41, dated 20
November 1995; WT/Let/48, dated 20December 1995; WT/Let/72, dated 11April 1996; WT/Let/78, dated 26April
1996; WT/Let/82, dated 10May 1996; WT/Let/85, dated 28May 1996; WT/Let/106, dated 20August 1996; WT/Let/108,
dated 23September 1996; WT/Let/112, dated 30September 1996.
2The invocation ofthespecial provisions available fordeveloping country Members under theCustoms Valuation
Agreement 1979 shall continue toapply under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement forthedeveloping country Member
concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/13
Page 5
(ii) Article 20.2 (delayed application ofthecomputed value method)
Bangladesh
Bolivia
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Egypt
Ecuador
ElSalvador
Gabon
Guatemala
Honduras
Indonesia
Jamaica
Kenya
Kuwait
MadagascarMalaysia
Mali
Malta
Mexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
Nigeria
Pakistan
Peru2
Philippines
Senegal
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
(iii) Annex III,paragraph 2(reservation concerning minimum values)
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Chile
Colombia
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Gabon
Guatemala
IndonesiaJamaica
Kenya
Madagascar
Malaysia
Malta
Mauritania
Myanmar
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru2Philippines
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uganda
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
_______________
2The invocation ofthespecial provisions available fordeveloping country Members under theCustoms Valuation
Agreement 1979 shall continue toapply under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement forthedeveloping country Member
concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/13
Page 6
(iv) Annex III,paragraph 3(reservation concerning reversal ofsequential order
ofArticles 5and6)
Argentina2
Bangladesh
Brazil2
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
GuatemalaHonduras
India2
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Madagascar
Malawi2
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
NicaraguaPakistan
Peru2
Philippines
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
Uganda
United Arab Emirates
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe2
(v) Annex III,paragraph 4(reservation concerning application ofArticle 5.2
whether ornottheimporter sorequests)
Argentina2
Bangladesh
Brazil2
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Djibouti
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
GuatemalaHonduras
India2
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Madagascar
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
Nigeria
PakistanPeru2
Philippines
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe2
_______________
2Theinvocat ionofthespeci alprovisionsavailablefordevel opingcount ryMember sunder theTokyo Round Customs
ValuationAgreement shallcontinuetoapplyunder theWTOCustoms ValuationAgreement forthedevel opingcount ryMember
concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/13
Page 7
(c) OBSERVER GOVERNMENTS (35)
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Belarus
Bulgaria
Cambodia
China
Congo
Croatia
Estonia
Former Yugoslav Rep.
ofMacedoniaGeorgia
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyz Rep.
Latvia
Lithuania
Moldova
Mongolia
Nepal
Niger
Oman
Panama
Russian FederationSaudi Arabia
Seychelles
Sudan
Taipei, Chinese
Tonga
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Zaire
(d) OBSERVER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (3)3
World Customs Organization
IMF
UNCTAD
_______________
[3These three organizations now have official observer status following agreement onguidelines forobserver status
forinternational intergovernmental organizations bytheGeneral Council (WT/L/161, dated 25July 1996).]G/VAL/W/13
Page 8
2. OFFICERS OFTHE WTO COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
Chairman: Mr.P.Palec ka(Czech Republic)
Vice-Chairman: Mr.M.Baumbach (Brazil)
3. MEETINGS OFTHE COMMITTEE
During thereporting period, theCommittee hasheld twomeetings on25April 1996 andon
25October 1996. The minutes ofthese meetings arecontained indocuments G/VAL/M/3 [and
G/VAL/M/4 (tobeissued), respectively].
4. NATIONAL LEGISLATION PRESENTED
(i) Texts ofnational legislation
Article 22oftheAgreement requires each Member toinform theCommittee ofany
changes initslaws andregulations relevant totheAgreement andintheadministration ofsuch
laws andregulations. Atitsfirst meeting, theCommittee agreed onprocedures forthe
notification ofnational legislation (G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 29-35, 71and72).
During thereporting period, thefollowing communications andtexts have been
submitted:
Canada G/VAL/N/1/CAN/1
Czech Republic G/VAL/N/1/CZE/1
Cyprus G/VAL/N/1/CYP/1
Ecuador G/VAL/N/1/ECU/2/Rev.1
European Communities G/VAL/N/1/EEC/Rev.1
Hong Kong G/VAL/N/1/HKG/1
India G/VAL/N/1/IND/1 and2
Japan G/VAL/N/1/JPN/1
Macau G/VAL/N/1/MAC/1
Norway G/VAL/N/1/NOR/1
Slovak Republic G/VAL/N/1/SVK/1
Slovenia G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1
South Africa G/VAL/N/1/ZAF
Turkey G/VAL/N/1/TUR/1
United States G/VAL/N/1/USA/1
(ii) Checklist ofissues
Atitsfirstmeeting,theCommitteeagreedonproceduresforthesubmissionofachecklist
ofissues (G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 36-39).
During thereporting period, thefollowing communication hasbeen submitted:
Czech Republic C/VAL/N/1/CZE/2G/VAL/W/13
Page 9
(iii) Examination ofnational legislation
Atitsmeeting of25April 1996, theCommittee pursued itsexamination ofvarious
communications andimplementing legislations. The Committee agreed toconclude the
examination ofthelegislations ofCanada (G/VAL/N/1/CAN/1) andtheEuropean Communities
(G/VAL/N/1/EEC/1/Rev.1). Itcontinued examination ofthelegislation ofMexico
(VAL/1/Add.25/Suppl.1, 2and3),andinitiated examination ofthelegislations ofIndia
(G/VAL/N/1/IND/2) andSlovenia (G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1). TheCommittee wasinformed that
five Members, Hong Kong (G/VAL/N/1/HKG/1), Japan (G/VAL/N/1/JPN/1), Norway
(G/VAL/N/1/NOR/1), theSlovak Republic (G/VAL/N/1/SVK/1) andtheUnited States
(G/VAL/N/1/USA/1), hadsubmitted communications indicating thattheir legislation notified
under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement remained valid under theWTO Customs
Valuation Agreement.
[Atthemeeting of25October, theCommittee continued examination ofthelegislations
ofMexico, India (G/VAL/W/8) andSlovenia (G/VAL/W/9 andG/VAL/W/10), andinitiated
examination oflegislations ofMacau (G/VAL/N/1/MAC/1) and South Africa
(G/VAL/N/1/ZAF). TheCommittee tooknoteofthecommunication from theCzech Republic
containing itsresponses totheChecklist ofIssues (G/VAL/N/1/CZE/2)].
(iv) Information ontheapplication oftheCommittee Decisions
Information ontheapplication oftheDecision ontheTreatment ofInterest Charges
intheCustoms Value ofImported Goods andofparagraph 2oftheDecision ontheValuation
ofCarrier Media Bearing Software forData Processing Equipment (G/VAL/5), made available
byMembers, issummarized indocument G/VAL/W/5/Rev.1.
5. AMENDMENTS, INTERPRETATIONS AND RECTIFICATIONS OFTHE TEXT OFTHE
AGREEMENT
Atitsfirst meeting on12May 1995, theCommittee adopted thedecisions relating tothe
interpretation oftheAgreement, which hadpreviously been adopted bytheTokyo Round Committee
(G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 66-67). Thedecisions were reproduced indocument G/VAL/5. Nonew
decisions relating tointerpretation oftheAgreement were adopted during thereporting period.
6. OTHER DECISIONS TAKEN BYTHE COMMITTEE
Atitsfirstmeeting on12May 1995, theCommittee adopted other decisions which arecontained
indocument G/VAL/5. TheCommittee alsoadopted decisions thatwere referred bytheMinisters
atMarrakesh totheCommittee foradoption. Thetexts ofthedecisions arecontained indocument
G/VAL/1. Noother decisions were adopted during thereporting period.
7. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Technical assistance aimed athelping countries intheir preparations fortheapplication ofthe
Agreement hascontinued tobeamatter ofhigh priority toMembers, theCommittee onCustoms
Valuation andtheTechnical Committee. Technical assistance isbeing made available tobothdeveloping
country Members andother developing countries interested intheAgreement.
Information ontechnical assistance activities iscontained inworking document
G/VAL/W/4/Rev.1 which reproduces information contained inWCO document 40.582.G/VAL/W/13
Page 10
8. REPORT BYTHE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
Meetings oftheTechnical Committee
Therepresentative oftheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) presented detailed oralreports
ontheSecond [and Third] Session[s] oftheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation ,held on4-8
March 1996 [and 30September-4 October 1996, respectively].
TheCommittee onCustoms Valuation took note ofthese reports andexpressed appreciation
forthecontinued valuable work oftheTechnical Committee.
9. CONSULTATION AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
TheEuropeanCommunities(WT/DS53/1),Norway(WT/DS53/2)andSwitzerland(WT/DS53/3)
requested consultations with Mexico under Article 19oftheAgreement andpursuant toArticle XXII:1
oftheGATT 1994 andArticle 4oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement
ofDisputes, concerning theMexican Customs Law andtheResolution establishing thegeneral rules
governing theapplication ofthecustoms provisions oftheNorth American Free Trade Agreement.
10. ANNUAL REPORT TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS (G/VAL/W/11)
[The Committee adopted itsannual report totheCouncil forTrade inGoods inaccordance
with therequirements ofArticle 23oftheAgreement (G/VAL/W/11).]