WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/8/Add.9
25 April 2002
(02-2387)
Committee on Customs Valuation
INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES
Addendum
At its meeting of 12 May 1995, the Committee on Customs Valuation agreed that greater
transparency of technical assistance activities, pursuant to Article  20.3 of the Agreement on
Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, would be ensured if the information documents
prepared for the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation on such activities were also made
available as WTO documents.
This document provides information on completed WCO technical assistance activities
reproduced from WCO document VT0232, 21 February 2002.  The present document updates GATT
document VAL/W/29/Rev.9, and WTO documents G/VAL/W/4 and G/VAL/8 and Adds.1-8.
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I. INTRODUCTION
1. Article 20.3 of the Agreement provides for the establishment of technical assistance
programmes for developing countries.  The Article goes  on to state that such technical assistance may
include, inter alia , the training of personnel, assistance in preparing implementation measures, access
to sources of information regarding customs valuation methodology, and advice on the application of
the provisions of the Agreement.  In this regard, it is recognized that for developing countries whichare, by virtue of being Parties to the Agreement,  committed to apply the Agreement at a fixed date or
which are considering applying it in the near future, it would be a matter of urgent need to have a
nucleus of customs officers trained in the Code.  Thus, among the various technical assistance
programmes offered, the training of personnel acquires a degree of priority.
2. As provided for in Annex II of the Agreement, the responsibilities of the Technical
Committee include the facilitation of technical assistance with a view to furthering the international
acceptance of the Agreement.  The Technical Committee at its first meeting expressed the view that
the Customs Co-operation Council, through its Secretariat, could provide co-ordination in developing
a technical assistance programme in co-operation with member administrations willing to provideassistance and other international organizations.  The Council's Plan for the '90s has also placed
considerable emphasis on the need for holding seminars and training courses on the GATT Code.
3. At its Eighth Session, the Technical Committee had examined document 31.808 describing
seminars and training courses organized on customs valuation, especially on the GATT ValuationAgreement, and the activities of the Customs Co-operation Council in this area.  The Committee
found the document useful and in this regard directed the Secretariat to periodically update the
information. In successive sessions of the Committee, a number of revised or supplementary
documents were prepared which periodically updated this information.  This document contains
information provided by the WCO Secretariat of its most recent technical assistance activities.G/VAL/8/Add.9
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ACTIVITIES
Recipient Member Malawi
Duration : 14 to 18 January 2002
Location : Blantyre, Malawi
Subject : Valuation and valuation fraud
Type : Joint National Workshop
Objectives : The implementation of the WTO Valuation Agreement, risk-management
and post-clearance audit, review and evaluation
Participants : 14 officers from MRA Headquarters and the Southern Region
Facilitator : 1 Technical Officer from  the Valuation Sub-Directorate and
1 Supervisory Investigator from Japanese customs
Donor: Japan
Recipient Member Mongolia
Duration : 14 to 18 January 2002
Location : Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Subject : Application of the WTO Valuation Agreement
Type : National Workshop
Objectives : To provide information and training in regard to the practical implementation
of the WTO Valuation Agreement and to discuss issues in respect of
developing procedures and policy particularly in regard to post-importation
audit
Participants : 30 Officers from Headquarters, regional offices and border posts
Facilitators : 1 Technical Officer fr om the Valuation Sub-Directorate and
1 Post Entry Examination Specialist from Japanese customs
Donor : Japan
Recipient Member Democratic Republic of the Congo and Republic of the Congo
Duration : 28 January to 1 February 2002
Location : Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the CongoSubject : Application of the WTO Valuation Agreement
Type : Regional workshop
Objectives : To provide information and training in regard to the practical implementation
of the WTO Valuation Agreement and to discuss specific practical cases in
regard to the implementation of the Agreement
Participants : 20 Officers from Democratic Republic of the Congo and 10 Officers from
Republic of Congo
Facilitators : 1 Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate
Donor : JapanG/VAL/8/Add.9
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Recipient Member Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA)
Duration : 18 February to 1 March 2002
Location : Lusaka, Zambia
Subject : Train the trainers programme on the WTO Valuation Agreement
Type : Regional Training WorkshopObjectives : To provide detailed training to trainers in regard to the legislative
requirements of the WTO Valuation Agreement and its practical
implementation
Participants : Training Officers for COMESA countries
Facilitator : One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate
Donor: COMESA/EU
Recipient Member Sri Lanka
Duration : 25 February to 1 March 2002
Location : Colombo, Sri Lanka
Subject : Implementation and Application of the WTO Valuation AgreementType : National Workshop
Objectives : To provide information and training in regard to the practical implementation
of the WTO Valuation Agreement and to identify and review best practices
in implementation strategies.  To develop knowledge of valuation policy
development and how to effectively work within the WTO ValuationAgreement and its supporting mechanisms
Participants : Middle managers from Headquarters;  officers from regional offices and
border posts
Facilitators : One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and one
Investigation Officer from the Japanese Customs Administration
Donor : Japan
Recipient Members : Islamic Republic of Iran and members of the Economic Co-operation
Organization (ECO)
Duration : 10 to 14 March 2002
Location : Tehran, IR Iran
Subject : Implementation of the WTO Valuation Agreement
Type : Seminar
Objectives : To review the legal provisions of the Agreement and issues relating to
valuation control;  assistance with preparation for implementation
Participants : Officials from the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA)
and ECO member countries
Facilitators : One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and one Officer
from the Japanese Customs Administration
Donor : JapanG/VAL/8/Add.9
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Recipient Member Ecuador
Duration : 18 to 22 March 2002
Location : Guayaquil, Ecuador
Subject : Application of the WTO Valuation AgreementType : National Workshop
Objectives : To provide information and training in regard to the practical implementation
of the WTO Valuation Agreement and to discuss issues in respect of
developing procedures and policy particularly in regard to post-importation
audit
Participants : Officers from Headquarters, regional offices and border posts
Facilitators : One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and one Post
Entry Examination Specialist from Japanese Customs
Donor : Japan
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