RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/84
12 June 2001
(01-2905)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  French
COMMUNICATION FROM RWANDA CONCERNING PARAGRAPH 1 OF
ANNEX III OF THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION
OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
The following communication, dated 21 May 2001, has been received from the Ministry of
Commerce, Industry and Tourism of the Republic of Rwanda.
_______________
When our country became a Member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), we requested
and were granted deferral of application of the above Agreement for a period of five years.  The
deadline expires on 22 May 2001.
In view of our country's special circumstances and the scant resources at our disposal, we
have been unable to take all the requisite steps for implementation within the prescribed time limit.
In our letter No. 0847/15/04.1/2000 of 31 May 2000, we accordingly asked you to consider
the possibility of postponing the date of applicat ion of the Agreement for a further three years, as
from 22 May 2001, pursuant to the provisions of  Annex III, pa ragraph 1, of the Agreement.
This additional period will enable us – with technical support from the WTO, the World
Customs Organization (WCO) and any Members willin g, by virtue of Article 20.3 of the Agreement,
to assist us in our efforts – to introduce all the reforms needed to give effect to this accord.
You will find a draft plan of action enclosed for your information. Its implementation will
depend largely on the amount of technical assistance that may be given to us.
We are convinced that we can, as always, count on your understanding and trust that our
request will receive favourable consideration.G/VAL/W/84
Page 2
Plan of action for implemen tation of the WTO Agreement
Five prerequisites will need to be met before the GATT valuation system can be applied:
• Revise customs legislation;
• computerize customs offices;
• restructure the Department;
• train customs staff;
• train the private sector.
I. Revision of customs legislation
• Objective :
- To revise and harmonize customs legislation in the light of the Kyoto
Convention, the GATT Agreement and the Law Establishing the Rwanda
Revenue Authority.
• Achievements and future work  (see table below)
Activities Achievements Needs for
technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
1. Creation of the
Commission on therevision of customs
legislation- - - Created on
20/01/2000
2. Harmonization of
customs legislation
with the revised
Kyoto Convention- WCO training
seminar on the
Kyoto
Convention held
from5-8/12/20001 week 3 members of
the Commission
took part in the
seminar
3. Comparative analysis
of the Kyoto
Convention and
customs legislationWork began on
27 January 2000
and was
completed in
January 2001- 12 months Completed
4. Finalization of a
technical opinion on
the Kyoto Convention- - 10 May Completed
5. First examination of
the technical opinionby the Commission- - 15 May 2001 Completed
6. Second examination
of the technical
opinion by the
Commission- - 17 May 2001 -G/VAL/W/84
Page 3
Activities Achievements Needs for
technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
7. Transmission of the
technical opinion to
the CG- - 18 May 2001 It is
recommended
that the draft be
submitted to theWCO for
analysis before
reaching any
decision
8. Identification of the
provisions of the
GATT Agreement tobe incorporated in
customs legislation- - 31 May 2001 Distribution of
tasks
9. Evaluation of revision
work- - 30 August 2001 -
10. Completion of
revision work- - 20 November 2001 -
11. Examination of the
draft law by a WCO
expert- Expert from the
WCO Valuation
Directorate20 December 2001 It is
recommended
that the draft
law be
submitted to theWCO prior to
its examination
by the decision-
makers
12. Presentation of the
draft law to the CG- - 28 December 2001 -
13. Submission of the
draft law to the
Minister of Financeand Economic
Planning- - 25 January 2002 -
II. Computerization of customs offices
• Objectives :
- Purchase computer equipment;
- develop programmes for the automatic registration and processing of customs
declarations ("DMCs") on the basis of file data (importer, supplier, goods);
- investigate options for automatically ca lculating the value to be declared (IT
techniques);
- extend the ASYCUDA programme to border posts;
- prepare the necessary user's manuals.G/VAL/W/84
Page 4
• Achievements and future work  (see table below)
Activities Achievements Needs for
technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
1. Purchase of
computer
equipment- Gikondo and the
Airport are already
equipped andoperational
- The second stage
should focus on
major offices
(Gatuna, Butare, etc.)- Equipment
- Staff trainingMay 2001 Electrification is
necessary before
border posts canbe equipped, as
most of them do
not have electricity
2. Development
of programmesfor automatic
registration and
processing of
customs
declarations
("DMCs")- Gikondo and the
Airport are alreadyusing UNIX software
- A vast amount of
data is available in
ASYCUDAGuidance from the
WCO andUNCTAD to
determine whether
the
UNIX/ASYCUD
A software is
compatible with
the GATTvaluation systemMay 2002 Request for
technicalassistance recently
submitted to the
WCO
3. Investigation of
options for
automatically
calculating the
value to bedeclared- Guidance from the
WTO or
UNCTAD as to
how this is done in
countries alreadyapplying the
GATT AgreementAugust 2001 The RRA should
consider study
tours to gain
experience from
countries alreadyapplying the
system
4. Extension of
ASYCUDA to
border postsProposal to introduce
the transit module in
offices facing an
extremely heavy
workloadSupport, in the
form of funding or
equipment, from
the WCO,
UNCTAD, theWTO or
COMESAJanuary 2002 Such an extension
is advisable as it
will facilitate the
exchange of
informationbetween border
posts and the
Directorate-
General
5. Preparation of
user's manuals
for computerprogrammes- IT expert Before
March 2002This will,
however, depend
on the programmesselectedG/VAL/W/84
Page 5
Activities Achievements Needs for
technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
6. Staff training - IT expert Before
March 2002- Priority given to
officers of the
Customs Valuation
Section andinspectors required
to apply the
system
- Recruitment and
training of a
national expert
III. Restructuring of the Department
• Objectives :
- Reorganize the Valuation Division;
- strengthen the verification process;
- create a rules of origin section;
- create a post-clearance control section.
• Achievements and future work  (see table below)
Activities Achievements Needs for technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
1. Reorganization of
the Valuation
Division2 existing sections:
- Tariff Section
-C u s t o m s
Valuation SectionMeeting held with a
KPMG expertApril 2001 - Definition of
new
responsibilities
- Creation of the
Rules of Origin
Section
2. Strengthening of the
verification process
through the
appointment of two
officers in charge ofrisk management
and data collection
at Gikondo and the
Airport- - June 2001 -
3. Establishment of a
database on the
provenance andorigin of goods
Drafting of a manual
on how to monitor
respect for rules oforigin-- B e f o r e
March 2002
Before
March 2002-G/VAL/W/84
Page 6
IV. Staff training
• Objectives :
- Target customs officers requiring training as a matter of priority;
- propose a timetable and specify the purpose of training.
• Achievements and future work  (see table below)
Activities Achievements Needs for technical
assistanceTimeframe Comments
1. Training of
members of the
GATTCommission2 WCO seminars on
the GATT valuation
system organized inKigali in:
- March 2000
- April 2001WCO 1 week Study tours
should be
arranged tosupplement such
training
2. Training of
customs
personnelNew customs
legislationNational instructor 2 weeks -
3. Training of
examiners +
officers of theCustoms
Valuation
SectionEnforcement course WCO/WTO 1 month Training expert or
fellowship
programme
4. Training of
inspectors +
officers of the
Customs
Valuation
SectionMeans and methods of
ensuring post-clearance
controlWCO/WTO 1 month Training expert or
fellowship
programme
5. Training of
officers of the
Rules of Origin
SectionRules of origin WCO/WTO 1 month Training expert or
fellowship
programme
6. Training on the
WTO
Agreement for
private-sector
representatives- National instructor
or expert from the
International
Chamber of
Commerce2 weeks Request WTO
assistance
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