RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev. 1 
 
27 April 2022 
(22-3338) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  Original: English  
 
 
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE TEXT OF FINANCIAL REGULATION 19  
THAT WAS AGREED IN JUNE 2019  
BY INDIA  & THE UNITED STATES  
In lieu of the changes proposed by India in July 2021 on the proposed amendments to FR 19  and 
co-sponsored by the United States , India  and the United States  would like to table this revised 
proposal  with a view to balancing the underlying objectives of enh ancing transparency w.r.t. 
establishment and management of the Trust Funds and eliciting support of Members for the proposal.  
The revised proposal takes into consideration the views expressed by Members during the 
discussions on the proposal at the CBFA an d the constructive suggestions put forward  by Members 
to reach  possible landing zones.  We hope that Members will appreciate the flexibility being shown 
by India  & the United States  with the ir revised proposal (third such revision) and constructively 
engage  to reach an agreement on the new revised proposal  at the earlies t. 
   WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev.1  
 
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FINANCIAL 
REGULATION  PROPOSED REFORMULATION OF SELECTED REGULATIONS  
19 Voluntary contributions, gifts or donations from WTO Members and Observers may be accepted by the Director -General 
provided that the purposes for which the contributions are made are consistent with the policies, aims and activities of the 
WTO, and provide d that the acceptance of such contributions which involve additional direct costs* to the regular budget of 
the WTO or financial liability for the Organization shall require  prior consent of the Committee , in line with the g uidelines laid 
out in Annex C.  
 
Voluntary contributions, gifts or donations from Non -Governmental Donors are subject to the additional guidelines laid out in 
Annex D.  
 
Monies accepted for purposes specified by the donor shall be treated as trust funds. A standard overhead fee of up to 13 % 
may be charged on direct expenditure incurred by trust funds to reflect supporting services provided by the Secretariat. The 
standard overhead rate can be reduced when implementing partners are being used and when defined in the agreement 
signed with the  donor. The Programme Support Fund collects the overhead fees from all trust funds and pays expenditure 
incurred to support the trust fund 's activities. The Programme Support Fund also releases a fee representing 10% of its 
expenditure to the WTO Secretari at, that will record it as miscellaneous income.  
 
Monies accepted in respect of which no purpose is specified shall be treated as miscellaneous income and reported as "gifts" 
in the accounts of the financial period.  
 
Monies received by a staff Member as ho norarium in his/her official capacity shall be remitted to the Organization and be 
credited to the WTO Staff Assistance Fund.  
 
Unless otherwise provided, such voluntary contributions, gifts or donations shall be administered in accordance with the 
present Financial Regulations.  
 
* Direct costs in this context include salaries, health insurance contributions, pension contributions and travel costs of staff 
members who work either fully or partially (> 20% of their weekly  normal hours of work) on trust fund matters. Trust fund 
implementation activities including training, projects etc., aimed to achieve objectives of the trust fund.  Indirect costs to the 
regular budget of the WTO arising from voluntary contributions shall be charged to the Programme Supp ort Fund.  WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev.1  
 
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  ANNEX C  
WTO SECRETARIAT'S GUIDELINES FOR THE RECEIPT AND NOTIFICATION OF 
VOLUNTARY FUND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS  
• In keeping with a commitment to streamline the procedures for the notification, approval, 
implementation and reporting on voluntary fund contributions, the Director -General has 
authorised the following guidelines which are aimed at improving transparency and consistency 
in the handling o f all voluntary funds. These procedures shall be applied in strict conformity with 
Financial Regulation 19.  
• In the case of formal pledges made for the future establishment of a Trust F und or Trust F unds, 
these pledges will be notified to members for transp arency purposes. Once an actual Fund is 
proposed in furtherance of the pledge, it will be notified as such, in accordance with the guidelines 
below.  
• All voluntary funds will be submitted to the Director -General for his /her consideration and may 
be accepted  where he /she determines that "...the purposes for which the contributions are made 
are consistent with the policies, aims and activities of the WTO".  
• In considering the proffered voluntary contribution, the Director -General will receive the 
Administration  and General Services Division 's (AGSD) determination whether the contribution 
would involve additional direct costs to the regular budget of the WTO or financial liabilit ies for 
the Organization, as defined under Financial Regulation 19 . 
• When the Director  General assesses the proffered funding positively, and upon receipt of the 
AGSD 's assessment, a notification will be transmitted to the Committee on Budget Finance and 
Administration (CBFA) for consideration  in the following manner:  
• Where the voluntary contribution s/fund involves no additional direct costs to the regular 
budget of the WTO or financial liabilit ies for the Organization, the CBFA will be notified  by 
the Director -General  prior to the receipt of such voluntary contributions, for information 
and discussion at its regular meetings . This will be done by including such notifications 
as an agenda item in the upcoming CBFA meeting.  
 
• Where the voluntary contributions/ fund involves direct costs to the regular budget of the 
WTO or financial liabilit ies for the Organization , the notification will be submitted for 
consideration and consent by the CBFA by the Director -General . This will be done by 
including such notifications as an agenda item in the upcoming CBFA meeting and 
documents related to such agenda item shall be circulated in accordance with the agreed 
rules of procedure for distributing CBFA meeting documents.  
 
• The Director -General 's notification  to the CBFA  of all trust funds arising under voluntary fund 
arrangements shall contain the following information and supporting documentation thereof:  
• The objectives of the trust fund;  
• The expected beneficiaries (if specified);  
• The implementation strategy;  
• The expec ted deliverables;  
• The amount of the funding dedicated to the trust fund;  
• The expected duration;  
• The implementation partners identified;  
• The Secretariat focal points for the trust fund ; and  
The Governing Body . 
 
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