RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/VAL/M/4
29November 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-5052)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
MINUTES OFTHE MEETING OF25OCTOBER 1996
CHAIRMAN: Mr. P.Palec ka(Czech Republic)
Theagenda proposed forthemeeting, circulated inWTO/AIR/464, wasadopted asfollows:
1. Report onthework oftheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation
2. Information onimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement
(a) Notification ofnational legislation
- Mexico (VAL/1/Add.25/Suppl.1, 2and3;VAL/2/Rev.2/Add.8)
- India (G/VAL/N/1/IND/2; G/VAL/W/8)
- Slovenia (G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1; G/VAL/W/9; G/VAL/W/10)
- Czech Republic (G/VAL/N/1/CZE/1; G/VAL/N/1/CZE/2)
- Macau (G/VAL/N/1/MAC/1)
- South Africa (G/VAL/N/1/ZAF/1)
(b) Notification that national legislation under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation
Agreement remained valid under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement
(c) Notifications made bydeveloping country members (G/VAL/2/Rev.4)
3. Information ontheapplication ofDecisions oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation
(G/VAL/W/5/Rev.1)
4. Valuation ofsoftware imported bysatellite (G/VAL/W/12)
5. Information ontechnical assistance (G/VAL/8)
6. Report oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation totheCouncil forTrade inGoods
(G/VAL/W/11)
7. Second Annual Review oftheImplementation andOperation oftheCustoms Valuation
Agreement (G/VAL/W/13)
8. Other business
(a) Useoftheterm"entretenimiento"intheInterpretativeNotetoArticle1oftheAgreement
(b) Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO documents
(c) Date forthenext meetingG/VAL/M/4
Page 2
TheChairman noted thatinaccordance with theagreement reached atthefirstmeeting ofthis
Committee on12May 1995, theWorld Customs Organization, theInternational Monetary Fund, and
theUnited Nations Conference forTrade and Development had been invited tothis meeting
(G/VAL/M/1,paragraphs14-15).Heproposedthat,pendingthefinalizationoftheongoingconsultations
bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council ontheapplication ofthe"Guidelines forObserver Status for
International Intergovernmental Organizations,", these three organizations beinvited asobservers to
thenext meetings oftheCommittee onanadhocbasis .
TheCommittee soagreed.
1. Report onthework oftheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation
1.1 Theobserver from theWCO presented, onbehalf ofChairman Mr.P.R.V. Ramanan (India),
areport onthework oftheThird Session oftheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation held in
Brussels from 30September to4October 1996.
1.2 Under Intersessional Developments, theobserver reported thattheTechnical Committee had
been informed ofthe87th/88th Sessions oftheCouncil held inHong Kong from 17to20June 1996.
TheCouncil hadtaken apolicy decision which would have important repercussions forthework of
theTechnical Committee, namely therestructuring oftheSecretariat. Thecurrent three Directorate
structure (under which Valuation hadbeen aseparate Directorate) would become atwo-Directorate
structure. Under thenewstructure, Nomenclature, Valuation andOrigin would becombined inthe
Office ofTariff andTrade Affairs. TheCustoms functions ofenforcement andprocedures would remain
together intheOffice ofCompliance andFacilitation. Therestructuring willenter itsfirstphase in
January 1998. TheOffice ofTariff andTrade Affairs will beheaded bythecurrent Director of
Nomenclature andClassification. However, theValuation function willreceive special attention from
theOffice oftheSecretary General until there isgeneral satisfaction thatMembers committed toapplying
theWTO Valuation Agreement have received asmuch technical assistance astheOrganization could
provide with itslimited resources. TheOrigin function would not,however, beplaced under theOffice
ofTariff andTrade Affairs until theHarmonized Rules ofOrigin hadreceived acceptance.
1.3 Headded thattheCouncil hadalsoexamined andapproved theReport onthe30th Session
oftheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation established under theTokyo Round Agreement
(WCO document 39.780) andtheReports ontheFirst andSecond Sessions oftheTechnical Committee
onCustoms Valuation established under theUruguay Round (Docs. 39.790 and40.210). TheCouncil
hadalsoapproved thefollowing instruments: theCase Study onSole Agents, Sole Distributors and
Sole Concessionaires (Annex IVtoDoc. 39.790); theExplanatory Note ontheDistinction Between
theterm "maintenance" intheNote toArticle 1andtheterm "warranty" (Annex VtoDoc. 39.790);
theprocedure forre-examining aninstrument oftheTechnical Committee, tobeadded tothe"General"
section oftheCustoms Valuation Compendium (Annex IIItoDoc. 40.210); theAdvisory Opinion
ontheinterpretation oftheexpression "partners inbusiness" inArticle 15.4 (b)(Annex IVtoDoc.
40.210).
1.4 Further, theTechnical Committee hadbeen informed thatnew editions ofthefollowing
publication were inthefinal stages ofpreparation andthatthey should beavailable before theendof
theyear: thethird edition ofthe"Brief Guide totheCustoms Valuation Code"; the"Customs Valuation
-GATT Agreement"; andthe"Valuation Training Course". TheTechnical Committee hadtaken
note oftheexchange ofcorrespondence between thisCommittee andtheTechnical Committee onthe
issues involving importations bysatellite. Further study ofthisquestion wasbeing undertaken bythe
WCO 'sTechnique Directorate inrelation tothedefinition of"goods", with aview toestablishing a
customs position onthisissue. TheTechnical Committee would bekept informed ofdevelopments
onthismatter.G/VAL/M/4
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1.5 UnderTechnicalAssistance,henotedthattheTechnicalCommitteehadtakennoteofinformation
document 40.582 which updated theinformation onseminars andtraining courses organized onthe
GATT Valuation Agreement andtheactivities oftheWCO inthisarea. During theintersession, the
Council hadorganized andparticipated infourseminars, twotraining courses andsixexpert missions
onCustoms Valuation. (These were explained indetail inWTO document G/VAL/8).
1.6 With regard totheTechnical Committee taking amore active roleinmonitoring newMembers '
progress towards implementation with aview toidentifying their technical assistance, theobserver
noted thattheCommittee hadexamined document 40.613. This contained information regarding
implementationoftheAgreementprovidedbyBolivia,Bulgaria,Chile,Kazakhstan,Lithuania,Malaysia,
Myanmar, Peru, Saint Lucia andThailand andalsocontained brief summaries ofrecent andplanned
technical assistance activities bytheWCO andMembers.
1.7 OntheConcern ofSpanish-speaking Countries Regarding theTerm "entretenimiento" inthe
Interpretative Note toArticle 1oftheWTO Agreement, henoted thatatthelastmeeting hehadinformed
theWTO Committee ofthese concerns. Spanish-speaking Members hadexpressed theview that
"entretenimiento" didnothave thesame meaning inSpanish-speaking countries asthewords
"maintenance" and"entretien" hadinEnglish andFrench respectively. Henoted thataformal letter
hadbeen sentbytheChairman oftheTechnical Committee totheChairman oftheWTO Committee
asking forattention tothematter andsuggesting acourse ofaction.
1.8 Regarding Technical Issues inRespect ofWhich anInstrument wasAdopted, henoted that
theTechnical Committee hadfinalized itsconsideration ofaCase Study based onanactual situation
encountered byaMember. TheCase Study examined thedetermination ofprice influence inasituation
where aseller sold goods toarelated buyer atprices below thatatwhich itsold thesame goods to
unrelated buyers.
1.9 RegardingTechnicalIssuesCurrentlyBeingConsideredbytheTechnicalCommittee,hereported
onthree topics:
(a) Scope oftheterm "control" inArticle 15.4(e): Information document
1.10 Henoted thattheTechnical Committee hadconsidered aninformation document prepared by
theSecretariat which examined theissues associated with theconcept ofcontrol within theterms of
Article 15.4(e) oftheAgreement. This itemhadarisen inthecontext ofconsideration ofcases involving
importations bysoleagents, soleconcessionaires andsoledistributors. Atthecentre ofthediscussion
wastheextent towhich such associations might, incertain situations, result intheestablishment of
"control" andthusrelationship forthepurposes oftheAgreement. Other issues under consideration
included loanandfinancing arrangements aswellasdistribution androyalty agreements. TheTechnical
Committee instructed theSecretariat toprepare afurther information document which would examine
these issues aswell asproposals toamend theCommittee 'sExplanatory Note 4.1which dealt with
similar issues.
(b) Correlation between paragraphs (c)and(d)ofArticle 8.1oftheWTO Agreement
1.11 TheTechnical Committee hadcontinued itsconsideration ofthistopic. Atthecentre ofthe
discussion wasthequestion ofwhether aroyalty orlicence feewhich failed tomeet therequirements
forinclusion incustoms value under Article 8.1(c) could beincluded incustoms value under Article
8.1(d)when itwasaproceed ofsubsequent resale, disposal oruseaccruing tothevendor. Members
oftheTechnical Committee continued tobedivided intheir position inrelation totheanswer tothis
question. Inanattempt toarrive atacommon position, theTechnical Committee hadinstructed the
Secretariat todraft acommentary which would attempt torationalize thevarious views ofMembers.G/VAL/M/4
Page 4
(c) Warranty charges: information document
1.12 Hereported thatthistopic arose from thediscussion ofthescope oftheterm maintenance during
theSecond Session. TheTechnical Committee hadexamined aninformation document which identified
anumber ofissues associated with thetreatment ofwarranty charges under theAgreement. The
Technical Committee hadinstructed theSecretariat toprepare adraft commentary which would include
examples ofspecific cases forconsideration atitsnext meeting.
1.13 ForitsProgramme ofFuture Work, theTechnical Committee would continue itsexamination
ofthescope oftheterm "control" inArticle 15.4(e); therelationship between paragraphs (c)and(d)
ofArticle 8.1andwarranty charges. Inaddition theTechnical Committee would examine draft
information documents which examined theterms "related tothegoods" and"condition ofsale" in
respect oftheaddition ofroyalties andlicence feesunder Article 8.1(c). New Members 'progress
toward implementation andtechnical assistance needs would continue tobeamajor topic ofinterest
totheCommittee.
1.14 TheFourth Session oftheTechnical Committee would take place from 3to7March 1997.
1.15 TheCommittee took note ofthereport bytheobserver from theWCO.
2. Information onimplementation andadministration oftheAgreement
2.1 TheChairman explained thatthere were three items tobeconsidered under thisagenda item
andsuggested dealing with each separately.
(a) Notification ofnational legislation
Mexico
2.2 TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee, atitsApril 1996 meeting, hadagreed torevert
toMexico 'slegislation atthismeeting. Discussion onthemodifications thathadbeen introduced to
Mexico 'scustoms legislation hadbeen on-going forseveral years both intheTokyo Round Committee
andintheWTO Committee onCustoms Valuation. These amendments, andMexico 'slegislation
hadbeencirculatedindocumentsVAL/1/Add.25/Suppl.1,2,and3.Mexico'sresponsestotheChecklist
ofIssues hadbeen circulated indocument VAL/2/Rev.2/Add.8. Headded thatMexico 'slegislation
wasalsothesubject ofconsultations pursuant toArticle XXII:1 oftheGATT 1994 andArticle 4of
theUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofDisputes.
2.3 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities noted thatconsultations indicated bythe
Chairman hadtaken place over theprevious fourweeks. There were anumber ofquestions addressed
toMexico towhich hisdelegation wasstillwaiting forwritten replies. Theresponses thatwere received
were notsatisfactory and, therefore, hisdelegation envisaged thattheconsultations would have to
continue. When thecomplete written responses were received, hisdelegation could consider what
further steps would beneeded; itwasalways interested inanyMexican proposal forasolution. If
nosatisfactory responses were received, hisdelegation would notify theappropriate WTO offices.
2.4 Therepresentative ofMexico considered thattheconsultations under Article XXII oftheGATT
wasanentirely separate issue from Mexico 'snotification totheCommittee andthelatter 'sreview of
theinformation notified. Itwasnotappropriate thattheissue oftheconsultations bemixed together
inthediscussion ofthereview. The Committee wasreviewing legislation andnottheon-going
consultations between Mexico andtheEU. Heasked thatthisstatement beplaced ontherecord.G/VAL/M/4
Page 5
2.5 TheCommittee took note ofthestatements andagreed topostpone examination ofthisitem
toafuture meeting.
India
2.6 TheChairman recalled thatithadbeen agreed attheApril meeting torevert tothisitem at
thismeeting. India 'snotification concerning recent amendments totheCustoms Valuation Rules 1988,
which brought these Rules intoconformity with themethod ofdetermination ofcustoms value aslaid
down intheCustoms Valuation Agreement, hadbeen circulated indocument G/VAL/N/1/IND/2.
AttheApril 1996 meeting oftheCommittee, theUnited Sates hadposed several questions during the
discussion ofIndia 'slegislation which hadbeen circulated indocument G/VAL/W/8. TheSecretariat
hadreceived India 'sresponses today andwould becirculating them toMembers.
2.7 Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed hisdelegation 'sappreciation fortheresponses
tothequestions. Hisauthorities would review them andwould advise iffurther clarification would
beneeded.
2.8 TheCommittee took noteofthestatement andagreed torevert tothisitem atthenextmeeting.
Slovenia
2.9 TheChairman recalled thatattheApril meeting, ithadalsobeen agreed torevert tothisitem
atthepresent meeting. Slovenia hadnotified thetexts oftheCustoms Law andRules forDetermining
theCustoms Value ofGoods indocument G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1. TheUnited States hadposed questions
toSlovenia which hadbeen circulated indocument G/VAL/W/9. Slovenia 'sresponses hadbeen
circulated indocument G/VAL/W/10. Herequested thedelegation ofSlovenia tosubmit itsresponse
tothechecklist ofissues assoon aspossible.
2.10 TheCommittee agreed toconclude examination ofthislegislation.
Czech Republic
2.11 TheChairman drew theCommittee 'sattention tothenotification made bytheCzech Republic,
circulated indocument G/VAL/N/1/CZE/1, which contained theCustoms ActNo.13/1993 andthe
Regulation oftheMinistry ofFinance No.92/1992 implementing certain dispositions oftheCustoms
Act. Henoted thattheCzech Republic hadalsosubmitted itsresponse tothechecklist ofissues which
hadbeen circulated indocument G/VAL/N/1/CZE/2.
2.12 Therepresentative oftheCzech Republic pointed outthattheanswer given toquestion 14of
thechecklist ofissues should read section 76,paragraph 1instead ofsection 75(m).
2.13 TheCommittee agreed toconclude examination ofthislegislation.
Macau
2.14 TheChairman drew theCommittee 'sattention tothenotification made byMacau, circulated
indocumentG/VAL/N/1/MAC/1,throughwhichMacauhadnotifiedthatithadincorporatedtheCustoms
Valuation Agreement intoitslegal system andthatitwasafreetrade port. Nocustoms duties orany
other customs feesonimports were levied andtherefore, nogeneral laws, regulations oradministrative
procedures existed forvaluing goods forcustoms purposes.
2.15 TheCommittee agreed toconclude examination ofthislegislation.G/VAL/M/4
Page 6
South Africa
2.16 TheChairman drew Members attention tothenotification made bySouth Africa, circulated
inG/VAL/N/1/ZAF, containing therelevant sections oftheCustoms andExcise Act(Act 91of1964)
andtherules relating customs valuation. South Africa hadnotified thatthislegislation replaced the
legislation notified under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement. However, itsreply tothe
checklist ofissues remained valid andhadbeen circulated indocument VAL/2/Rev.1/Add.13.
2.17 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities asked iftheuseoftheterm "supplier" in
Article 66(2)(c) oftheSouth African legislation referred totheseller, astheterm "supplier" wasnot
aterm used intheCustoms Valuation Agreement. Hisdelegation read itthatway, andifthiscould
beconfirmed, nofurther discussion would benecessary.
2.18 Therepresentative ofSouth Africa stated thathewould refer thequestion tohiscapital and
provide aresponse atanappropriate opportunity.
2.19 TheCommittee agreed toconclude examination ofthislegislation.
(b) Notification that national legislation under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation
Agreement remained valid under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement
2.20 TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting inMay 1995, theCommittee hadagreed onprocedures
forthenotificationandcirculationofnationallegislationforMemberswhowereTokyoRoundsignatories
andwhose legislation hadalready been examined (paragraph 34(1) and35ofG/VAL/M/1). Since
thelastmeeting, oneMember, namely Brazil, hadsubmitted acommunication indicating thatits
legislation notified under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement remained valid under the
WTO Customs Valuation Agreement (G/VAL/N/1/BRA/1). Therelevant legislation wascontained
inGATT document VAL/1/Add.20 andSupplement 1.Brazil hadalsoindicated inthisnotification
thatitsrepliestothechecklistofissueswerecontainedinVAL/2/Rev.2/Add.3.HeurgedthoseMembers
who hadnotnotified their legislation aswell astheir replies tothechecklist ofissues tosubmit the
required notifications assoon aspossible.
2.21 TheCommittee took note oftheinformation.
(c) Notifications made bydeveloping country members
2.22 TheChairman noted thatdocument G/VAL/2/Rev.4 contained alistofdeveloping country
Members thathadinvoked special provisions available tothem under Article 20.1 and20.2 and
paragraphs 2,3and4ofAnnex IIIoftheCustoms Valuation Agreement. Thedocument alsolisted
thedeveloping country Members affected bytheDecision on"Continued Application under theWTO
Customs Valuation Agreement onInvocations ofProvisions forDeveloping Countries forDelayed
Application andReservations Under theCustoms Valuation Agreement 1979" (WT/L/38).
2.23 TheCommittee took note oftheinformation.
3. Information ontheapplication ofDecisions oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation
3.1 TheChairman drew Members attention todocument G/VAL/W/5/Rev.1 which contained the
document references ofnotifications thathadbeen received pursuant totheDecision ontheTreatment
ofInterest Charges intheCustoms Value ofImported Goods andtheDecision ontheValuation of
Carrier Media Bearing Software forData Processing Equipment, both adopted bytheCommittee and
contained indocument G/VAL/5. The document circulated forthepresent meeting updated theG/VAL/M/4
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information contained inG/VAL/W/5 with theaddition ofanew document reference forCyprus.
Specifically, indocument G/VAL/N/1/CYP/1, Cyprus hadnotified itsapplication, asof1November
1995, ofparagraph 2oftheDecision onCarrier Media Bearing Software.
3.2 TheCommittee took note oftheinformation.
4. Valuation ofsoftware imported bysatellite
4.1 TheChairman recalled thatattheApril 1996 meeting oftheCommittee, ithadbeen agreed
tomandate theChairman toasktheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation toprovide further
explanation andelaboration ofthecircumstances where thecostofsoftware "imported" bysatellite
may form partofthecustoms value ofimported goods. Hisletter totheChairman oftheTechnical
Committee hadbeen circulated indocument G/VAL/W/7 andtheresponse oftheDirector ofthe
Valuation Directorate oftheWCO, onbehalf oftheChairman oftheTechnical Committee, hadbeen
circulated indocument G/VAL/W/12.
4.2 Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed hisdelegation 'sappreciation fortheresponse
provided bytheWCO inresponse tothequestions raised bytheCommittee concerning thecustoms
valuation ofimported software. Unfortunately, hisdelegation didnotconsider thattheresponse clarified
theissue. Itsuggested thattheapplication ofDecision 4.1oftheCustoms Valuation Committee would
notrender adifferent result. This wasinconflict with theoriginal statement, which indicated that
theWCO Secretariat believed thatapplication ofDecision 4.1oftheCustoms Valuation Committee
could come intoplay. Moreover, hisdelegation wasconcerned thattheresponse wasundertaken in
theform ofanopinion oftheWCO Secretariat, rather thantheTechnical Committee, which hadspecific
responsibilities assetoutinAnnex IIoftheAgreement. Hisauthorities questioned therelevance of
theopinions oftheWCO Secretariat ontheinterpretation oftheWTO Agreement onCustoms Valuation
anddidnotagree with those opinions.
4.3 Theobserver from theWCO stated thathehadtaken note oftheUSstatement. Henoted that
thisview hadnotbeen expressed bytherepresentative oftheUnited States atthelastmeeting ofthe
Technical Committee. Heconsidered thatitmight beappropriate totake thisupintheTechnical
Committee; theWCO would circulate therelevant documentation totheMembers oftheTechnical
Committee fortheir review ofthesituation.
4.4 Therepresentative oftheUnited States thanked theobserver from theWCO andnoted that
hewould pass onthisinformation tohisauthorities.
4.5 TheCommittee took noteofthestatements andagreed torevert tothisitem atthenextmeeting.
5. Information ontechnical assistance
5.1 TheChairman recalled thatatitsmeeting inMay 1995, theCommittee hadagreed tocontinue
thepractice under theTokyo Round Agreement whereby greater transparency oftechnical assistance
activities, pursuant toArticle 20.3 oftheAgreement onCustoms Valuation, would beensured ifthe
WTO Secretariat made available theinformation documents prepared fortheTechnical Committee
onsuch activities. Thefirstsuch document hadbeen circulated asG/VAL/W/4 on13October 1995.
According tothe new Procedures forCirculation and Derestriction ofWTO Documents
(WT/L/160/Rev.1), thistype ofdocument should notbea"W" document butaG/VAL/- document.
Therefore, theupdated version oftheOctober W/4 document hadbeen circulated asG/VAL/8.
5.2 Therepresentative oftheUnited States expressed hisdelegation 'sappreciation fortheefforts
over theyears bytheWCO indeveloping andconducting technical assistance programmes related toG/VAL/M/4
Page 8
customs valuation andnoted thatthese efforts were complemented byefforts byindividual customs
organizations, including thatoftheUnited States. HisGovernment didbelieve, however, thatthere
wasaneed formore cohesion andoverall direction ofsuch assistance, andthatthiscould only be
provided bytheleadership oftheWTO Committee onCustoms Valuation. Hisdelegation found that
technical assistance wasprovided conducted inavacuum without targeting countries andissues. His
delegation, therefore, proposed thattheagenda ofthenext Committee meeting include thematter of
Article 20.3 oftheAgreement, which would alsobeinlinewith therecommendation forincreased
technical assistance intheannual report oftheCommittee totheCouncil forTrade inGoods (G/L/121).
5.3 TheCommittee took note ofthestatements andagreed toinclude anitem onArticle 20.3
"Technical Assistance Activities" ontheagenda forthenext meeting.
6. Report oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation totheCouncil forTrade inGoods
6.1 TheChairman noted thatArticle 23oftheAgreement onCustoms Valuation stipulated that
theCommittee shall inform annually theCouncil forTrade inGoods ofdevelopments during theperiod
covered bythereviews which theCommittee wastomake annually ontheimplementation andoperation
ofthisAgreement. Healsorecalled thestatement made bytheChairman oftheGeneral Council, at
themeeting of16April 1996 (WT/L/145) on"Reporting Procedures fortheSingapore Ministerial
Conference." Inthiscontext, document G/VAL/W/11 contained thedraft report oftheCommittee
totheGoods Council. Henoted thathehadheld aninformal meeting oftheCommittee todiscuss
thereport on4October 1996. Following thisinformal meeting, theSecretariat hadrevised thedraft
report andcirculated itinW/11. Heproposed thattheCommittee adopt thereport asfinal andsubmit
ittotheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
6.2 Therepresentative ofIndia noted aminor editing error. Inthethird linefrom thebottom of
paragraph 1,theword "of" should becorrected to"or". Healso asked ifIndia could beremoved
from thelistofMembers inparagraph 5whose legislation would continue tobeexamined, given that
ithadsubmitted itsreplies totheUSquestions atthepresent meeting.
6.3 Therepresentative oftheUnited States stated thathewould betransmitting theIndian responses
back tohisauthorities inthecapital forreview asquickly aspossible. Henoted thatitmaybenecessary
torevert tothisitem forfurther clarification.
6.4 TheCommittee took note ofthestatements made. Itwasagreed tosubmit thereport tothe
Council forTrade inGoods with theediting correction suggested byIndia andwith theremoval of
Slovenia from theparagraph 5listofMembers whose legislation wasstillunder examination.
7. Second Annual Review oftheImplementation andOperation oftheCustoms Valuation
Agreement
7.1 TheChairman stated thatArticle 23oftheAgreement alsocontained arequirement thatthe
Committee review annually theimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement, taking intoaccount
theobjectives thereof. TheSecretariat hadcirculated thisreview asworking document G/VAL/W/13.
Thedocument would have tobeupdated inlight ofthediscussion atthismeeting inorder togive a
fullpicture ofthedevelopments intheCommittee during thecurrent year. Delegations were invited
tocomment oneachsection ofthereport. With regard toSection 9,Consultation anddispute settlement,
theChairman noted thatacorrection should bemade inthesecond linetotakeoutthephrase "under
Article 19oftheAgreement and". Thesecond linewould thus read "requested consultations with
Mexico pursuant toArticle XII:1 oftheGATT 1994 andArticle 4oftheUnderstanding, etc." The
request forconsultations bytheUnited States toArgentina, under Article 19oftheCustoms Valuation
Agreement, Article 4oftheUnderstanding onRules andProcedures Governing theSettlement ofG/VAL/M/4
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Disputes, Article XXII:1 oftheGATT 1994, andArticle 14oftheAgreement onTechnical Barriers
toTrade, onmeasures affecting imports offootwear, textiles, apparel andother items, would alsobe
added inthissection. Thisrequest hadbeen circulated inonedocument withthefollowing foursymbols:
G/VAL/7, WT/DS56/1, G/L/115, andG/TBT/D/10.
7.2 Therepresentative ofBrazil suggested thatmatters ofdispute settlement came tothisCommittee
asamatter ofinformation andthatthelanguage intheReview should reflect that. Therefore, Section
9could begin, forexample, with "The Committee took note that, etc.".
7.3 Therepresentative ofMexico agreed with thesuggestion byBrazil. Article 19oftheCustoms
Valuation Agreement referred toconsultations anddispute settlement which referred back totheDispute
Settlement Understanding. Thelatter wasunder theprovisions oftheDSU andArticle 22or23of
GATT 1994, depending onthetype ofconsultations thatwere being requested. Infact, consultations
were notbeing held under thisCommittee, butrather under theDSU provisions, GATT provisions,
andobviously alsounder theprovisions ofArticle 19ofthisCommittee. Heagreed thatinformation
wasprovided totheCommittee asinformation only andthattheReview should reflect that.
7.4 Therepresentative oftheEuropean Communities considered thatiftheCommittee took note
oftheconsultation pursuant toArticle 22ofGATT 1994 andArticle 4oftheDSU, itshould retain
thereference toArticle 19oftheAgreement. Hesuggested either accepting thetextwiththeChairman 's
amendment, oraccepting thesuggestion byBrazil, butthen retaining thereference toArticle 19.
7.5 TheChairman saidthatthedrafting suggestion toremove thereference toArticle 19inthe
context oftheconsultation between theECandMexico wasmerely toreflect thefactthattheDSU
document ontheconsultations didnotrefer toArticle 19oftheCustoms Valuation Agreement.
7.6 TheCommittee took note ofthestatements made andagreed toadopt theReview revised to
reflect theBrazilian suggestion inSection 9andupdated asappropriate.
8. Other business
(a) Useoftheterm"entretenimiento"intheInterpretativeNotetoArticle1oftheAgreement
8.1 Therepresentative ofArgentina introduced anitem regarding thepossible modification ofthe
Spanish version oftheCustoms Valuation Agreement. Specifically, theterm "entretenimiento," which
wasequivalent tosaying "diversion" or"amusement," should bechanged totheterm "mantenimiento"
which would correspond to"maintenance" inEnglish.
8.2 Therepresentative ofMexico supported thesuggestion byArgentina.
8.3 TheChairman recalled thatthismatter hadbeen raised bytheWCO representative inhisreport
ofthework oftheTechnical Committee attheApril meeting oftheCommittee. Heinformed the
Committee thatfollowing thatmeeting, hehadreceived aletter from theChairman oftheTechnical
Committee informing him oftheconcern ofSpanish-speaking countries ontheuseoftheterm
"entretenimiento" intheInterpretative Note toArticle 1oftheAgreement. Since heonly justreceived
theletter, itwaspossible tocirculate itonly inEnglish. Itwould betranslated anddistributed asan
official document. Forthisreason, hesuggested holding offdiscussion ofthisissue until thenext
meeting oftheCommittee.
8.4 TheCommittee took noteofthestatements andagreed torevert tothisitem atthenextmeeting.
(b) Procedures forcirculation andderestriction ofWTO documentsG/VAL/M/4
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8.5 TheChairman noted thattheGeneral Council hadadopted procedures forcirculation and
derestriction ofWTO documents. The Decision adopted bytheGeneral Council was in
WT/L/160/Rev.1. Theimplications ofthisDecision forthisCommittee were thatalldocuments of
theCommittee onCustoms Valuation would becirculated asunrestricted documents with theexception
ofworking documents andminutes ofmeetings. Henoted thatnotifications tothisCommittee circulated
intheG/VAL/N/- series were now being circulated asunrestricted documents.
8.6 TheCommittee took note ofthisinformation.
(c) Date forthenext meeting
8.7 TheChairman proposed thatthenextmeeting oftheCommittee onCustoms Valuation beheld
on24April 1997 assuggested bytheSecretariat inthecalendar ofmeetings for1997 andsubject to
change intheevent ofunforeseen developments.
8.8 TheCommittee soagreed.