. /.RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/52
2 December 1999
(99-5216)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  English
COMMUNICATION FROM G UATEMALA CONCERNING ANN EX III, PARAGRAPH 1,
OF THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF
THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
The following communication, dated 29 November 1999, has been received from the
Permanent Mission of Guatemala.
_______________
The Republic of Guatemala requests the Honourable Members of the Committee on Customs
Valuation (CCV) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), a two-year moratorium, beginning on
21 July of the year 2000, on the application of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of theGeneral Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).  The purpose of this request is to consolidate the
process of implementation of our customs system and the training of the personnel responsible for
guaranteeing its effective administration and operation.
This petition is based on paragraph 1 of Annex III of the above-mentioned Agreement, which
states that "The five-year delay in the application of the provisions of the Agreement by developing
country Members provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 20 may, in practice, be insufficient for certain
developing country Members.  In such cases a developing country Member may request before the
end of the period referred to in paragraph 1 of Article 20 an extension of such period, it being
understood that the Members will give sympathetic consideration to such a request in cases where the
developing country Member in question can show good cause."
The term to apply the Agreement on Customs Valuation in Guatemala expires on 20 July of
the year 2000 which we consider will be insufficient time to complete the process of organization,
training of personnel and the creation of the necessary data base for the efficient functioning of the
Agreement.
Until 1998, the Public Finance Ministry was in charge of the tax administration in Guatemala.
The Ministry had two General Offices:  the Internal Revenues Administration (Dirección General de
Rentas Internas), in charge of collecting interior taxes, and the Custom Duties Administration
(Dirección General de Aduanas), in charge of admi nistering the customs and the duties and taxes on
foreign Trade.  Since February 1999, the Superintendency of Tax Administration (SAT) has hadcontrol and management of customs, and supervision of taxes and procedures pertaining to
international trade, changing most of the former personnel, for obvious reasons.
Our new personnel do not have the appropriate training in matters concerning valuation of
merchandises.  We are now in this process of training staff, but it is impossible to complete it by Julyof next year.
In addition, in order to have better control, the new Tax Administration Office
(Superintendencia de Administración – SAT) recently submitted a law initiative to create the proper
legal conditions needed for the modernization of customs and the fulfilment of obligations acquiredwith WTO.G/VAL/W/52
Page 2
Technical advances have been introduced in customs such as modern computer equipment
and on-line systems of communication with the Intendance located in Guatemala City.  Studies are
being conducted prior to the design and installation of total quality systems, which will allow the
country to have better customs facilities in accordance with international trade requirements.
Considering the aspects mentioned above, here is the progamme that must be performed
during the extension of the moratorium that has been requested.
Specific Assets Programmed Date
1.  Hiring of technical and operative personnel for the operation of
customsJuly 2000
2.  Proper physical infrastructure and data base ad hoc to meet GATT
valuation services, installed and operating.January 2001
3.  Custom system modernization law approved and enforced March 2001
4. Law and regulation of the GATT valuation system, approved and
enforced*May 2001
5.  Technical and operative customs personnel trained in the Law andGATT valuation criteriaJuly 2001
6.  Partial application of the GATT Agreement on Valuation to 60% of
chapter Tariff System of Central America, considered less affected byunder-valuation of customsJuly 2001
7.  Diffusion plan of the GATT Agreement on Valuation law and its
coming into force, directed to the private sector, customs agents and
other economic sectors of the nation.December 2001
8.  Integrated National Committee of valuation January 2002
9.  Price Data Bank and other available essential information January 2002
10.  Quality generation system, designed and installed in the customs of
the countryJune 2002
11.  GATT Agreement on Valuation applied to 100% of the chapters in
the Tariff System of Central AmericaJuly 2002
*These assets are beyond the control of the STA since they depend on
the Congress of the Republic.  It should be mentioned that generalelections will be held in Guatemala in 1999 and from the year 2000 and
on, a new Congress will be in office.
__________