WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/8/Add.11
14 May 2003
(03-2564)
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 VT0296, of 27 March 2003.  It also includes information on
technical assistance activities carried out by WCO Members reproduced from WCO document
VT0297. The present document updates GATT document VAL/W/29/Rev.9, and WTO documents
G/VAL/W/4 and G/VAL/8 and Adds.1-10.
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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 which
are, 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 assistanceprogrammes 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 thatthe 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 provide
assistance 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 Valuation
Agreement, 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 supplementaryG/VAL/8/Add.11
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documents were prepared which periodically updated this information.  This document contains
information provided by the WCO Secretariat of its most recent technical assistance activities.
ACTIVITIES OF THE WCO SECRETARIAT
Recipient Member Bhutan
Duration : 2 to 6 December 2002
Location : Thimphu
Subject : Implementation of the WTO Valuation Agreement
Type : National training course
Objectives : 1)  to provide specialist knowledge and information on the Agreement;
2)  to provide assistance in regard of supporting systems and proceduresrelevant to implementation.
Participants : 25 officers from the Headquarters of the Department of Revenue and
Customs (DRC) and its regional offices.  Several managers of the DRC
attended the training course as observers.
Facilitator : A Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and a valuation
expert from Japan Customs
Donor: Japan
Recipient Member Bangladesh, Cambodia, Chin a, Fiji Islands, Indonesia, Malaysia, the
Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand,
Vietnam, India
Duration : 27 to 31 January 2003
Location : New Delhi, India
Subject : The WTO Valuation system, its application, interpretation, the identification
and analysis of current issues
Type : Regional Workshop
Objectives : To provide a valuation technical assistance programme and forum for the
exchange of valuation information and experiences between Members
administrations in the Asia-Pacific region.  The programme included the
WTO Valuation Agreement and the more complex valuation issues being
encountered by Members who implemented the Agreement a long time ago;those who have implemented recently;  those who have not yet implemented
and, those who are not yet Members of the WTO but apply the Agreement on
a de facto  basis.  The workshop was also designed to assist Members to work
efficiently with the more diverse import transactions from the valuation
perspective and to recognize the various control mechanisms needed to be inplace to ensure a satisfactory balance between facilitating trade and customs
control management.
Participants : 26 participants attended, with the majority being at the senior level in their
administrations.  These included senior valuation managers and post
clearance auditors.
Facilitators : A Senior Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and an
officer from the Japanese Customs Administration
Donor : JapanG/VAL/8/Add.11
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ACTIVITIES OF WCO MEMBERS
“The Indonesian  Administration has not received nor planned any technical assistance on
valuation yet.  However, technical assistance related to duty and authority of customs administration
are highly needed by the Indonesian Administration."
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“Japan  has dispatched their experts and has accepted trainees to give the knowledge of
Customs Valuation/Post Clearance Audit and to support the implementation of the WTO Valuation
Agreement. The details of technical assistance activities carried out and planned during the period
from 1 January 2003 to 30 June 2003 are listed below.”
1. Dispatch of Experts
Country Period of dispatch Number of Experts
Malaysia 17-28 February 203 6
Not fixed yet April 2003 12
2. Acceptance of Trainees
Period of Training Course Count ry of Trainee Total Number of
Trainees
27-31 January 2003 India 1
17-28 February 2003 Indonesia 2
24-28 February 2003 Singapore, Vietnam 4
March 2003 Pakistan 2
April 2003 Brunei 2
May 2003 South Africa 2
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