RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/VAL/W/11
15October 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-4306)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
DRAFT REPORT OFTHE COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS
A. Background
1. TheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGeneral Agreement onTariffs and
Trade 1994(theAgreement) entered intoforce on1January 1995. Thisreport covers theyears 1995
and1996. Itaddresses thework undertaken bytheCommittee onCustoms Valuation (theCommittee)
inrespect oftheobjectives oftheAgreement, which are:toprovide greater uniformity andcertainty
intheimplementation oftheprovisions ofArticle VIIoftheGATT 1994; toestablish afair,uniform
andneutral system forthevaluation ofgoods forcustoms purposes thatprecludes theuseofarbitrary
offictitious customs values; toensure thatthebasisforvaluation ofgoods forcustoms purposes should,
tothegreatest extent possible, bethetransaction value ofthegoods being valued; andtosecure
additional benefits fortheinternational trade ofdeveloping countries.
2. During theperiod under consideration, theCommittee hasheldfourformal meetings, on
12May1995 (G/VAL/M/1), 24October 1995 (G/VAL/M/2), 25April 1996 (G/VAL/M/3) [and
25October1996(G/VAL/M/4-tobeissued)].TheCommitteeelectedMr.P.Palecka(CzechRepublic)
asChairman andMr.M.Baumbach (Brazil) asVice-Chairman for1995, andre-elected themfor1996.
3. Participation intheCommittee isopentoallWTO Members. Inaddition, Governments granted
observer status bytheWTO General Council, aswellasrepresentatives oftheWorld Customs
Organization (WCO), IMFandUNCTAD attended Committee meetings asobservers.
4. Atitsmeeting of24October 1995, theCommittee adopted itsrulesofprocedure, which were
approved bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods.
B. Implementation oftheAgreement
5. TheCommittee examined thenational legislations ofeightMembers which hadbeensubmitted
during theperiod under consideration. TheCommittee concluded itsexamination ofthelegislations
ofCanada, theEuropean Communities, [Macau, theCzech Republic andSouth Africa]. Withrespect
totheMexican, Indian andSlovenian legislations, theCommittee tooknoteofthevarious points raised
andtheexplanations furnished, andagreed tocontinue theexamination.
6. TheCommittee adopted twodecisions which werereferred bytheMinisters atMarrakesh to
theCommittee foradoption: (i)decision regarding cases where customs administrations havereasons
todoubt thetruthoraccuracy ofthedeclared value; and(ii)decision ontextsrelating tominimum
valuesandimportsbysoleagents,soledistributorsandsoleconcessionaires(G/VAL/1).TheCommittee
alsoadopted decisions relating totheinterpretation andadministration oftheAgreement (G/VAL/5).
These decisions wereoriginally adopted bytheTokyo Round Committee onCustoms Valuation. The
Committee further agreed onprocedures forthenotification ofnational legislation andresponse to
thechecklist ofissues byMembers whowereTokyo Round signatories andwhose legislation hadalready
beenexamined.G/VAL/W/11
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7. Inconformity withArticle 20.1oftheAgreement, [51]developing country Members have
invoked delayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement. Understanding hasbeenreached in
theCommittee thatthetextsofthenational legislation ofthese developing country Members willbe
supplied totheCommittee before thedeveloping country Members begin applying theprovisions of
theAgreement (G/VAL/5, para. B2(ii)).
8. Todate[13]Members havesubmitted communications indicating thattheirlegislation notified
undertheTokyoRoundCustomsValuationAgreementremainedvalidundertheWTOCustomsValuation
Agreement; inaddition [8]Members havenotified either theircomplete national legislation oncustoms
valuation oramendments thereto; [38]Members havenotyetmade anynotification. (SeeAnnex).
TheChairman oftheCommittee hasrepeatedly expressed concern thatanumber ofMembers have
notyetcomplied withthenotification requirements, andurged those Members whohavenotyetdone
sotosubmit theirnotifications without further delay.
9. OneMember hasnotified thedateofitsapplication ofparagraph 2oftheDecision ofthe
Committee onCustoms Valuation onValuation ofCarrier-Media Bearing Software forDataProcessing
Equipment (SeeAnnex).
10. TheCommittee tooknotethattheGeneral Council had,atitsmeeting of31January 1995,
adopted adecision on"Continued Application under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement of
Invocations ofProvisions forDeveloping Countries forDelayed Application andReservations under
theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement" (WT/L/38); andthattheGeneral Council had,at
itsmeeting of31January 1995, adopted adecision onthe"Avoidance ofProcedural andInstitutional
Duplication" (WT/L/29). TheCommittee alsotooknoteofthereports onthework oftheFirst
(2-6October 1995), Second (4-8March 1996) [andThird (30September-4 October 1996)] Sessions
oftheTechnical Committee oftheWCO.
C. Recommendations
11. TheCommittee recommends that,inaccordance withtheprovisions ofArticle 20.3ofthe
Customs Valuation Agreement, emphasis beplaced onaddressing thetechnical assistance needs of
developing countries incollaboration withthetechnical assistance activities oftheWorld Customs
Organization inorder toensure thesmooth andtimely transition ofallMembers towards effective and
fullimplementation oftheAgreement.G/VAL/W/11
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ANNEX
(i) Members whohaveindicated thattheirlegislation remains valid under theWTO Customs
ValuationAgreementinaccordancewiththedecisiontakenbytheCommittee(G/VAL/M/1)(13)
Australia (G/VAL/N/1/AUS/1) Romania (G/VAL/N/1/ROM/1)
Hong Kong (G/VAL/N/1/HKG/1) SlovakRepublic(G/VAL/N/1/SVK/1)
Hungary (G/VAL/N/1/HUN/1) Switzerland (G/VAL/N/1/CHE/1)
Japan (G/VAL/N/1/JPN/1) Turkey (G/VAL/N/1/TUR/1)
Korea (G/VAL/N/1/KOR/1) United States (G/VAL/N/1/USA/1)
NewZealand (G/VAL/N/1/NZL/1) Zimbabwe (G/VAL/N/1/ZWE/1)
Norway (G/VAL/N/1/NOR/1)
(ii) Members whohavesubmitted theirlegislations oramendments inaccordance withArticles 22.1
and22.2oftheAgreement (8)
Canada (G/VAL/N/1/CAN/1) Macau (G/VAL/N/1/MAC/1)
Czech Republic (G/VAL/N/1/CZE/1) Mexico(VAL/1/Add.25/Suppl.1/Rev.1,
European Communities (G/VAL/N/1/EEC/1/Rev.1) Suppl.2, andSuppl.3)
India (G/VAL/N/1/IND/ 2) Slovenia (G/VAL/N/1/SVN/1)
South Africa (G/VAL/N/1/ZAF)
(iii) Members whohavedelayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement inaccordance with
Article 20.1oftheAgreement (51)
Bangladesh (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Kuwait (WT/Let/72)
Bolivia (WT/Let/48) Madagascar (WT/Let/85)
Brunei Darussalam (WT/Let/36) Malaysia (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Burkina Faso(WT/Let/19) Mali(WT/Let/78)
Burundi (WT/Let/24) Malta (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Cameroon (WT/Let/41) Mauritania (WT/Let/82)
Central African Republic (WT/Let/19) Mauritius (WT/Let/1/Rev.2)
Chile (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Morocco (Decision inWT/L/38)
Colombia (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Myanmar (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Costa Rica(WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Nicaragua (WT/Let/29)
Côted'Ivoire (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Nigeria (WT/Let/106)
Cuba (WT/Let/19) Pakistan (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Djibouti (WT/Let/108) Paraguay (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Dominican Republic (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Peru(Decision inWT/L/38)
Ecuador (WT/Let/72) Philippines (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Egypt (WT/Let/19) Senegal (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
ElSalvador (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Singapore (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Gabon (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) SriLanka (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Ghana (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Thailand (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Guatemala (WT/Let/24) Togo (WT/Let/19)
Honduras (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Tunisia (WT/Let/1/Rev.2)
Indonesia (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Uganda (WT/Let/108)
Israel (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) United Arab Emirates (WT/Let/72)
Jamaica (WT/Let/1/Rev.2) Uruguay (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Kenya (WT/Let/1/Rev.1) Venezuela (WT/Let/1/Rev.1)
Zambia (WT/Let/28)G/VAL/W/11
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(iv) Members whohavemade nonotifications (38)
Antigua &Barbuda Lesotho
Argentina Malawi
Bahrain Maldives
Barbados Mozambique
Belize Namibia
Benin Papua NewGuinea
Botswana Poland
Brazil Qatar
Chad Rwanda
Cyprus Saint Kitts&Nevis
Dominica Saint Lucia
Fiji Saint Vincent &Grenadines
Gambia Sierra Leone
Grenada Solomon Islands
Guinea Bissau Suriname
Guinea, Rep.of Swaziland
Guyana Tanzania
Haiti Trinidad &Tobago
Iceland
(v) Members whohavenotified thattheyapply paragraph 2ofthedecision oftheCommittee on
Customs Valuation onValuation ofCarrier Media Bearing Software forData Processing
Equipment
Cyprus (G/VAL/N/1/CYP/1)