G/VAL/Q/COL/3  
31 August  2022 
(22-6506) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Customs Valuation  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 22 OF THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION  
OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT  
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994  
REPLIES FROM COLOMBIA TO THE QUESTIONS FROM THE EUROPEAN UNION  
REGARDING DOCUMENT G/VAL/N/1/COL/4  
COLOMBIA  
The following communication, dated 3 1 August 2 022, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Colombia.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Question : 
 
Article 25 of Decision No. 571 of the Commission of the Andean Community of 1 2 Decem ber 2 003, 
Customs Valuation of Imported Goods provides that information in databases could be used for the 
application of the valuation methods set out in Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Agreement, as long as the 
requirements for the application of each method are fulfilled . Could Colombia please elaborate on 
how it is ensured that the use of databases is consistent with the requirements for the application 
of the valuation methods set out in Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the Agreement?  
 
Reply : 
 
In this regard, it should be noted that Colombia does not currently have a specific database for 
customs valuation . However, it has two databases that are worth mentioning in this context since 
they may be consulted by the Colombian customs authorities in the valuation proce ss. 
 
The first database contains data on most of the goods entering the national customs territory . The 
data in this database include, among other elements, information on the goods' country of origin, 
the tariff subheading, the FOB value, transportation a nd marine insurance costs from various ports 
to Colombia and other related data.  
 
The second database contains values that have previously been the subject of specific research 
and/or value analyses . The research and analyses were carried out by the country's Sectional 
Customs Directorates and resulted in the acceptance of the transaction values declared by the 
importers.  
 
These databases may provide information on the "transaction value of identical goods" (Article 2 of 
the Agreement), the "transacti on value of similar goods" (Article 3 of the Agreement) and the 
"'fall-back' method " (Article 3 of the Agreement) . In cases where the authority applies the method 
based on "reasonable means" pursuant to Article 7, the databases may also constitute one of the 
sources of information used to determine the customs value.  
 
This is an appropriate use of the databases . Colombia sees no reason why the use of the databases 
should give rise to legal concerns.  G/VAL/Q/COL/3  
- 2 - 
  First, Articles 2 and 3 relate to  valuation methods that explicitly require the consideration of products 
that are the subject of other transactions . Thus, a database can assist the valuation authority in 
selecting the most suitable and appropriate goods in the light of the nature of the valuation methods 
in que stion. In this sense , the database helps the authority to comply with its international 
obligations, rather than posing a problem, as the question suggests . In the case of Article 7 and the 
"fall-back" method, the databases may also provide information tha t is useful in meeting the 
requirements of this method . The databases provide objective and systematic information ; their use 
creates a reliable and transparent framework for the application of the "fall-back" method . Without 
the databases, the authorities  in question would have to collect information on an ad hoc  basis, 
which is not ideal from the point of view of transparency, security and predictability . This is precisely 
why Decision No. 571 refers to databases " that facilitate the proper application  of the provisions 
of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement" (emphasis added).  
 
Second, for determin ing the customs value  under Articles 2, 3 and 7 , the databases  contain valid 
guidance values that have previously been accepted by the customs authority . Further more, the 
authorities always comply with the requirement that, when other transactions are used as evidence 
to determine the customs value of a transaction, the se other transactions  are selected on the basis 
that they  occurred at or about the same time as the transaction be ing valued.  
 
The regulations governing the use of the databases in question are reflected in the Transaction Value 
Method, provided for in Chapter I of the Community Regulations, adopted by Resolutio n No. 1684 
of 2014, in accordance with Article 16 (1) (a), Article 60 (1) of those Regulations and paragraph 4 
of the Interpretative Notes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Agreement.  
 
Therefore, there is no inconsistency between the use of these databases and th e national and 
international customs valuation standards mentioned in the question, or any other standard.  
 
Questions : 
 
Article 17 of Resolution No. 1456 of the Commission of the Andean Community of 2 8 February 2 012 
provides the use of "reference prices" f or valuation . Could Colombia please elaborate on how this is 
consistent with Article 7 of the Agreement?  
 
Article 17 of Resolution No. 1456 of the Commission of the Andean Community of 2 8 February 2 012 
provides the use of the price of the internal market o f the country of exportation of the goods, which 
is applicable in the country of importation for valuation . Could Colombia please clarify when a price 
of the internal market of the country of exportation is applicable in the country of importation?  
 
Reply : 
 
Colombia is of the opinion that the questions do not accurately portray the purpose of Article 17 of 
Resolution No. 1456.  
 
First of all, Resolution No. 1456 as a whole applies to certain special customs valuation cases . These 
special cases relate to:  
 
• used or obsolescent goods (Article 5);  
• repaired, refurbished, remanufactured, transformed or rebuilt goods (Article 6);  
• spoiled, damaged or deteriorated goods (Article 7);  
• goods imported in bulk whose quantity or weight varies in the course of transport 
(Article 8); 
• imported goods of no commercial value (Article 9);  
• goods imported to replace other goods (Article 10);  
• goods reimported after outward processing (Article 11);  
• goods imported under the temporary admission regime (Article 12);  
• goods imported under  a rental or financial leasing arrangement with or without a purchase 
option (Article 13);  G/VAL/Q/COL/3  
- 3 - 
  • antiques, works of art or collectors' pieces (Article 14);  
• determination of the customs value of waste from goods entering under a processing 
regime (Article 15) ; and 
• valuation of cinematographic films (Article 16).  
From the point of view of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation ("the Agreement"), the most 
relevant legal way of characterizing these special cases is to use the reference price to supplement 
or adjust t he transaction value (Article 1), or to guide the application of the "fall-back" method 
(Article 7).  
 
Article 17 is the residual provision of Resolution No. 1456. As such, it refers to cases that are so 
exceptional that they do not even fall within the (already exceptional) cases listed in Articles 6 to 
16. It therefore concerns an infinitesimal and minuscule number of goods that the customs authority 
encounters in the course of its work.  
 
For these highly exceptional cases, the Resolution establishes th e following series of options or 
elements of guidance . More specifically, Article 17 reads as follows:  
 
Article 17  
 
Criteria for other unregulated special cases  
 
In order to determine the customs value in special cases not regulated by this Resolution, nor by 
the instruments issued by the WTO's Committee on Customs Valuation or the WCO's Technical 
Committee on Customs Valuation, annexed to the Community Regulations approved by Resolution 
No. 846, nor by member countries' legislation, the price determined on  the basis of one of the 
following criteria, inter alia , shall be taken into account:  
 
1. The reference price.  
 
2. The resale price in the country of importation, deducting the costs and charges incurred for 
import ation and marketing.  
 
3. The value recorded on the insurance documents for the goods.  
 
4. The value recorded in the contracts or other documents relating to the goods.  
 
5. The value recorded on the Export Declaration, confirmed by the customs authority of the 
exporting country.  
 
6. The price determined by an ex pert, unrelated to the buyer or seller, with the cost being borne 
by the importer.  
 
7. The domestic market price of the goods in the exporting country , which is applicable in the 
importing country, provided that domestic taxes paid in said country are deducte d. 
 
As is evident from the immediate and more general context of the term "reference price" in Article  17 
of the Resolution, the term should not be understood as referring to a "general" estimated price for 
this type of good, which is unrelated to the spec ific transaction in question . Article 17 deals precisely 
with cases and transactions so exceptional that they fall outside any category and, therefore, there 
can hardly be a general estimated price for this category of good . Rather, the term "reference pri ce" 
in this context refers to any useful piece of evidence that may assist and facilitate the work of the 
customs valuation services in establishing the customs value of the highly exceptional goods covered 
by this provision.  
 
Colombia also wishes to take this opportunity to emphasize that, under the Andean regulations 
incorporated into Colombian law, a method may not be applied if it is contrary to the requirements 
of the Agreement, which include the prohibited practices listed in Article 7.2.  
 
__________