RESTRICTED  
  
WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev. 2 
 
18 July 2022 
(22-5429) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Budget, Finance and Administration  Original: English  
 
 
PROPOSED CHANGES TO THE TEXT OF FINANCIAL REGULATION 19  
THAT WAS AGREED IN JUNE 2019  
BY INDIA  & THE UNITED STATES  
Revision  
In lieu of the changes proposed by India in July 2021, and subsequent discussions in the CBFA and 
consultations with interested Members on the proposed amendments to FR 19  and co -sponsored by 
the United States, India and the United States would like to tab le this further revised proposal  
with a view to balancing the underlying objectives of enhancing transparency w.r.t. establishment 
and management of the Trust Funds and eliciting support of Members for the proposal. The revised 
proposal takes into consider ation the views expressed by Members during the discussions on the 
proposal at the CBFA and the constructive suggestions put forward by Members to reach possible 
landing zones. We hope that Members will appreciate the flexibility being shown by India & the  
United States with their revised proposal (fourth such revision) and constructively engage to reach 
an agreement on the new revised proposal at the earliest.   
  WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev. 2 
 
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FINANCIAL 
REGULATION  PROPOSED REFORMULATION OF SELECTED REGULATIONS  
19 Voluntary contributions, gifts or donations from WTO Members and Observers may be accepted by the Director -General 
provided that the purposes for which the contributions are made are consistent with the policies, aims and activities of the 
WTO, and provide d that the acceptance of such contributions which involve additional direct costs* to the regular budget of 
the WTO or financial liability for the Organization shall require  prior consent of the Committee , in line with the g uidelines laid 
out in Annex C.  
 
Voluntary contributions, gifts or donations from Non -Governmental Donors are subject to the additional guidelines laid out in 
Annex D.  
 
Monies accepted for purposes specified by the donor shall be treated as trust funds. A standard overhead fee of up to 1 3% 
may be charged on direct expenditure incurred by trust funds to reflect supporting services provided by the Secretariat. The 
standard overhead rate can be reduced when implementing partners are being used and when defined in the agreement 
signed with th e donor. The Programme Support Fund collects the overhead fees from all trust funds and pays expenditure 
incurred to support the trust fund 's activities. The Programme Support Fund also releases a fee representing 10% of its 
expenditure to the WTO Secretar iat, that will record it as miscellaneous income.  
 
Monies accepted in respect of which no purpose is specified shall be treated as miscellaneous income and reported as "gifts" 
in the accounts of the financial period.  
 
Monies received by a staff Member as h onorarium in his/her official capacity shall be remitted to the Organization and be 
credited to the WTO Staff Assistance Fund.  
 
Unless otherwise provided, such voluntary contributions, gifts or donations shall be administered in accordance with the 
present  Financial Regulations.  
 
* Additional direct costs in this context include salaries, health insurance contributions, pension contributions and travel costs 
of staff members who work either fully or partially i.e. >20% of their normal hours  on trust fund ma tters charged to the WTO 
regular budget. Additional direct costs are to be clearly identified in any trust fund proposal submitted in conjunction with  an 
offer of a voluntary contribution for the purpose of establishing a new trust fund. It is the responsi bility of the contributor to 
clearly and transparently identify the estimated additional direct costs involved in implementing the fund’s activities.  Tru st 
fund implementation activities including training, projects etc., aimed to achieve objectives of th e trust fund. Indirect costs to 
the regular budget of the WTO arising from voluntary contributions shall be charged to the Programme Support Fund.  WT/BFA/W/564 /Rev. 2 
 
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  ANNEX C  
WTO SECRETARIAT'S GUIDELINES FOR THE RECEIPT AND NOTIFICATION OF 
VOLUNTARY FUND CONTRIBUTIONS FROM MEMBERS AND OBSERVERS  
• In keeping with a commitment to streamline the procedures for the notification, approval, 
implementation and reporting on voluntary fund co ntributions, the Director -General has 
authorised the following guidelines which are aimed at improving transparency and consistency 
in the handling of all voluntary funds. These procedures shall be applied in strict conformity with 
Financial Regulation 19.  
• In the case of formal pledges made for the future establishment of a Trust F und or Trust F unds, 
these pledges will be notified to members for transparency purposes. Once an actual Fund is 
proposed in furtherance of the pledge, it will be notified as such,  in accordance with the guidelines 
below.  
• All voluntary funds will be submitted to the Director -General for his /her consideration and may 
be accepted where he /she determines that "...the purposes for which the contributions are made 
are consistent with the  policies, aims and activities of the WTO".  
• In considering the proffered voluntary contribution, the Director -General will receive the 
Administration and General Services Division 's (AGSD) determination whether the contribution 
would involve additional direct costs to the regular budget of the WTO or financial liabilit ies for 
the Organization, as defined under Financial Regulation 19 . 
• When the Director General assesses the proffered funding positively, and upon receipt of the 
AGSD 's assessment, a notificati on will be transmitted to the Committee on Budget Finance and 
Administration (CBFA) for consideration  in the following manner:  
• Where the voluntary contributions/ fund involves no additional direct costs to the regular 
budget of the WTO or financial liabilit ies for the Organization, the CBFA will be notified  by 
the Director -General  prior to the receipt of such voluntary contributions for transparency 
purposes.  
 
• Where the voluntary contributions/ fund involves additional direct costs to the regular 
budget of th e WTO or financial liabilit ies for the Organization , the notification will be 
submitted  by the Director General  for consideration and consent by the CBFA.  This will 
be done by including such notifications as an agenda item in the upcoming CBFA meeting 
and documents related to such agenda item shall be circulated in accordance with the 
agreed rules of procedure for distributing CBFA meeting documents.  
 
• The Director -General's notification  to the CBFA  of all trust funds arising under voluntary fund 
arrangements shall contain the following information and supporting documentation thereof:  
• The objectives of the trust fund;  
• The expected beneficiaries (if spe cified);  
• The implementation strategy;  
• The expected deliverables;  
• The amount of the funding dedicated to the trust fund;  
• The expected duration;  
• The implementation partners identified;  
• An estimate of the regular budget impact, including staff time and other  resources, of 
implementation of the fund’s activities  
• The Secretariat focal points for the trust fund ; and  
• The Governing Body . 
 
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