RESTRICTED  
  
WT/GC/WPEC/M/4/Corr.1  
 
7 June 2023 
(23-3897) Page: 1/2 
Work Programme on Electronic Commerce  
20 April 2023    
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING  
DEDICATED DISCUSSION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE  
HELD IN THE CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD AND IN VIRTUAL FORMAT ON 2 0 APRIL  2023 
Chairperson: H.E. Ms Usha Dwarka -Canabady  (Mauritius), Facilitator of the  
E-commerce Work Programme and the Moratorium  
Corrigendum 
Paragraph 1.36 should read as follows : 
1.36. Why do we believe that existing internal taxation mechanisms would be far more effective in 
achieving the policy object ives of revenue collection? If we look at the left side of page 7 of our 
presentation, different criteria are listed. In terms of operational feasibility, if you have a VAT 
system, a GST system, it would be much easier to set up a mechanism to collect taxa tion on some 
of the items mentioned, be it digital books or even online services for example. But when it comes 
to a customs duties system, it is extremely low in terms of operational feasibility because we are 
looking at setting it up entirely new. On the  issue of enforceability, Indonesia just mentioned that if 
you were to have that system in place, companies would have the obligation to the tax office - they 
would have to report the data. From Singapore's perspective and also experiences, we have launche d 
an overseas vendor registration system which is part of our GST system. It was launched in 2020 
and based on a system that we already had. It is highly operational as there were minimal costs in 
setting it up. It includes the sale of e -books, sale of onl ine streaming services and even distance 
learning classes. I hope that also puts into perspective what we are looking at when we are talking 
about using existing internal tax mechanisms to collect revenue. It does not mean that we do not 
collect revenue on  things like e -books for example, but there might be more effective tools for us to 
achieve that. The third criterion is on the impact to the economy. I wish to stress that there is a 
distinction and small, open, services -driven economies need to really th ink about it when considering 
setting up this customs duties system. The impact on your economy is going to be disproportionately 
large. This is something we need to bear in mind as we cannot just focus on a single sub -dimension 
of the policy tool. There i s need to actually think about the systems' impact when discussing this 
issue. The last point in terms of revenue collection, from Singapore's view, as well as that of many 
Members, is that there have been positive experiences in terms of how we are able t o collect revenue 
using existing internal tax mechanisms. The question revolving around setting up a customs duties 
system is that there is a big question mark as we do not really know because the estimates range 
and differ drastically. Taking into account  the third factor, we might see a highly limited impact in 
terms of what governments can actually collect from the revenue standpoint.  
Paragraph 1.73 should read  as follows : 
 
1.73. Second, the moratorium should be assessed from the dimension of maintainin g the relevance 
of the multilateral trading system. Since 1998, the moratorium has been one of the most important 
multilateral achievements of the WTO in the area of the digital economy. It has helped the WTO to 
keep up with the times and has had systemati c importance to WTO's relevance. In addition, 
continuing the moratorium can provide more time for harmonizing the global digital rules in the 
future. Third, the moratorium should be assessed from a technically practical dimension. China 
 
 In English and French only. WT/GC/M/183/Corr.1  
 
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  believes that all M embers should conduct in -depth discussions on the scope, definition, and impact 
of electronic transmission to lay a technical foundation for rule negotiations. At the same time, it 
should be clear that the moratorium does not restrict Members' policy space  regarding domestic 
taxes. It is necessary to comprehensively assess the impact of the moratorium from various 
perspectives, such as government revenue, the development of Members' industries, economic 
development, as well as developing and least -developed  Members' digital technology capabilities. 
China hopes that the Secretariat can carry out a technical analysis and evaluation with other 
international organizations; provide objective and neutral assessment and suggestions, such as 
calculating the impact o f taxation on downstream consumers and users, on social welfare, etc. This 
would help Members to evaluate potential economic costs and benefits and provide solid technical 
support for further discussions. To facilitate subsequent discussions, China wishes to raise some 
questions. Based on the existing technology and systems, it seems that the cost of levying tariffs on 
electronic transmission is high and technically complex. Moreover, there is no customs infrastructure 
or process to collect tariffs other th an on traditional tangible goods. Is it feasible to design a 
specialized taxation system for electronic transmission? What would be the associated costs and 
benefits? If such a specialized taxation system is feasible, how would different countries' tax sys tems 
be coordinated? How would potential tax competition and transfer issues be solved through 
international cooperation and relevant rulemaking? In today's discussions, more technical questions 
seem to have been raised on this important issue. We suggest further in -depth structured 
discussions on the moratorium be conducted in the future.  
In paragraph  1.156, "MC13 " replaces  "MC12 ". 
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