RESTRICTED  
  
G/VAL/M/65  
 
14 February 2018  
(18-0971) Page: 1/14 
Committee on Customs Valuation    
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETI NG OF 6 NOVEMBER  2017  
CHAIRPERSON : MS LUCIANA NADER (UR UGUAY)  
The agenda proposed for the meeting, circulated in  WTO/AIR/VAL/ 6, was adopted as follows:     
 
1   REPORT  OF THE WORK OF THE T ECHNICAL COMMITTEE O N CUSTOMS 
VALUATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  2 
2   INFORMATION ON IMPLE MENTATION AND ADMINI STRATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT  ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  2 
2.1   Notification of national legislation  ................................ ................................ ..................  2 
A. Kingdom of Bahrain  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 2 
B. Belize  ................................ ................................ ................................ .......................  3 
C. Guinea  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  3 
D. Honduras  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  3 
E. Kazakhstan  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  3 
F. Malawi  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  4 
G. Nepal  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........................  4 
H. Nigeria  ................................ ................................ ................................ ......................  4 
I. Russian Federation  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..... 5 
J. Rwanda ................................ ................................ ................................ .....................  5 
K. Solomon Islands  ................................ ................................ ................................ ........  5 
L. Sri Lanka  ................................ ................................ ................................ ..................  6 
M. The Gambia  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...............  6 
3   INFORMATION ON THE A PPLICATION OF DECISI ONS OF THE COMMITTEE  ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION  ................................ ................................ ................................ ...... 6 
3.1   The status of notifications under the Committee's Decisions  ................................ ..............  6 
3.2   Uruguay's proposal to update the carrier media decision  ................................ ..................  7 
4   TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  ................................ ................................ .............................  7 
4.1   Information on Technical Assistance  ................................ ................................ ..............  7 
4.2   Article  20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade -Related Technical Assistance  ...........................  7 
5   UNITED STATES - ARMENIA'S REFERENCE PRICE SYSTEM IN CONNECTION  
WITH THE VALUATION O F GOODS ................................ ................................ ....................  8 
6   THAILAND - PAKISTAN'S DETERMINA TION OF CUSTOMS VALU ES OF PAPER  ..............  8 
7   PRESHIPMENT INSPECTI ON ................................ ................................ ........................  9 
7.1   Status of notifications by Members  ................................ ................................ ................  9 
7.2   Questions and Responses by the United States and Indonesia  ................................ ...........  9 G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  7.3   Information on PSI  programmes  ................................ ................................ ....................  9 
7.4   Fourth Triennial Review of the PSI  Agreement  ................................ ................................ 10 
8   UNITED STATES – EGYPT'S STATUS OF NO TIFICATION OF PSI  ................................ . 10 
9   ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE  IMPLEMENTATION AND O PERATION OF THE 
CUSTOMS VALUATION AG REEMENT  ................................ ................................ ................  11 
10   ANNUAL REPORT OF THE  COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS  VALUATION TO THE 
COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN  GOODS  ................................ ................................ ....................  11 
11   OTHER BUSINESS  ................................ ................................ ................................ .... 12 
11.1  Canada – Colombia's reference pricing system  ................................ ......................... 12 
11.2  Date of next meeting  ................................ ................................ ............................ 12 
 
_______________  
 
 
1  REPORT OF THE WORK O F THE TECHNICAL COMM ITTEE ON CUSTOMS VAL UATION  
1.1.  The representative of the World Customs Organization  (WCO) , Mr. Luximan Baba jee, 
reported on the 45th session  of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation  which had taken 
place from 23 to 25 October  2017. His report is contained in the Annex  to this document . 
1.2.  The Chairperson thanked Mr. Badajee for h is report  and expressed the Committee's 
appreciation f or the continued valuable work of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.  
1.3.  The Committee took note  of the report.  
2  INFORMATION ON IMPLE MENTATION AND ADMINI STRATION OF THE AGRE EMENT  
2.1  Notification of national legislation  
2.1.  The Chairperson  recalled that  pursuant to Article  22 of the Agreement and the Decision on  
"Notification and circulation of national legislation in accordance with Articl e 22 of the Agreement" 
Members must submit the complete texts of their national legislation on customs valuation in one 
of the three  official WTO  languages. They should also inform the Committee of any changes in 
their laws and regulations relevant to this Agreement and in the administration of such laws and 
regulations. The notification procedures had been adopted by t he Committee at its meeting of 
12 May 1995 and were contained in section  B.2 of document  G/VAL/5. As agreed at the 
Committee's meeting of 25  October  2012, the Se cretariat had issued a document  summariz ing the 
current status of notifications ; the latest ver sion of this document had been circulated as 
G/VAL/ W/232/Rev. 7 and G/VAL/ W/232/Rev. 7/Corr .1) As agreed at the Committee 's meeting  of 
7 October  2015, t he status document ha d been revised  to include references to documents 
containing the questions and responses raised  with regard to notifications.  
2.2.  The Chairperson  recalled that  the situation regarding the notification of  Chinese Taipei 's 
legislation remain ed unchanged . 
A. Kingdom of Bahrain  
2.3.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last mee ting to revert to the 
examination of Bahrain's notification of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues 
which had been circulated in documents  G/VAL/ N/1/BHR/ 1, G/VAL/ N/1/BHR/ 2 and 
G/VAL/N/ 2/BHR/ 1. The latest questions raised by the United States had circulated  in document 
G/VAL/ W/223  and Bahrain had provided responses in document G/VAL/W/308.  
2.4.  The representative of the United States  thank ed Bahrain for the responses which wer e 
currently being r eview ed. G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  2.5.  The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Bahrain's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
B. Belize  
2.6.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert  to the 
examination of Belize's notification of national legislation and resp onses to the checklist of issues 
which had been circulated in documents  G/VAL/N/1/BLZ/1 a nd G/VAL/N/2/BLZ/1 . The Committee 
was awaiting responses from Belize to the latest questions raised by the United States in 
documents G/VAL/ W/188 and G/VAL/ W/272 and G/VAL/ W/272/Corr.1.   
2.7.  The representative of the United States  said that her delegation continued to look forward to 
receiving written  responses  to their quest ions, which had been raised in September 2015 . 
2.8.  The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Belize's notification  
at the next meeting.  
C. Guinea  
2.9.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of Guinea's notification of national legislation which had been circulated in 
document  G/VAL/ N/1/GIN/1.  Questions raised by t he United States had been  circulated in 
document  G/VAL/W/ 266. 
2.10.   The representative of the United States  said that her delegation looked forward to receiving 
replies  to the questions  which had been raised in September 20 15. 
2.11.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Guinea's  
notification  at the next meeting.  
D. Honduras  
2.12.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of Honduras' notification of national legislation and responses to the checklist of 
issues  which had been  circulated in documents  G/VAL/ N/1/HND/1 and G/VAL/ N/2/HND/1 . 
The United States had submitted questions in document  G/VAL/W/268.  
2.13.   The representative of the United States  said that her delegation  looked forward to receiving 
a written response to its questions.  
2.14.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Honduras'  
notification  at the next meeting.  
E. Kazakhstan  
2.15.   The Chairperson  drew attention to Kazakhstan 's notification of  its national legislation  which 
had been circulated in document G/VAL/N/ 1/KAZ/1. Questions had been raised by the United 
States and circulated in document G/VAL/W/302.  
2.16.   The representative of the United States  thanked Kazakhstan for its notification and said that 
her delegation looked forward to receiving the responses.  
2.17.   The representative of the European Union  also thanked Kazakhstan for its notification  and 
expressed her delegation's interest in Kazakhstan's responses to the United States' questions. 
Kazakhstan's notification was detailed and quite extensive , including not only the  provisions of the 
Customs Valuation  Agreement but also other selective content  and examples, including from the 
WCO Guidelines. She raised a number of questions regarding related -party transactions:  could 
Kazakhstan confirm (1) that the extensive provisions o n related parties , possible price influence , 
as well as transfer pricing issues were in line with  the relevant provision s of the C ustoms Valuation 
Agreement, n otably Article 1.2 and rel ated interpretative notes;  (2) that test values were not 
obligatory and (3) that a test o n an importer or declarant must be in relation to a related -parties G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  transact ion. Also, c ould Kazakhstan indicate where it wa s contained in the legislation that buying 
commissions we re not part of the customs value , and finally, could it confirm that the rules on 
assist were fully in conformity with the Customs Valuation Agreement ? Her delegation would 
provide detailed questions i n writing.  
2.18.   The representative of Kazakhstan  stated that responses to the United States' questions 
were being prepared.   
2.19.   The Committee took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to Kazakhstan's  
notification at the next meeting.  
F. Malawi  
2.20.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of the national legislation of Malawi which ha d been circulated in G/VAL/ N/1/MWI/2 . 
Subsequent to th at meeting, Malawi's notification of its responses to the checklist of issues had 
been circulated  in document G/VAL/N/2/MWI/1. The United States had raised questions on 
G/VAL/N/1/MWI/2 in document G/VAL/W/303.  
2.21.   The representative of the United States  thanked Malawi for the notification of its national 
legislation and stated that it looked forward to receiving Malawi's written responses .  
2.22.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Malawi 's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
G. Nepal  
2.23.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of  Nepal's notification of national legislation which had been circulated in 
document  G/VAL/N/1/NPL/1.  The United States had raised questions which had been circulated in 
document  G/VAL/W/286  to which Nepal had provided responses in document G/VAL/W/300 . 
The United States had raised additional questions in G/VAL/W/301.  
2.24.   The representative of the United States  thanked Nepal for the written responses  to their 
initial questions. The United States had subsequently posed additional questions and looked 
forward to receiving written responses.  
2.25.   The representative of Nepal  stated that the responses were being prepared. She invited any 
other Member that had quest ions to submit them in writing.  
2.26.   The Committee took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to Nepal's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
H. Nigeria  
2.27.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of Nigeria's notification of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues  
which had been circulated in documents G/ VAL/N/1/NGA/1 and G/VAL/N/2/NGA/1. 
The United  States and Canada had raised  questions  which had been circulated in 
documents  G/VAL/W/175 and G/VAL/W/176, respectively.  
2.28.   The representative  of Canada  expressed  Canada' s interest in receiving responses to the ir 
questions.  
2.29.   The representative of the United States  said that h er delegation remained interested in 
receiving replies to the questions posed by them in 2009 . She request ed that th e agenda item 
remain open until all outstanding questions ha d been addressed.   
2.30.   The representative of the European Union  echoed the statements made by the delegations 
of Canada and the United States.  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  2.31.   The representative of Nigeria  stated that the draft bill for amendment of Nigeria's Customs 
And Excise Management Act (CEMA)  was before the legislative for finalisation and passage. 
The anticipated amend ed law , when finalized, would be WTO -compliant and wo uld address the 
concerns raised by Members. As soon as the legislative process was over, the revised law would be 
notified to the Committee on Customs Valuation or directly to the concerned delegations . Since 
there was progress being made on th e issue, her delegation requested that it become a bilateral 
issue so that the matter could be  resolve d.   
2.32.   The Committee took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to Nigeria's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
I. Russian Federation  
2.33.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of the Russian Federation's notification of legislation which had been circulated in the 
series of documents G/VAL/N/1/RUS/1  and G/VAL/N/1/RUS/1/Add.1, G/VAL/N/1/RUS/2  and 
G/VAL/N/1/RUS/2 /Add.1 , G/VAL/N/1/RUS/3  and G/VAL/N/1/RUS/3 /Add.1 . The Russian 
Federation's response s to the checklist of issues  had been circulated  in 
document  G/VAL/N/2/RUS/1 . Questions raised by t he United States had been circulated in 
document  G/VAL/W/287.  
2.34.   The representative of the Russian Federation  stated that they had provided responses 
bilaterally to the United States'  delegation which  would shortly be notified to the Committee on 
Customs Valuation . Some changes were being made to thel legislation and her delegation would 
update their responses to the c hecklist of issues  accordingly .   
2.35.   The representative of the United States  thanked the Russian Federation for the update on 
their legislative process and notifications. H er delegation continued to look forward to receiving 
written replies to the ir questions .   
2.36.   The representative of the European Union  stated that h er delegation also looked forward to 
seeing the responses .  Equally, they  looked forward to receiving a detailed update on the state -of-
play of the legislation of the Russian Federation and the Eurasian Customs Union . 
2.37.    The Committee took note of the statements made and agreed  to revert to the 
Russian  Federation's notification  at the next meeting.  
J. Rwanda  
2.38.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of Rwanda's notification of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues  
which had been  circulated in documents  G/VAL/ N/1/RWA/1 and G/VAL/N/2/RWA/1. The United 
States had raised questions in document  G/VAL/W/215.  
2.39.   The representative of the United States  said that her delegation remained interested in 
receiving Rwanda's written replies . 
2.40.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Rwanda's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
K. Solomon Islands  
2.41.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of  the Solomon Islands' national legislation which had been  circulated  in document 
G/VAL/N/ 1/SLB/1 . The U nited States had raised questions which had been circulated in document 
G/VAL/W/298.  
2.42.   The representative of  the United States  said that her delegation looked forward to receiving 
written replies to their questions.  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  2.43.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to the Solomon 
Islands' notification  at the next meeting.  
L. Sri Lanka  
2.44.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the 
examination of Sri Lanka's notification of national leg islation and its responses to the checklist of 
issues which  had been circulated in documents  G/VAL/N/1/LKA/1  and G/VAL/N/1/LKA/1 /Corr.1, 
and G/VAL/N/2/LKA/1.  The United States had raised  questions in document  G/VAL/W/269  and 
Sri Lanka had provided response s in document G/VAL/W/291 . The United States had raised 
additional questions in document G/VAL/W/297  to which Sri Lanka had provided written responses 
in G/VAL/W/304 . 
2.45.   The representative of the United States  thanked Sri Lanka for the written responses, which 
were being review ed. 
2.46.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to Sri Lanka's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
M. The Gambia  
2.47.   The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert t o the 
examination of The Gambia's notification of national legislation which had been circulated in 
documents  G/VAL/N/1/GMB/1 and G/VAL/N/4/GMB/1.  The United States had submitted questions 
in document  G/VAL/W/245.  
2.48.   The representative of the United States  said that her delegation  continued to look forward 
to receiv ing the replies.  
2.49.   The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to The Gambia's 
notification  at the next meeting.  
2.50.   The Chairperson  thanked Members who had notified their national legislation and respon ses 
to the checklist of issues. Sh e strongly encouraged the still considerable number of  Members  that 
had not yet done so  to work with their capitals to submit the notifications as soon as possible.  
The committee was currently examini ng the legislation of 13 Members , some of which had been 
stalled  for a number of years because Members  had not provided written responses  to questions  
raised . While the response process c ould take some time , she urged Members to do their best to 
provide responses in a timely manner.   
2.51.    She reminded Members that the Secretariat was available for any assistance in fulfilling the 
notification obligations.  
2.52.   The Committee took note  of the information  and of the statements made . 
3  INFORMATION ON THE A PPLICATION OF DECISI ONS OF THE COMMITTEE  ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION  
3.1.  The Chairperson  stated  that the Committee had two  issues  under this agenda item : the 
status of notifications under the Committee's Decisions and the proposal by Uruguay which had 
been circulated in document  G/VAL/W/241/Rev.1.  
3.1  The status of notifications under the Committee's Decisions  
3.2.  The Chairperson  recalled that the Committee examined notifications pursuant to 
two Decisions that had been adopted by the Committee at its meeting of 12  May 1995 and which 
were contained in document  G/VAL/5. Those were the Decisions on "Treatment of Interest Charges 
in the Customs Value of Imported Goods" and "Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for 
Data Processing Equipment". A repor t by the Secretariat listing the notifications received had been 
circulated in document  G/VAL/W/5/Rev.2 8. G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  3.3.  The Committee took note  of the information.  
3.2  Uruguay's proposal to update the carrier media decision  
3.4.  The Chairperson  recalled Uruguay's  proposal to amend the Carrier Media Decision, also 
known by Customs as "Decision  4.1" which was contained in document G/VAL/W/241/Rev.1. 
According to Uruguay, software was increasingly being imported using new types  of carrier media, 
e.g. USB flash drives or other sim ilar devices, which might not fall under the definition of "carrier 
medium" in the Decision. This meant that such importations of software would be treated 
differently from those imported using other types of media, such as CDs or DVDs. Switzerland had 
submitted comments on Uruguay's proposal which had been circulated in document  G/VAL/W/254. 
At the request of the Committee, the Secretariat had also prepared a report with statistics on 
imports of these products which had been circulated in G/VAL/W/249.  
3.5.  The representative of Uruguay  requested to keep the item on the agenda for the next 
meeting. He also invited any interested delegations to undertake bilateral discussions on the issue.  
3.6.  The representative of the European Union  stated that her delegation's position remain ed 
unchanged and they did not see any need to revisit Decision 4.1 . However, they were open to 
engage bilaterally.    
3.7.  The representative of the United States  expressed her delegation's support for the expansion 
of the definition to include semi -conductor media such as USB flash drives. They also agreed with 
Switzerland's comment circulated in G/VAL/W/254.  
3.8.  The Committee took note  of the statement s made and agreed to revert to Uruguay's proposal 
at the next meeting.  
4  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
4.1  Information on Technical Assistance  
4.1.  The Chairperson  recalled that at its meeting of 12  May 1995, and as reflected in section  B.4 of 
document  G/VAL/5, the Committee on Customs Valuation had agreed that greater transparency of 
technical assistance activities would be ensured if information documents prepared for the 
WCO Technical Committee  on Customs Valuation were also made available as a WTO  document. 
Accordingly, d ocument  G/VAL/8/Add.3 5 contain ed the most recent information compiled by the 
Technical Committee on Customs Valuation concerning technical assistance activities carried out by 
WCO Members  and the WCO Secretariat.  
4.2.  The Committee  took note of the information . 
4.2  Article  20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade -Related Technical Assistance  
4.3.  The Chairperson  recalled that the Committee's work programme on t echnical assistance for 
capacity building  regard ing the implementation and a dministration of the WTO  Agreement on 
Customs Valuation was now incorporated in to the overall technical assistance program of the WTO. 
The WTO was currentl y implementing the 201 6-2017 Biennial TA  Plan contain ed in 
document  WT/COMTD/W/2 11.  
4.4.  A member of the  Secretariat  (Ms Dolores Halloran) presented a report on technical assistance 
activity for the period following  the Committee's previous meeting  in May 201 7. The majority of 
the technical assistance on the Customs Valuation Agreement was being covered in the WTO 
Region al Trade Policy Courses. The most recent courses had been  the Regional Trade Policy 
Courses held in Côte d'Ivoire (for French -speaking Africa); Thailand (for the Asia Region); and in 
Oman for the Arab regions. In addition, a national workshop on customs va luation was provided in  
Guatemala in June 2017 , in cooperation with the WCO . Customs valuation training was also 
included in a regional market access workshop delivered for the Central and Eastern Europe, 
Central and the Caucasus (CEECAC)  region at the Joi nt Vienna Institute in June 2017.  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  4.5.  The Chairperson  informed the committee that r equests for technical assistance could be 
made by individual Members at any time  and a national activity designed to meet the needs of the 
recipient  would be delivered . 
4.6.  The Committee  took note  of the information . 
5  UNITED STATES - ARMENIA'S REFERENCE PRICE SYSTEM IN CONN ECTION WITH THE 
VALUATION OF GOODS  
5.1.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to this issue. 
Armenia had notified its nation al legislation in August  2003 in document  G/VAL/N/1/ARM/1  as well 
as its responses to the checklist of issues in document  G/VAL/N/2/ARM/1. The Committee had 
concluded its examination of this legislation at its meeting on 18  October  2005. The U nited States 
had raised  follow -up questions in document  G/VAL/W/208 to which Armenia had provided 
responses in document  G/VAL/W/213.  Canada had subsequently submitted questions in 
document  G/VAL/W/214.  
5.2.  The representative  of Canada  reminded the Committee that his delega tion had submitted 
questions to Armenia in 2012 regarding the p ossible use of reference prices.  It was an important 
issue and his delegation  remained interested in receiving responses as soon as possible.  
5.3.  The Committee  took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to th e issue at the 
next meeting.  
6  THAILAND - PAKISTAN'S DETERMINA TION OF CUSTOMS VALU ES OF PAPER   
6.1.  The representative  of Thailand  stated that her delegation  continue d to have concerns 
regarding Pakistan's determination of customs values of paper , which Thailand had raised at the 
customs valuation meeting s of October 2016 and May 2017.   
6.2.  She thanked Pakistan for having provid ed written responses to Thailand's questions on  
6 July 2017.  There were some issues , however, to which Pakistan had no t responded. For 
example, Pakistan had not explained the consistency between Article 7.2(f) of the Customs 
Valuation Agreement and the valuation ruling which stated that "in case where 
declared /transaction values are higher than the customs values determin ed in this ruling, the 
assessing officers shall apply those values". Thailand was of the view that such requirements 
referred to the application of minimum values and therefore were inconsistent with the Customs 
Valuation Agreement.  
6.3.   Thailand was grateful  to Pakistan for amending the valuation ruling and reducing the 
customs values of paper imported from Thailand. Th e improvement s slightly alleviated the 
negative impact on Thailand's paper exporters.  
6.4.  However, it appeared  in the revised ruling dated 6 April 2016  that Pakistan may reject the 
transaction values of  each transhipment and ins tead replace them with what appear ed to be 
minimum values . In th at context,  Thailand requested  Pakistan to provide responses to the 
following questions:  since the primary obligation of the Customs Valuation Agreement was to 
accept the transaction value and to use it as the dutiable value , if Pakistan was using transaction 
values why was it necessary to publis h those  transaction values in rulings?  Why was it neces sary 
to refer to the prices published in the rulings as minimum price s? Why was it necessary or 
appropriate to have the Pakistani domestic industry take part in the valuation process ?  Finally, 
why was it necessary to use such a complicated system , especia lly if Pakistan was actually using 
transaction values ? 
6.5.  There was a reference in the rulings to under -invoicing, but it was not clear what kind of 
under -reporting Pakistan considered was taking place, or what the ruling  was trying to prevent.  
Her delegation request ed that Pakistan review the concerned valuation ruling and make it 
compliant with WTO Agreements.  Her delegation  hoped to resolve th e issue in a cooperative 
manner.  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  6.6.  The representative of Pakistan  stated that his delegation had been en gaging with Thailand 
bilaterally and had already responded to Thailand's  previous concerns. His delegation had recently 
forwarded the new queries to capital and they were awaiting the responses. Pakistan's c ustoms 
valuation regime was in compliance with Ar ticle VII of the GATT.  Pakistan accept ed the 
transaction values as envisaged under th at article.  However, in some cases where there was clear 
evidence of group under -invoicing by the importers, a system of agreed values was used but it 
was done in a most transparent manner and all stake holders were involved in the process. 
The process adopted was exactly in accordance with Article VII of the GATT as other methods 
mentioned were adopted to arrive at a true transaction value. All  such agreed decisions were still 
appealable and a review petition could  be filed by the importers for revision if they were not 
satisfied.  
6.7.  His delegation had taken note of Thailand's statement which would be  convey ed to capital.  
Pakistan would continue to  engage bilaterally with Thailand and hope d to resolve the situation 
amicably and cooperatively.  
6.8.  The Committee took note  of the statements made and agreed  to revert to the issue at the 
next meeting.  
7  PRESHIPMENT INSPECTI ON 
7.1.  The Chairperson  noted that Preshipment Inspection was a standing item on the agenda of the 
Committee on Customs Valuation and that there  were four items to discuss: Status of 
notifications ; Questions and Responses by the United States and Indonesia,  respectively; 
Information  on PSI  Programme s, and the Draft Fourth Review Of The Agreement On Preshipment 
Inspection.  
7.1  Status of notifications by Members  
7.2.  The Chairperson  drew attention to the compilation of notifications pursuant to Article  5 of the 
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection  which was contained in the following series of document s: 
G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2 ; G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2/ Add.1; G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2/Add. 2; G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2/Add.3 ; and 
G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2/Add.4. The latest compilation of notifications on PSI was contained in document 
G/PSI/N/1/Rev.3.   
7.3.  The Committee  took note  of the document s. 
7.2  Questions and Responses by the United States and Indonesia  
7.4.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to revert to the issues of 
Questions and Responses by the United St ates and Indonesia. The United States had raised  
questions to Indonesia which had been circulated in documents  G/VAL/W/167, G/ VAL/W/180 and 
G/VAL/W/237 . Indonesia ha d provided  responses  in documents  G/VAL/W/256, G/VAL/W/257 and 
G/VAL/W/257/Corr.1  (in Spanish and English only ). The United States had submitted additional 
questions  which had been circulated in document  G/VAL/ W/278  to which Indonesia had provided 
responses in document G/VAL/W/308.  
7.5.  The representative of the United States  thanked Indonesia for the replies , which were being 
reviewed in capital.   
7.6.  The Committee  took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to the issue at the 
next meeting.  
7.3  Information on PSI  programmes  
7.7.  The Chairperson  drew attention to document G/VAL/W/63/Rev. 21 which contained the most 
recent update of the information received from the International Federation of Inspection Agencies 
(IFIA) on Members that use preshipment inspection services . 
7.8.  The Committee took note of the information . G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  7.4  Fourth Triennial Review of the PSI  Agreement  
7.9.  The Chairperson  recalled that it had been agreed at the last meeting to conduct the Fourth 
Triennial Review of the PSI Agreement on the basis of Members' written submissions, which had to 
be sent to the Secretariat no later than 6  October  2017.  In the event that no written contribution 
was submitted, the Committee would then request the Secretariat to produce a factual report.  
No submissions had been received by the deadline , therefore , the Secretariat had prepared a draft 
factual report which had been circulated in document G/VAL/W/307.   
7.10.   The representative of Thailand  propose d the following amendment in relation to Article 2.4 
of the PSI Agreement regarding  consideration s to improve th e quality of exported products to 
meet the relevant national and international standards : "User Members shall ensure that quantity 
and quality inspections are performed in accordance with the standards defined by the seller and 
the buyer in the purchase ag reement which are not lower than national standards.  In the absence 
of such standards in the purchase agreement, relevant national and international standards apply" . 
7.11.   The representative of the European Union  requested  to have Thailand's  proposed 
amendment in written form. The European Union did not consider that there was any need to 
review or to amend the PSI Agreement  since the PSI provisions were already incorporated in to the 
new Trade Facilitation Agreement.    
7.12.   The Chairperson  proposed that in light of the interventions, the Committee would take note 
of the statements made and revert to the Fourth Triennial Review of the PSI Agreement at the 
next meeting .  
7.13.   It was so agreed .    
8  UNITED STATES – EGYPT'S S TATUS OF NOTIFICATIO N OF P SI  
8.1.  The Chairperson  drew the Committee's attention to the item raised by the United States 
regarding Egypt's status of PSI notifications.   
8.2.  The representative of the United States  expressed her delegation's understanding that 
Decree No. 991/2015 provided r equirements for the use of preshipment inspection as described 
under Article 1 of the PSI Agreement. As such, the United States considered that the Decree 
should be notified to the Committee on Customs Valuation under Article 5 of the PSI Agreement. 
The Un ited States respectfully disagree d with Egypt's interpretation  as stated at the previous 
Committee meeting that the Decree was intended for quality control and inspection , and, 
therefore , that it was not subject to notification under the PSI Agreement.   
8.3.  According to Article 5 of the  PSI Agreement, "Members shall notify to the C ommittee on 
Customs Valuation changes in law and regulations relating to preshipment inspection activities 
immediately after publication ". Article 5 d id not distinguish between preshipment -inspection  
activities relating to quality inspection, price verification, fraud or under -invoicing. Therefore , as 
stated  in document G/VAL/W/299, the United States requested Egypt to notify Decree 
No. 991/2015 as well as any other measures that inc luded preshipment inspection requirement s.   
8.4.  The representative of Switzerland  echoed the statement made by the United States. 
His delegation thanked Egypt for the responses provided in th e previous Committee  meeting, yet 
Switzerland's  view remain ed unchanged .  They read Article 2 of the Decree regarding companies 
or entities responsible for the examination of goods prior to shipping as a clear indication of 
preshipment activities  and as such  it should be notified to th e Committee  on Customs Valuation .   
8.5.  The representative of Egypt  thanked the United States and Switzerland for their interest.  
With regard to  the implementation of Ministerial Decree No. 991 /2015, his delegation had already 
stated at the previous committee meeting  that the TBT Committee  was the only competent WTO 
body to discuss the matter , and he reiterated the following points: 1) Article 5 of the PSI 
Agreement did not determine the relevant WTO body under which such notification should be 
conducted , as the preshipment inspection  could be applied for different purposes , such as quality 
control  to ensur e the respect of certain standards ; sanitary and phytosanitary conditions ; fraud 
and pricing verification etc.; 2) According to Article 2.20 and the related footnote of the PSI G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  Agreement, preshipment inspection wa s related to customs valuation only if such measures were 
taken to conduct price verification in order to prevent under -invoicing and fraud.   
8.6.  In Egypt's case, however, Ministerial Decree No. 991 /2015 had imposed the preshipment  
inspection measures on a limited number of imported goods in order to control their quality and to 
check whether or not such imports satisfied the required standards before penetrating the 
Egyptian market. Th ose measures did not have any relation to prici ng verification and the 
authority concerned with following up their implementation was the  General Organization for 
Export and Import Control  (GOEIC) and not the Egyptian Customs Authority. Therefore, any 
notification o f Ministerial Decree No. 991 /2015  under the Customs Valuation Committee would be 
irrelevant.  
8.7.  Decree No.  991/2015 had been officially published and notified to the TBT Committee prior to 
its implementation. In addition, since its entry into force, Egypt had held a number of very 
constructive consultations with its trading partners and it had  also received some comments 
through its TBT enquiry point . Egypt had responded to all those comments in w riting and in their 
bilateral meetings with interested Members.  His delegation took note of the conce rns raised by 
delegations and thank ed Members for their previous constructive engagement . He urged Members 
to approach his delegation bilaterally within the scope of the TBT Committee in order to continue 
consultations on th e matter.   Egypt reaffirm ed its respect to its commitments within WTO, and it 
strongly believe d that the preshipment inspection measures required following Ministerial Decree 
No. 991 /2015  were in full compliance with WTO rules and with the TBT Agreement.   
8.8.  The Committee  took note  of the statement s made  and agreed to revert to the issue at the 
next meeting . 
9  ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE  IMPLEMENTATION AND O PERATION OF THE CUST OMS 
VALUATION AGREEMENT  
9.1.  The Chairperson  drew the Committee's attention to Article 23 of the Customs Valuation 
Agreem ent, which provide d that the Committee shall review annually the implementation and 
operation of the Agreement, taking into account the objectives thereof. The Secretariat ha d 
prepared a draft review which ha d been circulated in document G/VAL/ W/305. 
9.2.  She proposed that the Committee adopt the Annual Review1 and instructed the Secretariat to 
update it as necessary to take account of the discussions in the November  meeting.  
9.3.  The Committee  so agreed . 
10  ANNUAL REPORT OF THE  COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS  VALUATION TO THE COU NCIL 
FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
10.1.   The Chairperson  recalled that Article 23 of the Agreement also required the Committee to 
annually inform the Council for Trade in Goods of developments during the relevant reporting 
period. The  Secretariat had prepared a draft report which had been circulated in document 
G/VAL/W/ 306.   
10.2.   She proposed that the Committee adopt the Annual Report to the Council for Trade in 
Goods2 and instructed the Secretariat to update it as necessary to take account of the discussions 
in the Novemb er meeting.   
10.3.   The Committee so agreed . 
                                                
1 Subsequently issued as G/L/1198  
2 Subsequently issued as G/L/1199  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  11  OTHER BUSINESS  
11.1 Canada – Colombia's reference pricing system  
11.1  The representative of Canada  raised her delegation's  concerns with Colombia's reference 
pricing system that had been imposed in accordance with Decree N o. 1745 issued by the Ministerio 
de Hacienda y Credito Publico on 2 November 2016, which impact ed on the release of goods and , 
in particular , apparel imports. An important Canadian stakeholder had expressed concerns over 
Colombia imposing onerous administr ative and operational requirements on imports of all apparel 
with a declared value below the reference prices, and which  were even applied to traders approved 
by Colombia as Permanent Customs Users.  
11.2  Raising the reference prices for apparel and certain tex tile products as was proposed in a 
draft decree issued by the Ministerio de Hacienda y Credito Publico in October 2017 would result in 
the imposition of excessive administrative burdens, costs and delays on even more legitimate 
traders.  Canada encourage d Colombia to reconsider the imposition of th ose onerous administrative 
and operational requirements on all imported shipments of apparel with a declared value below the 
reference prices.    
11.2 Date of next meeting  
11.3  The Chairperson  stated that the date of t he next meeting  of the Committee would be fixed in 
consultation with Members.  
11.4  The meeting was adjourned.  
_______________  
 G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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  ANNEX   
 
REPORT TO THE W TO COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION  
ON THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION  
AND RELATED ACTIVITI ES O F THE WCO  SECRETARIAT  
6 November  2017 
A. Introduction  
 
The Technical Committee on Customs Valuation ( "Technical Committee ") held its 45th Session at 
WCO Headquarters in Brussels from 23 to 25 October 2017. The session was chaired by 
Mr. J. BIRKHO FF (The Netherlands). Sixty -four (64) Member Customs administrations were 
present, as well as Observers from the Customs Administrations of Islamic Republic of Iran, 
Palestine and Serbia; the World Trade Organization (WTO); t he Organization for Economic 
Co-operation and Development (OECD); and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC).  
 
B. Specific technical questions examined, and outcomes achieved  
 
The Technical Committee continued its discussions on the specific technical questions on its 
Agenda:  
 
1. Related  party transactions under the Agreement and Transfer Pricing – case based on resale 
price method example: submitted by China. The Technical Committee adopted this question 
as Case Study 14.2, which will be submitted to the Council for approval in June 2018 . 
 
2. Examining the circumstances surrounding the sales under the provisions of Article 1.2 (a) – 
goods produced in different countries: submitted by Ecuador. There was no consensus to 
continue examination of the question in its present form and the Delegate of Ecuador was 
invited to consult her HQ to consider putting this question in Part III of the Conspectus of 
Technical Valuation Questions (questions pending future work).  
 
3. Use of Transfer Pricing documentation to examine related party transactions according to 
Article 1.2 (a) of the Agreement: submitted by Uruguay. The Technical Committee concluded 
that the facts of the transaction were not clear and precise enough to enable  the question to 
be examined properly.  It was decided to place this question in Part III of the Conspectus of 
Technical Valuation Questions.  
 
4. Valuation of imported goods purchased in "Flash sales ": submitted by Mauritius. The 
Technical Committee decided t o continue its discussions on this question at the 46th 
Session.  
C. Other matters  
 
1. During the 45th Session, the Technical Committee adopted the Report of the 44th Session 
and also took note of  the: 
 
(a) Director 's report on intersessional developments;  
(b) oral rep ort by the Observer for the WTO;  
(c) report on the technical assistance/capacity building activities undertaken by the 
Secretariat and by Members;  
(d) presentations on progress report on developing countries ' application of the WTO 
Valuation Agreeme nt presented by the Dominican Republic and Pakistan; and  
(e) Secretariat 's report on Phase III of the Revenue Package.  
 
2. During the intersession, three questions were raised by Uruguay and Canada for 
consideration by the Technical Committee. The Technical Committee accepted two of them 
as specific technical questions to be examined at the Technical Committee 's 46th session. 
These questions are: (i) interpretation of the value o f adjustments under Article 8.1 (b) of 
the Agreement: submitted by Uruguay, and (ii) sale for export to the country of importation 
under Article 1:  submitted by Canada.  G/VAL/M/6 5 
 
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The second question raised by Uruguay – Royalties and licence fees under Article 8.1(c) of 
the Agreement - was maintained as a question raised during the intersessio n for further 
consideration by the Technical Committee at its 46th Session.   
 
3. The Technical Committee took note of:  
 
(a) transfer pricing updates by the representative of OECD;  
(b) a presentation by Korea on "Harmonization between Customs valuation and tr ansfer 
pricing "; and 
(c) considered a proposal from the EU to review the work of the Technical Committee at 
the 46 th Session, in particular technical questions.  
D. Date of next session  
The date of the 46th Session was provisionally set to begin on 23 April 20 18. 
__________