G/VAL/W/265  
26 June 2015  
(15-3315)  Page: 1/4  
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 
NICARAGUA  
Replies to the questions posed by the United States regarding 
documents G/VAL/N/1/NIC/1 and G/VAL/N/2/NIC/1 
The following communication, dated 23 June 2015, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Nicaragua. 
 
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Annex to Resolution No. 224-2998  
Implementing Regulations for the Cent ral American Uniform Customs Code 
(G/VAL/N/1/NIC/1) 
Question 
Article 3 refers to the use of reference pr ices as the basis for reasonable doubt. 
How does Nicaragua ensure that reference prices are not used as the basis for 
determining customs value? 
Reply: 
By means of Article 50 of the Central American Uniform Customs Code, CAUCA (the Annex to 
Resolution No. 223-2008 (COMIECO-XLIX), as notified in document G/VAL/N/1/NIC/1), 
Nicaragua ensures that it is the declarant or his/her representative who determines, under the self-assessment system, the customs tax obligation. The customs value is therefore determined on 
the basis of the transaction value, as provided fo r in Article 1 of the Customs Valuation Agreement 
(CVA). Reference prices are used only for the purpose of investigating and verifying the declared value where there is a reasonable doubt. 
Question 
Article 189: Article 8.3 of the CVA provides that additions to the price actually paid 
or payable must be made only on the ba sis of objective and quantifiable data. 
Could Nicaragua please explain Article 189, which provides th at, for costs of insurance, 
the rates are provided by the Customs Serv ice, in light of Article 8.3 of the CVA? 
Reply: 
Article 189 provides that transport and insurance costs are to be calculated in accordance with the 
rates normally applicable only in cases where the importer has not paid for these services because 
they were free of charge, not contracted or ca rried out by the importer's own means. If no 
payment was made to cover these costs, the cu stoms value of the goods cannot be determined 
and the rates normally applied must therefore be used. The rates provided by the Customs Service 
take account of the different types of goods and their origin and provenance; they are therefore G/VAL/W/265 
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  considered to be objective and quantifiable, given that they are established on the basis of similar 
goods originating in and coming from the same country. 
Question Article 193: It appears that valuation under the CVA is not being applied to reimported 
goods, and a separate customs valuation meth od is being used. Could Nicaragua please 
explain why? 
Reply: 
Article 193 applies to a conditional relief proced ure known as "temporary export for outward 
processing", which consists of the temporary exportation of goods for repair. These goods are not definitively imported, but reimported after the pr evious temporary exportation, for which reason 
the CVA is not being applied to such goods. The CVA is, however, being applied to parts 
incorporated during the repairs, as well as to the costs of delivery abroad, the value or cost of the 
labour involved in the repairs, the profit earned by the party who carried out the work, fees paid or payable to third parties, and the packing, transport and insurance costs incurred in the 
reimportation. 
Question  
Articles 195 and 196: We are concerned with the requirement that an importer's request 
to reverse the order of Articles 5 and 6 of  the CVA is subject to customs approval. 
Could Nicaragua explain the requirement fo r customs approval under Articles 195 and 
196, given that Article 4 of the CVA provides that the order of application of Articles 5 
and 6 shall be reversed at the request of the importer? 
Reply: 
An importer's request to reverse the order of Ar ticles 5 and 6 of the CVA is subject to customs 
approval pursuant to paragraph 3 of Annex III to the CVA, which states that developing countries 
may provide that the relevant provision of Article 4 of the Agreement applies only when the 
Customs authorities agree to the request. 
Question 
Article 197: Article 197 states that "the valu ation method prescribed in paragraph 2 of 
Article 5 of the Agreement may be applied in accordance with the provisions of that paragraph, whether or not the importer so  requests." Could Nicaragua explain this 
provision, given that Article 5.2 of the CVA st ates that this option is available if the 
importer requests it? 
Reply: 
This provision is derived from paragraph 4 of Annex III to the CVA, which states that developing 
countries may provide that paragraph 2 of Article 5 of the Agreement is applied in accordance with 
the provisions of the relevant note thereto whether or not the importer so requests. 
Question 
Article 206: Could Nicaragua please indicate  which provisions of the CVA, if any, 
paragraphs (a)-(e) of this article implement? 
Reply: 
These paragraphs state that, in the specified cases, the Customs Administration will not be able to 
verify the price actually paid or payable for the goods and will thus be unable to determine their 
customs value in accordance with Article 1 of the CV A. It will therefore have to reject this method 
and apply, in a sequential manner, the valuation methods provided for in the Agreement. G/VAL/W/265 
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  Question 
Article 212: Could Nicaragua please indica te which provision of the CVA, if any, 
paragraph (d) implements? 
Reply: 
This paragraph states that, in the specified case, the Customs Administration will not be able to 
verify the price actually paid or payable for goods imported on consignment and will thus be unable to determine their customs value in accordance  with Article 1 of the CVA. It will therefore 
have to reject this method and apply, in a sequential manner, the valuation methods provided for 
in the Agreement. 
Question Article 213: Could Nicaragua please indica te the purpose of the value database 
established under this Article? We are grea tly concerned about the suitability of the 
sources referenced in this Article, and th e use of such information. We note that 
reference pricing for valuation purposes is proh ibited by Article 7 of the CVA. We request 
further information about the database, incl uding the types of information collected, 
the verification of such information and sou rces, and how and when the database will be 
used by Nicaragua. 
Reply: 
The purpose of the value database provided for in Article 213 is to investigate the declared values 
of imported goods. It therefore serves as a ri sk management tool, which can indicate to the 
Customs Administration where there is reasonable doubt as to value and trigger the investigation 
and verification of declared values. The information collected relates to the values accepted for 
goods imported over the previous three-mont h period. As Article 213 states, importers, 
auxiliary Customs agents and other foreign trade operators are the source of information regarding 
the value of goods. 
 G/VAL/W/265 
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  Information on Implementation and Admini stration of the Agreement on Customs 
Valuation (G/VAL/N/2/NIC/1) 
Question 5(c) We note that Nicaragua indicated that the pr ovisions of Article 7.2 of the CVA are not 
delineated in any specific provision. How does  Nicaragua plan to implement this Article? 
Reply: 
The adoption of the Agreement constitutes a legal provision already applicable in Nicaragua. 
There is therefore no need to reissue provisions  already contained in Article 7.2 of the CVA. 
Question 12(a) Can Nicaragua confirm that the explanatio n provided by the Customs Authority in 
response to an importer's re quest must be in writing? 
Reply: 
The last paragraph of Article 207 of the Implementing Regulations for the Central American 
Uniform Customs Code (RECAUCA) establishes that both the importer's request and the 
Customs Authority's reply must be in writing. 
Question 15 We note Nicaragua's response that it has not adopted Decision 4.1. Does Nicaragua 
intend to adopt Decision 4.1 pertaining to the customs valuation of carrier media 
bearing data or instructions for use in data processing equipment? 
Reply: 
To date, Nicaragua has no plans to adopt Decision 4.1. 
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