RESTRICTED  
  
G/VAL/M/59  
 
19 November 2014  
(14-6775)  Page: 1/14  
Committee on Customs Valuation    
 
 MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 24 OCTOBER 2014 
CHAIRPERSON:  MRS. JOANNA K.Y. CHEUNG (HONG KONG, CHINA) 
 The agenda proposed for the meeting, circulated in WTO/AIR/4368, was adopted as follows: 
 
1   REPORT OF THE WORK OF TH E TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS 
VALUATION ...................................................................................................................... 2  
2   INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT .....................................................................................................................  2 
-  Notification of nati onal legislation ............................................................................... 2  
A. Kingdom of Bahrain .................................................................................................. 3  
B. Belize ..................................................................................................................... 3  
C. Cabo Verde ............................................................................................................. 3  
D. Chile ...................................................................................................................... 4  
E. Colombia ................................................................................................................ 4  
F. Costa Rica ............................................................................................................... 4  
G. Ecuador .................................................................................................................. 4  
H. The Gambia ............................................................................................................. 4  
I.  Lesotho .................................................................................................................. 5  
J. Mali ........................................................................................................................ 5  
K. Moldova, Republic of ................................................................................................. 5  
L. Nicaragu a ............................................................................................................... 5  
M. Nigeria ................................................................................................................... 6  
N. Russian Fede ration ................................................................................................... 6  
O. Rwanda .................................................................................................................. 6  
P. Saint Vincent and th e Grenadines ............................................................................... 6  
Q. Tunisia ................................................................................................................... 7  
R. Uruguay .................................................................................................................. 7  
S.  Ukraine ................................................................................................................... 7  
- Other ............................................................................................................................ 7  
3   INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATIO N OF DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION ...................................................................................................... 8  
- Status of notifications ...................................................................................................... 8  
- Proposal by  Urugua y ....................................................................................................... 8  
4   TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................. 9  
-  Information on Technical Assistance ............................................................................ 9  G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  -  Article 20.3 Technical Assistance and Tr ade-Related Technical Assistance ......................... 9  
5   UNITED STATES - ARMENIA'S RE FERENCE PRICE SYSTEM IN CONNECTION 
WITH THE VALUATIO N OF GOODS.................................................................................... 9  
6   PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION:  
IMPLEMENTATION-REL ATED ISSU ES ............................................................................. 10  
-  Paragraph 8.3 of document WT/MIN/(01)/17 ............................................................... 10 
7   PRESHIPMENT INSPECTI ON ...................................................................................... 10  
-  Status of notifications by Members and information provided by IFIA .............................. 10 
-  Question from the United States to Indonesia .............................................................. 10 
-  Triennial review of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection ........................................ 11 
8   ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE 
CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEM ENT (G/VAL/W/233) .................................................... 11  
9   REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO TH E COUNCIL FOR TRAD E IN GOODS ...................... 11  
10   OTHER BU SINESS .................................................................................................... 11  
-  Rectification of the Spanish and English version of Article 8(1)(B)(iv) .............................. 11 
-  Date of the next meeting .......................................................................................... 12 
 
_______________ 
 
1  REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE TECH NICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION 
1.1.  The Chairperson of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, Ms Yuliya A. Gulis, 
reported on the activities of the Technical Committee at its 39th session, which was held on 
20-23 October 2014.  Her report is contained in Annex 1. 
1.2.  The Chairperson thanked Ms Gulis for her report. 
1.3.  The Committee took note of the report. 
2  INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT 
- Notification of national legislation  
2.1.  The Chairperson recalled that Article 22 of  the Agreement on Customs Valuation (hereafter, 
the Agreement) and the Decision on "Notification and circulation of national legislation in accordance with Article 22 of the Agreement", requ ired each Member to notify:  1) the complete 
text of their national legislation on customs valuation in one of the three official WTO languages; 
2) any changes in its laws and regulations which were relevant to the Agreement; and 3) any 
change in the administration of such laws and re gulations.  He also reminded Members that the 
notification procedures had been adopted by the Committee at its meeting of 12 May 1995 
(G/VAL/5, section B.2).  As agreed at the Committee meeting of 25 October 2012 (paragraph 8.3 
of G/VAL/M/54), the Secretariat had produced a new document (G/VAL/W/232/Rev.2), which summarized the status of these notifications.  She had contacted a number of delegations to 
encourage them to provide answers to the question s that have been raised.  On the translation 
front, the Chairperson informed the Committee that most of the notifications were now available in the three official languages.  A notification of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues had been submitted just before the meet ing by Honduras, so they would be circulated 
shortly. 
2.2.  The Chairperson recalled that the examinat ion of the notification of legislation by the 
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu remained suspended since the 
Committee's meeting on 4-5 November 2002 pending resolution of the difference of views 
between the parties involved in notifications across the WTO. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  2.3.  In the absence of statements by Member s, the Chairperson proposed to take up the 
legislations in the order set out in the agenda.   
A. Kingdom of Bahrain 2.4.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/BHR/1 and G/VAL/N/1/B HR/2, respectively.  The United States had submitted 
questions through document G/VAL/W/181 in June 2009, to which Bahrain had replied in 
G/VAL/W/191.  The United States had submitted follow-up questions in February 2011 in 
G/VAL/W/201, which had been replied to by the Kingdom of Bahrain in G/VAL/W/217 in 
October 2012.    New follow-up questions had been submitted by the United States in G/VAL/W/223.  
2.5.  The representative of the Kingdom of Ba hrain acknowledged that some questions remained 
outstanding, but he had communicated with the United States prior to the meeting to inform them 
that the questions were being reviewed by capital.   He hoped they would be able to respond for 
the next meeting of the Committee. 
2.6.  The representative of the United States no ted with appreciation that the delegate of the 
Kingdom of Bahrain had contacted him before the meeting to report on the status.  His delegation 
looked forward to receiving written answers to these new questions.   
2.7.  The Committee took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its 
next meeting. B. Belize 
2.8.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues, which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/BLZ/1 and G/VAL/N/2/BLZ/1, respecti vely.  Canada and the United States had 
submitted questions in G/VAL/W/176 and G/VAL/W/175. Belize had replied to Canada's questions 
in G/VAL/W/183. The United States had submitted follow-up questions in G/VAL/W/188.   
2.9.  The representative of the United States reca lled that his delegation had sought clarifications 
since November 2009.  Although the questions had been posed so many years ago, his delegation 
remained interested in receiving a written response to those questions. 
2.10.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
C. Cabo Verde 
2.11.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of national legislation which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/CPV/1.  The United States had 
submitted questions in G/VAL/W/224, to which Cabo Verde had replied in G/VAL/W/239. 
The United States had submitted follow-up questions in G/VAL/W/244. 
2.12.  The representative of Cabo Verde thanked the United States for its questions, which his 
delegation had carefully examined.  He noted that three questions related to the legislation which 
had been notified.  Because the original langua ge was Portuguese, his delegation had required 
time to translate it into an official WTO language.  On the fourth question, he noted that it also related to the national legislation that had already been notified to the WTO, as it constituted the 
first part of the customs code.  
2.13.  The representative of the United States thanked Cabo Verde for its clarifications, and his 
delegation looked forward to receiving Cabo Verde's responses. 
2.14.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  D. Chile 
2.15.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to Chile's new notification of changes in its 
national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues, which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/CHL/2 and G/VAL/N /2/CHL/1, respectively. 
2.16.  The representative of the United States th anked Chile for its notifications and noted that his 
delegation had no more questions.  
2.17.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to conclude the examination of 
the national legislation of Chile. E. Colombia 2.18.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to Colombia's notifications of national legislation 
and responses to the check list of issues, which had circulated in documents G/VAL/N/1/COL/2, 
G/VAL/N/1/COL/3, and G/VAL/N/2/COL /2.  Additional legislation had been circulated, but it had 
not been possible to process it on time for the meeting. 
2.19.  The representative of the United States thanked Colombia and noted that his delegation 
looked forward to the translation. 2.20.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
F. Costa Rica 
2.21.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of changes of legislation which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/CRI/2.  The United States had 
submitted questions in G/VAL/W/211.  Costa Rica had subsequently submitted a new notification 
in G/VAL/N/1/CRI/3. 
2.22.  The representative of the United States no ted that, in light of the latest notification in 
G/VAL/N/1/CRI/3, his delegation did not have further questions.  
2.23.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to conclude the examination of 
the national legislation of Costa Rica. 
G. Ecuador 
2.24.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of responses to the checklist of issues which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/2/ECU/1.  
The United States had submitted questions in G/VAL/W/220 in October 2012, to which Ecuador 
had replied in G/VAL/W/226.   In addition, Ecuado r had notified a compilation of changes to its 
national legislation in G/VAL/N/1/ECU/3. 
2.25.  The representative of the United States noted that the latest notification was still being 
examined based on the translation, so he requ ested to come back to the issue at the next 
meeting. 
2.26.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
H. The Gambia 
2.27.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to The Gambia's new notifications contained in 
documents G/VAL/N/1/GMB/1 and G/VAL/N/4/GMB/1.  The United States had submitted questions 
in G/VAL/W/245. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  2.28.  The representative of the United States th anked the Gambia for the notifications and looked 
forward to receiving written replies to its questions.  
2.29.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
I.  Lesotho 
2.30.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of Lesotho's notification of amendments to its national legislation, which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/LSO/1. 
2.31.  The representative of the United States noted that his delegation was still in the process of 
reviewing the documents and would su bmit questions upon completion. 
2.32.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. J. Mali 2.33.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/MLI/1. Canada had submitted 
questions in G/VAL/W/238, to which Mali had just replied, so they would be circulated as soon as possible. 
2.34.  The representative of Canada noted he had not had time to review the responses and 
requested to keep this item in the agenda. 
2.35.  The representative of Mali thanked Canada for its questions and for being patient.    
2.36.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. K. Moldova, Republic of 2.37.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to the Republic of Moldova's notification of 
amendments to its national legislation, which had been circulated in documents G/VAL/N/1/MDA/2 
and G/VAL/N/1/MDA/3. 
2.38.  The representative of the United States thanked the Republic of Moldova for its notifications, 
which were still being examined in capital.  He requested to revert to the issue at the next 
meeting. 
2.39.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
L. Nicaragua 
2.40.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues which had been circulated in 
documents G/VAL/N/1/NIC/1 and G/VAL/N/2/NIC/1, respectively. 
2.41.  The representative of the United States noted this was one of the translations that his 
delegation had been waiting for.  Since they were ready, his delegation would review them and 
would come back with questions if necessary.   
2.42.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  M. Nigeria 
2.43.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/NGA/1 and G/VAL/N/2/NGA/1, respecti vely.  The United States and Canada had 
submitted questions in documents G/VAL/W/175 and G/VAL/W/176, respectively.   
2.44.  The representative of Canada recalled that  the questions dated back from 2009.  He would 
like to know when they would be able to receive answers to those questions. 
2.45.  The representative of Nigeria indicated that  her capital was still working on the responses, 
which would be notified to the Committ ee as soon as they were received. 
2.46.  The representative of the United States thanked the Nigerian delegate for the efforts to 
reply to the questions. 
2.47.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
N. Russian Federation 
2.48.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation and responses to the checklist of issues, which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/RUS/1, G/VAL/N/1/RUS/2 , and G/VAL/N/2/RUS/1.  She also drew Members' attention 
to a new notification of national legislation relating to the Federal Law on Commercial Secrecy, 
No. 98-FZ of 29 July 2004, which had been recently circulated in G/VAL/N/1/RUS/3.  Finally, the 
Chairperson noted that, the day before, the Russian Federation had requested to formally circulate 
the documents that were referred to in those notifications. 
2.49.  The representative of the United States th anked the Russian Federation for its notifications 
and noted that his delegation would follow up as necessary. 
2.50.  The representative of the European Union welcomed the new notification by the 
Russian Federation.  His delegation was currently looking at the documents and would come with 
written questions for the next meeting. 
2.51.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. O. Rwanda 2.52.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation and responses to the ch ecklist of issues which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/RWA/1 and G/VAL/N/2/RWA/1, respec tively. The United States had submitted 
questions in G/VAL/W/215.  
2.53.  The representative of the United States no ted that his delegation remained interested in 
receiving and reviewing Rwanda's written responses.  
2.54.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
P. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 
2.55.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation and responses to the ch ecklist of issues which had been circulated in 
April 2009 in documents G/VAL/N/1/VCT/1 and G/VAL/N/2/VCT/1, respectively.  The United States 
had submitted questions in G/VAL/W/181, to which Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had recently 
replied in G/VAL/W/250. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  2.56.  The representative of the United States  thanked Saint Vincent and the Grenadines for 
providing answers, and announced that his de legation would be submitting two follow-up 
questions in writing. 
2.57.  The Committee took note of the statement made and agreed to revert to this matter at its 
next meeting. Q. Tunisia 2.58.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/TUN/2/Rev.1.  
The United States had raised questions in G/VAL/W/188, to which Tunisia had replied in G/VAL/W/202.  The United States had submitted follow-up questions in G/VAL/W/206, to which 
Tunisia had replied in G/VAL/W/228. Additional follow-up questions had been submitted by the 
United States in G/VAL/W/236, to which Tunisia had replied in G/VAL/W/246.    
2.59.  The representative of the United States thanked Tunisia for their prompt replies and noted 
that his delegation had no further questions.   
2.60.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to conclude the examination of 
the national legislation of Tunisia. 
R. Uruguay 
2.61.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the changes to Uruguay's national legislation, which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/URY/2. 
2.62.  The representative of the United States wanted to put on record that his delegation would 
examine the translated versions and would submit questions if necessary. 
2.63.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
S.  Ukraine 
2.64.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to the examination 
of the national legislation and responses to the ch ecklist of issues which had been circulated in 
G/VAL/N/1/UKR/1 and G/VAL/N/2/UKR /1, respectively. Ukraine had also notified amendments to 
its Custom Code, which had been circulated in G/VAL/N/1/UKR/2.  The European Union had 
submitted questions in document G/VAL/W/179, to which Ukraine had answered in G/VAL/W/182.  Questions had also been submitted by Norway in G/VAL/W/199, which had been answered by 
Ukraine in G/VAL/W/248.  The United States had submitted questions in G/VAL/W/188, 
G/VAL/W/207, G/VAL/W/221 and G/VAL/W/235, to which Ukraine had replied in G/VAL/W/200, 
G/VAL/W/212, G/VAL/W/230, and G/VAL/W/247.   
2.65.  The representative of the European Union noted that his delegation was currently examining 
the latest replies which had been provided by Ukrain e, and requested to come back to this issue at 
the next meeting. 
2.66.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. - Other 2.67.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to the fact that approximately 42 WTO Members 
still needed to notify their national legislat ion and that some 68 Members had not provided 
responses to the checklist of issues.  She encour aged these Members to work with their capitals 
with a view to submitting them as soon as possi ble.  The Chairperson also reminded Members that 
the Secretariat was available in case assistance was required.   
2.68.  The Committee took note of this information. G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  3  INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION 
- Status of notifications 3.1.  The Chairperson recalled that, under this ag enda item, the Committee examined notifications 
pursuant to two Decisions that had been adopted by the Committee at its meetings of 
12 May 1995.  These were the Decisions on "Treat ment of Interest Charges in the Customs Value 
of Imported Goods" and on "Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing 
Equipment".  A summary report of notifications received had been prepared by the Secretariat and 
circulated in G/VAL/W/5/Rev.24.  Since the last meeting, a new notification had been received from Colombia (G/VAL/N/3/COL/1). 
3.2.  The Committee took note of this information. 
- Proposal by Uruguay 3.3.  The Chairperson recalled that Uruguay had submitted a proposal to update the Decision on 
the "Valuation of carrier media bearing software for data processing equipment" (also known as 
"Decision 4.1"), which had been circulated in G/VAL/W/241/Rev.1.  According to Uruguay, 
software was increasingly being imported using "USB flash drives", which had been excluded from the definition of "carrier media" in the Decision.  This meant that such importations of software 
would be treated differently from those contained in  other types of media, such as CDs or DVDs.  
The Chairperson noted that Switzerland had submitted comments, which had been circulated in document G/VAL/W/254.  As requested by the Committee, the Secretariat had prepared a report with imports statistics, which had been circulated in G/VAL/W/249.  Before opening the floor, she 
gave the floor to the Secretariat to introduce the document. 
3.4.   The WTO Secretariat (Mr. Roy Santana) intr oduced the report by noting that there was no 
straightforward and exact answer to the question on the exact volume of trade in products that 
could be used as media carrier.  Such determination was complicated by a number of factors, 
which included a definitional problem (i.e. there is no precise definition in the Harmonized System nomenclature) and other methodological issues.  The paper had tried to explain them in details.  
Based on a number of assumptions which had been described in the paper, a proxy had been 
calculated.  Although the Secretariat had identified a marked increase in the relative importance of trade in semiconductor media between 2007 and 2013, the paper concluded that it was not possible to determine the degree to which "USB flash drives" were being used as media to 
transport software in international trade.  He stressed that this did not mean that the phenomenon 
was not occurring, but rather that it could not be measured. 
3.5.  The representative of Costa Rica thanked Uruguay and the Secretariat for their documents. 
He noted the special interest that his country had in this proposal, and his delegation supported 
updating the Decision to reflect technological change.  In this regard, he considered that the language should be more general.  His delegation would like to discuss further the issue with 
Uruguay and other interested Members.  
3.6.  The representative of China thanked the Secretariat for the interesting report, which had 
been done in an in-depth and analytical manner.  Despite the limitations, and in particular the lack 
of a differentiation between recorded and unrecorded semiconductor media at the national level, 
the Secretariat had tried to provide the best possi ble picture. His delegation got the impression 
that the findings had not been conclusive.  Both the volume of trade in these products and the type of content was unknown, and several factors could affect the trend.  In its introduction and 
the paper, the Secretariat had mentioned a number of assumptions.  He hoped his delegation had 
an interesting in assessing them, because China had been identified as the main importer of these 
products.  He encouraged others to look at their national situation.  Although his country did not 
have a national differentiation of such products, his authorities would try to work with business.  
He suggested to reflect on the Secretariat's document and to take some time to try to determine the reality of the situation with a view to coming to a decision. The delegate of China reiterated that his delegation was not against amending the Decision to adjust to international trade 
patterns, but they wanted to be sure to understand the consequences.  G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  3.7.  The representative of Canada thanked the Secretariat and supported the views expressed by 
China.  His delegation was interested in the positions of other Members on this issue.  
3.8.  The representative of the European Union supported China and Canada, and considered that 
more time was required for an in-depth examination of the document, including with the EU's tariff 
experts. The European Union supported continuing the discussion at the next meeting.   
3.9.  The representative of Uruguay thanked the Secretariat for the statistics which had been 
prepared as they had helped to clarify the issue.  He understood that delegations required more 
time to analyse it and considered that Members could perhaps work on the drafting with a view to 
preparing the discussion for the next Committee meeting.  
3.10.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
4  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
- Information on Technical Assistance 4.1.  The Chairperson recalled that, as reflected in section B.4 of document G/VAL/5, the 
Committee had agreed that greater transparency of technical assistance activities would be 
ensured if information documents prepared for the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation were also circulated as WTO documents. The objective was to enable developing countries 
Members to avail themselves of broader information and to help them organize their efforts in this 
regard. For this reason, the WCO Secretariat periodically provided information of the technical assistance activities carried out under the ausp ices of the WCO.  Documents G/VAL/8/Add.30 and 
G/VAL/8/Add.30/Corr.1 contained the most recent information that had been compiled by the 
Technical Committee on Customs Valuation concerning technical assistance activities carried out 
by Members, as well as by the WCO Secretariat. 
4.2.  The Committee took note of this information. 
- Article 20.3 Technical Assistance an d Trade-Related Tec hnical Assistance 
4.3.  The Chairperson recalled that the Committee's work programme on technical assistance for 
capacity-building concerning the implementation  and administration of the Agreement was now 
incorporated in the overall technical assistance  p r o g r a m m e  o f  t h e  W T O .   T h e  W T O  w a s  i n  t h e  
process of implementing the 2014-2015 biennial TA plan (WT/COMTD/W/200). Unlike previous years, there had not been regional activities planned.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to the fact they had the right to submit individual requests for technical assistance, which would 
result in a national activity tailored to the specific needs of the beneficiary.  In this regard, national 
activities had been delivered in Azerbaijan and Co lombia, with the last one delivered jointly by the 
WTO and WCO Secretariats. A new national request had been received from Saint Lucia.  
4.4.  The Committee took note of this information. 
5  UNITED STATES - ARMENIA'S REFERENCE PRICE SYSTEM IN CONNECTION WITH THE 
VALUATION OF GOODS  
5.1.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to this issue.  
In 2003, Armenia had notified its national legislat ion and responses to the checklist of issues in 
G/VAL/N/1/ARM/1 and G/VAL/N/2/A RM/1, respectively.  The Committee had concluded its review 
of these notifications at its meeting of 18 October 2005.  Subsequently, the United States had 
posed new questions to Armenia, which had been circulated in G/VAL/W/208, which had been 
answered by Armenia in G/VAL/W/213.  Canada had then submitted questions in G/VAL/W/214. 
5.2.  The representative of Canada recalled that  his delegation had submitted questions in 2012, 
which related to the possible use of reference pric es, and was looking forward to receiving answers 
to them.   G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  5.3.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 
6  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION:  IMPLEMENTATION-
RELATED ISSUES 
-  Paragraph 8.3 of document WT/MIN/(01)/17  
6.1.  The Chairperson recalled that, at its meeting in December 2002, the General Council had 
authorized the Committee to continue its work under the existing mandate in paragraph 8.3 of the 
Decision on Implementation-Related Issues and Concerns, and to report back to the General 
Council once its work had been completed.  She recalled further that, at the last session, the representative of India had requested to retain  this item on the agenda while the issue was 
discussed with its capital.  Other Members were of the view that the Agreement on Trade 
Facilitation that had been agreed in Bali would have already taken care of the issue. 
6.2.  The representative of India noted that he want ed to raise two points.  Firstly, he recalled that 
the mandate for this implementation issue was very different from the one dealing with customs 
cooperation under the Agreement on Trade Facilitation.  However, he acknowledged there was a  
resonance of this issue in Article 12 of the Trade Facilitation Agreement.   However, since the TFA had not come into force, it was premature for the Committee to drop the issue from the agenda 
and requested that it be retained.  
6.3.  The representative of the European Union considered that the issue had been solved in the 
Agreement on Trade Facilitation, so the issue should be removed from the agenda. 6.4.  The representative of the United States considered there was a simple solution to address the 
issue, which was implementing the Agreement on Trade Facilitation. 6.5.  The representative of Canada took the floor to indicate his delegation had the same position 
as the United States and the European Union. 
6.6.  The representative of Japan supported th e interventions by United States, the European 
Union, and Canada. 
6.7.  The Committee took note of statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting. 7  PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION 7.1.  The Chairperson recalled that Preshipment Inspection was a standing item on the agenda of 
the Committee on Customs Valuation and that she want ed to address three issues: 1) the status of 
notifications and information received from the International Federation of Inspection Agencies 
(IFIA); 2) questions that had been posed by the Un ited States to Indonesia; and 3) the triennial 
review of the Agreement on Preshipment Inspection.   
-  Status of notifications by Member s and information provided by IFIA 
7.2.  On the status of notifications, the Chairperson drew Members' attention to a revised 
compilation that had been prepared by the Secret ariat pursuant to Article 5 of the Agreement on 
Preshipment Inspection, which had been circulated in G/PSI/N/1/Rev.2.  On the report by IFIA 
concerning countries that use preshipment inspection services, the Chairperson noted that the 
Secretariat had not received additional information since document G/VAL/W/63/Rev.16 had been circulated.  
7.3.  The Committee took note of this information. 
-  Question from the United States to Indonesia  
7.4.  The Chairperson recalled that it was agreed at the last meeting to revert to this issue.  
The United States had indicated that it had not received responses to the questions that had been G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  posed to Indonesia in documents G/VAL/W/167, G/VAL/W/180, and G/VAL/W/237.  
The representative of Indonesia had in the past taken note of the questions, and stated the issue remained in consultation with capital. 
7.5.  The representative of Indonesia indicated th at his delegation was still in consultation with 
capital, and that replies would be provided as soon as they were received 
7.6.  The representative of the United States noted that US exporters had been subjected to a 
growing number of preshipment inspection requir ements, which had not been notified to the 
Committee. This rise in new requirements and the lack of transparency, including the failure of 
Members to notify the Committee of such requirements, had compelled the United States to raise with Indonesia, through the Committee, the ever gr owing list of products subject to preshipment 
i n s p e c t i o n  o r  " s u r v e y s " ,  a s  t h e y  w e r e  c a l l e d .  The United States had submitted a number of 
questions and requests for notifications of legislation in writing and remained interested in 
receiving a reply from Indonesia. 
7.7.  The Committee took note of the statements made and agreed to revert to this matter at its 
next meeting. -  Triennial review of the Agr eement on Preshipment Inspection 
7.8.  The Chairperson recalled that, at its last meeting, the Committee had agreed to conduct the 
Third Review of the PSI Agreement on the basis of  written submissions by Members, which had to 
be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 30 Se ptember 2014.  In case no written contribution 
had been submitted, the Committee would then request the Secretariat to produce a factual report.  Because no submissions were received by the deadline, the Secretariat had prepared a 
draft factual report which has been circulated in G/VAL/W/253.   
7.9.  The Committee agreed to adopt the report and requested the Secretariat to amend it as 
appropriate. 
8  ANNUAL REVIEW OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS 
VALUATION AGREEMENT (G/VAL/W/233) 
8.1.  The Chairperson drew Members' attention to Article 23 of the Agreement, which provided 
that the Committee shall review annually the im plementation and operation of the Agreement, 
taking into account the objectives thereof.  The Secretariat had prepared a draft report with the twentieth review of the Agreement in line with th e previous ones, which had been circulated in 
document G/VAL/W/251. A few editorial errors had been corrected in the English version of the 
document through a corrigendum.  She proposed the Committee to adopt the 20
th Annual Review 
as contained in document G/VAL/W/251, including the corrigendum, and to instruct the Secretariat to update it to take account of the meeting.  
8.2.  The Committee so agreed. 
9  REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE TO TH E COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS  
9.1.  The Chairperson recalled that Article 23 of the Agreement required the Committee to annually 
inform the CTG of developments during the relevant period.  She drew Members’ attention to 
document G/VAL/W/252, which contained a draft report that had been prepared by the Secretariat.  She proposed the Committee to adopt the report, and to instruct the Secretariat to update it to take account of the meeting.  
9.2.  The Committee so agreed. 
10  OTHER BUSINESS 
- Rectification of the Spanish and En glish version of Article 8(1)(B)(iv) 
10.1.  The Chairperson reported that the Director General had initiated a procès-verbal  procedure 
to rectify the Spanish and English versions of Article 8(1)(B)(iv).  A notice had been circulated in G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  document WT/Let/980, of 28 July 2014, which had given a 30-day period for objections.  In the 
absence of objections, the Director General had initialled the rectifications in the margin of the authentic text of the Agreement.  The Director General had signed the procès-verbal  of 
Rectification on 27 August 2014, which had been circulated in document WT/Let/986 of 
23 September 2014. 
- Date of the next meeting 10.2.  The Chairperson informed Members that the next meeting of the Committee had been 
provisionally scheduled for May 2015, with the exact date to be defined.   10.3.  The meeting was adjourned.  
 G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  ANNEX 
REPORT TO THE WTO COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION  
ON THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS VALUATION  
AND RELATED ACTIVITIES OF THE WCO SECRETARIAT 
24 October 2014 
The 39th Session of the TCCV took place from 20 to 23 October 2014.   
Technical Questions 
The Technical Committee continued to discuss th e links between transfer pricing and Customs 
valuation.  This topic is a high priority for both the Customs and business communities. The Technical Committee has already established the principle that information derived from a transfer pricing study may be useful to Customs in the examination of related party transactions and 
determining whether or not the declared import price has been influenced by the relationship 
between seller and buyer. The Technical Committee is currently examining two draft case studies to provide examples of scenarios where transfer pric ing data has assisted Customs in this respect.   
The following technical questions were also examined: 
− Valuation treatment of distribution fees an d payments based on projected net profits: 
submitted by Singapore .  As no consensus could be reached on this item it was proposed 
that no further discussions would take place on this issue. Singapore will consider this 
proposal and report back at the next Session.  
− Royalties and licence fees under Article 8.1 (c) of the Agreement: submitted by Uruguay.  
The Technical Committee agreed to close discussions on this issue.  
− Royalties and licence fees under Article 8.1 (c ) of the Agreement: submitted by Dominican 
Republic.  Consensus was reached on this question. So me final drafting will take place at the 
next Session and it is anticipated that an instru ment on this question will be issued by the 
Technical Committee.  
− Valuation treatment of goods in a global value chain: submitted by Uruguay.  Discussions on 
this case will continue at the next Session.  
− Treatment of the fees for unlocking a function of imported goods after importation 
(application of Articles 1, 8.1 (c) and 8.1 (d) of the Agreement): submitted by Japan . 
Discussions on this case will continue at the next Session. 
Technical Assistance/Capacity Building 
At each Technical Committee, reports are made of both Secretariat and Members activities in 
valuation-related technical assistance and capacity building. At the 39
th Session, Japan and US 
reported a number of activities conducted by their administrations.  The WCO Secretariat reported 
on their activities, which included joint worksh ops conducted by WCO and OECD, with the support 
of World Bank Group, on the topic of transfer  pricing and Customs valuation. These workshops 
bring together officials from both Customs and tax administrations to discuss the issue raised and 
encourage closer cooperation and sharing of data and knowledge.  The list of the WCO’s and 
Members’ technical assistance programmes has been provided to the CCV.  
Other issues  
Revenue Package 
The Technical Committee was updated on the la test developments of the Revenue Package 
programme currently being conducted by the Secretariat.  The Revenue Package is a response to WCO Members’ concerns of falling revenue returns. The Secretariat is currently preparing a 
diagnostic tool which will assist Members in assessing and improving their valuation control G/VAL/M/59 
 
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  programmes and supporting infrastructure as well as a background guide to the Customs valuation 
and transfer pricing issue mentioned earlier.  
 Date of next meeting 
− The 40
th Session of the Technical Committee will be held at WCO Headquarters in Brussels 
from 4–8 May 2015.  
 
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