G/VAL/W/258
18 May 2015
(15-2567)  Page: 1/2
Committee on Customs Valuation  Original: English
 
 NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICL E 22 OF THE AGREEMENT ON 
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL 
AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994 
COLOMBIA  
Questions from the United States to Colombia  
regarding G/VAL/N/1/COL/1 and G/VAL/N/2/COL/1 
The following submission, dated 7 May 2015, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of 
the United States. 
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The United States would like to thank Colombia for its notifications contained in documents 
G/VAL/N/1/COL/1 and G/VAL/N/2/COL/1 .  Having reviewed this notification, we have the following 
questions:  
G/VAL/N/1/COL/2 - Notifi cation under Article 22 of the Agreement  
on Implementation of Article VII of the General 
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 
ANNEX 1:   Ministry of Fi nance, Decree No. 111 of 21 Ja nuary 2010 partially amending 
and supplementing Decree No. 2685 of 1999 and adopting other provisions 
Article 4 − Could Colombia please provide us with a co py of Article 128.5 of Decree No. 2685 of 1999, 
concerning release of goods.  
Director-General of National Customs and Excise, Resolution No. 733 of 29 January 2010 
supplementing and amending Resolution No. 4240 of 2000 
− Article 3, Article 4, Article 5(3)(a) and Article 5(5) refer to reference prices.  Could Colombia 
explain these provisions in light of the prohibitions in Article 7 of the CVA?  
− Article 5, paragraph 3 states that "only where imports enter through the wharf of Puerto 
Nuevo in Bahía Portete (Guajira) may the declarant post a guarantee before a dispute 
regarding value arises."  This appears to be an unnecessary limitation on the use of guarantees.  Can Colombia please explain this li mitation, particularly in light of Article 13 of 
the CVA? 
− Articles 8 and 9 refer to guarantees with respect to an amount equal to the value declared.  
However, Article 13 of the CVA refers to the guarantee with respect to the payment of customs duties for which a good may be liable.  Could Colombia please explain the basis for 
guarantees? G/VAL/W/258 
 
- 2 - 
 
  G/VAL/N/2/COL/2   Check-list of Issues 
Information on Implementation and Admini stration of the Agreement on Customs 
Valuation 
1) With respect to paragraph 1(a)(i), Article 14(3)(a) of the Community Regulation 
implementing Decision No. 571 states that th ere are three situations that the Customs 
administration may consider as proof in examining the circumstances of the sale.  However, the examples set forth in Note to Article 1, Paragraph 2(3) of the CVA, are not an exhaustive 
list.  Could Colombia please explain this apparent limitation to three sets of circumstances?   
Article 15 of the Community Regulation adopte d by Andean Community General Secretariat 
Resolution No. 1684 and Article 178 of National Customs and Excise Directorate (DIAN) Resolution No. 4240/2000 states that the value determined for the imported goods in 
accordance with Articles 2, 3 and 7 of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement shall not be 
considered a test value.   Could Colombia please explain this provision, in light of Article 1.2(b)(i) of the CVA? 
2)   Article 4 of the CVA states that "the or der of application of the methods indicated in 
numbers 4 and 5 of the preceding Article may be reversed, if requested by the importer and with the consent of the Customs Administration."  Could Colombia explain why the consent 
of the customs administration is required where the importer chooses to reverse the order of 
application of the valuation methods in Articles 5 and 6, given that the CVA itself does not provide that the importer's choice to be subj ect to acceptance by the customs authorities? 
3)    Article 5 of the CVA states that "if the imported goods or identical or similar imported goods 
are not sold in the country of importation in the condition as imported, the method indicated 
in number 4 of Article 3 of this Decision shall be followed in accordance with Article 5.2 of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, whether or not requested by the importer, taking 
into account the Interpretative Note to Ar ticle 5 of the aforementioned Agreement." 
(emphasis added)  Could Colombia please explain this provision, in light of Article 5.2 of the CVA, which provides that this option is available if the importer so requests? 
Reference Prices 
We note there are numerous references and modifications to resolutions touching on the use of 
reference prices, in particular Resolution No. 1684 (Andean Community Legislation), Resolution No. 733, and Ministry Decree No. 111 supplementing Decree No. 2685.  The various references at 
times appear conflicting as to how reference pr icing are used.  We are troubled both by the 
apparent conflicts and by the use of reference prices as set out in Resolution No. 733, Article 4, amending Article 171 of Resolution No. 4240 of 2000.  We note that reference pricing for the 
determination of customs value is specifically prohibited by Article 7 of the CVA, and any uses of 
reference prices for risk management purposes should be done with that provision in mind.  We request further information and clarification from Colombia on these apparent contradictions 
and on how Colombia uses or plans to use reference prices in customs operations.   
Could Colombia please provide a copy of Chapter XIV, Section II, of Decree No. 2685/1999? 
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