RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/VAL/M/39 
30 May 2005 
 
 (05-2176) 
Committee on Customs Valuation  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 8 APRIL  2005 
 
Chairmen: Robin Twyman (United Kingdom)
 
  
 The agenda proposed for the meeting, circ ulated in WTO/AIR/2544 was adopted as follows: 
_______________
 
 
I. REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION .......................................................................................................1  
II. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT.................................................................................................................2
 
(i) Notification of national legislation ........................................................................................... ..2 
(ii) Notifications made by Deve loping Country Members ................................................................5  
III. INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE 
COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS  VALUATION......................................................................6  
IV. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ..................................................................................................6  
V. INDIA - INFORMATION ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES VALUATION POLICY.............................................................................7  
VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH AND TENTH ANNUAL REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF 
THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT...................................................................9
 
VII. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION .............................................................................................9  
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
(WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1):  IMPLEM ENTATION-RELATED ISSUES..................................9  
IX. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................1 0 
X. ELECTION OF OFFICERS..................................................................................................10  
 ANNEX I....................................................................................................................... ...........11 
_______________ 
 
 I. REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS 
VALUATION 
1.1 The observer of the World Customs Organization
 reported on the activities of the Technical 
Committee and on the WCO technical assistance progra mme on customs valuation.  This report is 
contained in Annex I.   
1.2 The Committee took note
 of the report. 
 G/VAL/M/39 
Page 2  
 
II. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT 
(i) Notification of national legislation 
2.1 The Chairman
 recalled that Article 22 of the Agreem ent on Customs Valuation (Agreement) 
required each Member to inform the Committee of any changes in its laws and regulations relevant to 
the Agreement, and of any changes in the administra tion of such laws and regulations.  In addition, 
the Decision on Notification and Circulation of Na tional Legislation, adopted by the Tokyo Round 
Committee, required each Member to notify its legi slation to the Committee.  He suggested that, 
under this sub-item, the Committee take up the legisla tions in sequence as listed in the agenda.  He 
further recalled that the notification of legislati on by the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, 
Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu had been presented to the Committee.  However, the examination of this 
notification remained suspended since the Co mmittee's meeting on 4-5 November 2002 pending 
resolution of the difference in views between the parties involved on notifications across the WTO.  
He noted his appreciation for the flexibility of the parties involved in allowing the Committee to 
proceed with the examination of other notifications.   
 
- Armenia 
 2.2 The Chairman
 recalled that at the last meeting, it was agreed to revert to Armenia's 
notification in documents G/VAL/N/1/ARM/1 and G/ VAL/N/2/ARM/1 at this meeting.  The United 
States had circulated questions to Armenia in  document G/VAL/W/128, to which replies were 
circulated in document G/VAL/W/146. 
 2.3 The representative of the United States
 said that, having just received the responses, her 
delegation would need time to study them.  Sh e would provide a reaction in due course.   
 
2.4 The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to this notification at its 
next meeting.  Any follow-up questions shou ld be submitted to the Secretariat before 
25 February 2005.  
- Burkina Faso 
 
2.5 The Chairman
 recalled the Committee agreed to reve rt to Burkina Faso's notification, 
contained in document G/VAL/N/1/BFA/1 at this  meeting, pending a response to an outstanding 
question from the United States as to whether Burk ina Faso wished to request a waiver for the 
continuation of minimum values.   
2.6 The representative of Burkina Faso
 recalled that at the Committee's meeting in March 2004, 
his delegation had explained the reasons why his G overnment had turned to minimum values.  They 
included the importance of an unorganized informal commercial sector in his country, the quantity of fraudulent declared customs values and the negativ e influence this had on customs revenue, and 
industry.  The consequences of the crisis in Côte d'Ivoire also created perturbations for commerce and 
the economy in general given that 80 per cent of  imports arrived through the port of Abidjan.  
Following the advice of certain countries and the Secr etariat, his Government had studied the question 
of minimum values through an Inter-Ministerial Co mmittee, composed of the Director-General of 
Commerce and the Director-General  of Customs.  This Committee was studying the question with a 
view to finalizing its request for a waiver which hi s Government would be introducing to the Council 
for Trade in Goods.  He concluded by reiterati ng his Government's commitment to applying the 
Agreement in full as early as possible. 
 2.7 The Committee took note
 of the statement made and agreed  to conclude the examination of 
this legislation.    G/VAL/M/39 
 Page 3 
 
 
- China 
 
2.8 The Chairman  recalled that the Committee agreed to revert at this meeting to the two 
outstanding Chinese notifications contained in documents G/VAL/N/1/CHN/2 and G/VAL/N/1/CHN/3.  China has also since notified further customs valu ation regulations  in document 
G/VAL/N/1/CHN/4.  Although the review of Ch ina's legislation in G/VAL/N/1/CHN/1 was 
concluded at the Committee's meeting in May 2003 , it was agreed at the last meeting, without 
prejudice to this notification’s earlier conclusion, to pu t this back on the agenda of this meeting so that 
China could provide replies to the United Stat es’ earlier questions.  These were most recently 
circulated in document G/VAL/W/137.  This document contained the outstanding questions on 
G/VAL/N/1/CHN/1 originally submitted in G/VAL /W/127, as well as outstanding questions on 
G/VAL/N/1/CHN/2 and G/VAL/N/1/CHN/3 which were  originally submitted in G/VAL/W/127 and 
G/VAL/W/134.  At the last meeting, China pr ovided responses to these questions which were 
circulated in document G/VAL/W/141.  The United  States said that they would review these 
responses, and posed some additional oral questions to China for immediate or later response.  While 
not on the agenda as they were received after th e 10 day period for submission, the US additional 
questions were circulated in document G/VAL/W/145.   Also, not on the agenda as they were received 
after the 10-day period, China's written responses to this last set of questions were circulated in 
document G/VAL/W/147.  2.9 The representative of China
 invited Members to examine her delegation's responses in 
document G/VAL/W/147.  She reiterated her delega tion's view that the responses provided did not 
imply any obligation to respond in the same way in the future.  2.10 The representative of the United States
 thanked China for the responses to the follow-up 
questions she had posed in the course of the deliberati ons of the last meeting.  She viewed meetings as 
an opportunity to engage in dialogue and did not wish to establish a precedent of restricting such 
dialogue exclusively to an exchange of papers.  He r delegation had followed its oral questions with a 
written version at China's request, even though it c onsidered that the questions were posed in the 
context of the meeting during which an inter-ac tive process of examination was on-going.  The 
questions were posed merely for confirmation and an oral response from China would have sufficed.  
However, given the detailed responses provided,  her delegation now understood that a mere 
confirmation would likely not have been enough, and thanked China for its effort.    Her delegation 
hoped that in future meetings atte mpts to engage in an oral ex amination or question-and-answer 
session would not be forced into interactions only in writing.  It was up to Members to decide whether 
or not a particular question posed in the course of a meeting would require more details or a simple 
yes or no.  Her delegation looked forward to furt her engagement with China and to working with 
China to meet its particular needs.  She asked to revert to the item at the next meeting because she 
wanted to confirm whether her cap ital would have further questions. 
 2.11 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of the statements made and revert to 
this agenda item at the next meeting.  Any follow- up questions should be subm itted to the Secretariat 
before 10 October 2005. 
 
2.12 It was so agreed . 
 
- India 
 2.13 The Chairman
 recalled that it had been agreed to revert to India's notification in 
G/VAL/N/1/IND/3 which contained certain amendments to the Cust oms Valuation (Determination of 
Price of Imported Goods) Rules 1988.  In addition, I ndia's responses to the Ch ecklist of Issues were 
contained in document G/VAL/N/2/IND/1 and Corr.1.  India replied to the oral questions from the European Communities and written questions from the United States, which were contained in 
document G/VAL/W/128, in document G/VAL/W/133. Th e United States had raised further questions G/VAL/M/39 
Page 4  
 
in document G/VAL/W/139.  India indicated at the last meeting that it would respond to these questions in due course.
   
 2.14 The representative of India
 presented her delegation's responses to the follow-up questions 
from the US circulated in document G/VAL/W/139.  She first drew Members' attention to her 
delegation's response to question 2 in document G/VAL /W/133.  She reiterated that Rule 4.2 of the 
Indian Customs Valuation Rules clearly indicated th e procedure to be followed in case of valuation of 
goods sold between related persons.  It was clearly  mentioned that the value indicated was to be 
normally accepted and could only be rejected on grounds  which were in the Cu stoms Valuation Rules. 
Turning to the second question relating to related party transactions, the US asked whether India 
imposed certain "add-on" ad valorem  tariffs.  Her authorities confirmed that there were no ad valorem  
"add-ons" and that no special "add-on" tariff was imposed on any related party transactions.  With 
respect to the last question regarding abnormal di scount reduction from the ordinary competitive price 
and the criteria, she invited Members to look at India's response to question 9 contained in 
G/VAL/W/133.  The expressions “abnormal discount or reduction," "ordinary competitive price," 
"normal discount or reduction" had the same me aning as used in Article VII of GATT.  She 
concluded that she would forward these responses to the Secretariat for circulation.  2.15 The representative of the European Communities
 looked forward to receiving these responses 
in writing.   His delegation would reflect on them.  Its interest in the legal changes notified by India 
were based on trying to understand the motivation and the purpose of the rule change to determine 
what could be the significance in terms of applicati on of the Customs Valuation Agreement by India.  
While appreciative of the responses, he noted that  there was always a difference between a purely 
descriptive legal response and the actual application of  the legal text.  His delegation wanted to be 
convinced that any legal change would not have a direct affect of modifying the purpose of the 
Agreement.  With these concerns in mind, hi s delegation would examine carefully the written 
responses from India.  His delegation considered the changes to be rather significant legal changes 
because they imported language and concept from out side of the Agreement into valuation law. 
 2.16  The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of  the statements made and revert to 
this agenda item at the next meeting.  Any follow- up questions should be subm itted to the Secretariat 
before 10 October 2005. 
 
2.17 It was so agreed . 
 
- Mexico 
 
2.18 The Chairman  recalled that Mexico had notified its cu stoms legislation which was circulated 
in document G/VAL/N/1/MEX/1. The E nglish translation was in document 
G/VAL/N/1/MEX/1/ REV/1.  These documents contained th e customs laws of 15 December 1995 and 
31 December 1996 and the regulations of 6 July 1996.   Mexico had also submitted its Check List of 
Issues circulated in document G/VAL/N/2/MEX/ 1 and G/VAL/N/2/MEX/1/ Corr.1. The questions 
which the United States asked at the last meeting about estimated prices and preshipment inspection, 
and Mexico's replies, were circulated in documents G/VAL/W/129 and  G/VAL/W/132 respectively.  
The United States’ subsequent questions were  contained in document G/VAL/W/138.   
 2.19 The representative of Mexico
 stated that he had not yet received responses to the follow-up 
questions from the United States, but hoped to have them soon.  
 
2.20 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statement made and revert to this 
item at the next meeting.  Any follow-up questions  should be submitted to the Secretariat before 
10 October 2005.  
2.21 It was so agreed
.  G/VAL/M/39 
 Page 5 
 
 
 - Peru 
 
2.22 The Chairman  recalled that it had been agreed to revert to the Peruvian notification contained 
in document G/VAL/N/1/PER/2. This document contained the customs legislation in Supreme Decrees Nos. 203-2001-EF, 131-2000-EF, 186-99-EF, and 187-99-EF.  The United States requested 
that this item be retained because it need ed more time to review the documents 
  2.23 The representative of Peru
 informed Members that all of Peru's legislation had been duly 
notified.  Two further reservations  notified in February 2005 should be on the agenda of the next 
meeting of the Committee. 
 
2.24 The representative of the United States  confirmed that the present notification could be 
concluded and it looked forward to examining the additional reservati ons at the next meeting of the 
Committee.    
2.25 The Committee took note
 of the statements made and agreed  to conclude the examination of 
this legislation.      
- Thailand 
 
2.26 The Chairman
 recalled that at the last meeting, Members agreed to revert to Thailand's 
notification in G/VAL/N/1/THA/1 and the responses to  the Checklist of Issues in G/VAL/N/2/THA/1.  
The United States circulated questions to Thaila nd in G/VAL/W/128, and Thailand’s replies were  
circulated in G/VAL/W/130.  Follow-up questions  from the United States were circulated in 
document G/VAL/W/143.  
2.27 The representative of Thailand
 said that he had not yet received replies from his capital but 
hoped to have them soon.  2.28 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of the statement and revert to the 
examination of this legislation at the next meeti ng.  Any follow-up questions should be submitted to 
the Secretariat before 10 October 2005. 
 
2.29 It was so agreed . 
 2.30 In concluding this agenda item, the Chairman
 urged those Members which had not yet 
notified their implementing legislation to do so as soon as possible. 
 
(ii) Notifications made by De veloping Country Members 
2.31 The Chairman  drew Member's attention to document  G/VAL/2/Rev.20 which contained the 
updated lists of all Members who had invoked special and differentia l treatment provisions under the 
Agreement.  In addition, he drew their attenti on to document G/VAL/W/76/Add.9 which contained an 
updated list of the active agreed extensions for the delay of the application of the Agreement or 
reservations to maintain a system of minimum values.  He suggested that the Committee take note of the 
information contained in these two documents.  2.32 It was so agreed
. 
 - Extension of delay period  
2.33 The Chairman
 informed Members that under the sub-heading "extension of delay period", there 
were no requests pending at the moment.  In fact, it  had been drawn to his attention that under the 
provisions of the Agreement, a request for an extens ion of the delay period must be made before the G/VAL/M/39 
Page 6  
 
expiration of an existing delay grante d pursuant to either Article 20.1 or paragraph 1, Annex III.  Since 
there were, in fact, no more Members benefiting eith er from the 5-year delay pursuant to Article 20.1 
nor from an extension pursuant to paragraph 1, An nex III, there were no Me mbers which could request 
an extension of a delay period under pa ragraph 1, Annex III.  Therefore, he proposed that this item be 
removed from the agenda of subseque nt meetings of the Committee.   
 
2.34 The Committee so agreed
. 
 
- Notifications made under Committee Deci sions on extensions or minimum values 
 
2.35 The Chairman  noted that under this sub-item, the Commi ttee was to consider the notifications 
made under the Decisions concerning delay extensio ns and minimum value reservations.  Guatemala 
and Sri Lanka had made notifications, with pr ogress reports, under the decisions granting them 
minimum values. He proposed that the Commi ttee take note of this information. 
 
2.36 It was so agreed . 
 
- Extension of Reservations under Minimum Values 
 
2.37 The Chairman  said that since the last meeting of the Committee, there had been one new request 
from Sri Lanka for a extension under Paragraph II of  Annex III.  This was contained in document 
G/VAL/W/140.  A draft decision granting Sri Lanka' s reservation had been recently circulated in 
document G/VAL/W/144.  A work programme to be anne xed to this draft decision had been circulated  
yesterday in G/VAL/W/144/Add.1.  He proposed that  the Committee adopt this draft decision with the 
work programme granting Sri La nka a further reservation under paragraph 2, Annex III. 
 
2.38 It was so agreed . 
 
III. INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE 
ON CUSTOMS VALUATION 
3.1. The Chairman  informed the Committee that under this agenda item, the Committee noted any 
new notifications of applicati on of the Decisions of the Comm ittee on Customs Valuation on the 
Treatment of Interest Charges in the Customs Value of  Imported Goods' and on the 'Valuation of Carrier 
Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment', both adopted by the Committee and contained 
in document G/VAL/5.  The Former Yugoslav Republic  of Macedonia notified its application of these 
two Decisions in document G/VAL/ N/3/MKD/1.  Document G/VAL/ W/5/Rev.16 had been updated to 
include this notification.  He suggested that  the Committee take note of this information.  
 
3.2  The Committee took note  of this information. 
 
IV. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
- Information on Technical Assistance 
 
4.1 The Chairman  explained that under this item the Secretariat usually informed Members of the 
technical assistance activities carried out under th e auspices of the WCO.  Document G/VAL/8/Add.14 
contained the most recent information, reported at the 19th Session of the Technical Committee, on 
technical assistance activities carried out by the WCO Secretariat or WCO Members.  
4.2 The Committee took note
 of the information. 
  G/VAL/M/39 
 Page 7 
 
 
- Article 20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade-Related Technical Assistance 
 
4.3. The Chairman  informed Members that the Commi ttee’s Work Programme on Technical 
Assistance for Capacity Building as Regards the Implementation and Administration of the WTO 
Agreement on Customs Valuation was contained in  document G/VAL/W/82/Rev.1.   The Committee 
noted previously that customs valuation technical assistance was now incorporated in the WTO-wide 
technical assistance program which had been designed to streamline technical assistance requests into 
one annual plan.  It was noted that basing the Co mmittee's TA work on the WTO-wide plan avoided 
having two parallel and repetitive exercises.   
4.4 The Committee on Trade and Development had now finalized the WTO Technical Assistance 
plan for 2005;  it was contained in document WT /COMTD/W/133/Rev.2.  Funds had been reserved 
for three regional or sub-regional seminars on custom s valuation in the Plan.  These regions would be 
determined based on the national requests for tec hnical assistance on customs valuation which would 
be grouped together into a sub-region.  Countries were also entitled to submit requests for ad hoc 
national activities, however, due to the limited res ources, each developing co untry could request only 
two ad hoc seminars and LDCs could request three, so it would be important for Members to carefully 
determine their priorities among WTO areas of assistance.  At the last meeting of the Committee, Members were encouraged to inform the Comm ittee of technical assistance and capacity building 
activities that they were providing on bilateral or  other fronts.  The Committee had not received any 
notifications of new activities.  He looked forward to  receiving them, either orally or in writing under 
this agenda item, in due course. He proposed th at the Committee take note of this information. 
 4.5 The Committee took note
 of the information. 
 
V. INDIA - INFORMATION ON CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE EUROPEAN 
COMMUNITIES VALUATION POLICY 
5.1 The Chairman  recalled that at the last meeting of the Committee, it was agreed to revert to this 
item, pending reactions and further follow-up questions from  Brazil and India, to the replies from the 
European Communities which were circulated in docume nt G/VAL/W/131.  The se responses were to 
questions initially posed by Brazil in document G/VAL/W/122.  He noted that this item had been on the 
agenda of the Committee's meetings for almost five years, as it was first raised at the meeting of 
21 July 2000.  There had been several exchanges of questions and answers both with the delegation of 
India as well as with the delegation of Brazil.    5.2 The representative of Brazil
 informed the Committee that the replies provided by the EC had 
now been assessed by his authorities.  They remain ed convinced that the policy embodied in the EC 
regulation EC-3223 of 1994, in combination with regulation 352 of 2004, determined the base of 
calculation for duties not fully in accordance with Article 7(f) of the Customs Valuation Agreement.  
One of the arguments put forward by the EC in it s reply was that the standard import values policy 
was a facility used in some cases where other means were not available. In fact, his authorities 
believed that this practice had the effect of being imposed on Brazilian exporters.  In practical terms, 
not using the standard import values led to a mo re bureaucratic and lengthier process implying more 
costs in processing the import.  The second argument w as that those standard prices were only used in 
the case of merchandise that would only be then  re-exported. His authorities had received reports 
from both importers and exporters in the EC that it was a wide-spread practice that was used for all 
imports.  His authorities were still working on quantifyi ng the impact of the use of the standard import 
values with relation to the import value used in th e declaration.  However, as far as they could assess 
at present, they were not convinced of the EC's arguments. 
 5.3 The representative of the European Communities
 regretted not receiving the Brazilian 
comments earlier in order to prepare a more comple te response.  However, he insisted that his 
delegation had merely presented information on the regulations.  Given their marginal relation to G/VAL/M/39 
Page 8  
 
valuation, there was no need to make any argu ments that their application affected correct 
implementation of the Agreement.   His delegation,  having reviewed the legislation with a view to 
determining whether there were any provisions that needed particular attent ion in the context of 
valuation, was still not convinced there was a probl em.  It believed that after so many exchanges 
between Members, if it could not be demonstrated that there were provisions that needed to be 
addressed, the matter should be dropped.  Nevert heless, he would try to address the Brazilian 
concerns.  Firstly, he recalled that the policy in this regulation was to apply the outcomes agreed 
during the Uruguay Round in terms of tarrification.  This policy was settled and accepted for many years.  He was not certain what Brazil was referring  to when it invoked a more recent regulation, 352 
of 2004.  To his knowledge, there was no policy which had been further developed by any recent 
regulation that would have an impact on the basic regulation which had been subject to the exchanges 
here.    5.4 Secondly, he reiterated that the standard im port values was a facility being offered purely at 
the choice of the operator.  There was no obligatio n to use it.  Regarding the Brazilian comment that 
its use was effectively essential or necessary because otherwise the process would be more 
bureaucratic, he considered that this was unlikely b ecause, in fact, the reverse was probably more true.  
It was likely that the Brazilian authorities were not too well informed on this point.  Thirdly, he confirmed that there was no eviden ce that the special import values were only used for goods which 
were re-exported.  There were no pa rticular limitations on the use of this facility and there were no 
special problems about goods whethe r re-exported or not.  He consider ed such an argument irrelevant. 
Finally, Brazil said that it was not ready yet to co nclude because its authorities had not made a precise 
quantification of the standard import values.  He  reiterated again that the policy was simply a 
regulation that allowed an importer to use various wa ys to establish the rate of duty.  The standard 
import values were none of the things that Brazil,  or perhaps another delegation may have said or 
thought in the past.  Brazil could circulate its comm ents in writing, but in his delegation's view, these 
points were not worth making.  There was no basis in putting forward these arguments to raise 
questions about how the regulation in question fitted relative to the Agreement because the latter was  
not in any way affected by the aspects of the regul ation which Brazil mentioned.  His delegation again 
requested the Brazilian delegation to examine clos er the regulation and the EC responses.  Brazil's 
comments today created an even greater distance from  the issues which were at the origin of this 
agenda item which, he added, had been addressed in full.  His delegation appealed to Brazil to reflect 
on all of the points made.  His delegation was willi ng to consider comments any delegation wished to 
make.  It only requested that these comments be per tinent and relevant, and be  made sufficiently in 
advance so that a more complete response could be  prepared.  This Committe e had covered so much 
material and so many aspects of this legislation that it was difficult to imagine what more could be 
addressed.  His delegation would be happy to discuss bilaterally and informal ly with Brazil but did 
not believe there was any justification to maintaini ng discussion of this matter in the Committee.  He 
had gone on at length, but wanted to engage wi th Brazil instead of having month-long delays 
exchanging written notes and comments.  5.5 The representative of India
 requested Brazil and the EC to circulate their comments in writing 
in order to examine them in detail. 
 
5.6 The Chairman  proposed that the delegations concerned circulate their comments and 
questions in writing and engage bila terally in order to address the concerns stated.  He proposed that 
the Committee take note of the statements made a nd revert to this item at its next meeting. 
 
5.7 It was so agreed . 
  G/VAL/M/39 
 Page 9 
 
 
VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH AND TENTH ANNUAL 
REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS 
VALUATION AGREEMENT 
6.1 The Chairman  recalled that, at its last meeting, th e Committee took note of the Fourth through 
Tenth Annual Reviews contained in documen ts G/VAL/W/29, G/VA L/W/43, G/VAL/W/77, 
G/VAL/W/89, G/VAL/W/109, G/VAL/W/124 and G/VAL/W/136.  Indi a stated that her capital was 
carefully reviewing this matter.  It had been agr eed to revert to this item at this meeting.   
 6.2 The representative of India
 informed Members that her delegation was still examining this 
matter and would reply to the Committ ee hopefully before its  next meeting. 
 
6.3 The Committee took note  of the statement made and agreed  to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting.    
VII. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION 
7.1 The Chairman
 reminded Members that, according to Article 6 of the Agreement on PSI, the 
Ministerial Conference was obliged to review the provisions , implementation and operation of the 
Agreement "at the end of the second year from the da te of entry into force of the WTO Agreement and 
every three years thereafter…"  The first review had been carrie d out from 1996 through 1999. He asked 
the Committee to consider, for discussion, two questions:  whether it was desirable to carry out a second review of the Agreement, given th e obligation under the Agreement and the fact that a second review 
called for every three years therea fter was overdue;  and secondly if a review was desirable, in which 
body of the WTO should this review be conducted.  He further recalled  that, in reply to a question from 
the United States  at a previous meeting about whether this Committee had a mandate to carry out this 
Review, it was noted that one of th e recommendations of the Working Pa rty was that "future monitoring 
of the Agreement [on PSI] should be undertaken initi ally by the Customs Valuat ion Committee, and that 
PSI should be a standing agenda item.".  This  recommendation was subsequently endorsed by the 
General Council.  At its last m eeting, the Committee briefly disc ussed the background of the word 
"initially" in the Working Party report, and whet her any other WTO Committee had a mandate to carry 
out the review.  He had also enc ouraged delegations to read the re levant background documentation and 
to submit ideas to the Secretariat for circulation.  None had been received.     
7.2 The Committee took note
 of the information and agreed  to revert to this matter at its next 
meeting.  
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
(WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1):  IMPLEMENTATION-RELATED ISSUES 
 - Paragraph 8.3 of document WT/MIN/(01)/17  
 
8.1 The Chairman
 recalled that the Committee's mandate, as set out in paragraph 8.3 of the 
Implementation Decision of the Doha Ministerial Declaration, was "to identify and assess practical means” to address concerns on the accuracy of declared values, including “the exchange of 
information on export values and to report to the Ge neral Council by the end of 2002 at the latest.".  
He further recalled that the General Council, at  its meeting in December 2002, authorized the 
Committee to continue its work under the existing ma ndate and to report back  to the General Council 
once its work had been completed.  In the July 2004 Decision, the General Council instructed the Trade Negotiations Committee, nego tiating bodies and other WTO bodies concerned to redouble their 
efforts to find appropriate solutions as a priority.  The Technical Committee on Customs Valuation had 
submitted Guidelines  on the development and use of a national valuation database as a risk 
assessment tool, as a complement to its responses submitted in May 2003 (G/VAL/54) to the terms of 
reference made to it (G/VAL/51) regarding concer ns on the accuracy of the declared value. These G/VAL/M/39 
Page 10  
 
guidelines were circulated in document G/VAL/54/ Suppl.1.  He informed the Committee that, as 
requested, he had undertaken informal consultatio ns on this matter on 26 January 2005 with some 
interested delegations.  He reported that positions had not changed.  At this stage, he did not see room 
for movement or progress on this matter without any such change or revision of positions.   
 
8.2 The representative of India
 thanked the Chairman for carrying out informal consultations to try 
to resolve or to further the progress on the impl ementation of paragraph 8. 3 which was long overdue 
in her delegation's view.  Her delegation had been trying to work with the procedures contained in 
paragraph 8.3 and, in the absence of accepted est ablished procedures on operationalising the exchange 
of information, had not met with any success.  Sh e requested that the Chairman take up the matter 
again by conveying a sense of urgency to the incoming Chairman and requesting him to also 
undertake informal consultations to try and find a way forward.  8.3 The Chairman
 agreed to brief his successor on the matter and it would be up to him to 
determine how to take the matter forward.  Howe ver, his recommendation would be that unless there 
was a revision in the position of one or all sides, further informal consultations were unlikely to be 
fruitful.  He proposed that the Committee take note of the statements made and agree to revert to this 
item at its next meeting.  8.4 It was so agreed
. 
 IX. OTHER BUSINESS 
 - Date of the next meeting 
 
9.1 The Chairman
 informed the Committee that the  next meeting of the Committee was scheduled 
for 18 October 2005.   
 X. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 
10.1. The Chairman
 recalled that the Rules of Procedur e for the Committee on Customs Valuation 
provided for the election of a Chairperson at the en d of the first formal meeting of the year.  He 
understood that the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods carried out cons ultations on a slate of 
names for appointment as Chairpersons of sta nding bodies in accordance with the established 
Guidelines for the Appointment of Officers.  On the basis of the understanding reached, he proposed 
that the Committee elect Mr. Jooha Woo (Korea) as Chairperson, for 2005.    10.2 It was so agreed
. 
 
10.3 The meeting was adjourned. 
     
 
    
 
    G/VAL/M/39 
 Page 11 
 
 
ANNEX I 
 
Report to the Committee on Customs Valuation on the Activities of the  
Technical Committee on Customs Valu ation and Technical Assistance  
 
(April 2005) 
 
 As the 20th Session of the Technical Committee on Cust oms Valuation is scheduled to begin 
its work on Monday, 18 April 2005, my statement today will focus on the current work of the Technical Committee and the technical assistance progr amme of the WCO Secretariat in the area of 
customs valuation. 
 Theme meeting
 
  The first two days of the 20
th Session of the Technical Committee will take the form of a 
theme meeting which will address the two following subjects:  "Theme I:  Customs valuation and 
transfer pricing";  and "Theme II:  Validation tr eatment of software".  These two themes will be 
discussed at two round tables, each comprising a moderator, two speakers and two panellists, from Member countries as well as from internati onal organizations and the private sector. 
  This theme meeting will provide Members with an opportunity to shar e their experiences and 
knowledge with respect to the two above-mentioned themes. 
  The work of the 20
th Session will continue from Wednesday 20 to Friday 22 April 2005 with 
the examination of the other items on the agenda of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.  
Technical and administrative issues
 
  The Technical Committee will continue to exam ine the technical items raised by Uganda 
("Study of imports by sole agents, sole distribut ors and sole concessionaires") and by the European 
Communities ("Study concerning the expression 'sale for export'").  The Committee will also re-
examine the question of "Royalties and licence fees under Article 8.1";  and it will have before it an 
issue raised by Brazil during the intersession, na mely "Evaluation of imported electricity". 
  Members of the Technical Committee will also have to consider two administrative matters 
relating to the adoption and implementation of the Agreement, namely the revision of the "Customs 
Valuation Control Handbook" and the "Publication of the Index of Reference Documents on the 
Public WCO Website". 
 Technical assistance and capacity-building
 
  Since our last report to the Committee on Customs Valuation, two technical assistance and capacity-building activities have been organized in  the area of customs valuation:  a national 
workshop in Tunisia, and a regional workshop in Ch ile.  Eight similar training activities have also 
been scheduled at the national and regi onal level for the first half of 2005. 
  The WCO Secretariat, in cooperation with the Common Market for Eastern and Southern 
Africa (COMESA), has organized a training course for customs officials from Burundi, sponsored and 
financed by COMESA.  The training was provide d by an expert from Senegalese Customs. 
 
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