WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  RESTRICTED 
WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
25 April 2012 
 (12-2212) 
Working Party on the Accession of 
the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Original:   English 
 
 
 
ACCESSION OF AFGHANISTAN 
 
Information on Implementation and Administration 
of the Customs Valuation Agreement 
 
Revision 
  
 The following submission, dated 23 April 2012, is being circulated at the request of the Delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. 
  
_______________ 
 
 WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
Page 2  
 
  1. Questions concerning Article 1: 
(a) Sales between related persons:  (i) Are sales between related persons subject to special provisions? 
Answer: 
Proposed amendments to the Customs Law will incor porate Article 1(2) of the Agreement in full in 
the law. 
Current rules on customs valuation are set out in  two legal instruments:  the Customs Law of 
Afghanistan and the Council of Ministers Regulati on No. 38 "On Determining the Price of Goods in 
Customs". 
Valuation methods are defined in the Regulati on No. 38.  Article 14 of that Regulation 
("Documents Lacking Credibility") states that trade documents in transactions between related parties 
are not acceptable [but] the customs value determina tion shall be made according to the valuation 
methods defined in the Regulation.   
Related parties are defined in Article 14 as: - Persons who are relatives (defined as children,  spouse, parents, grandparents, or immediate 
family members of one's husband or wife); 
- Persons who are employees or trade ma nagers of the same person/entity; 
- Persons who are legal business partners; - Persons who are employee and employer; - Where a person has a right to 5 per cent or more of the shares of the buyer and seller; - One of the parties directly or indirectly controls the other or both are controlled by a third 
party; and 
- If the seller or buyer is the representative, distributor or business agent for the other. 
There are no other special provisions in the current Customs Law or Regulation No. 38 concerning the 
customs valuation of goods in related-party transactions.      
 (ii) Is the fact of intercompany prices  prima facie considered as grounds for 
regarding the respective prices as being influenced? 
Answer: 
See response to Question 1(a)(i), above. 
 (iii) What is the provision for giving the communication of the afore-mentioned 
grounds in writing if the importer so requests?  (Article 1.2(a)) 
Answer: 
As noted in response to Question 1(a)(i) above, proposed amendments to the Customs Law will 
incorporate Article 1(2) of the Agreement in full in the law.   WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
 Page 3 
 
 
   (iv) How has Article 1.2(b) been implemented? 
Answer: 
See response to Question 1(a)(iii), above. 
(b) Price of lost or damaged goods: 
 Are there any special provisions or practica l arrangements concerning the valuation of 
lost or damaged goods? 
Answer: 
There are no special provisions concerning the valu ation of lost or damaged goods in the Customs 
Law or Regulation No. 38.   
However, Article 148 of the Customs Law ("Non Occu rrence of Debt") states that no customs debt 
shall be deemed to be incurred in respect of goo ds under customs supervision that were lost or 
destroyed due to force majeure . 
In addition, Article 160 of the Customs Law ("Re mission or Refund for Defective Goods") provides 
for a refund of duty paid on imported goods under cer tain conditions where, after release by Customs, 
the goods are determined to be defective, not in accordance with contract, or "rejected by an 
authorized organ of the State." 
2. How has the provision of Article 4 to a llow the importer an option to reverse the order 
of application of Articles 5 and 6 been implemented? 
Answer: 
Article 4 of the Agreement has not been included in  the current Customs Law or Regulation No. 38.  
An amendment to the Customs Law that would allo w the importer the option to reverse the order of 
application of Articles 5 and 6 is u nder consideration by the Government. 
3. How has Article 5.2 been implemented? 
Answer: 
The provisions of Article 5.2 have not been incorp orated in the current Customs Law or Regulation 
No. 38.  However, proposed amendments to th e Customs Law will require Customs to issue 
regulations concerning conditions, prov isions or other rules necessary for application of the Article 5 
valuation method.   
4. How has Article 6.2 been implemented? 
Answer: 
The provisions of Article 6.2 have not been incorp orated in the Customs Law or Regulation No. 38.  
However, proposed amendments to the Customs Law will require Customs to issue regulations 
concerning conditions, provisi ons or other rules necessary for application of the Article 6 valuation 
method.   WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
Page 4  
 
  5. Questions concerning Article 7: 
(a) What provisions have been made for making value determinations pursuant to 
Article 7? 
Answer: 
Proposed amendments to the Customs Law will incorporate Article 7 in full in the law. 
Under the current legal regime, Article 8 of Regula tion No. 38, which sets out a "fall-back" method of 
valuation where the other methods cannot be used , allows for use of those other methods with 
adjustments.  In particular, it states: 
"If the price of goods cannot be determined based  on the provisions of Articles 3 through 7 of 
this Regulation, some details related to the goo ds will be ignored, such as color, quantity, 
period, etc., and the customs value will be de termined on the basis of one of the aforesaid 
methods." 
There are no additional provisions in the current  Customs Law or Regulation No. 7 implementing 
Article 7 of the Agreement.   
(b) What is the provision for informing the importer of the customs value determined under 
Article 7? 
Answer: 
See response to Question 5(a), above.   
In addition, where Customs uses information for cu stoms valuation purposes that is obtained from 
sources other than the seller or buyer, Customs is  obligated by Article 17 of Regulation No. 38 to 
advise the declarant about the source of that information. 
(c) Are the prohibitions found in Article 7.2 delineated? 
Answer: 
See response to Question 5(a), above. 
6. How have the options found in Article 8.2 been handled?  In the case of f.o.b. 
application, are ex-factory prices also accepted? 
Answer: 
The provision in question is incorporated in Article  9 of Regulation No. 38, which provides that costs 
of transport, loading and offloading, and insurance are to be included in customs value.  
Under proposed amendments to the Customs Law, an  addition shall be required to be made to the 
price paid or payable for "(i) the costs of transport and insurance of the imported goods, and 
(ii) loading, unloading, and ha ndling charges associated with the transport of the imported goods, to 
the place of introduction into Afghanistan."  WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
  7. Where is the rate of exchange pub lished, as required by Article 9.1? 
Answer: 
Pursuant to Article 25 of the Customs Law, a customs value must be computed in Afghan currency at 
a rate of exchange that is established by the Da Afghanistan Bank.  
The rate announced by the Bank on the last worki ng day of each month shall be valid from the 
6th day of the following month until the 6th day of the next following month, unless there is variation 
of 5 per cent or more in the official rate during the interim period.  In that case, a new rate is provided, which takes effect two working days following its announcement.   
The Da Afghanistan Bank publishes the official exchange rate at http://www.centralbank.gov.af. 
8. What steps have been taken to ensure confidentiality, as required by Article 10? 
Answer: 
Article 13 of the Customs Law expressly prohibits  Customs from disclosing information about the 
valuation of specific good, the names, addresses or other details about supp liers of goods, testing 
results, or information that is provided to Cust oms on a confidential basis, without the express 
permission of the person who provided the informa tion and without legal authority to do so.   
9. Questions concerning Article 11: (a) What rights of appeal are open to the importer or any other person? 
Answer: 
Rights of appeal against Customs decisions are defined in Article 18 of the Customs Law.  
That Article provides that any "interested party" ma y request a review of a disputed customs decision 
through any competent regional customs authority to  the General Directorate of Customs, within 
10 days from the day of notification of the decision by Customs.   
The General Directorate of Customs must issue a decision within 20 days on the outcome of the 
review, unless the delay in making the decision is due  to an omission by the appellant.  In the event 
the General Directorate of Customs does not issue a decision within this time period, the law provides 
that the request shall be presumed to have been decided in favour of the appellant.  Under a proposed 
amendment to the Customs Law, if the decision is adverse to the appellant, the General Directorate 
will be required to provide written notice of the deci sion to the appellant with reasons and information 
about rights of further appeal. 
If the appellant objects to the decision of the General Directorate, Article 18 of the Customs Law 
provides that the appellant may submit an appeal to the Customs Arbitration Panel.  This is a 
three-person panel whose members are appointed by the Minister of Finance, with approval of the 
President, and comprised of a legal expert, an economist, and a customs and commercial affairs 
expert.  Such appeals must be filed within 15 days of receipt of Customs decision, and a security of 2 per cent of the contested amount must be provided as a condition of the appeal. 
Under a proposed amendment to the Customs Law, the appellant at his option shall have the right to 
appeal a decision of the General Directorate of Cust oms to either the Customs Arbitration Panel or a 
court of competent jurisdiction. WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
Page 6  
 
  Pursuant to Article 13 of the Council of Minist ers Regulation "On Customs Arbitration", a written 
decision by the Customs Arbitration Panel shall be issued within 30 days to the appellant and other 
parties to the case.  As provided in Article 14 of th at Regulation, the appellant has the right to submit 
an appeal to the relevant commercial court within 15  days of the issuance of the arbitration decision.  
However, the regulation provides that decisions of th e Customs Arbitration Panel shall be final in the 
following cases: 
- The amount of customs debt in disp ute is 50,000 Afghanis (Af) or less; 
- The issue addressed concerns smuggling and administrative penalties have been assessed 
under the Customs Law; and 
- The appellant fails to make an appeal to th e relevant commercial court within the required 
15 day period. 
Proposed amendments to the Customs Law will allow an  appeal to be made against the decision of the 
Customs Arbitration Panel to a court of competent jurisdiction regardless of the amount at issue.  These amendments also provide that where a d ecision is against the appellant, the Customs 
Arbitration Panel shall be required to notify the a ppellant in writing, with  reasons, and explain the 
further rights of appeal. 
(b) How is he to be informed of his right to further appeal? 
Answer: 
Right of further appeal are defined in the Cust oms Law (see response to Question 9(a), above).  
10. Provide information on the publication, as required by Article 12, of: 
(a) (i) the relevant national laws; 
 (ii) the regulations concerning the application of the Agreement; 
 (iii) the judicial decision and administrative rulings of general application relating to 
the Agreement; 
 (iv) general or specific laws being referred to in the rules of implementation or 
application. 
Answer: 
Laws and regulations are published in the offici al gazette of the Ministry of Justice at 
www.moj.gov.af, and also in the hard copy version of the official gazette.  As for judicial decisions and administrative rulings, these are not currently published.  However, under a proposed amendment 
to the Customs Law, Customs shall be required to promptly make publically available administrative 
decisions or rulings of general application by such  means as shall enable traders and other interested 
persons to become acquainted with them.  It is an ticipated that such rulings and decisions will be 
published on the website of the Ministry of Finance. 
(b) Is the publication of further rules antici pated?  Which topics would they cover? 
Answer: 
Afghanistan anticipates that changes to the Cust oms Law, including those noted herein, and to 
Regulation No. 38 will be required for purposes of cl oser conformity to the valuation methods and 
other obligations of the Agreement.  WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
 Page 7 
 
 
  Afghanistan also anticipates the issuance of rule s to implement the Interpretative Notes of the 
Agreement, the Decision on Software Valuation, and the Decision on Treatment of Interest Charges. 
11. Questions concerning Article 13: 
(a) How is the obligation of Article 13 (last sentence) being dealt with in the respective 
legislation? 
Answer: 
The Article 13 obligation is not yet incorporated in national legislation.   
An amendment has been proposed to  the Customs Law that would allow an importer to obtain release 
of goods on the basis of a declaration containing incomplete or provisional information, such as 
information related to customs value.  Under this  proposed amendment, Customs acceptance of such a 
declaration may be subject to provision of a guarant ee, and shall require the declarant to provide any 
missing information within a period specified by the Customs.  The proposed amendment requires Customs to adopt by regulation the measures n ecessary to implement this procedure.    
(b) Have additional explanations been laid down? 
Answer: 
Please see response to previous question.  
12. Questions concerning Article 16: 
(a) Does the respective national legislation contain a provision requiring customs 
authorities to give an explanation in writing as to how the customs value was determined? 
Answer: 
Under Article 12 of the Customs Law, Customs is ge nerally authorized to provide information free of 
charge to a requesting party concerning the applica tion of the customs legislation, unless such request 
concerns an ongoing operation or is inconsistent with the confidentia lity provisions of Article 13.  
This information shall be provided in forms prepared by the Ministry of Finance.   
(b) Are there any further regulations concerning an above-mentioned request? 
Answer: 
There is no such provision yet adopted concerning above-mentioned request.   
13. How have the Interpretative Not es of the Agreement been included? 
Answer: 
Please see response to Question 10(b). WT/ACC/AFG/6/Rev.1 
Page 8  
 
  14. How have the provisions of the Decision of 26 April 1984 on the Treatment of Interest 
Charges in the Customs Value of Imported  Goods (Val/6/Rev.1) been implemented? 
Answer: 
Please see response to Question 10(b). 
15. For those countries applying paragraph 2 of the Decision of 24 September 1984 on the 
Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment (Val/8), 
how have the provisions of this paragraph been implemented? 
Answer: 
Please see response to Question 10(b). 
- For all questions listed above, an indication of the reference is requested. 
Customs Law of Afghanistan. 
Council of Ministers Regulation No. 38 "On De termining the Price of Goods in Customs". 
Council of Ministers Regulation "On Customs Arbitration".  
 
__________