RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/VAL/M/41 
24 May 2006 
 
 (06-2508) 
Committee on Customs Valuation  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 25 APRIL  2006 
 
Chairman: Jooha Woo (Korea)
 
  
 The agenda proposed for the meeting, circul ated in WTO/AIR/2798/Rev.1 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 ................................................................3  
III. INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE 
COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS  VALUATION......................................................................3  
IV. QUESTIONS TO THE DELEGATION OF COLOMBIA REGARDING 
CERTAIN CUSTOMS MEASURES APPLIED TO IMPORTS OF GOODS FROM PANAMA AND OTHER WTO MEMBERS ............................................................4
 
V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ..................................................................................................6  
VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH AND 
ELEVENTH ANNUAL REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND 
OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT ...................................6  
VII. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION .............................................................................................7  
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION (WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1):  IMPLEM ENTATION-RELATED ISSUES..................................7
 
IX. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................. .8 
X. ELECTION OF OFFICERS....................................................................................................8  
 ANNEX I....................................................................................................................... .............9 
 
 
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.  This report is contained in Annex I.   1.2 The Committee took note
 of the report. G/VAL/M/41 
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 (hereafter, the 
Agreement) required each Member to inform th e Committee of any changes in its laws and 
regulations relevant to the Agreement, and of an y changes in the administration of such laws and 
regulations.  In addition, the Decision on Notifi cation and Circulation of National Legislation, 
adopted by the Tokyo Round Committee, required each Member to notify its legislation to the 
Committee.  He suggested that, under this sub- item, the Committee take up the legislations in 
sequence as listed in the agenda.  He further reca lled that the notification of legislation by the 
Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu had been presented to the 
Committee.  However, the examination of this no tification remained suspended since the Committee'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.   
 
- India 
 
2.2 The Chairman  recalled that, at the last meeting, it had been agreed to revert to India's 
notification in G/VAL/N/1/IND/3 which contained certain amendmen ts to the Customs Valuation 
(Determination of Price of Imported Goods) Rules 1988.  In addition, India's responses to the Checklist 
of Issues were contained in document G/VAL/N/2/IND/1 and Corr.1.  India's responses to oral 
questions from the European Communities and written questions from the United States in document 
G/VAL/W/128 were submitted and circulated in doc ument G/VAL/W/133.  The United States raised 
further questions in document G/VAL/W/139 to wh ich India responded in document G/VAL/W/148.   
 
2.3 The representative of the European Communities  stated that, despite her delegation's 
continued concern with the terminology used in the le gislation, it had no more questions to pose to 
India on this matter.    2.4  The Committee agreed
 to conclude the examination of the Indian legislation. 
 
- Mexico 
 
2.5 The Chairman  recalled that Mexico had notified its cu stoms legislation which was circulated 
in document G/VAL/N/1/MEX/1. The English transl ation was in document G/VAL/N/1/MEX/1/Rev/1.  
These documents contained the 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 Corr .1. The questions which the United States had posed about estimated 
prices and preshipment inspection, and Mexico's re plies, were circulated in documents G/VAL/W/129 
and  G/VAL/W/132 respectively.  The United Stat es’ subsequent questions were contained in 
document G/VAL/W/138.  Mexico's replies to these questions were contained in G/VAL/W/153.  
2.6 The representative of the United States
 stated that her delegation had examined Mexico's 
responses.  It was still concerned with the use of pr ivate companies to verify information related to 
import values and would continue to monitor the situa tion.  However, it would not stand in the way of 
concluding the examination of the legislation.    
2.7 The Committee
 agreed to conclude the examination of the Mexican legislation   
  G/VAL/M/41 
 Page 3 
 
 
  - Thailand 
 
2.8 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.  2.9 The representative of Thailand
 said that she had conveyed the questions to her capital but that 
internal reshuffling in the customs administ ration and among other domestic administrative and 
organizational duties, meant that she did not have  responses yet.  She had nothing new to add but 
hoped to have responses for the next meeting of the Committee.    2.10 The representative of the United States
 appreciated Thailand's internal difficulties which did 
not allow for the responses, and requested that the Co mmittee revert to this matter at its next meeting. 
 
2.11 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statements and revert to the 
examination of this legislation at the next meeti ng.  Any follow-up questions should be submitted to 
the Secretariat ten days before the next meeting.  2.12 It was so agreed
. 
 
2.13 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 
2.14 The Chairman
 drew Member's attention to document  G/VAL/2/Rev.22 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 atten tion to document G/VAL/W/76/Add.11 which informed 
Members that, as all extensions of  the paragraph 1, Annex III delay period and paragraph 2, Annex III 
reservations had expired, there were no further notification and reporting re quirements to list.   
 
2.15 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the information contained in these 
two documents.  2.16 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 new 
notifications of application of the Decisions of the Committee on Customs Valuation on the Treatment 
of Interest Charges in the Customs Value of Im ported 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.  Since the last meeting, there had been no new not ifications and, therefore, the 
document had not been updated.  He proposed that  the Committee take note of this information.  
 
3.2  The Committee took note  of this information. 
 G/VAL/M/41 
Page 4  
 
  IV. QUESTIONS TO THE DELEGATION OF COLOMBIA REGARDING CERTAIN 
CUSTOMS MEASURES APPLIED TO IMPORTS OF GOODS FROM PANAMA AND OTHER WTO MEMBERS  
4.1 The Chairman
 informed Members that the delegation of Panama had requested that this item be 
inscribed on the Committee's agenda for this meeting.  Accompanying documentation had been 
circulated in document G/VAL/W/154. 
 4.2 The delegation of Panama
 informed Members that, after considerable bilateral efforts, his 
delegation was compelled to submit this item to a multilateral review  because of the economic damage 
being done to his country and the ex tra-territorial effect of certain measures adopted by the National 
Customs and Excise Directorat e of Colombia (NCED).  Since June 2005, Panama had been 
encountering serious difficulties in exporting to Colomb ia as a result of the entry into force of certain 
customs measures imposed by the NCED.  These meas ures could be grouped into 3 types:  indicative 
prices for certain goods originati ng from Panama as well as from ot her WTO Members;  authorization 
of certain points of entry into Colombia for goods cl assified under HS 50 to 64 (footwear and textiles) 
from Panama and from China (in practi cal terms, this meant that air access was only available through 
Eldorado Airport and the seaport of Baranquilla);  and requirement s for the commercial invoice for 
goods that entered the free zone from Panama.  His delegation would take up onl y the indicative prices 
because they were covered by the Committee on Custom s Valuation.  However, the remaining measures 
were of great concern to Panama be cause of their distorting effect on Panama's trade with Colombia.  In 
view of these concerns, his delegation would continue  to review and discuss these matters in other WTO 
bodies.   
 4.3 The indicative prices for certain goods origin ating in Panama had had a negative impact on 
Panama's activities in the commerc ial free trade zone maintained by Panama, referred to as the Colón 
Free Zone.  This was the most important free zone in Panama and was located on the Atlantic side of the 
Panama Canal, representing a major economic entry poi nt for Panama and contributing 8% to Panama's 
GDP.  Currently, in the 400 hect ares comprising the Colón Free  Zone, 2500 business operated, 
employing more than 25000 individuals.  Since it was es tablished more than 50 years ago, the free zone 
had served as a storage and distribution centre for goods originating from different world suppliers, such 
as Hong Kong, China;  Japan;  US;  China;  Chinese Ta ipei;  Italy;  Singapore;  Korea,  and others.  The 
final destination was, for the most part, Latin America, and since its creation, the Colombian market was 
one of the main markets for goods from the free zone.  The most recent statis tics of re-exports to 
Colombia reflected an amount of approximately US $800 million annually.  The measures adopted by 
the NCED affected many di fferent goods including various types of  footwear and socks, textiles, gas 
and other domestic electronic goods , matches, blankets, and other goods. These measures were not 
equally applied to all countries.  Rather, they affected exclusively those goods originating from or 
passing through Members such as Panama; China;  Korea; Hong Kong, China; India; Indonesia; 
Malaysia; Pakistan; Thailand; Chinese Taipei; Sing apore; and the Philippines.  The use of these 
indicative prices would need to be  assessed in the context of Article VII of GATT 94 and the Customs 
Valuation Agreement.  The existing rules establis hed a preference for the transaction value in 
determining  customs value and prohibited the use of minimum values and fictitious or arbitrary values. 
In view of the fact that the Colombian resolutions did not explain the methodology for the valuation, his 
delegation addressed the questions  to Colombia contained in G/VAL/W/154. The purpose of the 
questions was to learn about these m easures in greater detail.  The spec ific questions were as follows:  
 (a)  The National Customs and Excise Directorate of Colombia was maintaining in force a number 
of resolutions by which it applied indicative pri ces to certain goods originating in or imported 
from Panama, China and other WTO Members.  W ould Colombia clarify this information and 
explain the reasons and the legal basis for adopting these resolutions;  
  G/VAL/M/41 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (b)  In this connection, how di d Colombia reconcile the measures  listed above with its general 
national treatment and MFN obligations a nd its commitment to refrain from imposing 
discriminatory restrictions on imports from Panama, and othe r WTO Members when indicative 
prices were applied in  particular instances; 
 
(c)  Colombia had requested a reservation in accordance with Paragraph 2 of Annex III of the 
Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994 which was adopted by the 
Committee on Customs Valuation on 18 May 2000 fo r certain textile products for periods of 1, 
2 and 3 years respectively.  Was this information correct; 
 
(d)  Did this reservation expire  in 2003 and, if so, on the basis of which provisions of the WTO 
Agreements did Colombia apply minimum or indi cative prices for cert ain goods in respect of 
certain countries only, what was the legal basis fo r such measures and for the products that they 
covered;  and 
 
(e)  Could Colombia explain how the adoption of the resolutions could be reconciled with the 
obligations set forth in Articl e VII of the GATT 1994;  would Colombia explain the valuation 
methods normally used for the importation of goo ds into its territory and how these were 
implemented in line with the measures adopted against Pana ma and other Members of the 
WTO?  
 
4.4 The representative of Colombia  stated that his delegation had received the questions from 
Panama but had not concluded the internal deliberatio ns necessary to respond.  However, it would do so 
as soon as possible.    4.5 The representative of Canada
 said that his delegation looked forward to receiving Colombia's 
reply to Panama's questions.  He wished to ask 3 additional questions to Colo mbia which would greatly 
inform future consideration of this issue in the Committee:  (a)   What was the legal nature of the resoluti ons quoted in Panama's document and did they fall 
under Article X of GATT 1994; 
 
(b)   Would Colombia be willing to circulate text s of these resolutions to inform the Committee of 
this legislation;  and 
 (c)   What was expected of customs officers in re spect of these resolutions and the indicative prices 
contained therein, i.e. was customs to use these prices as a way to asses the risk of certain 
transactions and for verification analysis or for th e non-acceptation of valu es that were declared 
under these indicative values? 
 4.6 The representative of Panama
 stated that his delegation looked forward to receiving Colombia's 
responses and wished to retain the item on th e Committee's agenda for its next meeting. 
 
4.7 The representative of China  echoed the concerns raised.  As his delegation had just received 
the communication from Panama it was difficult to give detailed comments.  However, her initial 
response was that it seemed worthwhile for the inter ested parties to discuss the implications of the  
customs measures concerned and also requested that Colombia circulate to the Committee the 
resolutions concerned. 
 
4.8 The representative of Colombia  said that he had taken careful note of the questions and 
comments and would transmit them to his capital for full response at the next meeting.  G/VAL/M/41 
Page 6  
 
  4.9 The representative of Hong Kong, China
 also asked that his delegation be kept informed of 
correspondence on this issue.  4.10 The representatives of Malaysia
 and Thailand  supported the statement by Hong Kong, China. 
 
4.11 The Committee agreed  to take note of the statements made and to revert to this matter at its 
next meeting.  
V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
 - Information on Technical Assistance 
 5.1 The Chairman
 explained that under this item the Secretariat informed Members of the technical 
assistance activ ities carried out under the auspices of the WCO.  Document G/VAL/8/Add.16 contained 
the most recent information, reported at the 22th Session of the Technical Committee, on technical 
assistance activities carried out by th e WCO Secretariat or by WCO Members. 
 
5.2 The Committee took note  of the information. 
 
 - Article 20.3 Technical Assistance and Trade-Related Technical Assistance 
 
5.3. 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 and that this avoide d having two parallel and repetitive exercises.  
 
5.4 While there were no regional activities planned specifically for customs valuation in the 2006 
Plan, there had been 3 national technical assistance ac tivities carried out since the last meeting in the 
Maldives, in Ethiopia and in Sierra Leone.  In addition, another request from the Gambia was being 
prepared.  Requests for technical assistance on cu stoms valuation could be made at any time by 
individual Members and would be met by a nationa l activity designed to meet the needs of the 
recipient.  He encouraged Members to inform the Committee of technical assistance and capacity 
building activities that they were providing on bilateral or other fronts either orally under this agenda 
item or in writing.  He proposed that the Committee take note of this information. 
 5.5 The Committee took note
 of the information. 
 VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH AND ELEVENTH 
ANNUAL REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT 
6.1 The Chairman
 recalled that, at its last  meeting, the Committee took note of the eight documents 
containing the Fourth through Eleventh Annual Re views in documents G/ VAL/W/29, G/VAL/W/43, 
G/VAL/W/77, G/VAL/W/89, G/VA L/W/109, G/VAL/W/124, G/VAL/W/ 136, and G/VAL/W/150.  It 
was agreed to revert to this item at  this meeting of the Committee.   
 6.2 The representative of India
 said that this issued involved the reservation regarding use of tariff 
values.  His capital was considering whether it needed  to continue with this reservation.  He had  
hoped to bring some response to this meeting.  Be fore the next meeting, but probably sooner, his 
delegation would be able to finally  conclude the matter.  As soon as  he received any new information, 
he would inform the Secretariat.   G/VAL/M/41 
 Page 7 
 
 
  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.  He also noted the view expressed by the delegation of the United States that this 
review should be ca rried out in this Committee.  He, theref ore, proposed that the Committee carry out 
this Review.  Members which wished to contribu te to this Review, should communicate their 
submissions to the Secretariat for circulation by 26 September 2006, i.e. 10 days before our next 
meeting.  These would be taken up at the Committee's next meeting.  In the event that there were no 
submissions, the Committee could agree to conclude the Review.   
 7.2 The representative of Canada
 asked the Chairman to clarify the procedure in the event that 
delegations needed more time to reflect on the question of a review. 
 
7.3 The representative of the United States  believed that the Committee should maintain the ability 
to conduct the review.  If delegations wanted more ti me to seek input from their capital, they should be 
given more time.   7.4 The Chairman
 expressed the view that if a Member took the floor at the next meeting to request 
more time for the Review, this would constitute a subm ission, and the Review would not be concluded.   
 
7.5 The Committee took note  of the statements and agreed  to carry out the second Review of the 
Agreement on Preshipment Inspection.  
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.  He informed the Committee that, as requested, he had 
undertaken informal contacts with some interested delegations.  He reported that there had not been 
any further developments on the matter.     G/VAL/M/41 
Page 8  
 
  8.2 The representative of India
 confirmed that, as suggested by the Chairman, he had referred the 
draft 2003 report back to his capital for reconsiderat ion as to whether it could be a basis on which 
discussions to operationalize paragra ph 8.3 could be recharged.  His capital did not agree to work on 
the basis of the 2003 text because a voluntary excha nge of information or a bilateral agreement to 
facilitate such exchange was not encouraging.  His delegation was still open to suggestions or 
alternate ideas which would address the concerns of  Members without diverting the objective of this 
mandate.  He asked the Chair to continue in formal consultations to find some solutions. 
 
8.3 The representative of Canada  said that his delegation was disappointed that India was unable 
to work on the basis of the compromise solution developed in July 2003.  That compromise was the result of intensive consultations and work under the auspices of a previous Chair and it arose as the 
only common ground that could be found at the tim e.  His delegation was unclear as to how to 
proceed.  It could agree to have further informal c onsultations to find alterna tive solutions.  However, 
the position of his delegation on the issues that India was trying to address and the way to address them had not changed.  Perhaps the proponent of  the original proposals might consider bringing 
forward new proposals which could be examined.  But he reiterated that, for his delegation, the 
fundamentals had not changed.  
8.4 The representative of the United States
 supported the statement by Canada. 
 8.5 The representative of the European Communities
 asked the delegation of India to reconsider 
its positions.  She also added that the 2003 draft te xt was the result of intensive consultations and 
discussions, and that at present, her delegation's po sitions could also go no further than what was 
contained in that text. 
 8.6 The representative of India
 took note of the views and would convey them to his capital. 
 8.7 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of the statements made and agree to 
revert to this item at its next meeting. 
 
8.8 It was so agreed . 
 
IX. OTHER BUSINESS 
 - Date of the next meeting 
 
9.1 The Chairman  informed the Committee that the date of the next meeting of the Committee 
was scheduled for 6 October 2006.      
X. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 
10.1 The Chairman
 informed Members that the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods had 
carried out informal consultations on a slate of na mes for appointment of Chairpersons of standing 
bodies in accordance with the established Guidelines for Appointment of Officers.  On the basis of the 
understanding reached, he proposed that the Co mmittee on Customs Valuation elect Ms. Diana 
Reaich (New Zealand) as Chairperson for 2006, by acclamation. 
10.2 The Committee so agreed .  
10.3 The meeting was adjourned. 
  G/VAL/M/41 
 Page 9 
 
 
  ANNEX I  
 
Report to the Committee on Customs valuation  on the work of the Technical Committee on 
Customs Valuation and on technical assistance. 
 
(April, 2006) 
 
 Since the last meeting of the Committee on Cu stoms Valuation, the Technical Committee on 
Customs Valuation (Technical Committee) held two meetings, the 21st Session from 17th to 
21st October 2005 and the 22nd Session from 3rd to 7th April 2006. 
 
 This report pertains to the results of these Sessions and to the WCO Secretariat’s programme 
of technical assistance in the field of Customs Valuation.  Technical questions
 
 
 At the 21st Session, the Technical Committee continued to consider the technical questions of 
the valuation treatment of importations by sole ag ents, sole distributors and sole concessionaires 
(raised by Uganda) and the expression “sold for e xport” (raised by the European Communities).  The 
Technical Committee decided to conclude the examin ation of the Ugandan proposal in the absence of 
further information from Uganda, and decided to continue examining the expression “sold for export 
to the country of importation” at its 22nd Session.  After deliberations during this session the Technical 
Committee decided to continue the examination of this issue at its 23rd session. 
  As regards the issue of Royalties and License fees, the Technical Committee held preliminary 
discussions at the 21
st Session on the cases submitted by several Members. At the 22nd Session the 
Technical Committee adopted the Advisory Opinion number 4.14 on the issue of royalty payment to 
the licensor in the country of import under Article 8. 1 (c).  It was also decided to continue the 
examination of other royalties and license fee cases at the 23rd Session and to suspend temporarily the 
examination of the General Parameters on the appli cation of article 8.1 (c) until conclusions regarding 
these cases.  
 The Technical Committee also discussed at th e 21st and 22nd Sessions the issue relating to 
the "Customs valuation of imported electricity" (raised  by Brazil) and decided to have a more detailed 
examination of this issue at the 23rd Session.   The issue of “Group under invoicing” (raised  by Pakistan) was also examined by the 
Technical Committee at its 21
st and 22nd Sessions and it decided to continue deliberations during the 
23rd Session.  
 Administrative Matters related to the application of the Agreement
 
  At the 21
st and 22nd Session the Technical Committee continued the review of the WCO 
Customs Valuation Control Handbook.  The Technical  Committee directed the WCO Secretariat to 
prepare a revised updated text of the Contro l Handbook based on Members’ suggestions and 
comments to be examined at its 23rd Session. 
 
 At the 21st Session the Technical Committee took note of the reports on: 
 -  New additions to the Index of Reference Materials; -  New additions to the List of Contact Points for Exchange of Valuation Information; -  New additions to the List of C ontact Points on Valuation Matters; and 
-  Review of the Conspectus of Technical Questions. G/VAL/M/41 
Page 10  
 
  Technical Assistance and Capacity Building
 
  Since our last report to the Committee on Customs Valuation, the WCO Secretariat has conducted two national capacity building and tec hnical assistance missions in Pakistan and 
Bangladesh. 
 
Theme Meeting
 
 
 The first two days of the Technical Committee’s 22nd Session were devoted to the Sixth 
Theme Meeting in which participants discussed  three issues, namely; "Used goods", Buying 
commissions" and "Guaranties".  Representatives from developed, develo ping countries and the 
private sector (ICC) gave presentations and partic ipated in panel discussions on these topics.  The 
Theme Meeting led to extremely useful and constr uctive deliberations on some of the most complex 
issues relating to interpretation a nd application of the Agreement. 
 
Elections  
  At the 22nd Session the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation re-elected Mr. Ian 
Cremer (United Kingdom) as Chairperson and Ms. Iréné Abba-Tou (Burkina Faso) and Mr. Wayne 
Baldwin (Australia) were elected as Vice-Chairpersons.  
__________