WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/L/673 
18 December 2006 
 (06-6062) 
  
  
A PROCEDURE FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF HARMONIZED SYSTEM 2007 
CHANGES TO SCHEDULES OF CONCESSIONS USING THE CONSOLIDATED TARIFF 
SCHEDULES (CTS) DATABASE 
 
Decision of 15 December 2006 
 
 
  The General Council,   Having regard to  Articles IV:2 and IX:1 of the WTO Agreement; 
  
 Recalling  that the Contracting Parties to GATT 1947, by their Decision of 12 July 1983
1, 
agreed on a method to introduce the Harmonized System (HS) into schedules of concessions; 
  Recalling  that the Contracting Parties to GATT 1947, by their Decision of 8 October 1991
2, 
decided on simplified procedur es to introduce HS changes to schedules of concessions; 
 
 Recalling  that the General Council, by its Decision of 15 February 20053, established a 
procedure for the introduction of Harmonized System 2002 changes to schedules of concessions; 
  Noting  that Members established a Consolidated Tariff Schedule (CTS) database which, 
although not legally binding, could serve as a valuable  tool for the verification and certification of 
commitments;   Taking into account  the desire of Members to facilitate and simplify the introduction of HS 
changes into WTO schedules by making a better use of the CTS database;   Decides that:  
 
I. PREPARATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE DRAFT HS07 FILE  
1. The Secretariat shall prepare for Members a co mprehensive set of information on the HS2007 
nomenclature changes which shall include in electro nic form the HS2007 nomenclature at the level of 
HS 6-digit subheading, concordance tables betw een the HS2002 and the HS2007 nomenclatures and 
the layout of the electronic formats to be used fo r the transposition files. This information shall be 
circulated to all Members no later than 15 January 2007.  
2. Developed country Members shall prepare thei r own transposition.  The Secretariat shall 
transpose the schedules of developing country Me mbers, except for those who undertake to prepare 
their own transposition and submit a notification to this effect before 31 March 2007.  Members who 
decide to undertake their own transposition shall submit all the required information in electronic 
                                                     
 
1 BISD 30S/17. 
2 BISD 39S/300. 
3 WT/L/605  WT/L/673 
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  form to the Secretariat no later than 30 September 2007.  A description of the required information is 
provided in Annex 1.     
3. The transposition work shall be based on each Me mber's latest schedule, as reflected in the 
CTS.  If tariff lines affected by changes in th e HS2007 nomenclature are not yet certified in the 
HS2002 nomenclature, then the draft HS02 files sha ll be used as the basis for those tariff lines.  
4. In preparing the HS2007 transposition, to the extent possible, the scope of the concessions 
and other commitments shall remain unchanged.  Any tariff line for which a change in the scope of a 
concession may have occurred due to the complex tec hnical nature of the transposition shall be clearly 
flagged.  Paragraph 5 of Annex 2 and paragraph 15 below describe  how these situations shall be 
addressed.  
Secretariat transposition work for Members
 
5. The Secretariat shall introduce into the Memb er's schedule in the Consolidated Tariff 
Schedule (CTS) database the Harmonized System 2007 (HS2007) changes.  The Secretariat shall 
update all the tariff codes and descriptions that  change due to the introduction of the HS2007 
nomenclature, including those relating to tariff quot as and export subsidies, if applicable.  In doing 
this work, the Secretariat shall abide by the t echnical procedures described in Annex 2 to this 
Decision.  The Secretariat shall prepare, b ased on the updated CTS database in the HS2007 
nomenclature, a separate file to reflect the cha nges in nomenclature that were introduced.  This 
separate file shall be prepared as described in Anne x 1 and shall be considered the "draft HS07 file" 
for the purpose of this Decision. 
6. The Secretariat shall send to the Member its draft HS07 file for examination as soon as the 
technical work has been completed.  The date of th e communication shall hereinafter be referred to as 
the "first date".  Upon receipt of this file, the Me mber shall have the possibility to seek clarifications 
from the Secretariat and propose changes as laid out in Section II.    
Members preparing their own transposition  
7. Members that undertake to prepare their own tr ansposition shall update all the tariff codes and 
descriptions that change due to the introduction of  the HS2007 nomenclature, including those relating 
to tariff quotas and export subsidies, if applicable .  In doing this work, they shall abide by the 
technical procedures described in Annex 2 to this Decision.  These Members are expected to submit to the Secretariat their draft HS07 files for examination and final formatting not later than 30 September 2007.  The date of receipt shall here inafter be referred to as the "first date".   
II. EXAMINATION OF DRAFT HS07 FILES AND RELEASE FOR MULTILATERAL 
REVIEW 
8. Members for whom the Secretariat has prepared a draft HS07 file are expected to examine 
their file and provide the Secretariat with a wr itten communication that either approves the file 
(case 1), or provides specific comments on its contents (case 2).  Such communications should reach the Secretariat no later than 60 days following the "first date". 
9. The Secretariat shall review the draft HS07 files prepared by Members themselves before 
their release for multilateral review.  If the Secretar iat has no comments on the file, it shall be released 
for multilateral review (case 1). If the Secretariat has comments (case 2), these will be transmitted to 
the Member concerned no later than 60 days following the "first date".   WT/L/673 
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  10. In case 1, the Secretariat shall release the dr aft HS07 file for multilateral review with a 
headnote indicating that the draft HS07 file has been approved by the Member. 
11. In case 2, both the Member concerned and the Secretariat shall endeavour to reach a common 
understanding on the issue(s) raised, and reflect any changes accordingly in the draft HS07 file, with a view to releasing it for multilateral review no later than  90 days from the "first date".  In this regard,  
(a) when a common understanding is reached and no change is required, the Secretariat 
shall release the original draft HS07 file  for multilateral review with a headnote 
indicating that the file has been approved by the Member. 
(b) when a common understanding is reached a nd changes to the draft HS07 file are 
required, the Secretariat shall prepare a revised file and release it for multilateral 
review with a headnote indicating that th e file has been approved by the Member. 
(c) when a common understanding has not been re ached, the Secretariat shall prepare a 
revised draft HS07 file including the specific changes proposed by the Member and release the file for multilateral review.  The revised file shall include a headnote 
indicating that the file has been approved by the Member, and shall also provide the 
Secretariat observations on the file. 
12. If the Secretariat does not receive any respon se from the Member concerned within 90 days 
from the "first date", the draft HS07 file will be  released for multilateral review with a headnote 
indicating that the Member concerned has neither  provided any comments nor approved the file. 
III. MULTILATERAL REVIEW PROCESS 
13. Multilateral review of the draft HS07 files that have been released shall take place in the 
framework of informal dedicated sessions of  the Committee on Market Access, which shall be 
scheduled as required.  The Secretariat will post thes e files three or four times a year on the Members' 
website and on dates that should be at least six week s prior to the informal sessions scheduled to this 
effect.   Members shall be notified of such pos tings through a communication by the Secretariat.  
14. Modifications agreed at the multilateral revi ew sessions shall be incorporated by the 
Secretariat into a revised version of the file, whic h shall then be resubmitted for multilateral review.  
In case a Member has a query or comment concerning another Member's draft HS07 file, but is unable to attend the meeting at which these changes are to  be reviewed, it may request the Chair to convey 
those queries/comments to the other Member at the time of the multilateral review.  
15. Where the scope of a concession has been modifi ed as a result of the transposition in a way 
that impairs the value of the concession, GATT Ar ticle XXVIII consultations and renegotiations shall 
be entered into by the Member concerned.
4  The status of discussions and consultations between 
Members, including Article XXVIII renegotiations, should be reported  to other Members at the 
multilateral sessions to ensure full transparency. 
IV. CERTIFICATION OF THE HS2007 CHANGES 
16. When there is no objection remaining on a draft HS 07 file at a multilateral review session,  it 
may then be considered approved by  the Committee, with the exception of any draft HS07 file released 
                                                      
4 Where a request for renegotiation or consultation has been made under GATT Article XXVIII, the 
Procedures for Negotiations under Article  XXVIII (BISD27S/26) shall apply. WT/L/673 
Page 4  
 
  under paragraph 12 where a written communication by the Member appr oving the file would also be 
required.  
17. A paper version of the HS2007 changes, as cont ained in the approved HS07 file, shall be 
prepared and circulated by the Secretariat for the purpose of certification.  The procedures for 
modification and rectification of schedules of tari ff concessions (L/4962) shall be followed in this 
regard.    
V. PERIODIC REPORT BY THE SECRETARIAT 
18. The Secretariat shall prepare a periodic report on  the status of work, which shall include the 
following information, to the extent possible: (i) the draft HS07 files that will be prepared by the 
Members themselves, (ii) the draft HS07 files that re main to be prepared by the Secretariat, (iii) the 
draft HS07 files that have been completed by the Secretariat and the date when they were sent to 
Members, (iv) the draft HS07 files released for multilateral review, including a mention of any relevant headnote, (v) the progress made on each  draft HS07 file, including Members raising 
reservations, the tariff lines subject to reservation, a summary of the reason for the reservation; (vi) 
the draft HS07 files that have been approved in the multilateral review and the date of their circulation 
in paper format for the purpose of certification; (vii) the approved HS2007 changes that have been 
certified.   
 
 
  WT/L/673 
 Page 5 
 
 
  ANNEX 1 
 
Draft HS07 file 
 
1. The draft HS07 file shall cover all tariff lin es under headings with changes introduced by the 
HS nomenclature, as well as the corresponding c oncordance tables with the concessions and 
commitments in the HS2002 nomenclature.  The Secr etariat and Members that undertake to prepare 
their own transposition are expected to provide -a s a separate file which will not be subject to 
multilateral review- a complete draft CTS file in  the HS2007 nomenclature.  This additional file 
would facilitate the preparation of an updated version of the CT S database once the transposition 
procedures are finalized and certified.  
 2. The draft HS07 file shall contain for each bound tariff line, inter alia , the following data 
elements:  
• Tariff line code in HS2007 nomenclature (including suffix or ex) 
• Product description 
• Base duty (if year of implementation is later than 2008)   
• Final bound duty 
• Other duties and charges 
• Special safeguard 
• Legal instrument (present and earlier) 
• INR (present and earlier if available in the CTS) 
• Implementation period (if year of implementation is later than 2008) 
• Certification indicator 
 3. Additional tables containing other relevant agricultural concessions and commitments (tariff 
quotas and export subsidies, if applicable) shall also be included.   4. Members who undertake to prepare their own transposition shall submit all the above-
mentioned information in electronic format and following the layout to be circulated by the 
Secretariat in accordance with Paragraph 1 of this Decision.   
 WT/L/673 
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  ANNEX 2 
  
Technical note on transposition procedure 
 
 1. The following note describes the relevant techni cal procedures, which shall be applied in the 
preparation of the draft HS07 files.  
 
Concession elements 
  2. The CTS database contains not only ta riff concessions, but also a number of other 
commitments.  Although several of these are expressed  at the tariff-line level in the different Parts and 
Sections of the schedules, there are some which ar e not.  As a result, not all elements currently 
included in the CTS are required for the HS2007 transpos ition.  It is therefore suggested to retain in 
the draft HS07 file only those elements which are required for this purpose (see Annex 1).  
 
Procedural Issues 
 
3. All affected tariff lines shall be converted into the HS2007 nomenclature and shall be clearly 
flagged.  Detailed tariff line codes and descriptions may have to be adjusted in certain instances (e.g. 
example 1, table 3b and example 2, table 8) in order to generate a meaningful and intelligible 
schedule.  The transposition of any tariff line requi ring manual modifications shall also be clearly 
flagged for verification and approval by Members.  
 
Methodological issues  
4. Each new HS2007 subheading/tariff line will be  derived from one or more HS2002 tariff lines 
or part of these lines.  If a HS2007 subheading/tariff line matches with two or more HS2002 tariff lines and if these lines have the same levels or c ontents of concessions (e.g. same bound duties, same 
INRs), the original concession elements can be merg ed into one new concession at the level of the 
new HS2007 subheading/tariff line.  If the concessions of the original HS2002 tariff lines are different, the concession elements of the new HS2007 subheading/tariff line should reflect this.  In 
this case, the HS2007 subheading/tariff line should norma lly be broken down to a more detailed level 
so that the draft HS07 file reflects fully the same level of concessions as the CTS in HS2002.. 
 5. In the case where it was unavoidable to comb ine tariff lines or parts of tariff lines with 
different concessions, there are four possible methodol ogies which could be used to arrive at the new 
rate in accordance to the 1983 procedures on a method to  introduce the Harmonized System (HS) into 
schedules of concessions (BISD 30S/17).  These are:  1) applying the lowest rate of any previous 
tariff line to the whole of the new tariff line, 2) a pplying the rate previously applied to the tariff line 
with the majority of trade, 3) applying the trade weighted average rate of duty for the new line, or 
4) applying the arithmetic average of the previous rates of duty where no basis exists for establishing 
reasonably accurate trade allocations.  If any of th e above methodologies is used, the selected option 
shall be specified at the tariff line level.  The c hoice of methodology shall also be explained, except 
for those situations in which the first option is select ed (i.e. selecting the lowest duty).  If options 2) or 
3) are selected, the Member concerned shall also  supply the necessary import data (last three years 
available).  The implication of a combination of ta riff lines on other elements of the concessions, such 
as INRs, ODCs and SSGs, shall also be taken into account by Members to assess  whether the value of 
the concession has been impaired and GATT Article  XXVIII negotiations need to be followed (See 
paragraph 15 above).  6.  Examples 2 show that the "collapsing" of tariff lines to HS 6-digit subheadings significantly simplifies the tariff structure and the workload invo lved.  It require less manual intervention and is,  WT/L/673 
 Page 7 
 
 
  thus, less likely to be controversial.  Having a ma ximum number of concessions defined at the level of 
HS 6-digit subheadings would also make it easier to  transpose the new schedule into any new national 
applied schedule based on HS2007 nomenclature.5 
 
Reference Documents   
 
7. The transposition shall be based on the information provided by the World Customs 
Organization, which is included in the WTO doc uments G/MA/W/67 and G/MA/W/76.  A detailed 
concordance table between the HS2002 and the HS 2007 nomenclatures shall be prepared by the 
Secretariat using these documents as the basis.   Example 1: Split 
 
8. HS2002 subheading 060310 becomes five new HS2007 subheadings due to the expansion of volume of trade: 
 
 
Table 1a     HS2002  Table 1b     HS2007 
HS Code Product description  HS Code Product description 
0603 Cut flowers and flower buds of a 
kind suitable for bouquets or for 
ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, 
dyed, bleached, impregnated or 
otherwise prepared.  
0603 Cut flowers and flower buds of a 
kind suitable for bouquets or for 
ornamental purposes, fresh, dried, 
dyed, bleached, impregnated or 
otherwise prepared. 
060310 - Fresh  06031 - Fresh 
060390 - Other  060311 --Roses 
   060312 --Carnations 
   060313 --Orchids 
   060314 --Chrysanthemums 
   060319 --Other 
   060390 - Other 
 
 
9. In the CTS database, a Member has five national tariff lines under HS2002 subheading 060310: 
 
Table 2     CTS in HS2002 
TL code Product description Duty Rate 
0603 - Fresh  
060310 --- Orchids:  
06031011 ---- Cymbidium 10 
06031019 ---- Other 20 
06031020 --- Roses 30 
06031030 --- Carnations or chrysanthemums 20 
06031090 --- Other 30 
 
10. In theory, the five national tariff lin es could go under each of the five new HS2007 
subheadings. If the conversion is done by comput er program, it would generate 25 possible HS2007 
tariff lines.  However, not all of the 25 new na tional tariff lines are appropriate when the product 
descriptions are considered.  For instance, th e HS2002 national tariff line “06031011 ---- Cymbidium” 
cannot not be kept under the HS2007 subheading “ 060312 -- Carnations”, and it should stay under 
                                                      
5 This would not preclude that concessions defined only at the level of subheadings could be broken 
down again into tariff line de tail by the Members concerned. WT/L/673 
Page 8  
 
  “060313 -- Orchids”.  Similarly, the HS2002 na tional tariff line “06031020 --- Roses” can only stay 
under HS2007 subheading “060311 -- Roses”.  Therefor e, each tariff line generated by computer 
program shall be reviewed manually to determin e whether it shall stay under the corresponding new 
HS2007 subheading.  In this example, Table 3 sh ows the tariff lines which are retained under each 
HS2007 subheadings and their corresponding tariff lines in HS2002.    
 
Table 3a     CTS in HS2002   Table 3b    CTS in HS2007  
TL code Product description Bound 
duty  TL code Product description Bound 
duty 
0603 Cut flowers and flower 
buds …   0603 Cut flowers and flower 
buds …  
060310 - Fresh    - Fresh  
0603101 --- Orchids:   06031100 --Roses 30 
06031011 ---- Cymbidium 10  06031200 --Carnations 20 
06031019 ---- Other 20  060313 --Orchids  
06031020 --- Roses 30  06031310 ---- Cymbidium 10 
06031030 --- Carnations or 
chrysanthemums 20  06031390 ---- Other 20 
06031090 --- Other 30  06031400 --Chrysanthemums 20 
    06031900 --Other 30 
 
 
11. A concordance table between the HS2002 and HS2007 nomenclature at the tariff line level 
would be constructed as follows: 
 
                                      
Table 4a     Correlating HS2002 to HS2007  Table 4b     Correlating HS2007 to HS2002 
HS2002 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS02 HS2007 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS02  HS2007 e
xBound 
Rate in  
HS02 HS2002 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS02 
06031011  10 06031310  10  06031100  30 06031020  30 
06031019  20 06031390  20  06031200  20 06031030 x 20 
06031020  30 06031100  30  06031310  10 06031011  10 
06031030 x 20 06031200  20  06031390  20 06031019  20 
06031030 x 20 06031400  20  06031400  20 06031030 x 20 
06031090  30 06061900  30  06061900  30 06031090  30 
 
  WT/L/673 
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  Example 2: Merger 
 
12. Three HS2002 subheadings merge to one new HS2007 subheading: 
 
Table 5a      HS2002                           Table 5b     HS2007 
HS 
Code Product Description  HS 
Code Product Description 
0910 Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), 
thyme, bay leaves, curry and other 
spices.  0910 Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), 
thyme, bay leaves, curry and other 
spices. 
091010 - Ginger  091010 - Ginger 
091020 - Saffron  091020 - Saffron 
091030 - Turmeric (curcuma)  091030 - Turmeric (curcuma) 
091040 - Thyme; bay leaves  09109 - Other spices: 
091050 - Curry  091091 -- Mixtures referred to in Note 1 (b) 
to this Chapter 
09109 - Other spices:  091099 -- Other 
091091 -- Mixtures referred to in Note 1 (b) 
to this Chapter    
091099 -- Other    
 
 
13. In the CTS database, a Member has four tariff lines related to the three subheadings: 
 
Table 6     CTS in HS2002 
TL code Product description Bound duty 
0910 Ginger, saffron, turmeric (curcuma), thyme, bay leaves, 
curry and other spices.   
09101000 - Ginger   
09102000 - Saffron   
09103000 - Turmeric (curcuma) 10 
09104000 - Thyme; bay leaves 10 
09105000 - Curry 10 
09109 - Other spices:   
09109100 -- Mixtures referred to in Note 1 (b) to this Chapter 10 
091099 -- Other 10 
09109910 --- Fenugreek seed 10 
09109990 --- Other 10 
 
 
 14. If the first six digits of the HS2002 tariff lines are substituted by the codes of new HS2007 
subheadings:  
Table 7a      HS2002   Table 7b     HS2007 
TL code  TL code Product description 
09104000 Substitute first 6 09109900 - Thyme; bay leaves 
09105000 digits with 091099 09109900 - Curry 
09109910   09109910 --- Fenugreek seed 
09109990   09109990 --- Other 
 
 WT/L/673 
Page 10  
 
  15. The new HS2007 codes do not conform to the HS  coding rules, since “00” exists twice. 
Furthermore an HS code ending in “00” cannot co exist under the same subheading with other codes, 
in this case “10” and “90”. These lines shall be  corrected by assigning new codes for HS codes 
09109900 as follows:  
Table 8     HS2007 
TL code Product description 
09109910 --- Fenugreek seed 
09109920 --- Thyme; bay leaves 
09109930 --- Curry 
09109990 --- Other 
 
 16. If all national tariff lines under a HS 6-dig it subheading have the same duties (and other 
concession elements), these lines could be collapsed  to the HS 6-digit subheading level and the 
transposition exercise will be significantly simplif ied as shown below. According to Table 6, all 
HS2002 tariff lines have a duty of 10%. Ther efore, the new HS2007 tariff lines 09109910-09109990 
could be collapsed to one tariff line 09109900 with bound duty 10%.    
Table 9a     HS20 07 before collapsing  Table 9b     HS2007 after collapsing 
TL code Product description  Bound 
duty   TL code Product description  Bound 
duty  
09109910 --- Fenugreek seed 10  09109900 -- Other 10 
09109920 --- Thyme; bay leaves 10     
09109930 --- Curry 10     
09109990 --- Other 10     
 
 
17. A concordance table between the HS2002 and HS2007 nomenclature at the tariff line level 
shall be constructed as follows: 
 
Table 10a     Correlating HS2002  to HS2007  Table 10b     Correlating HS20 07 to HS2002 
HS2002 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS07 HS2007 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS02  HS2007 e
xBound 
Rate in  
HS07 HS2002 e
x Bound 
Rate in 
HS02 
09104000  10 09109900 x 10  09109900 x 10 09104000  10 
09105000  10 09109900 x 10  09109900 x 10 09105000  10 
09109910  10 09109900 x 10  09109900 x 10 09109910  10 
09109990  10 09109900 x 10  09109900 x 10 09109990  10 
 
 
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