RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/VAL/M/43 
25 May 2007 
 
 (07-2146) 
Committee on Customs Valuation  
  
 
MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 8 MAY  2007 
 
Chairman: Joe McClintock (United Kingdom)
 
  
 The agenda proposed for the meeting, circul ated in WTO/AIR/3007/Rev.1 was adopted as 
follows:  
I.
 ELECTION OF OFFICERS....................................................................................................1  
II. REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON 
CUSTOMS VALUATION .......................................................................................................2  
III. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF 
THE AGREEMENT.................................................................................................................2  
A. NOTIFICATION OF NATIONAL LEGISLATION ................................................................................2  
B. NOTIFICATIONS MADE BY DE VELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS ....................................................6  
IV. INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE 
COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS  VALUATION......................................................................7  
V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ..................................................................................................7  
A. INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ...............................................................................7  
B. ARTICLE 20.3  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE ............................................................................................................................... .7 
VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH, 
ELEVENTH AND TWELFTH ANNUAL REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION OF THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT ...................................................................................................................... ....7
 
VII. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION .............................................................................................8  
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
(WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1):  IMPLEM ENTATION-RELATED ISSUES..................................8  
IX. OTHER BUSINESS................................................................................................................. .9 
A. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING ......................................................................................................9  
 
I. ELECTION OF OFFICERS 
1.1 The Chairman  reported that the Chairman of the Council for Trade in Goods had carried out 
informal consultations on a slat e of names for appointment of Chairpersons of standing bodies in 
accordance with the established Guidelines for Appointment of Officers.  On the basis of 
consultations, he had proposed that the Committe e elect Mr. Joe McClintock (United Kingdom) as 
Chairperson for 2007.  She proposed that the Committee elect Mr. McClintock by acclamation. G/VAL/M/43 
Page 2  
 
   
1.2. The Committee so agreed
. 
 
II. REPORT OF THE WORK OF THE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON CUSTOMS 
VALUATION 
2.1 The observer of the World Customs Organization  reported on the activities of the 23rd and 
24th sessions of the Technical Committee.  Th is report is contai ned in Annex I.  
 2.2 The Committee took note
 of the report. 
 III. INFORMATION ON IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE 
AGREEMENT 
A. N
OTIFICATION OF NATIONAL LEGISLATION  
3.1 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.   
 
- Egypt 
 
3.2 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the Egyptian notification of its legislation relevant 
to customs valuation in WTO document G/VAL/N/1/EGY/1.  This contained the relevant customs valuation text of  Articles 22 and 23 of Egypt's law no. 95 of 2005, amending Articles 22 and 23 of 
the Customs Law no. 66 of 1963, and Articles 14-35 of the Ministerial Decree no. 10 of 2006.  He 
noted that Egypt had also notified the res ponses to the Checklist of Issues in document 
G/VAL/N/2/EGY/1.  3.3 The representative of the United States
 said that her delegation was still reviewing the 
Egyptian notification and would, therefore, wish th is item to remain open.  In the meantime, her 
delegation would review all the documents and consult with Egypt in detail about the notification.  It 
had also sent a communication to its capital about this legislation  3.4 The representative of the European Communities
 said that her delegation also needed more 
time to study the Egyptian notification in detail.  She noted that Article 15 referred to the price;  here 
must be a condition of sale for such additions to the price.  She wondered whether this was a 
translation error or if it was correctly transcribed.  
 3.5 The representative of Egypt
 took note of the comments.  He asked the EC to elaborate more 
on their question related to Article 15 so that he could send it to his capital for a response.  
Concerning the US concerns, his delegation woul d be interested to know more about the 
communication made to the capital.  His delega tion was happy to receive any questions from 
Members and would prepare its response for the next meeting.    G/VAL/M/43 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
3.6 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statements made and revert to 
this notification at its next meeting.  3.7 It was so agreed
. 
 
 - Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia 
 
3.8 The Chairman  informed Members that the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia had 
notified its legislation relevant to  customs valuation consisting of Ar ticles 28-39 of the Customs Code 
and the Regulation on Implementation of the Provi sions of the Customs Code Concerning Valuation 
of the Goods for Customs Purposes.  This was contained in document G/VAL/N/1/MKD/1.  The Former Yugoslav Republic of Mace donia had also notified its responses to the Checklist of Issues in 
document G/VAL/N/2/MKD/1.    
3.9 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee conclude the examination of the legislation of the 
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  3.10 It was so agreed
. 
 
 - Saudi Arabia 
 
3.11 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the notif ication from Saudi Arabia consisting of 
the Common Customs Law of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), its Rules of Implementation and 
Explanatory Notes, as well as the Ministerial Decision No. 1207 dated 24 June 2004 by the Ministry of Finance of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Value Determination of Customs Purposes.  These 
were contained in document G/VAL/N/1/SAU/1.  Saudi  Arabia had also notified its responses to the 
Checklist of Issues in document G/VAL/N/2/SAU/1.    3.12 The representative of  the European Communities
 asked for some clarifications.  There 
seemed to be some duplication in the legislation on pages 41 to 44 compared to pages 65 to 82.  The 
text seemed to be repeated and her delegation wondered what was the purpose of this duplication.  
Also, with respect to Article 62, she asked if ther e was really potential differences in the value of 
goods due to discrepancies in the origin of goods .  She noted favourably the inclusion in the 
legislation of the interpretative notes of the Custom s Valuation Agreement.  She concluded that her 
delegation would need more time to st udy the Saudi Arabian legislation.  
 
3.13 The representative of Saudi Arabia  said that his delegation took note of the questions and 
would come back to the EC with a detailed response.     3.14 The representative of the United States
 noted the response of Saudi Arabia.  Her delegation 
was also interested in the questions raised by the EC and hoped that Saudi Arabia would come back to 
the Committee, as opposed to directly to the EC, with its responses.   
 
3.15 The Chairman  proposed to take note of the statements made and revert to this legislation at 
the next meeting of the Committee.  3.16 It was so agreed
. 
 G/VAL/M/43 
Page 4  
 
  - Swaziland 
3.17 The Chairman
 drew Members' attention to Swaziland' s notification of its legislation on 
customs valuation which consisted of Part IX of Customs and Excise Act No. 21 of 1971 of the 
Kingdom of Swaziland.  This was contained in do cument G/VAL/N/1/SWZ/1.  Swaziland had also 
notified its responses to the Checklist of Issues in G/VAL/N/2/SWZ/1 in June 2001.  At the 
Committee's meeting of 25 October 2001, it had be en agreed to revert to these responses once the 
national legislation had been notified.  Therefore,  the responses to the Checklist of Issues would be 
taken up along with the notification of national legislation.  
 3.18 The Chairman
 proposed to conclude the examina tion of the legislation of Swaziland. 
 3.19 It was so agreed
. 
 
 - Tanzania 
 
3.20 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to Tanzania's notification of its legislation 
implementing the Agreement which had been circ ulated in G/VAL/N/1/TZA/1.  This document 
contained the Fourth Schedule of the East African  Customs and Transfer Tax Management Act of 
2001.  Tanzania had also notified its respon ses to the Checklist of Issues in document 
G/VAL/N/2/TZA/1.    
 
3.21 The representative of the United States  had heard a number of complaints about Tanzania and 
the customs valuation methodology for used clothi ng.  Her delegation had attempted to address the 
issue with Tanzania and sought a clarification fro m Tanzania if the valuation of used clothing 
conducted in Tanzania was consistent with the Cu stoms Valuation Agreemen t.  Her delegation was 
willing to continue to work informally  with Tanzania on this matter.   
 
3.22 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statement made and revert to this 
legislation at its next meeting.  3.23 It was so agreed
. 
 
 - Thailand 
 
3.24 The Chairman  recalled that, at the last meeting, Memb ers had agreed to revert to Thailand's 
notification in G/VAL/N/1/THA/1 and to the responses to the Checklist of Issues in 
G/VAL/N/2/THA/1.  The United States had circulat ed questions to Thailand in G/VAL/W/128, and 
Thailand’s replies were circulat ed in G/VAL/W/130.  Follow-up questions from the United States 
were circulated in document G/VAL/W/143 of November 2004 and Thailand's responses were 
circulated in document G/VAL/W/158.   
 3.25 The representative of the European Communities
 had received information that Thailand was 
using the special deductive method whereby the a sta ndard margin of profit and general expenses and 
customs duties were deducted from the whole sal e price which included VAT.  This was done, 
apparently, on the basis of information available whereas the interpretative note to Article V of the  
Agreement clarified that profit and general expe nses should be determined on the basis of the 
information supplied by the importer.  She asked Th ailand if this practice was systematic or was the 
special deductive method only used in cases of doubt ?  Her delegation was especially concerned with 
imports of alcoholic products and beverages.  He r delegation would follow up with these questions in 
writing to the Thai delegation after the meeting.   
  G/VAL/M/43 
 Page 5 
 
 
  3.26 The representative of the United States  informed Thailand that her delegation was preparing 
additional questions to follow-up Thailand's most r ecent responses for submission; her delegation had 
a number of questions in an effort to pursue some  clarity on the issues that it had raised concerning 
sufficient guarantee, the interpretative notes, valua tion of software and, alcoholic beverages which 
were just now raised by the EC.  Her delegation would be working with the EC to perhaps submit 
joint questions.  In any case, her delegation had a nu mber of specific questions which she would share 
directly with the Thai delegation.  Her capital was facing considerable difficulty in trying to examine 
the situation.  It hoped that it could work with Thailand to have some clarity and precision on its 
implementation and whether this was co nsistent with the Agreement.   
 
3.27 The representative of the Philippines  remarked that the examples cited by the EC and the US 
were further examples of Thailand's use of the de ductive method.  He referred to his delegation's 
concern regarding Thailand's valuation practices affecting Philippines' cigarettes exports. Last 
October, Thailand said that the declared transac tion value of Philippine cigarettes was inaccurate 
because the relationship between the buyer and the seller - which were both affiliates of the same 
multinational company - influenced the transaction value. While the exporter and the importer were 
related, Thai Customs had accepted the transaction va lue without any argument, refusal or request for 
additional bank guarantees since March 2003.  Hi s delegation asked Thailand why there was a 
sudden,  and unilateral change in Thai Customs tr eatment of those transaction values.  Moreover, his 
delegation understood that Thai Customs began co mparing the importers' transaction values to the 
prices at which Thai duty free suppliers base their pr ice.  If this was so, such a basis was hardly 
reliable.  The cigarette importers in the duty fre e market did not buy from the same country of 
manufacture.  They did not operate in similar st ages in the supply chain and served all together 
different markets.  The question therefore was coul d Thailand confirm whether or not his delegation's 
understanding was accurate?    
3.28 Second, at the last meeting of the Comm ittee, Thailand said that the importer was given 
adequate opportunity to provide information to Thai  Customs, but that the importer did not provide 
the required information and that the importer had el ected to provide the bank guarantee to withdraw 
the goods from customs.  According to his info rmation, the importer ha d provided thousands and 
thousands of pages of documentation over many da ys, weeks and months as evidence of that the 
transaction was one at arm's length.  In fact, su ch information sharing with Thai Customs was 
standard practice since 2003, when the Philippines started exporting cigarettes to Thailand, precisely 
to build comfort in Thai Customs.  Unfortunately, the process did not seem to end and, at some point, 
the importer was forced to post bank guarantees so that the cigarettes could be released from Customs 
and business could continue.    
3.29 Third, Thailand said that the interim value used by Thai Customs to establish the guaranteed 
values was that of identical goods.  His delega tion would like to know what these identical goods 
were, especially in light of the fact that the guara nteed values were initially set in August 2006 at 13 
to 16 per cent higher than the transaction value.  Fo urth, in March this year, Thai Customs came with 
a final customs assessment of the value of th e goods, which was still 4 to 5 per cent above the 
transaction value, even though the importer had demonstrated that the transaction values were 
established on arm's length principles by test values, in  line with Article 1.2(b) of the Agreement.  His 
delegation wanted to know why this transaction value, as tested by the importer, was still not 
acceptable as a basis for customs valuation pur poses.  Finally, at the Committee's October 2006 
meeting, his delegation mentioned changes in domes tic taxation in Thailand that raised the maximum 
retail price of imported cigarettes and, thus, the value added tax component as well.  His delegation 
did not question the tax rate employed by the Thai authorities, but needed to be assured that the way 
the tax base for the value added tax had been established did not discriminate against imported 
cigarettes.  He, therefore, asked Thailand to conf irm that domestic legislation was applied uniformly 
to all cigarettes and did not discriminate against imported cigarettes.    G/VAL/M/43 
Page 6  
 
  3.30 The representative of the United States
 noted that, in reaction to the Philippines' statement,  
her delegation was seeing a pattern of questionable customs behaviour and was concerned that there 
was perhaps a systemic issue that went beyond these specific products.  Her delegation wished to urge 
the Thai Government to take action to ensure that  Thailand was fully compliant with its obligations 
under the Customs Valuation Agreement.  With resp ect to the follow-up questions that the Philippines 
had posed, the US was also interested in reviewing th e reply.  She reiterated that, in this context and 
with respect to the other questions posed, the ultimate issue was amounting to the same.  Her 
delegation hoped that this area could be  addressed expeditiously by Thailand.  
 3.31 The representative of Japan,
 following the questions raised by the Philippines, noted that his 
delegation wished to register a systemic interest  on this issue and we look forward to hearing 
Thailand's response.   3.32 The representative of Switzerland
 reiterated his delegation's gene ral and systemic concerns in 
this matter.  It welcomed the recent positive trends at least in the cigarettes products, and in view of 
that, hoped that an agreed solution would be r eached in conformity with the WTO rules.   
 3.33 The representative of Thailand
 stated that, with regard to the issue raised by the US and EC, it 
would be useful if these delega tions could provide a copy of any questions in writing to her 
delegation.  This would facilitate referral of these questions back to her capital for consideration.  
With regard to the issue raised by the Philippines, she thanked the delegation for sending a copy of its 
intervention to her delegation in advance.  Howeve r, it was only received a few days ago when it was 
passed on to her capital for consideration by the relevant agencies.  Her delegation had not yet 
received any responses and more time was needed to look into the comments in detail.  Therefore, her 
delegation was not in a position to answer these ques tions at this meeting since technical input would 
be required from the customs authorities.  She wo uld inform the Philippines soon after we receiving 
any response from the capital on this matter.   
 3.34 The representative of the United States
 repeated that her delegation was also interested in the 
Thailand's responses to the Philippines' questions.  3.35 The representative of Switzerland,
 like the United States, was also interested in receiving a 
copy of the replies. 
 3.36 The representative of the European Communities
 joined the other Members who were 
interested in receiving Thailand's replies to the questions posed.  She asked if the Committee could 
proceed with the Secretariat circul ating the replies to all Members. 
 
3.37 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statements made and that it revert 
to this matter at its next meeting.  In the meanti me, he invited the delegati on of Thailand to supply its 
responses to the Secretariat for circulation.  He also urged Members that had not yet notified their implementing legislation to the Committee to do so as soon as possible.  
3.38 It was so agreed
. 
 B. N
OTIFICATIONS MADE BY DE VELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS  
3.39 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to document  G/VAL/2/Rev.24 which contained the 
updated lists of all Members who had invoked special and differentia l treatment provisions under the 
Agreement.  In addition, he drew Members' at tention to document G/VAL/W/159 and Corr.1 which 
contained a status report by Senegal, pursuant to paragraph 2 of the waiver Decision in WT/L/655, on 
the implementation of officially-established minimum values for the products listed in annex of the  
Decision.  He proposed  that the Committee take note of the information presented.  G/VAL/M/43 
 Page 7 
 
 
  3.40 It was so agreed . 
 
IV. INFORMATION ON THE APPLICATION OF DECISIONS OF THE COMMITTEE 
ON CUSTOMS VALUATION 
4.1 The Chairman  informed Members that, under this age nda item, the Committee noted any new 
notifications of application of the Decisions of  the Committee on Customs Valuation on, first, the 
"Treatment of Interest Charges in  the Customs Value of Imported Goods” and, second, the “Valuation 
of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipm ent", both adopted by the Committee 
and contained in document G/VAL/5.   Saudi Arabia notified its applic ation of these two Decisions since 
11 December 2005 in document G/VA L/N/3/SAU/1.  Docu ment G/VAL/W/5/Rev.18 had been updated 
to include this notification.  He proposed that  the Committee takes note of this information. 
 4.2 It was so agreed
. 
 
V. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
A. INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
5.1 The Chairman  informed Members that, under this item , the Secretariat informed Members of 
the technical assistance activities carried out under the auspices of the WCO.  Document 
G/VAL/8/Add.17 contained the most recent information, which was reported to the 23rd and 24th  
Sessions of the Technical Committee on Customs Va luation, on technical assistance activities carried 
out by the WCO Secretariat and WCO Members.    
B. A
RTICLE 20.3  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRADE -RELATED TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  
5.2 The Chairman  recalled that the Committee’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 assi stance was now incorporated in the WTO-wide 
technical assistance program. The 2007 Plan had been  completed.  It contained one sub-regional 
activity to be held on customs valuation.  Re quests for technical assistance on customs valuation 
could be made at any time by individual Members a nd would be met by a national activity designed to 
meet the needs of the recipient.  Members were encouraged to inform the Committee of technical 
assistance and capacity building activi ties that they had provided on b ilateral or other fronts.  He 
proposed that the Committee take note of the information presented under this agenda item. 
 5.3 It was so agreed
. 
 
VI. FOURTH, FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, EIGHTH, NINTH, TENTH, ELEVENTH AND 
TWELFTH ANNUAL REVIEWS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATION 
OF THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT 
 
6.1 The Chairman  recalled that, at the last meeting, th e Committee took note of the nine documents 
containing the Fourth through Twelfth Annual Re views in documents G/ VAL/W/29, G/VAL/W/43, 
G/VAL/W/77, G/VAL/W/89, G/ VAL/W/109, G/VAL/W/124, G/VA L/W/136, G/VAL/W/150, and 
G/VAL/W/156.  At the last meeting, frustration was voiced by one delegation on the lack of conclusion 
of this item which had been on the Committee's agenda  since 1998.  India had stat ed at the last meeting 
that it might be in a position to report an evolution in its delegation's position at this meeting.     G/VAL/M/43 
Page 8  
 
  6.2 The representative of India
 said that this matter arose from a supposed reservation regarding 
use of minimum values, as his delegation had informed this Committee on the previous two 
occasions.  His delegation was reviewing whether it wanted  to continue with this reservation at all.  It 
had hoped that it would be in a position to report a c onclusion of this review at this meeting but,   
unfortunately, the internal process was taking longer than expected.  It was hoped that by the next 
meeting it would be able to repor t the conclusion to this process. 
 6.3 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of the statement and revert to this 
matter at its next meeting.  
6.4 It was so agreed
. 
 
VII. PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION 
7.1 The Chairman  drew Members' attention to the recently  up-dated information circulated by the 
Secretariat in document G/VAL/W/63/Rev.9.  He al so informed Members that the Independent Entity 
established under Article 4 of the Agreement on Presh ipment Inspection carried out its second review 
since its establishment in October 2006.  He drew Members' attention to the findings of the panel 
which carried out this review, contained in WT O document G/PSI/IE/R/2, which examined certain 
provisions of the Agreement on Customs Valuation.  7.2 The representative of the United States
 expressed appreciation for the report and thanked the 
Secretariat for compiling it with the assistance of th e IFIA.  He delegation c ontinued to watch the PSI 
situation closely and was taking note of the recent shif t in direction in terms of PSI services.  It hoped 
that this would be the beginning of a positive trend.  7.3 The Chairman
 proposed that the Committee take note of the statement made and revert to this 
item at its next meeting. 
  7.4 It was so agreed
. 
 
VIII.  PARAGRAPH 12 OF THE DOHA MINISTERIAL DECLARATION 
(WT/MIN(01)/DEC/1):  IMPLEMENTATION-RELATED ISSUES 
 (ii) Paragraph 8.3 of document WT/MIN/(01)/17  
 
8.1 The Chairman  recalled that the General Council, at its  meeting in December 2002, authorized 
the Committee to continue its work under the exis ting mandate in paragraph 8.3 of the Decision on 
Implementation-Related Issues and C oncerns, and to report back to the General Council once its work 
had been completed.  It was agreed at the last m eeting to revert to this matter at this meeting.  
Through informal contacts with some Member s, he understood that there had not been any 
movements towards resolving this matter  8.2 The representative of India
 recalled that this mandate from the Doha Declaration concerned 
cases where  customs administration  had reason to doubt  the truth or accuracy of the declared value.  
His delegation had presented a proposal in 2002 in  document G/VAL/W/102 on which most Members 
had already commented.  His delegation considered that this proposal went some way towards trying 
to operationalize the mandate.  Some Members had expressed concerns regarding some of the issues raised by India.  His delegation was willing to discuss disciplines as well as try to address the 
concerns of Members regarding limitations which th ey believe should be built into any proposal to 
take into account domestic laws and procedures, as  was provided in paragraph 8.3.  His delegation 
was willing to discuss this in any format and requested  that the Chair carry out informal consultations 
among concerned Members in this regard.    G/VAL/M/43 
 Page 9 
 
 
  8.3 The Chairman  proposed that the Committee take note of the statement made and that the 
Committee revert to this matter at its next meeting.  In the interim, he would hold informal consultations on this matter as requested by India.  8.4 It was so agreed
. 
 
IX. OTHER BUSINESS  
A. DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING  
9.1 The Chairman  informed Members that the Committee's next meeting was scheduled for 
18 October 2007.     
 
9.2 The meeting was adjourned.  G/VAL/M/43 
Page 10  
 
  Annex I 
 
Report to the Committee on Customs Valuatio n on the work of the Technical Committee on 
Customs Valuation and on technical assistance. 
(May, 2007) 
 
 Since the October meeting of the Committee on Customs Valuation, the Technical Committee 
on Customs Valuation (Technical Committee) held two meetings, the 23
rd Session from 
23 -27 October 2006, and the 24th Session from 23 - 27 April 2007. 
  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. 
 
Results of the sessions
 
  
 At the 23rd Session, the Technical Committee continued the review of the WCO Customs 
Valuation Control Handbook and asked the Secretar iat to prepare a revised text of the Control 
Handbook based on Members’ suggestions and observa tions for the 24th Session. At its 24th Session 
the Technical Committee continued the review of the Control Handbook and took a major step in adopting the revised draft contained in Doc. VT0541E1a with amendments.   The Customs Valuation Control Handbook was originally developed in 1991 for 
assisting mainly developing countries with their implementation of the GATT Valuation 
Agreement.  While some minor modifications were ma de in order to reflect the results of the Uruguay 
Round of multilateral trade negotiations in 1999, ther e had been no major review conducted for more 
than 10 years. 
  
 At 17th Session (Oct. 2003), the Technical Co mmittee agreed to review the content of the 
Control Handbook in order to reflect recent de velopment in the field of Customs Valuation 
Control.  The Technical Committee proceeded with  the review during the subsequent sessions and 
finalised the revised Control Handbook at the 24
th Session. 
   The following are the main features of the revised Control Handbook: 
  
(1)  Several new sections were added, including "Promoting the accuracy of the declared value", 
"Release of goods before the final determinati on of Customs value" and "Means of obtaining 
information about the declared value"; 
 
 (2)  Furthermore, the "Verification of Custom s value" Part has been expanded to cover three 
stages of Valuation Control, i.e, Pre-clearan ce stage, Clearance stage and Post-clearance 
stage; 
 
(3)  The recent instruments with regard to the "Exchange of Customs valuation information" and 
"the use of a national valuation database as a risk assessment tool" are also included. 
  
 The updated Control Handbook will be publis hed for Members after report to the WCO 
Council in June 2007. 
 
 At the 23rd Session, the Technical Committe e continued the examination of the issue 
regarding the study of the expression “sold for export ” and directed the Secretariat to prepare a new 
draft document for the next Session. At its 24th Session the Technical Committee continued the 
examination of a draft commentary and a pproved “Commentary 22.1” as contained in 
Doc.VT0542E1a with suggested modifications.  Th e revised version of the commentary as approved 
will be attached to the draft Report of the 24th Session of the Technical Committee.   G/VAL/M/43 
 Page 11 
 
 
   
 The new Commentary represents a major step  taken by the Technical Committee in the 
interpretation of the fundamental expression “sold for export” in Article 1.1 of the Agreement, 
regarding which sale should be used to determine the transaction value in a series of sale situation.  
The conclusion of the Commentary is in favour of  the last sale approach. The Technical Committee 
expressed the view that the underlying assumption of Article 1 is that normally the buyer would be 
located in the country of importation and that the pr ice actually paid or payable would be based on the 
price paid by this buyer. In a series of sales situ ation, the price actually paid or payable for the 
imported goods when sold for export to the country of importation is the price paid in the last sale 
occurring prior to the introduction of the goods into th e country of importation, instead of the first (or 
earlier) sale. This is consistent with the pur pose and overall text of the Agreement.   
  At both sessions the Technical Committee continued the examination of the royalties and licence fees cases submitted by Brazil, Canada, Colo mbia and Japan and decided to further examine 
them during the next session. 
 
 At the 23
rd Session, the Technical Committee continue d to examine Pakistan’s proposal on 
Group under invoicing and requested the Secretariat to  prepare a draft Case Study to be discussed at 
the 24th Session. At the 24th session the Technical Committee con tinued to examine the case and 
requested the Secretariat to prepare a revised  draft Case Study to be discussed at the 25th Session 
 
 The Technical Committee continued to examin e the issue of Customs Valuation of imported 
electricity raised by Brazil based on additional information provided by Brazil and decided to 
continue its examination at the next session.   At the 23
rd Session, the Technical Committee decided to postpone the Theme Meeting 
scheduled for the 24th Session. At the 24th Session the Technical Committee decided to hold the next 
Theme Meeting at the 26th Session and instructed the secretariat to choose the topics for the next 
Theme Meeting out of those suggested by Members (namely: valuation risk assessment including the use of a valuation database, advanced ruling for va luation, and application of alternate valuation 
methods).  
 At the 23
rd Session, the Technical Committee deci ded to drop from the Agenda the item 
“Request from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemal a, Honduras and Nicaragua and SIECA” regarding 
the Central American Regulations on Customs Valuation of Goods.   At the 23
rd Session, the Technical Committee decide d to examine the proposal submitted by 
Kazakhstan about valuation treatment of  business design documentation at the 24th Session.  At the 
24th Session the Technical Committee decided to conti nue to examine the proposal at the next session 
  Also at the 23
rd Session, the Technical Committee decide d to examine the proposal submitted 
by Mauritius on Customs valuation of perfume testers at its next session. At the 24th Session the 
Technical Committee decided to continue to examine the proposal at its next session. 
 
 At the 24th Session the Technical Committee decided to examine another proposal submitted 
by Mauritius on Customs valuation of cinematographic films at its next session  Technical assistance/capacity building
 
 
 Since our last report to the Committee on Customs Valuation, the WCO Secretariat has conducted one national mission in Nigeria and a regional mission in Azerbaijan. The Technical 
Committee also noted various technical assistance and capacity building activities carried out by 
Members. G/VAL/M/43 
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Director’s report
 
  The Technical Committee took note of the Dir ector’s report on intersessional developments. 
In particular, the Technical Committee took note of the summary of the results of the two surveys 
conducted by the Secretariat on Members’ use of  the WCO Guide to the Exchange of Customs 
Valuation Information and of the WCO Guide lines on the Development and Use of a National 
Valuation Database as a Risk Assessment Tool.  Th e two instruments form part of the Technical 
Committee Response to its Terms of Reference in connection with concerns on the accuracy of the 
declared value under Decision 8.3.  The Technical  Committee decided that a consolidated report on 
the two surveys should be provided at its next session. The Technical Committee also took note of 
three departures of WCO Secretariat officials whic h impact on the work of the Technical Committee. 
 Arabic as a working language
 
 
 At the 24th Session, Arabic was introduced as a working language of the Technical 
Committee.  Elections
 
  At the 24th Session the Technical Committee re-elected Mr. Ian Cremer (United Kingdom) as 
Chairman and elected Mr. Matthew Bannon (Australia) as Vice Chairman. 
 Dates of next meeting
 
  Subject to the confirmation of the WCO Counc il, the 25th Session of the TCCV will be held 
at the WCO Headquarters in Brussels from 22 to 26 October 2007. 
__________