WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
12 May 2011 
 (11-2422) 
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:   French 
  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 22 OF THE AGREEMENT ON 
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL 
AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994 
 
TUNISIA 
 
  The following communication, dated 10 May 2011, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Tunisia.  
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  The Permanent Mission of Tunisia has the honour to provide the World Trade Organization 
with a copy of the Ministry of Finance Order of 28 January 2009 establishing the requirements for implementing Articles 22 to 35 of the Customs Code. 
 
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  Ministry of Finance Order of 28 January 2009 establishing the requirements for implementing 
Articles 22 to 35 of the Customs Code 
  The Minister of Finance,  
- Having regard to the Customs Code, as promulgated by Law No. 34-2008 of 
2 June 2008, in particular Article 36 thereof; 
- having regard to the Ministry of Fina nce Order dated 19 October 2001 establishing 
the requirements for implementing Articles 26 to 26 terdecies  of the Customs Code 
promulgated under the Beylical Decree of 29 December 1955 reforming and 
codifying customs legislation; 
 
 Hereby decides the following: 
 
General 
 
Article 1 
 
For the purpose of applying Article 23 of the Customs Code, the following transactions shall 
not be considered sales:   -  Free consignments, such as gifts, samples, promotion items; G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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   -  goods imported on consignment, dispatched to Tunisia not as a result of a sale, but 
with the intention that they would be sold in Tunisia for the account of the supplier at 
the best price obtainable; 
 -  goods imported by intermediaries who do not purchase the goods and who sell them 
after importation; 
 -  goods imported by branches which are not separate legal entities; 
 -  goods imported under a hire or leasing contract;  -  goods supplied on loan which remain the property of the sender;  -  waste or scrap imported for destruction in Tunisian territory. 
 Article 2 
 
Charges for interest under a financing arrangement  entered into by the importer and relating to 
the purchase of imported goods shall not be regarded  as part of the customs value provided that: 
 
 -  The charges are distinguished from the price actually paid or payable for the goods 
imported; 
 -  the financing arrangement was made in writing;  -  where required, the buyer can demonstrate that: 
 - such goods are actually sold at the pri ce declared as the price actually paid or 
payable, and; 
 - the rate of interest does not exceed the level for such transactions prevailing 
in the country where, and at the time when, the finance was provided. 
 
The provisions of this Article shall apply wh ere the finance is provided by the seller, a 
banking institution or another natura l or legal person.  They shall al so apply, if appropriate, where 
imported goods are valued under a meth od other than the transaction value. 
 
Article 3 
 
For the purposes of determining, under Article 23 of the Customs Code, the customs value of 
goods in regard to which the price has not actually been paid at the material time for valuation for 
customs purposes, the price payable for settlement at  the said time shall be taken as the basis for 
customs value.  
Article 4 
 
Where goods declared to customs are part of a larger quantity of the same goods purchased in 
one transaction, the price actually paid or payable for the purposes of Article 23(1) of the Customs Code shall be that price represented by the proportion of the total price which the quantity so declared 
bears to the total quantity purchased.   Apportioning the price actually paid or payable shall also apply in the case of the loss of part 
of a consignment or when the goods  being valued have been damage d before release for consumption. 
  G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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  Article 5 
 
 Where the price actually paid or payable for the purposes of Article 23(1) of the Customs Code includes an amount in respect of any internal tax applicable within the country of 
origin or export to the goods in question, the said amount shall not be incorporated in the customs 
value provided that it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the customs services concerned that 
the goods in question have been or will be relieved therefrom. 
 
Article 6 
  Where, in applying Article 23 of the Customs C ode, it is established that the sale or price of 
imported goods is subject to a condition or consider ation the value of which can be determined with 
respect to the goods being valued, such value shall be regarded as an indirect payment by the buyer to 
the seller and part of the price actually paid or payable provided that the condition or consideration 
does not relate to either: 
 
 (a) An activity to which Article 23(3)(b) of the Customs Code applies;  or, 
 (b) a factor in respect of which an addition is  to be made to the price actually paid or 
payable under the provisions of Article 30 of the Customs Code. 
 
Article 7 
 
1. For the purpose of applying Article 23(3)(b) of the Customs Code, the term 'marketing 
activities' shall mean all activities relating to a dvertising and promoting the sale of the goods in 
question and all activities relating to warranties or guarantees in respect of them. 
2. Such activities undertaken by the buyer shall be regarded as having been undertaken on his 
own account even if they are performed in pursuance of an obligation on the buyer following an 
agreement with the seller. 
Article 8 
 
For the purpose of applying Article 27(1)(b) of the Customs Code, the 'earliest date' shall be 
the date by which sales of the imported goods or of  identical or similar imported goods are made in 
sufficient quantity to establish the unit price. 
 
Article 9 
 
Where information other than that supplied by or  on behalf of the producer is used for the 
purposes of determining a computed value, the cust oms services shall inform the declarant, if the 
latter so requests, of the source of such informati on, the data used and the calculations based on such 
data, subject to Article 34(2) of the Customs Code.  
Article 10 
 
Where containers referred to in Article 30(1)(a)( ii) of the Customs Code are to be the subject 
of repeated importations, their cost shall, at the re quest of the declarant, be apportioned as appropriate, 
in accordance with accepte d accounting principles. 
 G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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  Article 11 
 
For the purpose of applying Article 30 of the Customs Code, the cost of research and 
preliminary design sketches is not to be included in the customs value.  
Provisions Concerning Royalties and Licence Fees 
 
Article 12 
 
1. For the purpose of applying Article 30(1)(c) of the Customs Code, royalties and licence fees 
shall be taken to mean in particular payment for the use of rights relating to: 
 
-  The manufacture of imported goods (in particular patents, designs, models and 
manufacturing know-how); 
-  the sale for exportation of imported goods (i n particular trademarks and registered 
designs); 
-  the use or resale of imported goods (in particular copyright and manufacturing 
processes inseparably embodied in the imported goods). 
 2. Without prejudice to Article 30(4) of the Customs Code, when the customs value of imported goods is determined under the provisions of Article 23 of the said Code, a royalty or licence fee shall 
be added to the price actually paid or payable only when this payment: 
 
- Is related to the goods being valued;  and 
-  constitutes a condition of sale of those goods. 
 Article 13 
 
1. When the imported goods are only an input or component of goods manufactured in Tunisia, an adjustment to the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods shall only be made when the royalty or licence fee relates to those goods.  
2. Where goods are imported in an unassembled state or only have to undergo minor processing 
before resale, such as dilution, assembly or packi ng, this shall not prevent a royalty or licence fee 
from being considered rela ted to the imported goods. 
 3. If royalties or licence fees relate partly to the imported goods and partly to other inputs or 
component parts added to the goods after their importation, or to post-importation activities or 
services, an appropriate apportionment shall be ma de only on the basis of objective and quantifiable 
data.  
Article 14 
 
A royalty or licence fee in respect of the right to  use a trade mark is only to be added to the 
price actually paid or payable for the imported goods where:   - The royalty or licence fee refers to goods which are resold in the same state or which 
are subject only to minor processing after importation; 
 - the goods are marketed under the trade mark , affixed before or after importation, for 
which the royalty or licence fee is paid;  and  G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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   - the buyer is not free to obtain such goods from other suppliers unrelated to the seller. 
 
Article 15 
 
1. When the buyer pays royalties or licence fees to a third party, the conditions provided for in 
Article 10(2) of this Order shall not be consider ed as met unless the seller or a person related to him 
requires the buyer to make that payment.  2. Where the method of calculation of the amount of a royalty or licence fee derives from the price of the imported goods, it may be assumed in th e absence of evidence to the contrary that the 
payment of that royalty or licence fee is related to the goods to be valued. 
 3. However, where the amount of a royalty or li cence fee is calculated regardless of the price of 
the imported goods, the payment of that royalty or licence fee may nevertheless be related to the 
goods to be valued. 
 
Article 16  
 
For the purpose of applying Article 30(1)(c) of the Customs Code, the country of residence of 
the recipient of the payment of the royalty or li cence fee shall not be a material consideration. 
 
Provisions Concerning the Place of Introduction into Tunisia 
 
Article 17 
 
 For the purpose of applying Article 30(1)(e) and Article 31(a) of the Customs Code, the place 
of introduction into the customs territory of Tunisia shall be: 
  (a) For goods carried by sea, the port of unloa ding or the port of transhipment, subject to 
transhipment being authorized by th e customs services of that port, 
 (b) for goods carried by rail or road, the pl ace where the first customs office is situated, 
 (c) for goods carried by air, the first arriva l airport in the customs territory of Tunisia, 
 (d) for goods carried by other means, th e place where the land frontier of the customs 
territory of Tunisia is crossed. 
 
Provisions Concerning Transport Costs 
 
Article 18 
 
For the purpose of applying Article 30(1)(e ) and Article 31(a) of the Customs Code: 
  (a) Where goods are carried by the same mode of transport to a point beyond the place of 
introduction into the customs territory of Tuni sia, transport costs shall be assessed in 
proportion to the distance covered outside and inside the customs territory of Tunisia, 
unless evidence is produced to the customs servi ces to show the costs that would have 
been incurred under a general compulsory sche dule of freight rates for the carriage of 
the goods to the place of introduction into the customs territory of Tunisia; 
 (b) where goods are invoiced at a uniform free-domicile price which corresponds to the 
price at the place of introduction, transport costs within Tunisia shall not be deducted 
from that price.  However, such deduction sh all be allowed if evidence is produced to G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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  the customs services that the free-frontier price would be lower than the uniform 
free-domicile price; 
 (c) where transport is free or provided by the buyer, transport costs to the place of 
introduction in the customs territory, calcul ated in accordance with the schedule of 
freight rates normally applied for the same modes of transport, shall be included in 
the customs value. 
 
Article 19 
 
1. All postal charges levied up to the place of d estination in respect of goods sent by post shall 
be included in the customs value of these goods, with the exception of any supplementary postal 
charge levied in Tunisia.  2. No adjustment to the declared  value shall, however, be made in respect of the inclusion of 
such charges when determining the value of  consignments of a non-commercial nature. 
 
3. The provisions set out in paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article are not applicable to goods carried 
by the express postal services.  
Declaration of Elements Determining Customs Value 
 
Article 20 
 
1. Where a customs value is established under Ar ticles 23, 25 or 26 of the Customs Code, a 
"declaration of elements determining customs va lue" shall accompany the customs entry made in 
respect of the imported goods.  This value declar ation shall be drawn up on a form corresponding to 
the format and specifications of the official mode l in the possession of the Directorate-General of 
Customs.   - A copy of this model has been published in the Official Customs Journal; 
 - the model has been filed with regional directorates and customs offices and with 
chambers of commerce and industry. 
 - the declaration must be accompanied where appropriate by one or several copies of 
the model on page 2 of this form. 
 2. The declaration of elements determining cu stoms value provided for in paragraph 1 above 
shall be made by a person authorized to furnish a detailed declaration of the goods in accordance with 
Articles 101 to 109 of the Customs Code. 
 3. The customs services may waive the requirement of a declaration on the form referred to in paragraph 1 above where the customs value of th e goods in question cannot be determined under the 
provisions of Article 23 of the Customs Code.  
In such cases, the person referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall furnish or cause to be 
furnished to the customs services such other info rmation as may be requested for the purposes of 
determining the customs value under another Article of the said Code;  and such other information 
shall be supplied in such form and manner as may be prescribed by the customs services.  
4. The lodging with a customs office of a decl aration required by para graph 1 above shall, 
without prejudice to the penal provisions in the legisl ation in force, be equivalent to the engagement 
of responsibility by the person referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article in respect of:  G/VAL/N/1/TUN/3 
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-  The accuracy and completeness of the particulars given in the declaration; 
-  the authenticity of the documents produced in support of these particulars. 
 
It shall also be equivalent to the commitmen t by the said person to supply any additional 
information or document necessary to establish th e customs value of the goods in question. 
 
Article 21 
 
Except where the declaration provided for in Article 20(1) above is essential for the correct 
application of import duties and taxes, the customs services may waive the requirement of all or part 
of the information contained in the declaration provided for in Article 18(1) above, in particular:   (a) Where the customs value of the imported goods in a consignment does not exceed 
1,000 dinars, provided that they do not c onstitute split or multiple consignments from 
the same consignor to the same consignee; 
 (b) where the importations involved are of a non-commercial nature;  (c) where the submission of the particulars in question is not necessary for the 
application of the Customs Tariff or wher e the customs duties provided for in the 
Tariff are not chargeable pursuan t to specific customs provisions; 
 (d) where the goods imported are valued on the basis of administrative prices in 
accordance with the legal provisions in force; 
 (e) perishable goods, where existing regul ations provide for other methods of 
establishing the value of these goods; 
 (f) where the goods are imported by travellers;  (g) where the goods imported are used or second-hand. 
 
Article 22 
 
The person referred to in Article 20(2) of this Order shall furnish the customs services with a 
copy of the invoice and of the documents on the basi s of which the elements determining the customs 
value of the imported goods have been declared. 
 
Article 23 
 
The Ministry of Finance Order of 19 October 2001 establishing the requirements for 
implementing Articles 26 to 26 terdecies  of the Customs Code is hereby repealed. 
 
Article 24 
 
This Order shall be published in the Offi cial Journal of the Tunisian Republic. 
 
Tunis, 28 January 2009 
 
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