WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/32
24 July 2000
(00-3052)
Committee on Customs Valuation
COMMUNICATION FROM CÔTE D' IVOIRE CONCERNING ANNEX III,
PARAGRAPH 1, OF THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON
TARIFFS AND TRADE
Decision
TAKING NOTE of the Government of Côte d'Iv oire's request under paragraph 1 of Annex III
of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
1994 ("WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation"), done at Marrakesh on 15 April 1994, to extend its
delay in the application of the provisions of that Agreement;
RECOGNIZING that on 1 January 1995, Côte d'Iv oire became a contracting party to the
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation and invoked paragraph 1 of Article 20 of that Agreement to
delay application of its provisions for a period of five years from the date of entry into force of the
Agreement on 1 January 1995, and was therefore scheduled  to apply the provisions of that Agreement
by 1 January 2000;
CONSIDERING Côte d'Ivoire has made substantial efforts to implement the provisions of the
WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation;
CONSIDERING also that Côte d'Ivoire has recei ved technical assistance and has a continuing
interest in taking advantage of technical assistance in support of implementation and application ofthe WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation;
NOTING Côte d'Ivoire's long-standing commitment and considerable efforts in reforming and
modernizing its customs administration;
NOTING also Côte d'Ivoire's objective of ensuring the effective implementation and
administration of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation;
NOTING that Côte d'Ivoire's authorities ha ve established a detailed work program
1, involving
the relevant ministries and agency, to enable the elaboration and approval of its legislation and thecompletion of its domestic administrative and legal procedures, including training, dissemination of
information, and other actions, for implementing and applying the WTO Agreement on Customs
Valuation;
NOTING that Côte d'Ivoire, in regard of paragraph 2 of Annex III of the WTO Agreement on
Customs Valuation, currently values goods on the basis of officially established minimum values only
for the following goods identified in Annex II;
NOTING also Côte d'Ivoire's intention not to apply such minimum values to additional
products during the requested extension in the delay of its application of the WTO Agreement on
                                                     
1 Annex 1 – Work Programme.G/VAL/32
Page 2
Customs Valuation and Côte d'Ivoire current intention not to apply such minimum values to any
products after the expiration of the requested extension in period of delay;
NOTING that the Government of Côte d'Ivoire already applies paragraph 2 of the Decision on
the Valuation of Carrier Media Bearing Software for Data Processing Equipment2;
NOTING  the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection and the Reports
of the Working Party on Preshipment Inspection3;
NOTING, furthermore, Côte d'Ivoire's intent ion, should it decide to continue to use
preshipment inspection after implementing the WT O Agreement on Customs Valuation, to limit the
use of preshipment inspection services in the area of customs valuation to post-entry risk assessmentprocedures, and to establish a government mechanism to address expeditiously any problems
exporters from other countries might encounter with preshipment inspection services;
RECOGNIZING Côte d'Ivoire's indication that this  would be a single request for an extension
to delay its implementation of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation;
Members, acting pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 1 of Annex III of the WTO
Agreement on Customs Valuation,
DECIDE, in view of the exceptional circumstances set out above, that:1. Subject to the terms and conditions set out hereunder, Côte d'Ivoire may delay further
the application of the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation for a
period not extending beyond 1 July 2001.
2. The Government of Côte d'Ivoire shall report to the Committee on Customs
Valuation by 30 September 2000 and 28 February 2001 on progress in fulfilling the
work programme in Annex I and the status of its implementation of the WTO
Agreement on Customs Valuation under the terms and conditions of this Decision.
3. The Government of Côte d'Ivoire will, by 30 September 2000, publish and make
publicly available, in accordance with Article X of the General Agreement on Tariffsand Trade 1994, the basis, criteria and other relevant information for determining the
minimum values for the products listed in Annex II.
4. The Government of Côte d'Ivoire will publish and make publicly available, in
accordance with Article X of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994, anyamendments or changes to the above-mentioned basis, criteria and other relevant
information 60 days before implementing such changes, and will not apply such
changes to importations entering its customs territory prior to the completion of this
60-day notification period.
                                                     
2 G/VAL/5.
3 G/L/214 (2 December 1997) and G/L/300 (18 March 1999).G/VAL/32
Page 3
5. This Decision shall not prejudice the rights and obligations of Côte d'Ivoire under the
WTO Agreements, in particular those rights and obligations under the WTO
Agreement on Customs Valuation.G/VAL/32
Page 4
ANNEX 1
Programme of Preparation/Implementation of the Agreement
Republic of Côte d'Ivoire
Activities 1999 2000 2001
1 23 41234123 4
GENERAL
STRATEGY
- Development of the implementation strategy
- Evaluation of the impact of introducing the Agreement in the existing environment
- Consultation with members of the WAEMU
ALLOCATION OF RESOURCES
- Budgetary resources
- Technical/specialist/technical cooperation resources
REPORTING AND FOLLOW-UP
- Establishment of the steering/monitoring committee Existing
- Continuous evaluation (interministerial committee)
- Regular report to WTO Members
UPDATING OF REGULATIONS
DEFINITION/EVALUATION OF THE TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMS
VALUATION (NATIONAL LEVEL)
- Definition of the taxable base (c.i.f./f.o.b.)
- How to apply Decision 3.1 (interest charges)
- Interpretation of "member" of the same family (Ref.  Article 15.4)
- Treatment of software (Ref. 4.1)
- Applicable exchange rate
- Definition of rights/obligations of customs/importers
- Confidentiality of information
- Right of appeal
- Customs clearance of goods pending final valuation- Right to a written explanation
- Right of customs to question accuracy of informationG/VAL/32
Page 5Activities 1999 2000 2001
1 23 41234123 4
- New customs declaration and clearance procedure
- Responsibility of customs agents/forwarding agents
- A posteriori audit and verification procedure
- Archive requirements for importers
- Penalties/dispute settlement under the Agreement
COMMON DEFINITION OF TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMS
VALUATION (WAEMU LEVEL)
ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMON LEGISLATION - WAEMU LEVEL
- Establishment of legislation covering the Agreement and the interpretative notes
- Incorporation of decisions, technical notes and commentaries of the WCO
- Inclusion of alternative methods
- Incorporation of the Ministerial Decision on the truth or accuracy of the declared value
DRAFT NATIONAL LEGISLATION
- Establishment of legislation incorporating the interpretative notes and inclusion in customs legislation
- Incorporation of WCO decisions, technical notes, commentaries
- Inclusion of alternative methods
- Incorporation of the Ministerial Decision on the truth or accuracy of the declared value
- Incorporation of decisions concerning specific aspects
- Development of administrative procedures relating to implementation of the Agreement
EVALUATION OF THE APPLICABILITY OF RESERVATIONS UNDER ANNEX III OF THEAGREEMENT
- Para. 1:  Request for an additional delay
- Para. 2:  Minimum values
- Para. 3:  Reversal of order
- Para. 4:  Reservation concerning Article 5, para. 2
- Para. 5:  Treatment of sole agents, sole distributors and sole concessionaires
ESTABLISHMENT OF A TIMETABLE FOR ADOPTING AND SIGNING THE NEW LEGISLATION
At WAEMU level
At national level
ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEWLEGISLATIONG/VAL/32
Page 6
Activities 1999 2000 2001
1 23 41234123 4
- Possible adjustments to customs procedures
- Preparation and issue of customs documents
- Preparation and issue of operational instructions
FINALIZATION OF NATIONAL REGULATIONS
FORMAL INTEGRATION OF THE AGREEMENT INTO (NATIONAL) LEGISLATION
TRAINING
EVALUATION OF TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
- Subjects to be dealt with
- Number of staff to be trained
- Number of instructors to be trained
- External support (specialist advice/financing)
ESTABLISHMENT OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME TIMETABLE
- Training of instructors
- Training of customs personnel
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TRAINING PROGRAMME
- Training of instructors on the Agreement ("highly advanced")
- Training of instructors on the Agreement ("advanced")
- Training of "audit" instructors
- Training of customs personnel
* Senior manager/auditor:  advanced level
* Specialists:  highly advanced level
* Auditors:  audit training
PUBLICATIONS/RAISING AWARENESS OF TARGET PUBLIC
PUBLICATION OF THE AGREEMENT AND INFORMATION MEETING FOR TARGET PUBLIC
Establishment of communication strategy
- Training of approved user forwarding agents/customs agents
- Training/information of user/importers
- Information for international publicG/VAL/32
Page 7Activities 1999 2000 2001
1 23 41234123 4
STRUCTURAL IMPLICATIONS
FUNCTIONS/RESPONSIBILITIES
- Identification of functions/services concerned by the Agreement
- Definition/adjustment of the functions/responsibilities of staff responsible for implementing the Agreement
- Evaluation of qualifications/specialized staff for key posts
- Possible adjustment of organizational structure of the customs authorities concerned by implementation of 
the Agreement
SYSTEM/PROCESS
- Evaluation of possible changes in the customs clearance procedure
- Evaluation of "risk management" changes to the customs cordon
- Definition of the new rules in a posteriori control
- Adjustment of data for use in a posteriori controls and for the "risk management" system
SUITABLE TOOLS
- Study and integration of tools based on risk evaluation
- Establishment of a value index
- Evaluation and introduction of new operational tools in the field, such as the value index accessible to 
various customs offices
OTHER
- Modification of declaration forms in the light of new rules
- Revised import form/prior declarationG/VAL/32
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ANNEX 2
List of Goods Covered by D ecree No. 99-395 of 4 June 1999
Establishing Reference Values
Nomenclature Description Value
09-02-10-00-00 Q Green tea (not fermented) in packages not
exceeding 3 kg1,000 F/KN
09-02-20-00-00 G Green tea (not fermented) in other packages 500 F/KN
09-02-30-00-00 F Black tea, fermented or partly fermented in
packages not exceeding 3 kg500 F/KN
09-02-40-00-00 T Black tea, fermented or partly fermented, in
other packages500 F/KN
11-01-00-00-00 L Wheat or meslin flour 200,000 F/T
16-04-13-10-00 J Preserved sardines 800 F/KN
17-01-11-00-00 R Raw cane sugar not containing added
flavouring or colouring matter255.210 F/KN
17-01-12-00-00 Q Raw cane sugar not containing added
flavouring or colouring matter255.210 F/KN
17-01-91-00-00 G Other cane or beet sugar or sucrose
containing added flavouring or colouring
matter354.063 F/KN
17-01-99-10-00 W Other cane or beet sugar or sucrose
containing added flavouring or colouring
matter354.063 F/KN
17-01-99-90-00 M Other cane or beet sugar or sucrose
containing added flavouring or colouring
matter354.063 F/KN
19-02-19-00-00 Q Other uncooked pasta 300 F/KN
19-02-30-00-00 H Other pasta 300 F/KN
19-02-40-00-00 Y Couscous 400 F/KN
20-02-90-20-00 H Tomato puree CVD 500 F/KN
24-02-20-00-00 A Cigarettes containing tobacco 16,250 F/1,000
cigarettes
24-02-90-00-90 G Cigarettes of tobacco substitutes 16,250 F/1,000
33-06-10-00-00 A Toothpaste 4,000 F/KN
36-05-00-00-00 V Matches 15 F/box
42-02-11 Briefcases, school satchels and similar
containers of leather8,000 F/KN
42-02-12 Briefcases, school satchels and similar
containers of plastics or of textile materials3,500 F/KNG/VAL/32
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Nomenclature Description Value
42-02-19 Briefcases, school satchels and similar
containers of cardboard, common metals or
other materials3,500 F/KN
42-02-21 Handbags, of leather 8,000 F/KN
42-02-22 Handbags, of plastics or of textile materials 3,500 F/KN
42-02-29 Handbags, of other materials 3,500 F/KN
42-02-31 Cases and boxes for jewellery, bottles or
brushes or leather3,500 F/KN
42-02-32 Cases and boxes for jewellery, bottles or
brushes, of plastics or textile materials3,500 F/KN
42-02-39 Cases and boxes for jewellery, bottles or
brushes, of other materials3,500 F/KN
42-02-91 Other cases and boxes of heading 42-02,
tool bags and similar, of leather8,000 F/KN
42-02-92 Other cases and boxes of heading 42-02,
tools bags and similar, of plastics or of
textile materials3,500 F/KN
42-02-99 Cartridge belts for soldiers and other
articles of heading 42-02, in other materials3,500 F/KN
42-03-30-00-10 Belts and bandoliers, of leather 8,000 F/KN
64-02-19-00-20 X Sports footwear with outer soles or uppers
of plastic1,500 F/pair
64-03-19-00-10 H Sports footwear with outer soles or uppers
of leather5,000 F/pair
64-04-11-00-90 Q Sports footwear with outer soles or uppers
of textile materials2,000 F/pair
68-02-23-00-00 V Granite and articles thereof 1,000 F/KN
73-23-92 Household articles, enamelled 1,000 F/KN
73-23-94 Household articles, enamelled 1,000 F/KN
94-05-50-00-00 T Non-electrical lamps and lighting fittings 6,000 F/dozen
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