WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/N/4/MRT/3
24 April 2002
(02-2341)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  French
NOTIFICATION CONCERNING THE DECISION UNDER PARAGRAPH 1 OF
ANNEX III OF TH E AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON
TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
MAURITANIA
The following communication, dated 8 April 2002, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Mauritania.
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NOTE ON THE STATUS OF THE PROGRAMME FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE CUSTOMS VALUATION AGREEMENT
The competent Mauritanian authorities are pursuing the implementation of the work
programme for the implementation of the Agreement on Customs Valuation in accordance with the
Decision of 31 May 2000 of the Committee on Customs Valuation granting a two-year exemption
under paragraph 1 of Annex III of the Agreement.
The following steps have been taken in this connection:
I. COMMISSION FOR FOLLOW-UP OF THE AGREEMENT ON CUSTOMS
VALUATION
This Commission, set up within the Directorate-General of Customs, is pursuing its activities
to ensure the proper implementation of the Agreement within the time-frame established by the
Committee on Customs Valuation.
In order to improve its working methods and to ensure better coordination with the ministerial
departments concerned and with the private sector, the structures of the Commission wereincorporated in the Customs Modernization Project.  This project is managed by a national
coordinator responsible for its overall development and for the establishment and follow-up of
relations with the various partners.
The Customs Modernization Projects seeks to support on-going reforms and coordinate all of
the actions carried out in the framework of the work programme.  Its efforts are guided by the
commitments resulting from the application of the Customs Valuation Agreement, the simplification
of customs procedures and the facilitation of trade.G/VAL/N/4/MRT/3
Page 2
II. ADAPTATION OF LEGISLATION
In September 2001, the Government approved a comprehensive amendment of the provisions
of Article 26 of the Customs Code on the definition of customs value.
Law No. 2002-001 of 10 January 2002 (Budget Law) containing this amendment was
approved by Parliament and promulgated by the President of the Republic.
Circular No. 2002/001/Douane RIM of 21 January 2002 from the Director-General of
Customs lays down the conditions for the applicati on of this Law, which introduced the following
changes:
- Adoption of the methods for determinin g customs value laid down in the WTO
Agreement on Customs Valuation.  Paragraphs V to IX set forth the sequence in
which they must be applied;
- establishment of the transaction value as the reference value, based on the stipulation
that "the customs value of imported goods shall be the transaction value, that is theprice actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the [Islamic
Republic of Mauritania]…";
- introduction of an appeal mechanism for importers in order to better safeguard their
rights in case of disagreement with the valuation determination made by the customsadministration.  This mechanism operates at two levels:  first, appeal may be made to
a higher level in the customs administration, and second, an appeal may be made to
the judiciary.
III. REFORMS AND MODERNIZATION OF STRUCTURES
An action plan has been adopted by the Government to consolidate the measures implemented
in this area (decentralization of customs services, application of the Harmonized System
Nomenclature, computerization of customs clea rance procedures, migration to version 3 of
ASYCUDA).
Developed on the basis of the conclusions of the study on competitiveness and commercial
integration undertaken during the third quarter of 2001 under the Integrated Framework pilot schemefor trade-related technical assistance, this action plan essentially involves:
- Rationalization and simplification of customs procedures with extended recourse to
ASYCUDA and greater selectivity of customs controls.  In this context, an agreement
was signed between the Mauritanian Government, UNDP and UNCTAD.  Fullyfinanced, to the tune of US$285,000, by the Mauritanian Government, this project
aims to ensure the immediate migration from the current system to ASYCUDA++;
- better management of import regimes and effective application of drawback
procedures;
- improvement of customs valuation practices and establishment of a timetable for
compliance with Mauritania's commitment to adopt the WTO definition of customs
valuation.  The new regulations, incorporated in the text of Budget Law 2002, entered
into force on 1 January 2002;G/VAL/N/4/MRT/3
Page 3
- reorganization of the Directorate-General of Customs and strengthening of its human
and material resources;  adoption of a Code of Conduct for customs officials.
WTO and WCO technical assistance will be needed in this connection to ensure the rapid
implementation of the action plan incorporating the adjustments required in addition to the
regulations, the changes in customs procedures, the adaptation of the preshipment inspection contract,
the creation of a database of import values and staff training.
IV. TRAINING OF STAFF AND USERS
Staff training will be reinforced in the context of the implementation of the migration to
ASYCUDA++, which will include several modules for the different categories of customs officials.
Pursuant to the recommendations of the semi nars organized in 1999, 2000 and 2001 with the
help of the WCO and the Société générale de surveillance (SGS), the customs administration has
taken a number of actions on behalf of users.  These actions aim to ensure that they are better
informed of the scope of the new reforms and to ob tain their full collaboration in implementing them,
thus enhancing cooperation and confidence between citizens and the administration.
V. PREPARATION OF THE NATIONAL TARIFF
A national tariff document was prepared in 2001 on the basis of the Harmonized System,
incorporating national tariff data.
This document was widely circulated to domestic and other users, and will be updated
periodically.
VI. REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE
The Directorate-General of Customs requests WTO support in implementing the Agreement,
inter alia  through:
- The assistance of a trainer specialized in the Agreement and familiar with the
experience of countries of the same level;
- assistance in the establishment of a reliab le database on value.  This would enable
customs staff to keep abreast of international transactions and world prices for themain goods traded.  Through the application of risk management techniques, it would
also help in efficiently combatting commercial fraud of all kinds.
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