RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/VAL/W/3
13October 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-3098)
Committee onCustoms Valuation
FIRST ANNUAL REVIEW OFTHE IMPLEMENTATION AND
OPERATION OFTHE AGREEMENT ONIMPLEMENTATION
OFARTICLE VIIOFTHE GENERAL AGREEMENT
ONTARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Background Working Document bytheSecretariat
This working document iscirculated bytheSecretariat inpreparation forthefirstannual review
oftheimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGeneral
Agreement onTariffs andTrade 1994, tobeconducted attheforthcoming meeting on24October 1995.
Asindicated inthetextbelow, thisdocument willhave tobeupdated inlight ofthediscussion atthat
meeting inorder togive afullpicture ofthedevelopments intheCommittee during thecurrent year.
_______________
Article 23oftheAgreement onImplementation ofArticle VIIoftheGeneral Agreement on
Tariffs andTrade provides that"theCommittee shall review annually theimplementation andoperation
ofthisAgreement taking intoaccount theobjectives thereof".
Themain objectives oftheAgreement arethose listed intheGeneral Introductory Commentary.
Theannual review oftheCommittee should cover theimplementation andoperation oftheAgreement
inthelight ofitsobjectives andspecific obligations.G/VAL/W/3
Page 2
Thecontents ofthisdocument areasfollows:
Page
1. Members, delayed applications, reservations andobserver status 3
2. Officers oftheWTO Committee onCustoms Valuation 8
3. Meetings oftheCommittee 8
4. National legislation presented 8
5. Amendments, interpretations andrectifications ofthe
textoftheagreement 9
6. Other decisions taken bytheCommittee 9
7. Technical assistance 9
8. Report bytheTechnical Committee onCustoms Valuation 9
9. Substantial difficulties encountered byMembers in 10
applying theAgreement
10. Consultation anddispute settlement 10
11. Annual report totheCouncil forTrade inGoods 10G/VAL/W/3
Page 3
1. MEMBER S,DELA YEDAPPLICATIONS,RESERVATIONSANDOBSERVERSTATUS
(a) MEMBERS (110)
Antigua andBarbuda
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belgium
Belize
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Brunei Darussalam
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Canada
Central African Republic
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Egypt
ElSalvador
European Communities
Finland
France
Gabon
Germany
Ghana
Greece
GuatemalaGuinea
Guinea Bissau
Guyana
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Kenya
Korea
Kuwait
Lesotho
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Macau
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Netherlands
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Nigeria
NorwayPakistan
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent &Grenadines
Senegal
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
South Africa
Spain
SriLanka
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Tanzania
Thailand
Togo
Trinidad andTobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Uganda
United Kingdom
United States
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
ZimbabweG/VAL/W/3
Page 4
(b) Delayed Application andReservations1
Theprovisions forspecial anddifferential treatment available fordeveloping country
Members have been invoked asfollows:
(i) Article 20.1 (delayed application oftheprovisions oftheAgreement)
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Central African Republic
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
Ghana
Guatemala
Honduras
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
KenyaMalaysia
Malta
Mauritius
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru2
Philippines
Senegal
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
______________
1Forthetext ofthecommunications received from these Members, refer todocuments
WT/Let/1/Rev.2 dated 22May 1995, WT/Let/19 dated 15June 1995, WT/Let/24 dated 28June 1995,
WT/Let/28 dated 21August 1995 andWT/Let/29 dated 23August 1995.
2Theinvocation ofthespecial provisions available fordeveloping country Members under the
Customs Valuation Agreement 1979 shall continue toapply under theWTO Customs Valuation
Agreement forthedeveloping country Member concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/3
Page 5
(ii) Article 20.2 (delayed application ofthecomputed value method)
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Dominican Republic
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
Guatemala
Honduras
Indonesia
Jamaica
Kenya
Malaysia
MaltaMexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
Pakistan
Peru2
Philippines
Senegal
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
(iii) Annex III,paragraph 2(reservation concerning minimum values)
Bangladesh
Burkina Faso
Chile
Colombia
Côte d'Ivoire
Dominican Republic
Gabon
Guatemala
IndonesiaJamaica
Kenya
Malaysia
Malta
Myanmar
Pakistan
Paraguay
Peru2
PhilippinesSingapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
______________
2Theinvocation ofthespecial provisions available fordeveloping country Members under the
Customs Valuation Agreement 1979 shall continue toapply under theWTO Customs Valuation
Agreement forthedeveloping country Member concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/3
Page 6
(iv) Annex III,paragraph 3(reservation concerning reversal ofsequential order
ofArticles 5and6)
Argentina2
Bangladesh
Brazil2
Burkina Faso
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Dominican Republic
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
GuatemalaHonduras
India2
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Malawi2
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
NicaraguaPakistan
Peru2
Philippines
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe2
(v) Annex III,paragraph 4(reservation concerning application ofArticle 5:2
whether ornottheimporter sorequests)
Argentina2
Bangladesh
Brazil2
Burkina Faso
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d'Ivoire
Dominican Republic
Egypt
ElSalvador
Gabon
GuatemalaHonduras
India2
Indonesia
Israel
Jamaica
Kenya
Malaysia
Malta
Mexico2
Morocco2
Myanmar
Nicaragua
PakistanPeru2
Philippines
Singapore
SriLanka
Thailand
Togo
Tunisia
Turkey2
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe2
_______________
2Theinvocation ofthespecial provisions available fordeveloping country Members under the
Tokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement shall continue toapply under theWTO Customs Valuation
Agreement forthedeveloping country Member concerned (WT/L/38).G/VAL/W/3
Page 7
(c) OBSERVER GOVERNMENTS (41)
Albania
Algeria
Angola
Armenia
Belarus
Benin
Bulgaria
Cameroon
Cambodia
Chad
China
Congo
Croatia
EcuadorEstonia
Fiji
Former Yugoslav Rep.
ofMacedonia
Gambia
Grenada
Haiti
Latvia
Lithuania
Madagascar
Mongolia
Niger
Oman
Papua New GuineaPanama
Qatar
Russian Federation
Rwanda
Seychelles
St.Kitts andNevis
Sudan
Taipei, Chinese
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Viet Nam
Zaire
(d) OBSERVER INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS (3)3
World Customs Organization
IMF
UNCTAD
_______________
3Theinvitations ofthese three organizations made bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods andthe
Committee areadhocarrangements, pending final agreement onguidelines forobserver status for
internationalintergovernmentalorganizations.Thesearrangementsarewithoutprejudicetothepositions
ofdelegations infuture discussions onthequestion ofobserver status ofinternational intergovernmental
organizations.G/VAL/W/3
Page 8
2. OFFICERS OFTHE WTO COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
Chairman: Mr.P.Palec ka(Czech Republic)
Vice-Chairman: (Election pending)
3. MEETINGS OFTHE COMMITTEE
During thereporting period, theCommittee hasheld twomeetings on12May 1995 andon
24October 1995. The minutes ofthese meetings arecontained indocuments G/VAL/M/1 [and
G/VAL/M/2 (tobeissued), respectively].
4. NATIONAL LEGISLATION PRESENTED
(i) Texts ofnational legislation
Article 22oftheAgreement requires each Member toinform theCommittee ofany
changes initslaws andregulations relevant totheAgreement andintheadministration ofsuch
laws andregulations. Atitsfirst meeting, theCommittee agreed onprocedures forthe
notification ofnational legislation (G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 29-35, 71and72).
During thereporting period, thefollowing communications andtexts have been
submitted:
Australia G/VAL/N/1/AUS/1
Ecuador G/VAL/N/1/ECU/1
Hungary G/VAL/N/1/HUN/1
Korea, Republic ofG/VAL/N/1/KOR/1
New Zealand G/VAL/N/1/NZL/1
Romania G/VAL/N/1/ROM/1
Switzerland G/VAL/N/1/CHE/1
Zimbabwe G/VAL/N/1/ZWE/1
(ii) Checklist ofissues
Atitsfirstmeeting,theCommitteeagreedonproceduresforthesubmissionofachecklist
ofissues (G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 36-39).
During thereporting period, thefollowing communications have been submitted:
Australia G/VAL/N/1/AUS/1
Zimbabwe G/VAL/N/1/ZWE/1
(iii) Examination ofnational legislation
[Atitsmeeting of24October 1995, theCommittee pursued itsexamination ofvarious
communications andimplementing legislations. TheCommittee wasinformed thatAustralia,
Korea, New Zealand, Romania, Switzerland andZimbabwe hadsubmitted communications
indicating thattheir legislation notified under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement
remained valid under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement. These communications had
been circulated respectively indocuments G/VAL/N/1/AUS/1, G/VAL/N/1/KOR/1,
G/VAL/N/1/NZL/1, G/VAL/N/1/ROM/1, G/VAL/N/1/CHE/1 andG/VAL/N/1/ZWE/1.
TheCommittee wasalsoinformed thatHungary hadsubmitted acommunication indicating
thatitslegislation notified under theTokyo Round Customs Valuation Agreement remainedG/VAL/W/3
Page 9
valid under theWTO Customs Valuation Agreement, except anamendment contained in
Section 93oftheJoint Decree N39/1976 (XI.10) PM-KKM.]
(iv) Information ontheapplication oftheCommittee Decisions
Information ontheapplication oftheDecision ontheTreatment ofInterest Charges
intheCustoms Value ofImported Goods andofparagraph 2oftheDecision ontheValuation
ofCarrier Media Bearing Software forData Processing Equipment (G/VAL/5), made available
byMembers, issummarized indocument G/VAL/W/4.
5. AMENDMENTS, INTERPRETATIONS AND RECTIFICATIONS OFTHE TEXT OF
THE AGREEMENT
Atitsfirst meeting on12May 1995, theCommittee adopted thedecisions relating tothe
interpretation oftheAgreement, which hadpreviously been adopted bytheTokyo Round Committee
(G/VAL/M/1, paragraphs 66-67). Thedecisions were reproduced indocument G/VAL/5.
6. OTHER DECISIONS TAKEN BYTHE COMMITTEE
Atitsfirstmeeting on12May 1995, theCommittee adopted decisions on"Reservations under
theAgreement onCustoms Valuation"; "Procedures onNotification andCirculation ofNational
Legislation";"ChecklistIssues";"InformationonTechnicalAssistance"(G/VAL/M/1,paragraphs71-72
and75-82). Thedecisions arecontained indocument G/VAL/5.
TheCommittee alsoadopted: (i)theDecision regarding cases where customs administrations
have reason todoubt thetruth oraccuracy ofthedeclared value; and(ii)theDecision ontexts relating
tominimum values andimports bysoleagents, soledistributors andsoleconcessionaires. Thedecisions
were referred bytheMinisters atMarrakesh totheCommittee foradoption. Thetexts ofthedecisions
arecontained indocument G/VAL/1.
7. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Technical assistance aimed athelping countries intheir preparations fortheapplication ofthe
Agreement hascontinued tobeamatter ofhigh priority toMembers, theCommittee onCustoms
Valuation andtheTechnical Committee. Technical assistance isbeing made available tobothdeveloping
country Members andother developing countries interested intheAgreement.
Information ontechnical assistance activities iscontained inworking document G/VAL/W/4
which reproduces information contained inWCO document 39.708.
8. REPORT BYTHE TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ONCUSTOMS VALUATION
Meetings oftheTechnical Committee
Therepresentative oftheWorld Customs Organization (WCO) presented detailed oralreports
ontheTwenty-Ninth Session (13-17 March 1995) [and theFirst Session (2-6 October 1995) ofthe
WTO Technical Committee].
TheCommittee onCustoms Valuation took note ofthese reports andexpressed appreciation
forthecontinued valuable work oftheTechnical Committee.G/VAL/W/3
Page 10
9. SUBSTANTIALDIFFICULTIESENCOUNTER EDBYMEMBER SINAPPLYINGTHE
AGREEMENT
During theperiod under review, noMember hasreported anysubstantial difficulty inapplying
theAgreement.
10. CONSULTATION AND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT
Canada (WT/DS9/1) andtheUnited States (WT/DS13/1) requested consultations with the
European Communities under Article 19oftheAgreement regarding certain regulations oftheEuropean
Communities concerning cereals.
11. ANNUAL REPORT TOTHE COUNCIL FOR TRADE INGOODS (G/VAL/SPEC/2)
[The Committee adopted itsannual report totheCouncil forTrade inGoods inaccordance
with therequirements ofArticle 23oftheAgreement (G/VAL/SPEC/2).]