Apr 29, 2011 ... At its meeting of 12 May 1995, the Committee on Customs Valuation agreed that
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G/VAL/8/Add.24 29 April 2011
ORGANIZATION
(11-2215)
Committee on Customs Valuation
INFORMATION ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES Addendum At its meeting of 12 May 1995, the Committee on Customs Valuation agreed that greater transparency of technical assistance activities, pursuant to Article 20.3 of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994, would be ensured if the information documents prepared for the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation on such activities were also made available as WTO documents. This document provides information on technical assistance activities carried out by WCO Members reproduced from WCO documents VT0719E1a and VT0731E1a of 18 and 19 March 2010, respectively. The present document updates GATT document VAL/W/29/Rev.9, and WTO documents G/VAL/W/4 and G/VAL/8 and Adds.1-23. _______________ INTRODUCTION 1. Article 20.3 of the Agreement provides for the establishment of technical assistance programmes for developing countries. The Article goes on to state that such technical assistance may include, inter alia, the training of personnel, assistance in preparing implementation measures, access to sources of information regarding customs valuation methodology, and advice on the application of the provisions of the Agreement. In this regard, it is recognized that for developing countries which are, by virtue of being Parties to the Agreement, committed to apply the Agreement at a fixed date or which are considering applying it in the near future, it would be a matter of urgent need to have a nucleus of customs officers trained in the Code. Thus, among the various technical assistance programmes offered, the training of personnel acquires a degree of priority. 2. As provided for in Annex II of the Agreement, the responsibilities of the Technical Committee include the facilitation of technical assistance with a view to furthering the international acceptance of the Agreement. The Technical Committee at its first meeting expressed the view that the Customs Co-operation Council, through its Secretariat, could provide co-ordination in developing a technical assistance programme in co-operation with member administrations willing to provide assistance and other international organizations. The Council's Plan for the '90s has also placed considerable emphasis on the need for holding seminars and training courses on the GATT Code. 3. At its Eighth Session, the Technical Committee had examined document 31.808 describing seminars and training courses organized on customs valuation, especially on the GATT Valuation Agreement, and the activities of the Customs Co-operation Council in this area. The Committee found the document useful and in this regard directed the Secretariat to periodically update the information. In successive sessions of the Committee, a number of revised or supplementary documents were prepared which periodically updated this information. This document contains information provided by the WCO Secretariat of its most recent technical assistance activities.
G/VAL/8/Add.24 Page 2
ACTIVITIES OF WCO MEMBERS Technical Assistance/Capacity building Activities I.
JAPAN
1. Japan has dispatched its experts and has accepted trainees to provide the knowledge of Customs Valuation/Post-clearance Audit and to support the implementation of the WTO Valuation Agreement. 2. The details of our technical assistance/capacity building activities, which we have carried out since the last session and are planning to implement by 31 June 2011, are listed below. Dispatch of Experts Recipient Country Vietnam Rwanda Cambodia Laos India
Philippines Fiji Philippines East Timor Malaysia
Course
Period of dispatch
Number of Experts
Valuation Valuation PCA & Valuation Valuation Post-Clearance Audit (WCO Workshop in Asia/Pacific Region) Post-Clearance Audit Valuation Valuation Valuation (WCO Workshop) Post-Clearance Audit
17 - 21 Jan. 2011 19 - 28 Jan. 2011 21Feb.-4 Mar. 2011 28Feb.- 4 Mar.2011 28Feb.- 4 Mar.2011
2 2 3 2 2
28Feb.- 8 Mar.2011 7-11 Mar. 2011 21-25 Mar. 2011 21-25 Mar. 2011
2 2 3 1
28 Mar. – 1 Apr. 2011
2
Acceptance of Trainees Period of Training Course 4-12 Nov 2010 One day in Nov. or Dec 2010 One day in Nov. 2010 6 -10 Dec. 2010 9 – 15 Dec. 2010 One day in Jan. or Feb 2011 20- 26 Jan. 2011 One day in Jan. or Feb 2011 14 -18 Feb. 2011 One day in Feb. or Mar. 2011 One day in Mar. 2011
Course
Country of Trainees
Number of Trainees
Post-Clearance Audit PCA & Valuation
Philippines (1)
10 19
PCA & Valuation (WCO Fellowship) Post-Clearance Audit Valuation Post-Clearance Audit
(2)
10
Cambodia People's Republic of China (3)
15 15 10
Valuation PCA & Valuation
(4) (5)
16 9
Post-Clearance Audit Post-Clearance Audit
Pakistan Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan (6)
6 6
PCA & Valuation (WCO Fellowship)
8
(1) Cambodia, East Timor, India, Laos, Mongolia, Philippines, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Myanmar, Indonesia, Viet Nam, Iran.
G/VAL/8/Add.24 Page 3
(2) Malawi, Maldives, Albania, Myanmar, Saint Lucia, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Iraq, Vanuatu, Philippines. (3) Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay Uruguay, Venezuela. (4) Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam. (5) Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu. (6) Benin, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt Gabon, Mauritius, Moldova, Togo.
G/VAL/8/Add.24 Page 4
ACTIVITIES OF THE WCO SECRETARIAT I. Recipient Members: East and Southern Africa Region including: Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe Duration: 10-14 January 2011 Location: St. Lucia Park, Regional Training Centre, Harare, Zimbabwe Subject: Valuation Trainers accreditation Workshop for the East and Southern Africa Region Type: Regional workshop Objectives: To evaluate and accredit Valuation trainers for the ESA Region. Five trainers were duly accredited at the workshop from Mauritius, South Africa, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participants: 12 Facilitators: One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate, and one representative from the Capacity Building Directorate Donor: CCF – Japan II. Recipient Members: East Africa Community region (EAC): Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Duration: 19-28 January 2011 Location: Butare, Rwanda Subject: 3rd Activity of Working Group of Customs Valuation on Capacity Building of Master Trainers for Eastern African Region Type: Regional workshop Objectives: To develop a pool of Customs valuation experts in the EAC region Participants: 20 Facilitators: One Technical Officer from Valuation Sub-Directorate (attending for two days only) and experts from Japan Customs Donor: CCF – Japan III.
Recipient Members: Customs administrations in the Asia Pacific Region
Duration: 28February – 4 March 2011 Location: NACEN, Regional Training Centre, Faridabad, India Subject: Regional Workshop for the Asia Pacific Region on Post Clearance Audit
G/VAL/8/Add.24 Page 5
Type: Regional workshop Objectives: To identify the gap between best practices on PCA and the current practices of Member countries, and identify ways to bridge the gap. To share practical experiences and difficulties of Members regarding PCA. Customs valuation was a major component of the programme. Participants: 30 Facilitators: One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate (attending for two days only) and experts from ROCB, Bangkok and Japan Customs. Donor: CCF – Japan IV.
Recipient Members: East Timor
Duration: 21 -25 March 2011 Location: East Timor Subject: Implementation and application of the WTO Valuation Agreement Type: National Workshop Objectives: To provide assistance, via a workshop, on the implementation and application of the WTO Valuation Agreement, including valuation methodology and advice on good practices for valuation control procedures. Participants: Estimated 20 Facilitators: One Technical Officer from the Valuation Sub-Directorate and one WCO-accredited Valuation trainer from Japan Customs Donor: CCF – Japan __________
