“Looking back, looking forward” - Celebrating 30 years of Customs valuation
DURING the recent session of the WCO Technical Committee on Customs Valuation, a special occasion was celebrated on April 13, 2010 being the 30 th anniversary of the GATT/WTO Valuation Agreement.
On this special occasion the WCO Secretary General, Kunio Mikuriya, said, “Valuation is a key Customs activity and the Agreement is one of our core Customs instruments. I am very pleased that this event is so well attended and equally pleased that the Customs community is able to celebrate this auspicious occasion in the presence of a representative from the WTO, as valuation has been an intrinsic part of the long history of cooperation between the WCO and the WTO on global trade issues “.
Some challenging ideas and concepts were discussed by the delegates invited to the event for taking stock of the Agreement and examine the challenges it continues to pose for many Customs administrations in the modern international trading environment. It was recognized that the commercial world has changed radically over the past 30 years and that difficulties arise in the application of the Agreement (which hasn't changed over that period). Topics included obstacles to implementation of the Agreement, the use of valuation databases, exchange of information, transfer pricing and the needs of the business sector.
It may be noted that Mr. P.R.V. Ramanan, who retired in the recent past as Member, CBEC and currently serving as a Special Counsel, was the first Chairperson of the Uruguay Round Technical Committee on Customs Valuation. He remained as the Chairperson from the 1 st to 3 rd sessions of the Uruguay Round Technical Committee on Customs Valuation.
The CBEC Member (CX), Mr S Dutt Majumder, when contacted by TIOL in Brussels, said that the WCO had invited six experts from all over the world and he was the only one from the Developing Countries. He made a presentation on 'Valuation Database - Looking Back and Looking Forward'.