Q5. Are there any rules for customs valuation that are accepted worldwide?

Ans: Customs value of imported goods has to be determined in accordance with the national laws of a country. However, in the case of a WTO Member country, its national laws on customs valuation have to be based on the following WTO instruments:

●    Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), 1994 (see Appendix I);

●   The Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT, 1994 (Usually referred to as the Agreement on Customs Valuation or ACV for short - see Appendix II); and

●    The Uruguay Round Ministerial Decision Regarding Cases where Customs Administrations have Reasons to Doubt the Truth or Accuracy of the Declared Value, which has been subsequently adopted as a Decision of the WTO Committee on Customs Valuation (see Appendix III).

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Q6. How soon is a WTO Member country required to implement the ACV?

Ans: Normally as soon as a country becomes a Member of the WTO, it is required to implement the ACV. However, developing country Members are allow­ed to delay application of the ACV for up to 5 years from the date on which they join the WTO.

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Q7. Are there any other systems of customs valuation?

Ans: Yes, the national laws for customs valuation in some countries still follow the Brussels Definition of Value (BDV) based on the 1953 Convention on the Valuation of Goods for Customs purposes.

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Q8. What is the essential difference between the BDV system of valuation and the valuation system under the ACV?

Ans: The former is based on the notional concept of an ideal or normal value that a good would fetch in the Open market whereas the latter is based on a positive concept relying more on the actual price paid or payable for the goods being valued.

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