RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/VAL/W/62/Add.1
3 April 2000
(00-1330)
Committee on Customs Valuation Original:  French
COMMUNICATION FROM TUNISIA CONCERNING ANNEX III PARAGRAPH 1,
OF THE AGREEMENT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF
THE GENERAL AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Addendum
The following communication, dated 28 March 2000, was received from the Permanent
Mission of Tunisia.
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The Permanent Mission of Tunisia in Geneva presents its compliments to the Secretariat of
the World Trade Organization and, with reference to its Note of 6 March 2000, has the honour to
submit, in annex, a revised version (together with a draft work programme) of the request fromTunisia pursuant to Annex III, paragraph 1 of the Agreement on the Implementation of Article VII of
the GATT 1994.G/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 2
I. REQUEST
Pursuant to Annex III, paragraph 1 of Article VII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT) 1994, Tunisia hereby requests a postponement of the scheduled date for the
implementation of the Agreement for a further period of three years.
The transitional period accorded to Tunisia under the Agreement expires on 28 March 2000,
and Tunisia is not yet ready to implement the Agreement.
The requested additional period would expire on 28 March 2003.
II. DESCRIPTION OF THE MEASURE FOR WHICH AN ADDITIONAL PERIOD IS
REQUESTED
Tunisia ratified the WTO Agreements on 23 January 1995, and the instruments of ratification
were deposited on 27 February 1995.  The Agreement Establishing the WTO entered into force for
Tunisia on 29 March 1995.
Tunisia immediately invoked the provisions on special and differential treatment for
developing countries under Article 20.1 of the Agreement.
A number of steps were taken both at the institutional and regulatory levels to ensure a
smooth transition to the customs valuation system foreseen in the Agreement, and the entry into force
of the Agreement.
Activities were also undertaken and developed with a view to training and upgrading staff
responsible for the application of this new system in Tunisia and for the implementation of the
Agreement.
In spite of the positive results already achieved in this area, for Tunisia fully to respect its
customs valuation commitments it is essential that  it should continue to develop certain specific
measures or techniques that would enable it to ensure the full and careful implementation of the
Agreement.  This is why it is necessary to post pone the implementation of the Agreement for the
requested period.
III. GROUNDS AND JUSTIFICATION FOR THE REQUEST FOR A FURTHER
EXTENSION
During the period just ended, many steps were taken as part of the policy of opening up the
Tunisian economy, designed both to ensure its integration into the world economy on the one hand, to
adapt and modernize Tunisian laws in keeping with Tunisia's WTO commitments on the other, and
finally to reshape national foreign trade structures and mechanisms.
The modernization of the tools of foreign trade including the administrative documents and
the structures used to manage Tunisia's foreign trade has been a central concern and one of the
priorities of government action under a comprehensive programme to upgrade the Tunisian economy
and the business environment.
To that end, several reforms have been undert aken at both the administrative and institutional
levels to adapt customs services to the new en vironment, improve their operating mechanisms and
services and to increase and enhance their efficiency.G/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 3
A global reform of the Tunisian Customs Code has thus been undertaken in collaboration
with the different national players.  Review work will be completed within reasonable time frames.
A start has been made with the modernization of its information technology system in the
framework of an information technology blueprint with the object of providing better and fasterservices.  This modernization is aimed at the computerized system called SINDA (système
d'information douanier automatisé) and entails installing a new computer and new software that will
be able to handle Tunisia's growing trade vo lume and the follow up of valuation reporting.
Training, upgrading and refresher courses have been started for customs officers, the staff of
the ministerial departments and structures concerned, as well as the various other players.
Accordingly, in order to intensify and give impe tus to this process, an expert mission was sent
to Tunisia in collaboration with the WTO Secretariat.  An expert in this field visited Tunis from 1 to
5 November 1999.  That mission formed part of preparations for the entry into force of the Agreement
on Customs Valuation for Tunisia and made it possible better to identify Tunisia's specific technical
assistance and training needs, and also provided an opportunity to devise the actions necessary toensure the transition to the new system of customs valuation, such as the creation of a value index,
devising a valuation declaration procedure, etc.
A technical assistance programme was also concluded at the end of 1999 with the World
Bank and came on stream in February 2000.  The programme involves extensive activities designed tomodernize customs services, especially by means of the generalized use of computer technology and
the electronic processing of customs services.  This programme has been concluded for a period of
three years.
At the institutional level, the recent creation of the National Customs School (END) and of
Customs Training Centres are worthy of mention.
The basic mission of the National Customs School is:
- To train customs officers in customs and administrative matters;- to organize training programmes so as to refresh and improve the skills of customs
officers;
- to monitor the training of customs officers in approved establishments;
- to coordinate and follow up specialization and refresher programmes organized at the
Customs Training Centres;
- to carry out studies and research on customs matters.
The Customs Training Centres, which fall under the END, have been set up in each of the
regional customs offices throughout the national territory.
They are responsible for:
- Implementing the training programmes designed and approved by the END;- organizing courses and practical training;- the follow up and evaluation of training courses.G/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 4
The additional three-year period will thus be used, inter alia :
- To continue and complete the process of bringing domestic customs valuation laws
into conformity and to institute appropriate administrative mechanisms andprocedures;
- to undertake the computerized management of custom valuation and verification
operations;
- to provide further and more in-depth training of the staff concerned, especially of the
customs administration and the services of the different ministerial departmentsinvolved in the customs valuation of imported goods or responsible for managing and
following up the implementation of the Agreement on Customs Valuation, as well as
other players for whom the implementation of this Agreement is central to their
activities;
- to inform and raise awareness in business circles as to the provisions and principles of
the Agreement, thus enabling them to improve their knowledge in this area.
1. Aligning Tunisian legislation with the WTO Agreement on Customs Valuation by
revising the customs code
Tunisia has started the task of reforming its Customs Code both as part of the modernization
of it current legal framework and of its alignment with the relevant provisions of the Agreement on
Customs Valuations.  This task, in which all the concerned parties have been included, has been
making headway.
Aware of the need to reap the benefits of the initiatives already undertaken in this field,
Tunisia hereby requests an additional period in order to press ahead with the process of reform of its
Custom Code and to complete the alignment of its provisions, especially those pertaining to customs
valuation, with the system envisaged under the Agreement.
This is why an additional period is needed to complete the work in question, on the
understanding that the procedure being carried out in this field by Tunisia involves severaladministrative, advisory and legislative bodies, not to mention the work of translation into Arabic
which goes hand in hand with the process of reform and amendment of the Code and requires expert
knowledge of the technical aspects and instruments of the Agreement and mastery of the legal
terminology of its text.
2. Computerized management of customs valuation and verification operations
In order to provide the customs department with the requisite efficiency, it is essential to
provide its services with rapid, reliable and high-performance instruments that can ensure the
transition to customs valuation as prescribed in the Agreement.
In that connection, it is necessary to adapt and upgrade the capacity of the operating
equipment (terminals, software, scanners, etc.) so as to afford customs staff more efficient sources of
data on the prices of the various products and the cost of the services related to international trade
transactions worldwide.G/VAL/W/62/Add.1
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3. Training
The smooth transition from the customs valuation system under the current Customs Code,
which has been in operation for 30 years now, to a new system based on several methods of customs
valuation requires human resources with intimate knowledge of the legal instruments of the WTO and
a perfect grasp of the legal provisions and technical instruments of the Agreement on CustomsValuation in particular.
To meet this need, an additional, in-depth and more targeted training programme on technical
questions is needed.
This training is targeted at:
- The administrative staff concerned, in particular customs officers who are both
directly involved in the implementation of the Agreement on Customs Valuation and
are responsible for verifying the accuracy of customs valuation reporting;
- foreign trade operators and users, in particular importers and forwarding agents.The principal needs identified in this field may by summed up as follows:- Legal aspects:  provision of updated doc umentation incorporating, for example, the
interpretative notes to the valuation rules, completed with practical cases orprecedents.  This documentation will facilitate the application of the aforementioned
rules;
- Training:  for the benefit of the officers concerned, including customs officers,
organizing seminars and practical training and upgrading courses in order to refinetheir knowledge in this field.  The objective is to familiarize them more closely with
the new valuation concept and the techniques for implementing it.
4. Information and awareness raising in business circles, comprising traders, industrialists,
business people and investors
Bearing in mind the possible implications of the new and updated version of the Customs
Code for the activities of the various economic players and for the business sector, seminars andawareness-building activities are envisaged nationwide, especially at the country's various economic
and regional centres.
IV. CONCLUSION
In view of the above considerations and the ongoing process of bringing Tunisian legislation
into conformity with the rules of the Customs Va luation Agreement, Tunisia requests an additional
period of three years under Annex III, paragraph 1 of the Agreement in order to complete the actions
mentioned above within the time-fram es shown in the attached table.G/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 6WORK PROGRAMME FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT ON
CUSTOMS VALUATION
Activities 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
3 4 1 23412341234 1
I.  GLOBAL STRATEGY FOR THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CUSTOMSVALUATION AGREEMENT
1.  Resource allocation
-  material resources
-  human resources
-  technical resources – expertise
- use of technical cooperation
2.  Structural implications
- Identifying functions/structures and services
concerned with the application, implementation and
management of the Agreement
- Determination/adaptation of functions/responsibilitiesof customs officers for the implementation of the
Agreement
3.  Computerized management of customs valuation
and verification operations
-  Terminals
-  Software
-  ScannersG/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 7Activities 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
3 4 1 23412341234 1
4.  Adapted tools
- Creating a value index
- Installing new operational tools accessible to the
Regional Offices and all customs offices throughout
the national territory
II.  SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES
1.  Bringing domestic legislation into conformity
(A)  Reform of the Customs Code and incorporation of
the Customs Valuation Agreement into customs
legislation:
Defining the technical aspects of the various methods
of customs valuation/involvement of the variousparties concerned/bodies involved/translation
(B)  Preparation of procedural handbooks for the use of
the administration and for external use
2.  Training
Training of the administrative staff concerned, foreigntrade operators and usersG/VAL/W/62/Add.1
Page 8Activities 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
3 4 1 23412341234 1
3.  Information and awareness raising in business
circles:
- Importers
- Traders
- Industrialists
- Business people
- Investors
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