The World Customs Organization organized, with the support of the Customs Cooperation Fund of Japan, a national workshop on Customs valuation for the benefit of the General Department of Customs and Excise of Cambodia (GDCE). The workshop was held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 24 to 28 February 2020 and was attended by 53 Customs officials from different units within the GDCE.
At the opening ceremony, the Deputy Director General of the GDCE, Mr. PHA Eng Veng, highlighted the importance of Customs valuation in revenue collection and trade facilitation, as well as the challenges confronted by Customs in this regard. He thanked the WCO for providing technical assistance and encouraged active participation of Customs officials in the workshop.
The workshop was co-facilitated by an expert from the WCO Secretariat and two experts from Japan Customs. The five-day programme consisted of refresher sessions on the provisions of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement and presentations on a number of key technical valuation topics such as related parties, assists, royalties and licence fees, as well as Customs valuation control initiatives including post clearance audit and advance rulings.
The participants had the opportunity to compare Cambodia's valuation legislation with those of a couple of WTO Members, and discussed a number of case studies to deepen their understanding of the practical application of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement.