Between 3 and 7 December 2018, the WCO conducted a Workshop on Customs Valuation for the Pacific Islands sub-Region in Suva, Fiji.

The mission was made possible with the generous financial support of the Japan Customs Cooperation Fund.

The Workshop was opened by Mr. Das, Chief Executive Officer of the Fiji Revenue and Customs Service. The head of the Oceania Customs Organization (OCO), Mr. Roy Lagolago, also spoke at the opening ceremony.

24 Customs officials from five WCO Member countries, namely, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu, and five non-WCO Members of the OCO, namely Cook Islands, Guam, Kiribati, Niue and Solomon Islands, participated in the Workshop. The programme consisted of refresher sessions on the methodology of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement and in-depth presentations, discussions and exercises on a number of key technical valuation topics such as royalty and licence fees, transfer pricing and software-related issues.

Also included in the programme were presentations and discussions on the WCO’s Revenue Package programme, focusing on the practical challenges of implementing the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement in developing countries and how to identify and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the Customs valuation infrastructure by use of the WCO’s diagnostic tool. Additionally, a number of local practical cases were presented by the participants and discussed by the group. These cases highlighted the particular valuation challenges faced by small island economies.

Expert Trainers on Customs Valuation and Post-clearance audit from Japan Customs co-facilitated the Workshop, together with the lead expert from the WCO, and shared the Japan Customs experience of its valuation control system.

At the end of the Workshop, participants made commitments to follow up on the knowledge acquired within their administrations.