The WTO Rules for Customs Valuation: Certain Aspects of Application

The present article provides the analyses of the main provision of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of GATT 1994, as well as the decisions of the WTO bodies that include its official interpretation, with the aim to define basic aspects of implementation of customs valuation rules at the national level. The subjects of review are such elements of the issue as: the procedure for realisation of customs authorities’ discretion, providing the explanation for decisions on customs value correction, ways of application of customs valuation databases, etc. The main factors that influence the effectives of implementation of customs valuation rules are also determined. The author comes to a conclusion that the question of applying the rules of determining the customs value, as well as the whole modern customs business, is a question of balance between the promotion of trade and the guarantee of security (including security of the financial interests of a state). At the same time, modern advanced experience of developed countries is ambiguous, since the measures of automation and acceleration of customs clearance do not guarantee an adequate level of counteraction to understatement of customs value. In developing the practice of applying the customs valuation rules in Ukraine, it should be taken into account the unfavorable current structure of government revenues, which creates an additional pressure on the customs, both political and corruption character. It should be countered by increasing transparency in this area and by ensuring effective control mechanisms. There is also a need to change the jurisprudence in questions of appeal judgements on adjusting customs value.