RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/C/W/256/Rev.1
9 April 2001
(01-1796)
Council for Trade in Goods
18 April 2001Original:  French
REQUEST FOR WAIVER FROM THE REPUBLIC OF HAITI CONCERNING
THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE VII OF THE GENERAL
AGREEMENT ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Revision
The Secretariat has received the following communication, dated 22 March 2001, from the
Permanent Mission of Haiti.
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The General Customs Administration wishes to see the Government of Haiti request the
World Trade Organization for a further three-year extension, starting on 31 January 2001, for theapplication of the new Customs Valuation Agreement.
The provisions of Annex III.1 of the Agreement allow developing countries which are still
having difficulty implementing the agreement at the en d of the initial five (5) year delay, to have the
option of obtaining a further extension.
This step has been taken by the General Customs Administration for two main reasons:1. The draft Customs Code, containing the legal provisions for the application of the
Agreement, has yet to be put to a vote in Parliament;
2. whereas the Agreement recommends post clearance import control, this would be
difficult to apply at the present time given the predominance of the informal sector in
the Haitian economy.  Even in the formal sector, economic operators easily manage
to avoid their tax obligations by regularly changing their business name.
It is proposed that a committee composed of representatives from the relevant administrations
and ministries as well as the private sector, should be established and given the task of preparing
recommendations with a view to ensuring that the application of the Agreement takes place in the best
possible circumstances.
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