India to aid Ethiopia in implementing customs valuation system
Addis Ababa, June 16 (IANS) India will provide technical
assistance to Ethiopia on implementation of a WTO compliant
customs valuation system in the east African country, where
weaknesses in tax collection are hampering economic development.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has signed an
agreement with the Ethiopian Revenue and Customs Authority
(ERCA) for technical assistance to the landlocked country
located on the Horn of Africa.  The decision comes after nine
months of talks between the two.  The agreement was signed June
13 in the presence of Melaku Fenta, director general of ERCA,
and Bhagwant S. Bishnoi, Indian envoy to Ethiopia.  As WTO
states, the customs valuation system primarily bases the customs
value on the transaction value of imported goods, which is the
price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for
export to the country of importation, with certain adjustments.
Ethiopia, with over 65 million people, i