1. Computer and Related Services have evolved into the “application oriented” (total solution) era, with the result that existing descriptions in CPC 84 are no longer capable of differentiating between one service and another. The Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu would like to identify two problems with respect to the current coverage of CPC 84, and to propose possible solutions.
I. BACKGROUND
2. The Computer and Related Service Sector is one of the major driving forces in the development of the knowledge-based economy. It facilitates the more efficient operation of business activities and dramatically enhances the competitiveness of countries that have actively pursued the establishment of this new technology. In 1997, the WTO estimated the global market for this sector to be worth some US$375 billion, a growth of 10% since 1995. This figure exceeded $426 billion in 2001 and is expected to grow on average by 11.1% annually over the next four years to reach $650 billion in 2005, largely because of the existence of an open, competitive and basically unrestricted business environment in these sectors.