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1994-01-11
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AGREEMENT ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
Members,
Having regard to the Multilateral Trade Negotiations;
Desiring to further the objectives of the GATT 1994;
Taking into account the particular trade, development and financial
needs of developing country Members;
Recognizing the usefulness of automatic import licensing for certain
purposes and that such licensing should not be used to restrict trade;
Recognizing that import licensing may be employed to administer
measures such as those adopted pursuant to the relevant provisions of the
GATT 1994;
Recognizing the provisions of the GATT 1994 as they apply to import
licensing procedures;
Desiring to ensure that import licensing procedures are not utilized
in a manner contrary to the principles and obligations of the GATT 1994;
Recognizing that the flow of international trade could be impeded by
the inappropriate use of import licensing procedures;
Convinced that import licensing, particularly non-automatic import
licensing, should be implemented in a transparent and predictable manner;
Recognizing that non-automatic licensing procedures should be no more
administratively burdensome than absolutely necessary to administer the
relevant measure;
Desiring to simplify, and bring transparency to, the administrative
procedures and practices used in international trade, and to ensure the fair
and equitable application and administration of such procedures and
practices;
Desiring to provide for a consultative mechanism and the speedy,
effective and equitable resolution of disputes arising under this Agreement;
Hereby agree as follows:
Article 1
General Provisions
1. For the purpose of this Agreement, import licensing is defined as
administrative procedures[1] used for the operation of import licensing
régimes requiring the submission of an application or other documentation
(other than that required for customs purposes) to the relevant
administrative body as a prior condition for importation into the customs
territory of the importing Member.
2. Members shall ensure that the administrative procedures used to
implement import licensing régimes are in conformity with the relevant
provisions of the GATT 1994 including its annexes and protocols, as
interpreted by this Agreement, with a view to preventing trade distortions
that may arise from an inappropriate operation of those procedures, taking
into account the economic development purposes and financial and trade needs
of developing country Members.[2]
3. The rules for import licensing procedures shall be neutral in
application and administered in a fair and equitable manner.
4. (a) The rules and all information concerning procedures for the
submission of applications, including the eligibility of persons, firms and
institutions to make such applications, the administrative body(ies) to be
approached, and the lists of products subject to the licensing requirement
shall be published in the sources notified to the Committee established
under Article 4, in such a manner as to enable governments[3] and traders to
become acquainted with them. Such publication shall take place, whenever
practicable, twenty-one days prior to the effective date of the requirement
but in all events not later than such effective date. Any exception,
derogations or changes in or from the rules concerning licensing procedures
or the list of products subject to import licensing shall also be published
in the same manner and within the same time periods as specified above.
Copies of these publications shall also be made available to the MTO
Secretariat.
(b) Members who wish to make comments in writing shall be provided
the opportunity to discuss these comments upon request. The concerned
Member shall give due consideration to these comments and results of
discussion.
5. Application forms and, where applicable, renewal forms shall be as
simple as possible. Such documents and information as are considered
strictly necessary for the proper functioning of the licensing régime may be
required on application.
6. Application procedures and, where applicable, renewal procedures shall
be as simple as possible. Applicants shall be allowed a reasonable period
for the submission of licence applications. Where there is a closing date,
this period should be at least twenty-one days with provision for extension
in circumstances where insufficient applications have been received within
this period. Applicants shall have to approach only one administrative body
in connection with an application. Where it is strictly indispensable to
approach more than one administrative body, applicants shall not need to
approach more than three administrative bodies.
7. No application shall be refused for minor documentation errors which
do not alter basic data contained therein. No penalty greater than
necessary to serve merely as a warning shall be imposed in respect of any
omission or mistake in documentation or procedures which is obviously made
without fraudulent intent or gross negligence.
8. Licensed imports shall not be refused for minor variations in value,
quantity or weight from the amount designated on the licence due to
differences occurring during shipment, differences incidental to bulk
loading and other minor differences consistent with normal commercial
practice.
9. The foreign exchange necessary to pay for licensed imports shall be
made available to licence holders on the same basis as to importers of goods
not requiring import licences.
10. With regard to security exceptions, the provisions of Article XXI of
the GATT 1994 apply.
11. The provisions of this Agreement shall not require any Member to
disclose confidential information which would impede law enforcement or
otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would prejudice the
legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or
private.
Article 2
Automatic Import Licensing[4]
1. Automatic import licensing is defined as import licensing where
approval of the application is granted in all cases, and in accordance with
the requirements of paragraph 2(a) of this Article.
2. The following provisions,[5] in addition to those in paragraphs 1 to
11 of Article 1 and paragraph 1 of the present Article, shall apply to
automatic import licensing procedures:
(a) automatic licensing procedures shall not be administered in such
a manner as to have restricting effects on imports subject to
automatic licensing. Automatic licensing procedures shall be
deemed to have trade restricting effects unless, inter alia:
(i) any person, firm or institution which fulfils the legal
requirements of the importing Member for engaging in import
operations involving products subject to automatic
licensing is equally eligible to apply for and to obtain
import licences;
(ii) applications for licences may be submitted on any working
day prior to the customs clearance of the goods;
(iii) applications for licences when submitted in appropriate and
complete form are approved immediately on receipt, to the
extent administratively feasible, but within a maximum of
ten working days;
(b) Members recognize that automatic import licensing may be
necessary whenever other appropriate procedures are not
available. Automatic import licensing may be maintained as long
as the circumstances which gave rise to its introduction prevail
and as long as its underlying administrative purposes cannot be
achieved in a more appropriate way.
Article 3
Non-automatic Import Licensing
1. The following provisions, in addition to those in paragraphs 1 to 11
of Article 1, shall apply to non-automatic import licensing procedures.
Non-automatic import licensing procedures are defined as import licensing
not falling within the definition contained in paragraph 1 of Article 2.
2. Non-automatic licensing shall not have trade restrictive or distortive
effects on imports additional to those caused by the imposition of the
restriction. Non-automatic licensing procedures shall correspond in scope
and duration to the measure they are used to implement, and shall be no more
administratively burdensome than absolutely necessary to administer the
measure.
3. In the case of licensing requirements for purposes other than the
implementation of quantitative restrictions, Members shall publish
sufficient information for other Members and traders to know the basis for
granting and/or allocating licences.
4. Where a Member provides the possibility for persons, firms or
institutions to request exceptions or derogations from a licensing
requirement, it shall include this fact in the information published under
paragraph 4 of Article 1 as well as information on how to make such a
request and, to the extent possible, an indication of the circumstances
under which requests would be considered.
5. (a) Members shall provide, upon the request of any Member having an
interest in the trade in the product concerned, all relevant
information concerning:
(i) the administration of the restrictions;
(ii) the import licences granted over a recent period;
(iii) the distribution of such licences among supplying
countries;
(iv) where practicable, import statistics (i.e. value and/or
volume) with respect to the products subject to import
licensing. Developing country Members would not be
expected to take additional administrative or financial
burdens on this account;
(b) Members administering quotas by means of licensing shall publish
the overall amount of quotas to be applied by quantity and/or
value, the opening and closing dates of quotas, and any change
thereof, within the time periods specified in paragraph 4 of
Article 1 and in such a manner as to enable governments and
traders to become acquainted with them;
(c) in the case of quotas allocated among supplying countries, the
Member applying the restrictions shall promptly inform all other
Members having an interest in supplying the product concerned of
the shares in the quota currently allocated, by quantity or
value, to the various supplying countries and shall publish this
information within the time periods specified in paragraph 4 of
Article 1 and in such a manner as to enable governments and
traders to become acquainted with them;
(d) where situations arise which make it necessary to provide for an
early opening date of quotas, the information referred to in
paragraph 4 of Article 1 should be published within the time
periods specified in paragraph 4 of Article 1 and in such a
manner as to enable governments and traders to become acquainted
with them;
(e) any person, firm or institution which fulfils the legal and
administrative requirements of the importing Member shall be
equally eligible to apply and to be considered for a licence. If
the licence application is not approved, the applicant shall, on
request, be given the reason therefor and shall have a right of
appeal or review in accordance with the domestic legislation or
procedures of the importing Member;
(f) the period for processing applications shall, except when not
possible for reasons outside the control of the Member, not be
longer than thirty days if applications are considered as and
when received, i.e. on a first-come first-served basis, and no
longer than sixty days if all applications are considered
simultaneously. In the latter case, the period for processing
applications shall be considered to begin on the day following
the closing date of the announced application period;
(g) the period of licence validity shall be of reasonable duration
and not be so short as to preclude imports. The period of
licence validity shall not preclude imports from distant sources,
except in special cases where imports are necessary to meet
unforeseen short-term requirements;
(h) when administering quotas, Members shall not prevent importation
from being effected in accordance with the issued licences, and
shall not discourage the full utilization of quotas;
(i) when issuing licences, Members shall take into account the
desirability of issuing licences for products in economic
quantities;
(j) in allocating licences, the Member should consider the import
performance of the applicant. In this regard, consideration
should be given as to whether licences issued to applicants in
the past have been fully utilized during a recent representative
period. In cases where licences have not been fully utilized,
the Member shall examine the reasons for this and take these
reasons into consideration when allocating new licences.
Consideration shall also be given to ensuring a reasonable
distribution of licences to new importers, taking into account
the desirability of issuing licences for products in economic
quantities. In this regard, special consideration should be
given to those importers importing products originating in
developing country Members and, in particular, the
least-developed country Members;
(k) in the case of quotas administered through licences which are not
allocated among supplying countries, licence holders[6] shall be
free to choose the sources of imports. In the case of quotas
allocated among supplying countries, the licence shall clearly
stipulate the country or countries;
(l) in applying paragraph 8 of Article 1, compensating adjustments
may be made in future licence allocations where imports exceeded
a previous licence level.
Article 4
Institutions
There shall be established under this Agreement a Committee on Import
Licensing composed of representatives from each of the Members (referred to
in this Agreement as "the Committee"). The Committee shall elect its own
Chairman and Vice-Chairman and shall meet as necessary for the purpose of
affording Members the opportunity of consulting on any matters relating to
the operation of this Agreement or the furtherance of its objectives.
Article 5
Notification
1. Members which institute licensing procedures or changes in these
procedures shall notify the Committee of such within sixty days of
publication.
2. Notifications of the institution of import licensing procedures shall
include the following information:
(a) list of products subject to licensing procedures;
(b) contact point for information on eligibility;
(c) administrative body(ies) for submission of applications;
(d) date and name of publication where licensing procedures are
published;
(e) indication of whether the licensing procedure is automatic or
non-automatic according to definitions contained in Articles 2
and 3;
(f) in the case of automatic import licensing procedures, their
administrative purpose;
(g) in the case of non-automatic import licensing procedures,
indication of the measure being implemented through the licensing
procedure; and
(h) expected duration of the licensing procedure if this can be
estimated with some probability, and if not, reason why this
information cannot be provided.
3. Notifications of changes in import licensing procedures shall indicate
the elements mentioned above, if changes in such occur.
4. Members shall notify the Committee of the publication(s) in which the
information required in paragraph 4 of Article 1 will be published.
5. Any interested Member which considers that another Member has not
notified the institution of a licensing procedure or changes therein in
accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 1 to 3 of this Article may
bring the matter to the attention of such other Member. If notification is
not made promptly thereafter, such Member may itself notify the licensing
procedure or changes therein, including all relevant and available
information.
Article 6
Consultation and Dispute Settlement
Consultations and the settlement of disputes with respect to any
matter affecting the operation of this Agreement shall be subject to the
provisions of Articles XXII and XXIII of the GATT 1994, as elaborated and
applied by the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the
Settlement of Disputes.
Article 7
Review
1. The Committee shall review as necessary, but at least once every two
years, the implementation and operation of this Agreement, taking into
account the objectives thereof, and the rights and obligations contained
therein.
2. As a basis for the Committee review, the MTO Secretariat shall prepare
a factual report based on information provided under Article 5, responses to
the annual questionnaire on import licensing procedures[7] and other
relevant reliable information which is available to it. This report shall
provide a synopsis of the aforementioned information, in particular
indicating any changes or developments during the period under review, and
including any other information as agreed by the Committee.
3. Members undertake to complete the annual questionnaire on import
licensing procedures promptly and in full.
4. The Committee shall inform the Council for Trade in Goods of
developments during the period covered by such reviews.
Article 8
Final Provisions
Reservations
1. Reservations may not be entered in respect of any of the provisions of
this Agreement without the consent of the other Members.
Domestic Legislation
2. (a) Each Member shall ensure, not later than the date of entry into
force of the Agreement Establishing the MTO for it, the
conformity of its laws, regulations and administrative procedures
with the provisions of this Agreement.
(b) Each Member shall inform the Committee of any changes in its
laws and regulations relevant to this Agreement and in the
administration of such laws and regulations.
1. Those procedures referred to as "licensing" as well as other similar
administrative procedures.
2. Nothing in this Agreement shall be taken as implying that the basis,
scope or duration of a measure being implemented by a licensing procedure is
subject to question under this Agreement.
3. For the purpose of this Agreement, the term "governments" is deemed to
include the competent authorities of the European Communities.
4. Those import licensing procedures requiring a security which have no
restrictive effects on imports are to be considered as falling within the
scope of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article.
5. A developing country Member, other than a developing country Member which
was a Party to the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures 1979, which has
specific difficulties with the requirements of sub-paragraphs (a)(ii) and
(a)(iii) may, upon notification to the Committee referred to in Article 4,
delay the application of these sub-paragraphs by not more than two years
from the date of entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the MTO for
such Member.
6. Sometimes referred to as "quota holders".
7. Originally circulated as GATT 1947 document L/3515 of 23 March 1971.