WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/LIC/N/3/GTM/1
1 February 2000
(00-0396)
Committee on Import Licencing Original:  Spanish
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT
LICENSING PROCEDURES1
Notification under Article 7.3 of the Agreement
on Import Licensing Procedures2
The following communication, dated 20 January 2000, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of Guatemala.
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No import licences are currently required in Guatemala for the import of any products.
The existing regulations on tariff quota products do not, as a rule, place limits on the volume
or provenance of imported goods, but instead establish a preferential tariff on predetermined
quantities of such goods, under an annual timetable , subject to yearly reviews of the quantities in
question.  These administrative provisions are no tified to the corresponding WTO department on a
yearly basis, in accordance with the format of tables MA.1 and MA.2 adopted under the Agreement
on Agriculture.
Outline of system1. The system is run by the Tariff Quota Administration Unit (UDACA) in the Ministry of the
Economy.  Government and/or Ministerial Decisions are issued in respect of products subject to an
activated quota, in order to regulate the quota and establish its amount and tariff equivalents (in-quota
and out-of-quota import tariffs);  ad hoc commissions have been established under the same
legislation, which provide advice and administrative support for the application of the relevant
decisions and are required to act in coordination with the inter-institutional group responsible fororganizing and effecting implementation of the WTO agreements.  UDACA provides administrative
secretariat services for the commissions.  The above-mentioned commissions meet periodically, and
when convened in extraordinary session they are made up of representatives of the economic agents
(producers and importers) affiliated to the Chamber of Commerce for the product subject to quota and
by the Ministries of Finance, Agriculture and the Economy.  The Government Decision issued in eachcase takes account of the provisions of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture, modifying the import
tariffs (DAI) under the heading contained in Part I of the Central American Tariff System (SAC) in
respect of products which were duly tariffied by Guatemala in the multilateral trade negotiations of
the GATT Uruguay Round.
Purposes and coverage of licensing
                                                     
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire.
2 See also the notification under Articles 1.4 a) and 8.2 b) circulated in document G/LIC/N/1/GTM/2.G/LIC/N/3/GTM/1
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2. In order to remedy and prevent restrictions and distortions on agricultural markets, non-tariff
barriers at frontiers are being replaced by quotas and tariff equivalents.  The amount of the quota, as
determined by the above-mentioned Commission, is shared among the applicants.
3. The system is applied to products originating in or consigned from any country, apart from
goods imported from the Central American countries, which are subject to a SAC tariff.
4. Following approval of the application and specification of the quantity allocated to each
applicant, a tariff quota (import) licence is issued.  The licence is valid from the date of issue and
specifies the date of its expiry.  The licence contains information about the importer and is non-
renewable, indivisible and not amenable to any form of transfer or negotiation.  See point (vi) below.
5. The total quota volume for each product is determined annually by the corresponding ad hoc
Commission and is given legal force by a Government Decision.  The same
Commission allocates import quantities subject to preferential tariffs for the benefit of interestedparties which have duly submitted applications.
Procedures
6. With regard to products covered by the quota system:
(i) The Government and Ministerial Decisions issued in each case, together with their
content (articles and separate paragraphs), clarify all the legal rules pertaining to the
procedures for administration of the quota.
(ii) Generally speaking, quotas are determined on an annual basis, subject to variation
upon recommendation by the corresponding ad hoc Commission.
(iii) In-quota import licences for specific product quantities under the system are issued to
companies or persons who are producers of like goods or use the product as a raw
material or input for their final production.  For purposes of administration of the
quantity to be imported, the Tariff Quota Administration Unit (UDACA) of theMinistry of the Economy, acting as executive secretariat of the Commission, is
required to carry out a current account control on each importer and each tariff
heading.
(iv) On the basis of the validity of the decisions establishing tariff quotas in each instance,
the interested parties may complete import licence application forms, which are to be
submitted to the Executive Secretariat of the Commission at least one working daybefore its ordinary meetings.  Only one application per interested party may be dealt
with at any one meeting.
(v) Applications that meet the stated requirements are examined and decided upon at
each meeting of the Commission.
(vi) The tariff quota (import) licence may be used immediately once the decision has been
taken and has a specified period of validity.
(vii) Applications for quota authorizations are submitte d to UDACA, which acts as
executive secretariat for the various ad hoc commissions (dealing with individual
products) under this system.  They are examined immediately and supplemented if
necessary, in order to be submitted subsequently to the relevant ad hoc Commission
which authorizes and fixes the quantity to be imported in each case.  ImportersG/LIC/N/3/GTM/1
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wishing to obtain preferential in-quota tariffs must first register with the Tariff Quota
Administration Unit of the Ministry of the Economy (UDACA) and to that end
complete a form supplied by that body;  a registration number is assigned to each
application.
(viii) Applications submitted in good time, which meet the stated requirements, may be
approved, in which case the available quota volume is shared among the number of
applications approved.
(ix) There are no bilateral quotas or export restraint arrangements for supplier countries.
Export permits from exporting countries are not required.
(x) As previously stated, no export permits are required from exporting countries.
(xi) Import licences are not granted on the condition that goods should be exported.
7. Where there is no quantitative limit on importation of a product or on imports from a
particular country:
In Guatemala, in the case of tariff quota products there are limits on importation under quota
arrangements, in terms of previously established volumes, as was mentioned above.
8. Applications are examined immediately upon receipt to check that they include the
documents and information required;  if they do not, the interested party is told verbally what form of
submission is required.  Consequently, when the application comes before the ad hoc Commission,
there is no reason for it to be rejected, and the only limitation concerns the establishment of the
quantity to be imported, depending on the available quota volume.
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
9. All persons, firms and institutions are eligible  to apply for an import licence, but they must
first register with UDACA and furnish the information described in the following section.
Documentational and other requirements for application for licence
10. There are two types of application (sample forms attached), as follows3:
(a) For registration under the individual product quota regime, interested parties are
asked to provide the following information and supporting documents:  name or
business name;  tax identification number (NIT);  name of owner or legal
representative:  address for tax purposes;  address for service;  trading licence and
telephone and fax number  of the applicant.  The following should be annexed:
certified copy of the letter of appointment of the legal representative and, in the eventthat the latter is a private individual, certified copy of his/her identity card;
authenticated photocopy of the official NIT document;  authenticated photocopy of
the trading licence;  sworn statement on the destination of the product to be imported
and signature and seal of the owner or legal representative.
(b) For purposes of processing the allocation of a portion of the available tariff quota, the
importer must furnish the following inform ation and documents together with the
original application:  name or business name;  tax identification number (NIT);
                                                     
3 Available for consultation in the Secretariat (Market Access Division).G/LIC/N/3/GTM/1
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address for tax purposes;  address for service;  registration number assigned by the
Commission;  identification of the tariff h eading and description of the product to be
imported;  volume in metric tonnes of the product for which an import allocation is
requested;  country of origin of the goods;  estimated date of import and number of
persons responsible for importation.  The following should be annexed:  certifiedphotocopies of the processed import certificates relating to the previous operation
(most recent licence), accompanied by a copy of the relevant import licence duly
stamped by the Tariff Study and Control Department of the General Customs
Directorate;  and name and signature of the legal representative or owner, as the case
may be.  The application will be rejected if it does not meet the requirements set out
above.
11. Upon actual importation and prior to the granting  of a new licence, the requirements referred
to in the previous section (10b) must be satisfied.
12. No licensing fee or administrative charge is payable.
13. No deposit or advance payment requirement is associated with the issue of licences.
Conditions of licensing
14. The period of validity of an import licence varies according to the product concerned and
cannot be extended except where justified by documentary evidence.
15-17. Not applicable.
Other procedural requirements18-19. Not applicable.
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