WORLD TRADE G/LIC/N/3/MLI/1
10June1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2396)
Original: French Committee onImport Licensing
REPLIES TOQUESTIONNAIRE ONIMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
Notification under Article 7.3oftheAgreement on
Import Licensing Procedures
MALI
Thefollowing communication, dated 9May1997, hasbeenreceived from thedelegation of
Mali.
________________
Thegeneral import licensing procedure wasabolished in1989. There arecurrently twoimport
regimes inforce: thefree-trade regime andtheprohibition regime. Theprohibition onimports of
certain products isjustified forreasons ofpublic health ornational security, orforsocial reasons.
Outline ofsystems
1. (a) Free-trade regime
Importation isfreeforallproducts withtheexception ofthose appearing inthelistofprohibited
products. Quotas arenolonger applied either tovalue orquantity. Theimport document, known
asthe"certificate ofintention toimport", isissued automatically, anditssolepurpose istoprovide
statistical data.
(b) Prohibition regime
Therearetwoprohibitionregimes:theabsoluteprohibitionregimeandtherestrictiveprohibition
regime:
(i) Absolute prohibition concerns:
- Medicaments forhuman usewhich may notbeimported without the
authorization oftheMinistry ofHealth;
- medicaments forveterinary use,which maynotbeimported without ajoint
authorization fromtheappropriate services oftheMinistry ofHealth andthe
Ministry ofAnimal Husbandry;
- natural ormanufactured foreign products carrying atrademark, brand name,
sign orindication ofanykind such asmight suggest thatthey were
manufactured inMaliorwereofMalian origin, either directly ontheproduct
itself oronpackaging, crates, packs, envelopes, tapeorlabels, etc;
- narcotic drugs andpsychotropic substances.G/LIC/N/3/MLI/1
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(ii) Restrictive prohibition concerns:
- Meat, liveanimals, hides ofhunted animals andhunting trophies. They may
beimported uponpresentation ofacertificate oforigin andahealth certificate;
- transit ofcattle, which issubject tothepresentation ofahealth certificate;
- import ofarms andammunition subject toanauthorization from security
services;
- import ofplants subject tothepresentation ofaphytosanitary certificate;
- importofmotorvehicleswiththeexceptionofpassengercarsandlightvehicles,
which maybeauthorized bythetechnical services oftheMinistry ofTransport;
- import ofcigarettes, tobacco andmatches authorized bytheMinister ofTrade;
- import offishing netswithamesh sizeoflessthan50mmunstretched, subject
toauthorization bythecompetent services oftheMinistry ofWater andForests.
Purposes andcoverage oflicensing
2. There aretwogroups ofproducts thatmayonlybeimported withtheauthorization ofthe
competent services ofthesupervisory Ministries concerned:
(i) Absolute prohibition
The products concerned appear inthelistinOrder 90-2442/MFC-CAB of
14August 1990ontheestablishment ofthelistofproducts whose import andexport
isprohibited. These products arealsolisted inreply 1(b)(i).
(ii) Restrictive prohibition
Theproducts concerned arelisted inreply 1(b)(ii).
3. Allcountries except Israel.
4. No,itspurpose isstatistical. Theother questions under point 4arenotapplicable.
5. (i) Decree No.89-194/PGRM of15June1989 ontheregulation offoreign trade, and
Orders No.89-1824 bis/MFC-CAB of15June 1989 and90-2442/MFC-CAB of
14August 1990 establishing thelistofproducts whose import isprohibited.
(ii) Licensing isnotstatutorily required.
(iii) Yes.
(iv) Yes,theGovernment mayabolish thesystem without legislative approval.G/LIC/N/3/MLI/1
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Procedures
6. Noproducts areunder restriction astothequantity orvalue ofimports.
I. Therearenoquotasfortheimportofproducts.Theformalitiesforfilingapplicationsforlicences
aresetforth intheinstruments mentioned inpoint 5(i)above andintheTrade Code ofMali. There
arenoexemptions from these formalities.
II. Therearenocasesinwhichthesizeofquotasisdeterminedonayearly,six-monthlyorquarterly
basis. Theother questions of6.IIdonotapply.
III. Licences arenever allotted forcertain goods partly oronlytodomestic producers oflikegoods.
Asthelicensing regime wasabolished on15June1989, nosteps havebeentaken toensure thatthe
certificates ofintention toimport allocated areactually usedforimport. Unused allocations arenot
allocated atall.Since importation isfreeinMali, thenames ofimporters aremade known neither
togovernments, nortoanybodies.
IV. Notapplicable, since there arenoquotas.
V. Withrespecttoquotas,thequestiondoesnotapply.Asregardsautomaticlicensingorcertificates
ofintention toimport, thelength oftimeforprocessing applications is24hours.
VI. There isnominimum length oftimeforcertificates ofintention toimport. Once theyare
granted, theymaybeapplied immediately.
VII. ApplicationsforcertificatesofintentiontoimportareregisteredbytheEconomicAffairsservice.
Theyaresubmitted through asingle window operating inBamako, stamped bytheGovernment Property
Agency andbytheExchange Authority, andsigned bytheEconomic Affairs service. Theimporter
approaches asingle administrative organ, theNational Directorate ofEconomic Affairs, where the
single window, combining theGovernment Property Agency andtheTreasury service, islocated.
Attheregional level, applications areexamined bythree organs.
VIII. Alldemand forimport issatisfied. Theapplications areexamined uponreceipt onafirst-come,
first-served basis, provided allofthenecessary conditions aremet.
IX. Notapplicable.
X. Notapplicable.
XI. Yes,andinthecaseofin-bond manufacturing.
7. (a) There isnotime-limit forthesubmission ofapplications forcertificates ofintention
toimport. Since theissue ofalicence inthatconnection requires 24hours, import documents may
beobtained within thattime-limit forgoods arriving attheportowing toinadvertency andwithout
thecertificate ofintention toimport. However, forgoods with anf.o.b. value exceeding
CFAF 3,000,000, thecertificate mustbeestablished bytheimporter before theyareshipped inorder
toenable theSGStoinspect them before shipment.
(b) Yes,within amaximum time-period of24hours.G/LIC/N/3/MLI/1
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(c) There isnoparticular period oftheyearforthesubmission ofapplications forimport
documents. Applications forcertificates ofintention toimport maybesubmitted atanytimeduring
theyear.
(d) Inthecapital, applications forcertificates ofintention toimport areconsidered bya
singleadministrativeorgan,theNationalDirectorateofEconomicAffairs,wherethereisasinglecounter.
Thecertificates arestamped atthesingle counter bytheGovernment Property Agency andtheExchange
Authority. Theimporter approaches asingle administrative organ. Attheregional level, theimporter
approaches thethree above-mentioned administrative organs.
8. Anapplication foracertificate ofintention toimport mayberefused forsecurity reasons.
Thereasons fortherefusal arealways given totheapplicant, whoisfreetoappeal thedecision to
anycompetent body.
Eligibility ofimporters toapply forlicence
9. Only approved natural orlegalpersons areauthorized toengage inimportation.
There isaregistration system fornatural orlegalpersons eligible toimport. While there is
noregistration fee,importers mustpayanoccupational tax.Yes,thereisalistofauthorized importers
which maybepublished.
Documentational andother requirements forapplication forlicence
10. Thecertificate ofintention toimport, themodel ofwhich issoldbytheChamber ofTrade
andIndustry ofMali, must contain thefollowing information:
(a) Concerning theimporter
- name orcompany name
- address
- taxidentification number
(b) Concerning thegoods
- brand name
- tariff nomenclature andstatistical customs classification
- country oforigin
- country ofconsignment
- gross weight inkilogrammes
- netweight inkilogrammes
- number ofpackages, number ofcontainers
- f.o.b. value ofshipment
- f.o.b. toc.i.f. value
- c.i.f. value
- name orcompany name ofthesupplier
(c) Concerning themiddlemen
- name oftheforwarding agent oracustoms agent orreference concerning the
authority tocarry outcustoms clearance
- bankofdomiciliationG/LIC/N/3/MLI/1
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- means ofpayment
- requested currency
(d) Concerning shipment
- portofembarkation
- portoftransit
- customs clearance office
Thefollowing documents must besupplied withtheapplication:
- twocopies ofthepro-forma invoice
- valid clearance from thetaxauthorities
11. Thedocuments required upon actual importation are:
- certificate ofintention toimport
- declaration forhome use
- definitive invoices orbilloflading/airway bill
- certificate ofinspection fromtheSGS(Société Générale deSurveillance) incaseswhere
thef.o.b. value ofthegoods exceeds CFAF 3million.
12. Astamp dutycalculated onthebasis ofthec.i.f. value, i.e.CFAF 6,000 forthefirst
CFAF 500,000 worth ofimports andCFAF 3,000 perCFAF 500,000 worth ofimports thereafter.
13. Nodeposit oradvance payment isrequired fortheissueofacertificate ofintention toimport.
Conditions oflicensing
14. Theperiod ofvalidity ofacertificate ofintention toimport issixmonths from thedateon
which itisregistered withtheNational Directorate ofEconomic Affairs, extendable bythree months.
Allrequests forextension ofacertificate mustbesubmitted totheNational Directorate ofEconomic
Affairs before theexpiry ofitsperiod ofvalidity. Theimporter, inorder toobtain anextension, must
provide proof ofshipment ofthegoods. Thecertificate ofintention toimport mayonlybeextended
once.
15. There isnopenalty forthenon-utilization ofthecertificate ofintention toimport oraportion
thereof.
16. Certificates ofintention toimport arepersonal andcannot betransferred.
17. (a)Notapplicable. Noquantitative restrictions inMali.
(b)No.
Other procedural requirements
18. Inclusion intheTrade Register.
19. Allimport transactions must bedomiciled withanauthorized bankwhich isresponsible for
thetransfer oftherequired foreign exchange.