WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
31 July 2002
(02-4234)
Committee on Import Licensing Original:  English
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES1
Notification under Article 7.3 of the
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
BARBADOS
The following notification, dated 8 May 2002, has been received from the Permanent Mission
of Barbados.
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Outline of system
1. The Miscellaneous Controls Act Chapter 3292 of the laws of Barbados is employed by the
Government of Barbados to regulate the importation of goods which are subject to the licensing
regime.
Purposes and coverage of licensing
2. Miscellaneous Controls (General Open Import Licence) Regulations - products as listed at
Annex I.
3. The system applies to goods originating outside Caricom (First Schedule of Annex I) and
goods originating within Caricom (Third Schedule of Annex I).
4. The Barbados Import Licensing System is not intended to restrict the quantity or value of
imports.  The system is used for the following purposes:
• Regulation and Monitoring. It should be noted that there are no quantity or value based import
restrictions with respect to the regulation and monitoring purpose.
• Security
• Protection of public morals
• Health
• Environment
5. The Miscellaneous Controls Act Chapter 329 is the law under which the licensing system is
maintained and licensing is therefore statutorily required.  The legislation does not leave the
designation of products subjected to automatic licensing to administrative discretion. However,
licences for products which give rise to issues such as public morals, public safety and public health
                                                     
1 See G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire.
2 Available for consultation in the Secretariat (Market Access Division) (in English only).G/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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are not issued automatically and are therefore subjected to administrative discretion. A list of all items
subject to the import licensing regime is made available to all parties. In addition, respective statutory
instruments are made available to the public by publication in the Official Gazette.
Procedures
6. No quantitative restrictions.7.(a) Importers are advised that import licences should be obtained before the goods are imported.
Licences are processed within three to five working days. Licences can be granted within a shorter
time-limit and applications for goods which arrive owing to inadvertency may be facilitated
depending on the particular circumstances.
(b) A licence can be granted immediately on request depending on the circumstance or type of
good.
(c) There are no limitations as to the period of the year during which applications for licences
and/or importation may be made.
(d) Depending on the item to be imported, e.g. meat or meat products, the importer may have to
approach more than one government agency. The government agency which an importer will have to
approach when importing meat or meat products is the Veterinary Services of the Ministry ofAgriculture and Rural Development. Applications for motorized vessels for pleasure or sports are
considered by a Committee which makes recommendations to the Minister responsible for
Commerce. The representatives of the Committee are the Port Authority, the Ministry of Tourism, the
Customs Department and the Price Control Division.
8. All licences are issued automatically, except wi th regard to goods falling under the following
categories:
• Health and Safety
• Public morals
• Security
When an application is denied, the applican t has the right to appeal and may request a
meeting with the following persons:
• Chief Price Control Officer
• Permanent Secretary
• Minister
The applicant could approach the Barbados Chamber of Commerce or the Barbados
Manufacturers’ Association to make representation on his behalf, or seek redress in the Civil Court.
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
9. All firms, persons and institutions are eligib le to apply for licences under the restrictive and
non-restrictive system.G/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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Documentational and other requirements for application for licence
10. Applicants are required to state their personal or business name; address; the country from
which the good is sourced and the country from which it is being consigned; the expected date and
time of arrival; the relevant tariff heading; the description of goods and quantity and the quoted c.i.f.value in Barbados dollars. No other document is required.
11. For goods from Caricom countries, a certificate of origin is required as well as the
commercial invoice.  Goods from non-Caricom  sources require only the commercial invoice.
12. There is no licensing fee or administrative charge.
13. There is no deposit or advance payment requirement.
Conditions of licensing
14. A licence is valid for up to three months.  The validity of a licence can be extended by
renewal. A licence may be renewed after its expiry date if the goods have not yet arrived in the
country. In order to renew a licence, the applicant has to fill out a similar application for the goods for
which a licence was previously issued.
15. There is no penalty for the non-utilisation of a licence or a portion thereof.16. Licences are not transferable.17.(a) Not applicable.
(b) Other conditions that may be attached to the issue of a licence are as follows:
• an import licence may be issued for manufacturing purposes only.
• a licence may be issued for goods to be re-exported.
Other procedural requirements
18. There are no other administrative procedures apart from import licensing and similar
administrative practices that are required prior to importation.
19. There are no hindrances to obtaining foreign exchange provided by the banking authorities for
goods to be imported.  Licences are not required to obtain foreign exchange and foreign currency is
readily available to cover licences issued and for goods that are not subject to the import licensing
system.  Importers in possession of original invoices for the importation of goods can obtain foreigncurrency from local commercial banks.  Those without invoices are required to complete a Foreign
Currency Import Form (FCI) from the Central Bank, after which approval is given to obtain the
currency.G/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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ANNEX I
FIRST SCHEDULE
(Regulation 2(1))
Tariff heading No. Description of goods
01.05 Live poultry
02.03 Meat of swine, fresh, chilled or frozen
Ex 02.07 Meat of poultry of heading No. 01.05 fresh, chilled or frozen
0210.101 Ham
0210.102 Bacon
03.02 Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fi llets and other fish meat of heading
No. 03.04
03.03 Fish, frozen, excluding fish fi llets and other fish meat of
heading No. 03.04
03.04 Fish fillets and other fish meat, fresh, chilled or frozen
04.01 Milk and cream, not concentrated nor  containing added sugar or other
sweetening matter
04.02 Milk and cream concentrated or containing added sugar or other
sweetening matter
Ex 04.07 Birds' eggs in shell, fresh, excluding hatching eggs
0702.00 Tomatoes, fresh or chilled
0703.101 Onions, fresh or chilled
0703.102 Shallots (échalotes) fresh or chilled
07.04 Cabbages, cauliflowers, kohlrabi, kale and similar edible brassicas, fresh
or chilled
07.05 Lettuce and chicory, fresh or chilled
07.06 Carrots and turnips, beetroots, salsify, celeriac, radishes and similar edible
roots fresh or chilled
07.07 Cucumbers and gherkins fresh or chilled
07.08 Leguminous vegetables, shelled or unshelled fresh or chilled
07.09 Other vegetables, shelled or unshelled, fresh or chilled
07.10 Vegetables, uncooked or cooked, frozen
0714.20 Sweet potatoes
Ex 08.07 Melons
1501.01 LardG/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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Tariff heading No. Description of goods
15.07 Soya bean oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not
chemically modified
15.08 Groundnut oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not
chemically modified
15.09 Olive oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically
modified
15.10 Other oils and their fractions, obtained solely from olives, whether or
not refined but not chemically modifi ed, including blends of these oils
or fractions with oils or fractions of Heading No. 1509
15.11 Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically
modified
15.12 Sunflower seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof,
whether or not refined, but not chemically modified
15.13 Coconut (copra), palm kernel or babassu oil and fractions thereof,
whether or not refined, but not chemically modified
15.14 Rape, colza or mustard oils and fractions thereof, whether or not refined,
but not chemically modified
15.15 Other fixed vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, whether or not
purified, but not chemically modified
16.01 Sausages and similar products of meat, meat offal or blood, food
preparations based on these products
16.02 Other prepared or preserved meats,  meat offal or blood (excluding
corned beef)
Ex 17.01 Beet sugar and cane sugar in solid form
1902.01 Uncooked pasta, not stuffed or otherwise prepared
20.07 Jams, jellies, marmalades, fruit puree and fruit pastes
20.09 Fruit juices (including grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented
and not containing added spirit whether or not containing added sugar orother sweetening matter
22.02 Waters, including mineral waters and aerated waters, containing added
sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured and other non-alcoholicbeverages
22.03 Beer made from malt
Ex 22.06 Shandy
Ex 22.08 ShandyG/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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Tariff heading No. Description of goods
34.01 Soap, organic surface active products and preparations for use as soap in
bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes whether or not containing soap;
paper, wadding;  felt and non-woven, impregnated, coated or covered
with soap or detergent
34.02 Organic surface active agents;  surface active preparations, washing
preparations and cleaning preparations whether or not containing soap
Ex 36.04 Fireworks
Ex 38.23 "Chemshield" (the defence method of our times)
Ex 38.23 "Mace" and similar products
Ex 39.26 Handcuffs of plastic
Ex 61.09 T-shirts
Ex 73.26 Handcuffs of iron or steel
Ex 82.11 Ratchet knives, spring loaded knives including flick knives
87.02 Public transport type passenger motor vehicles
87.03 Motor cars and other vehicles principally designed for the transport of
persons (other than those of H eading No. 87.02), including station
wagons, and racing cars
Ex 87.06 Chassis fitted with engines for the assembly of coaches and buses
Ex 87.08 Chassis without engines for the assembly of coaches and buses
Ex 89.03 Yachts and other vessels for pleasure or sports
Ex 95.04 Coin-operated amusement machines
Ex 95.04 Equipment and accessories for gambling or parlour games (excluding
gaming machines) for example blackjack tables, table counters, handcounters, roulette wheels, dice, dice boxes, croupier's rakes, etc.G/LIC/N/3/BRB/2
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THIRD SCHEDULE
(Regulation 2(2))
Tariff heading No. Description of goods
04.02 Milk and cream concentrated or containing added sugar or other
sweetening matter
15.07 Soya bean oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not
chemically modified, including blends of these oils or fractions with oils
or fractions of Heading No. 15.09
15.11 Palm oil and its fractions, whether or not refined, but not chemically
modified
15.12 Sunflower seed, safflower or cotton-seed oil and fractions thereof,
whether or not refined, but not chemically modified
15.13 Coconut (copra), palm kernel or babassu oil and fractions thereof,
whether or not refined, but not chemically modified
15.14 Rape, colza or mustard oils and fractions thereof, whether or not refined,
but not chemically modified
15.15 Other fixed vegetable fats and oils and their fractions, whether or not
purified, but not chemically modified
34.01 Soap, organic surface active products and preparations for use as soap in
bars, cakes, moulded pieces or shapes whether or not containing soap;paper, wadding;  felt and non-woven, impregnated, coated or coveredwith soap or detergent
34.02 Organic surface active agents;  surface active preparations, washing
preparations and cleaning preparations whether or not containing soap
Ex 36.04 Fireworks
Ex 38.23 "Chemshield" (the defence method of our times)
Ex 38.23 "Mace" and similar products
Ex 39.26 Handcuffs of plastic
Ex 73.26 Handcuffs of iron or steel
Ex 82.11 Ratchet knives, spring loaded knives including flick knives
Ex 95.04 Coin-operated amusement machines
Ex 95.04 Equipment and accessories for gambling or parlour games (excluding
gaming machines), for example blackjack tables, table counters, handcounters, roulette wheels, dice, dice boxes, croupier's rakes, etc.
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