RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.11 
13 September 2002 
 (02-4871) 
Working Party on the Accession of the Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia  
 
 
  
DRAFT REPORT OF THE WORKING PARTY ON THE 
ACCESSION OF THE FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 
 
 
Corrigendum
 
  
  Page 22, paragraph 81 – replace as follows
: 
81. The representative of FYROM replied that the €19 customs evidence fee was applied only to 
imports at present.  However, the scope and applica tion of this fee would be revised in the light of 
comments from members of the Working Party regardi ng the compatibility of this current fee with the 
requirements of Article VIII of the GATT 1994.  FYROM would issue an amended regulation, 
stipulating a fee of €19 per customs declaration and ex tending the application of the fee to all customs 
procedures without exemption.  The regulation establishing the amended fee[, Decree No. xx of 
xx September 2002,]  - the Regulation Governing the Fee for Customs Services, signed by the 
Minister of Finance on 20 August 2002 and published in the Official Gazette No. 69/02 -  would 
become effective prior to FYROM's accession to the WTO. 
 
 Page 22, paragraph 84 – dele te square brackets as follows:  
84. The representative of FYROM confirmed th at from the date of accession FYROM would 
impose fees and charges for services rendered relate d to importation or exportation only in conformity 
with the relevant provisions of the WTO Agreemen ts, in particular Articles VIII and X of the GATT 
1994.  [ The €100 fee applied to trucks at the Blace border crossing would be reviewed with a view to 
its elimination as soon as the internationa l situation would permit its removal. ]   Information 
regarding the application and level of any such fees, revenues collected and their use would be 
provided to WTO Members upon request.  The Working Party took note of these commitments. 
 
                                                      
1 English language only. WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.1 
Page 2  
 
  Page 24, paragraph 91 – replace as follows:
 
91. [ The representative of FYROM confirmed that th e excise tax regime would be amended prior 
to accession to equalize the tax rates on wines and like beverages.  His Government was preparing an 
amendment to the Law on Excise Taxes.   In a session held on 27 August 2002, his Government 
had accepted amendments to the Law on Exci se Taxes (Article 36, paragraphs 4 and 5) 
equalizing the excise tax on other sparkling and non-sparkling drinks at a rate of 0 Denar per 
litre (Excerpt No. 23-4505/1 forming an integral pa rt of the Draft Amendments to the Law on 
Excise (wine) of 27 August 2002).  The amendment s would be presented to Parliament as soon as 
Parliament would reconvene after the general el ections in September 2002, and FYROM would not 
accept the WTO Agreement until after this legi slation had been enacted and implemented.]  
 
 Page 32, paragraph 121 – add text as follows : 
121. The presentative of FYROM replied that FY ROM had always intended to comply with the 
respective WTO requirements in relation to antidu mping, countervailing or safeguard measures, and 
current legislation expressly required such compliance.  FYROM was currently drafting new 
legislation which, in his view, would be fully cons istent with the Agreement on the Implementation of 
Article VI of the GATT 1994, the Agreement on Safeguards and the Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures.  This legislation had been enacted on 20 June 2002.  Some members of 
the Working Party indicated that, based on their review of the legislation, further work would 
be necessary for it to be meeting the requirements of the WTO Agreements.  They encouraged 
FYROM's efforts to develop WTO-consistent laws  in the areas of safeguards, antidumping and 
countervailing duties, and offered their assistance in this regard.   
 
 Pages 37 and 38, after paragraph 142 new text should be added as follows:  
142bis. The representative of FYROM confirmed that  the new legislation, circulated in draft 
and final text to the Working Party in documents WT/ACC/807/22 and WT/ACC/807/24/Add.3, updated FYROM's standardization regime and promoted fuller harmonization with WTO requirements.  In particular, the Law on Standa rdization and the Law on Prescribing Technical 
Requirements for Products and Conformity Assessment provided for, inter alia , conformity 
assessment procedures that reflected option s for achieving confidence in the technical 
competence of bodies located in the territory of other WTO Members to perform conformity 
assessment and for having their results accepted in ways other than through agreements with 
conformity assessment bodies in ot her countries.  The new laws also established the acceptance  WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.1 
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 and non-discriminatory consideration of appl ications for accreditation from conformity 
assessment bodies located in other WTO Members and the acceptance of conformity assessment 
results from qualifying bodies, as provided for in Article 6 of the Agreement on Technical 
Barriers to Trade. 
 
143. The representative of FYROM said that FY ROM intended to adhere to the Agreement on 
Technical Barriers to Trade from th e date of accession without recourse to a transitional period.  He 
added that the mandatory quality requirements in the Law on Quality Control of Agriculture 
and Food Products in the Foreign Trade Circulat ion (Official Gazette Nos. 5/98 and 13/99) for 
the products listed in the Decision No. 23-2619/1 on Determining Agricultural and Food Products and Their Processings That Are Subjec t to Quality Control in the Foreign Trade 
(Official Gazette No. 53/98), had been eliminated  in accordance with Article 62 of the Law on 
Safety of Foodstuffs and Products and Materials Coming into Contact with Foodstuffs (Official 
Gazette No. 54/02) of 4 July 2002.  He also stated that Article 27 of the new Law on Standardization declares all prev iously mandatory standards to be voluntary.  Henceforth, as 
provided for by WTO rules, all of FYROM's st andards will be considered to be voluntary 
unless reviewed and confirmed as technical regulat ions as provided for in the new legislation 
enacted in July 2002.  FYROM would seek technical assistance to ensure the smooth implementation 
of its new TBT legislation. 
 
 Page 38, paragraph 147 – insert new text as follows:
 
147. FYROM applied the same sanitary and phyto sanitary measures to imported and domestically 
produced goods.  For sanitary measures, the pro cedure included inspection at the border upon request 
of the importer, involving checking of the documen tation, packaging and labeling related to food 
safety, organoleptic examination on site, and sam pling for testing and control by authorized 
laboratories.  National regulations applied also to hygienic practices.  Risk assessment methods were 
not prescribed by law.  Veterinary approval for importation of live animals, animal products, raw 
materials and offal from slaughtered animals was based on the Animal Health Code (OIE) and the 
Codex Alimentarius.  Export certificates for liv e animals, products, raw materials and offal from 
slaughtered animals were based on certificates of compliance of EU countries.  Certificates for 
products imported from non-EU countries were subj ect to bilateral agreem ents and conventions 
providing detailed provisions on the information to be  included in such certificates.  Agricultural and 
forest plants and products coul d only be imported through designa ted border crossings.  Visual 
inspection was carried out by authorized experts,  and samples might be taken to determine the 
presence of quarantine pests.  Imported plants or pl ant products containing quarantine pests would be WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.1 
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 returned or destroyed in agreement with the impor ter.  FYROM did not accept automatically the pest 
list of the European and Mediterranean Plant Prot ection Organization, and had issued national A and 
B lists of quarantine pests and a list of two hu ndred pests which were commercially important 
(Official Gazette No. 9/96).  Certified seeds and seedling material were subject to phytosanitary 
examinations during the vegetation period by institut ions authorized by the Minister for Agriculture, 
Forestry and Water Economy, and by laboratories tes ting to confirm that seeds or planting materials 
were free of pests.  He confirmed that FYROM does not require additional certification or sanitary 
registration for products which have been certif ied as safe for human use and consumption by 
recognized foreign or international bodies.  The Law on Veterinary Health (Official Gazette 
No. 28/98) regulated the issue of veterinary certific ation.  Article 43 of the Law stipulated that 
all shipments containing products of animal orig in should be accompanied by an international 
veterinary certificate issued by the veterinary se rvice of the exporting country.  The certificate 
should contain information determined by the Minister of Agriculture in compliance with OIE 
guidelines, in general providing information on  the origin of the goods, their identity, 
destination, the registration number of the transp ortation vehicle, and the health conditions of 
the shipment.  The Law on Food Safety (Offici al Gazette No. 54/02) was generally silent on 
certification, but its Article 27 stipulated that every shipment of imported food should be examined at designated border crossings.  Offici als from the Ministry of Health had confirmed 
that - although not required - international certificates were taken into consideration during the 
examination.  He added that detailed procedur es for border control would be developed by 
regulation.  The regulations would be prepared with in one year from the date of entry into force 
of the Law on Food Safety pursuant to its Arti cle 61, paragraph 1, and would comply with the 
requirements of the SPS Agreement, in particular its Annex C.  
 
 Page 43, paragraph 163 – replace as follows
: 
163. The representative of FYROM replied that Parlia ment had repealed paragraph 1 of Article 25, 
as well as paragraph 1(2) of Article 3, of th e Law on Free Economic Zones on 23 January 2002.  
Article 1 of the Law Amending the Law on Free Ec onomic Zones had repealed the general export 
performance requirement provided in Article 3, paragraph 1, item 2 of the Law on Free Economic 
Zones, and Article 7 of the Law Amending the Law on Free Economic Zones had repealed Article 25, 
paragraph 1, item 1 of the Law which provided for sp ecific percentages that users of the zone would 
need to export in order to use the benefits of loca ting in the zone.  The amendments had been 
published in the Official Gazette No. 6/02.  He considered the amendment sufficient to ensure 
compliance with the provisions of the Agreem ent on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures.  
Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Law on Free Economic Zones had been retained, but should be seen as a  WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.1 
 Page 5 
 
 
 recommendation, rather than an obligation, to use domestic products.  The provision had no binding 
character and the availability of be nefits was not contingent on it.  Articles 15, 16 and 26 of the Law 
referred to the conditions spelled out in Articles 3 and 25, and as the latter had been amended, the 
aforementioned Articles were now in compliance with  WTO requirements.  In order to ensure that 
these changes were fully transparent and understo od, [further amendments of the Law on Free 
Economic Zones would be implemented prior to accessi on to eliminate any provision that appears to 
require or recommend use of local content or export performance in the production process by firms 
locating in the zones.][a Decision would be promulgated prior to accession that clarifies that nothing 
in the Law on Free Economic Zones can be interpre ted to require use of local products or export 
performanc e in order to establish in the free economic zones.]  and to confirm that the Law on Free 
Economic Zones is fully consistent with Articl e 3.1(b) of the WTO Agreement on Subsidies and 
Countervailing Measures, the Minister of Economy, who administers the Law on Free 
Economic Zones, had issued an Interpretatio n of Article 3, paragraph 3 of the Law on 
4 September 2002 confirming that the recommendati on language in Article 3 is not mandatory, 
is not a condition for any tax benefits or exem ptions, and did not contain any mechanisms to 
require or enforce the use of local content or expo rt performance by firms locating in the zones.    
 
 Page 54, paragraph 210 – replace as follows:  
210. The representative of FYROM said that his Government will comply fully with all WTO 
rules.  As a result of unanticipated political even ts the necessary legislation had not been enacted as 
foreseen in June 2002, but this would be done as so on as possible.  He confirmed that FYROM shall 
enact all necessary amendments to the Law on Copy right and Related Rights by 31 January 2003.  
The amendments will comply with the TRIPS Agreem ent and all other releva nt conventions in the 
area of intellectual property ratified by FYROM.  The amendments will take due account of the 
requirements and commentaries made by WTO Members with regard to the compliance of FYROM's 
legislation with the TRIPS Agreement.  In partic ular, this Law will include the provisions dealing 
with the following issues;  (i) national treatment and protection of foreign authors and holders of 
related rights;  (ii) limitations on economic rights;   (iii)  protection for pre-existing works, sound 
recordings and performances;  (iv)  duration of pr otection for works;  (v) duration of protection for 
performances, phonograms and broadcasts;  (vi) ri ghts of film and scenic producers;  and (vii) 
enforcement.  In the interim, hi s Government would pass a decision  had adopted a Government 
Conclusion on TRIPS Compliance on 20 August 2002  recognizing compliance with the 
requirements contained in the TRIPS Agreement by  virtue of FYROM's existing participation as a 
Member of the Berne Convention and of other conve ntions on copyright and related rights.  In the 
same Decision  Conclusion , his Government would ensure the im plementation and enforcement of all WT/ACC/SPEC/807/4/Rev.2/Corr.1 
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 such requirements.  He noted that international conventions and agreements  ratified by FYROM had 
the power of Law.  He confirmed that all provisi ons would be in full compliance with both the letter 
and the spirit of the TRIPS Agreement.  In th is regard, comments by WTO Members had been 
extremely useful and would be included in the final version of the intellectual property rights legislation in FYROM.  The Working Party took note of these commitments.  
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