WORLD TRADE G/AG/N/VEN/6
25June1997
ORGANIZATION(97-2627)
Original: Spanish Committee onAgriculture
NOTIFICATION
Thefollowing notification concerning theadministration oftariffquotas (Table MA:1) for1997
wasreceived from thedelegation ofVenezuela on18June1997.Table MA:1 MARKET ACCESS: VenezuelaG/AG/N/VEN/6
Page2REPORTING PERIOD: 1997
Implementation ofMarket Access Opportunities: Tariff andOther Quota Commitments
Description ofproducts Tariff itemnumber(s) encompassed
inproduct descriptionDescription ofimport arrangement applicable
(from Section I-B(orI-A)of
PartIoftheSchedule)(from Section I-B(orI-A)ofPartI
oftheSchedule)
1 2 3
Yellow maize (corn)
Sorghum10059011
10070090(a) Notapplicable
(b) Allocation oflicences orofaccess toquotas toimporters:
(i) Government agency competent togrant licences: theMinistry ofAgriculture isthegovernment body
competent togrant licences afterreceiving afavourable opinion from theInterministerial Commission setup
under Decree No.988of29June 1990, comprising theMinistries ofFinance, Industry andTrade, and
Agriculture.
(ii) Limitations oneligibility ofapplicants: yellow maize (corn) andsorghum quotas aredistributed bymeans of
import licences asfollows: 90percenttoapplicant firms thathave carried outimports overthelasttwo
years; andtheremaining 10percentamong firms entering themarket forthefirsttime orwhich are
occasional importers. They must alsohavefulfilled thefollowing requirements:
(a) Traditional imports:
(1) Fillouttheimport licence application form issued bytheSectoral Directorate-General
forAgricultural Marketing;
(2) certificate ofregistration asatraditional importer issued bytheAutonomous
Agricultural Health Service (SASA) oftheMinistry ofAgriculture;
(3) information ondomestic maize andsorghum purchases, production overthelasttwo
years andproduction planfor1997, broken down byproduct line,bothforproducers of
balanced animal feeds andforproducers ofmaize-based foods forhuman consumption;
(4) marketing planindicating theuser-purchaser (formarketing firms);
(5) dataonvolume ofimports carried outoverthelasttwoyears supported bycustoms
declarations (Form AandB),indicating thepurchaser inthecaseofmarketing firms.G/AG/N/VEN/6
Page31 2 3
(b) Newimporters: must fulfil theabove requirements, except asregards thevolume ofimports.
Importers must submit theforegoing together withtheimport licence application totheSectoral
Directorate-General ofAgricultural Marketing, located atTorre Este, Piso19,Parque Central
(correspondence section). Inorder towithdraw theirimport licences, importers mustsubmit tothe
Sectoral Directorate-General ofAgricultural Marketing acertificate orauthorization onofficial
company paper, withtheoriginal dulystamped andsigned withthename oftheperson authorized
towithdraw thelicence, andafiscal stamp for15,000 Bolivars (Article 10,paragraph 4,ofthe
Fiscal Stamp Law).
(iii) Howlicences areallocated: Licences areallocated toimporters whomeettheabove-mentioned requirements.
(iv) Limitations ontheperiod ofvalidity oruseofthelicences granted: Import licences arevalid forthree months
without possibility ofextension. Ifowing tocircumstance orforce majeure theycannot carry outtheimports
within theperiod ofvalidity allowed, beneficiaries must notify theMinistry ofAgriculture forconsideration
ofanewlicence.
(c) Does notapply.
(d) Other information relevant totheimplementation ofmarket access opportunities: Forthepurposes ofquota distribution,
thetotalquantity isconsidered tobethesumofthepartial quantities ofthequotas fortheabove-mentioned products,
which maybeusedindiscriminately byimporters.
Finally, itisimportant toemphasize thatthismeasure isvalid for180days from thedateofitspublication inthe
Official Gazette, No.36,142 (6February 1997), andmay beextended forasimilar period bydecision ofthe
Interministrial Commission.