WORLD TRADE G/LIC/N/3/POL/1
10October 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-4348)
Original: English Committee onImport Licensing
REPLIES TOQUESTIONNAIRE ONIMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
Notification under Article 7.3oftheAgreement
onImport Licensing Procedures
POLAND
Thefollowingnotification,dated7October1997,hasbeenreceivedfromthePermanentMission
ofPoland.
_______________
Outline ofsystems
1. Asarule, imports intoPoland arefree, withexceptions foreseen intheCustoms Lawof
28December 1989(Dziennik Ustaw -Journal ofLaw/J.O. N75,item445asamended) stillinforce.
Thereplies totheQuestionnaire discribe theprocedures which havebeenapplied in1997. Some changes
totheseprocedures willtakeplace in1998aftersubstitution oftheCustoms LawbytheCustoms Code
andother laws, complying withtherules ofinternational trade adopted byWTO.
Atpresent, according totheCustoms Law, import licensing isrequired for:
I. GOODS IMPORTED UNDER CONCESSIONS (SPECIAL PERMITS) GRANTED TO
IMPORTERS;
II. GOODS SUBJECT TOQUOTAS ESTABLISHED INQUANTITY ORVALUE TERMS OR
SUBJECT TOTEMPORARY RESTRAINTS ONIMPORTS; and
III. GOODSIMPORTEDINTHEFRAMEWORKOFINTERNATIONALAGREEMENTSWHICH
PROVIDE FOR SETTLEMENTS INACCOUNTING UNITS ACCEPTED IN
INTERNATIONAL TRADE (INFOREIGN CURRENCIES).
Thissystem remains inapplication untilthemutual obligations within thebilateral clearing
agreements areliquidated bythedeliveries ofgoods.
Since Poland 'saccession toWTO, noglobal quotas wereapplied inorder tolimitthevolume
ofimports norasasafequard measure. Instead, theCouncil ofMinisters initsregulations established
fortheyear1997tariffquotas foragricultural products inconformity withPolish undertakings inWTO,
aswellastariff quotas forsome industrial products withlower in-quota duties thanprovided inthe
Polish Customs Tariff. Licensing enables theadministration oftariff quotas.G/LIC/N/3/POL/1
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I. GOODS IMPORTED UNDER CONCESSIONS (SPECIAL PERMITS) GRANTED TO
IMPORTERS
Purposes andcoverage oflicensing
2. Concession isconsidered acondition forimportation ofcertain goods, namely ofsome food
preparations,alcoholicbeverages,tobaccoproducts,mineraloilsandfuelsandproductsofitsdestillation
(seeAnnex 11).
3. Goods canbeimported irrespective oftheirorigin andofthecountry ofexportation.
4. Thepurpose oftheconcessions andoflicensing ofthegoods inquestion istoadmit toimport
activities onlythose importers whocanbetrusted, aresolidandreliable; incaseofalcohol andtobacco
products thesystem ismaintained alsoforreasons ofsecurity andhealth oftheconsumers.
Grantingofconcessionsandoflicencesisnotintendedtorestrictthequantityorvalueofimports,
buttostrenghten thediscipline oftheeconomic operators.
5. Thedecision concerning goods tobesubjected toconcessions in1997wastaken bytheMinister
ofForeign Economic Relations, invirtue oftheLawonEconomic Activities andpublished inthe
Regulation ontheListofgoods andservices concessions tocarry onactivities inforeign trade are
required for(J.O. N155/96, item762).
Thelegalbasisforlicensing isprovided forinArticle 7.1oftheCustoms Law, according to
which thesystem isobligatory forgoods subject toconcessions. Thelegislation confers authority upon
administration todesignate goods subject toconcessions forimporters andconsequently tolicensing.
Thesystem cannotbeabolished without changes inthelegislation.
Procedures
7. (a) Theapplication foralicence hastobemade prior totheimportation withsuchan
advance thatthecustoms clearance ofgoods notbedisturbed. Theapplications are
processed without delay asandwhen received, usually within fewdaystotheextent
administrativelyfeasible,ifapplicantsobservetheobligatoryprocedures,anddepending
onthenumber ofapplications.
Licences aregranted onafirst-come, first-served basis. Thepastperformance ofthe
applicant is,among others, taken intoconsideration when theapplication isprocessed.
New importers aretreated onanequal basis asothers, iftheymeet theformal
requirements.
(b) Theapplications arenotapproved immediately onreceipt inorder toavoid giving
preference tosome importers inrelation toothers, thatisincontradiction withthe
ruleofequal treatment ofallapplicants.
(c) There arenolimitations astotheperiod oftheyearduring which theapplications can
besubmitted.
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(d) Applications areprocessed andlicences granted byasingle administrative organ, since
1January 1997, theMinistry ofEconomy.
8. Theapplication isnotprocessed when itdoesnotmeettheformal requirements (forexample,
ifsome oftherequired documents arelacking). Thelicence mayauthorise theimportation ofaproduct
inquantities orinvalue lower thanapplied for,ifthelicences granted previously were notutilised
several times orutilised inpart.Inallcases, decisions arecommunicated totheapplicants. Theapplicant
isentitled toapply forareconsideration ofhisapplication ortocomplain totheHigh Administrative
Court.
Eligibility ofimporters toapply forlicence
9(b). Under non-restrictive systems, allphysical andlegalpersons areeligible toapply forlicences,
provided theireconomic activities hadbeenregistered. Forgoods subject toconcessions only
holders thereof areeligible tomake applications.
Totheapplication foraconcession, various documents andinformation havetobeappended
inaccordance withtheRegulation oftheMinister ofEconomy (O.J.N 70/97, item445).
Thesystems applied toregistration ofeconomic activities aregoverned byseparate rules. The
registration iscarried oneither bycourts orbyorgans oflocaladministration (communities),
depending onthekindofenterprise. Registration records arekeptandregistration feescollected
byorgans responsible forregistration. Thefeesarediversified.
10. Asample application form (seeAnnex 21)forgoods subject tolicensing isannexed tothe
Regulation oftheMinister ofEconomic Relations withAbroad of22December 1993 onthemethod
ofquota allocation andonissuing ofexport andimport licences (J.O.131/93, item626). TheRegulation
indicates which documents andinformation aretobesubmitted withtheapplication.
According totheabove-mentioned Regulation, importers havetoannex totheapplication the
following documents ortheircertified copies :
- confirmation oftheright tooperate inforeign trade within theregistered economic activity
(copy from thecommercial orother register);
- copy oftheapplicant 'sstatistical identification, i.e.hisstatistical number, issued byan
appropriate statistical office;
- certificate thattheapplicant isnotinarrears withtaxes, issued byanappropriate fiscal office;
and
- copyofthecontract.
Inaddition, thefollowing documents arerequired :
- copyoftheconcession granted totheapplicant bytheMinister ofEconomy, declaration about
thelevelofsalesofproducts subject tolicensing during thelasttwelve months preceding the
submission oftheapplication, withtheindication ofmainbuyers inPoland andprincipal foreign
suppliers;
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- balance ofutilisation ofimport licences allocated inthepast;
- indication ofthedocumentary evidence concerning proper orother financial means necessary
forimport payments;
- commitment thatthequality ofimported goods meets thePolish standards andrequirements
andthatquality certificates issued byPolish orforeign supervising firms willbeprovided;
- incaseofapplication foralicence toimport certain alcoholic beverages, thepermit tocarry
outactivities inwholesale trade ofspirits onthePolish territory, granted bytheMinister of
Economy;
- incaseofapplication foralicence toimport alcoholic beverages andpreparations incontainers
of2liters ormore, thepermit toproduce andbottle vodka, granted bytheMinister of
Agriculture andofFoodstuffs Economy, ortheagreement withaneconomic operator holding
suchapermit; and
- incaseofapplication foralicence toimport liquid fuels, thedeclaration onthestoring conditions
andcapacities attheapplicant 'sdisposal andthedocument certifying hislegaltitletoutilise
them (property, rent).
11. Upon actual importation, theimporter presents theusually required documents suchasinvoice,
SAD, transport document, andobligatorily, thelicence andthecopyofconcession.
12. Thelicensing feesareasfollows :
- Zl200,ifthevalue ofimported goods indicated inthelicence isnothigher thanZl100,000;
- Zl400,ifthevalue ofimported goods ishigher thanZl100,000.
13. There isnodeposit oradvance payment associated withtheissuance oflicences .
Conditions oflicensing
14. Import licences aregenerally valid forthree months. Theperiod ofvalidity ofalicence may
beextended upon anappropriate application submitted bytheimporter.
15. Non-utilisation ofalicence orutilisation ofitsportion arenotpenalised.
16. Each licence bears theapplicant 'sname. Licences arenottransferable between importers.
17. (b) Noother conditions areattached totheissue ofalicence bytheregulations inforce.
Other procedural requirements
18. Apart fromimport licensing, generally theimported goods tobereleased forfreecirculation
onthePolish territory havetomeetseveral requirements, i.e.ofcertification andstandardisation, which,
however, arenotconsidered acondition oflicence issuance. Thecompliance withsuchrequirements
isverified, inaccordance withthelegislation inforce, including theCustoms Law, when thedecision
ontheentry ofimported goods onthePolish territory istaken.G/LIC/N/3/POL/1
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19. Payments forpurchase ofgoods which remain abroad orareimported forcommercial purposes
aswellasforpurchase ofservices andproperty rights onnon-material goods donotrequire foreign
exchange permit. Intermediation offoreign exchange banks isnecessary incaseoftransfers and
payments realated toforeign trade.
II. GOODS SUBJECT TOQUOTAS ESTABLISHED INQUANTITY ORVALUE TERMS OR
SUBJECT TOTEMPORARY RESTRAINTS ONIMPORTS
2. Temporary restraints onimport havebeenmaintained in1997 invirtue oftheregulations of
theCouncil ofMinisters forthefollowing goods:
- liquefied petroleum gasandother gaseous hydrocarbons -PCNcode2711(J.O. 148/96, item
692-seeAnnex 31);
- substances depleting theozonlayer andproducts containing suchsubstances -different PCN
codes (J.O. 148/96 item694-seeAnnex 41);
- partsusedinindustrial assembly ofmotor vehicles -different PCN codes (J.O. 104/96, item
480; J.O.157/96, item794; J.O.65/97, item416-seeAnnex 51).
TherulesrelatedtoimportationofgoodsforindustrialassemblingaredescribedintheComments
toSections 84and87ofthePolish Customs Tariff fortheyear1997 andinthedescriptions ofthe
particular codenumbers (forindustrial assembly).
3. SeeI.3.
4. 1) Licensing ofliquefied petroleum gas(butane andpropane) wasintroduced inorder
tocontrol whether thequality ofimported goods meets Polish technical norms aswell
asforreasons ofsecurity. Licensing doesnotaimatlimiting either quantities orvalue
ofimports. Itisintended todiscipline economic operators importing goods subject
tolicences. Atthesametimethesystem provides information which inothersituations
areobtained through monitoring.
2) Theobject oflicensing istoprotect thenatural environment, inaccordance withthe
provisions ofMontreal Protocol.
3) Thepurpose oflicensing ofcertain goods imported forindustrial assembly ofmotor
vehicles istocontribute tothemodernisation ofthissector ofeconomy andthusto
achieve theadequate levelofquality ofassembled motor vehicles. Thisisnecessary
from thepoint ofview bothofroadtransport security andofnatural environment
protection.
Thehighstandard ofassembled vehicles willbeachieved byelimination ofassembly
onthebasis ofimported parts andcomponents oflowtechnological quality, carried
onbyfirms which donothaveappropriate facilites andarenotproperly equipped in
machinery andappliances.
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Theintroductionofasystemofpermits-concessionstoproduce/assemblymotorvehicles,
trailers andsemi-trailers hasbeenconsidered. Thesystem would beapplied tothe
producers ofPolish vehicles aswellastotheassemblers whooperate onthebasis of
CKD andSKD assemblies.
5. Article 9.1oftheCustoms Lawtransfers theauthority upon theCouncil ofMinisters toput
intoforce thetemporary restraints onimport orexport ofgoods, ifreasons ofcommercial policy or
economic ornational interests justify it.Forgoods subject totemporary import restraints, licence is
acondition forimportation. SeealsoI.5.
7(a)-(d). For1),2),3)-seeI.7(a)-(d).
8 - For1)and2)seeI.8
- For3)-application foralicence toimport parts forindustrial assembly ofmotor
vehicles isnotprocessed incasetheapplicant didnotperform suchactivity before
the24August 1996. Forother applicants see1)and2)above.
9(b). SeeI.9(b); concession isnotacondition forimportation. For3),seealso8.3)above.
10. Thesame sample formofapplication asannexed toI.10. Fourbasic documents enumerated
inI.10arerequired.
Inaddition theapplicants havetosubmit :
- thedeclaration thattheimported gaseous hydrocarbons comply withthePolish norms.
- opinionconcerningthepossibilityofimportation,issuedbytheInstituteofIndustrialChemistry-
Office ofProtection oftheOzon Layer.
11. Besides thedocuments normally required bytheCustoms, thelicence must bepresented.
12. seeI.12.
13. seeI.13.
14. seeI.14.
15. seeI.15.
16. seeI.16.
17. seeI.17.
18. seeI.18.
19. seeI.19.G/LIC/N/3/POL/1
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III. GOODSIMPORTEDINTHEFRAMEWORKOFINTERNATIONALAGREEMENTSWHICH
PROVIDE FOR SETTLEMENTS INACCOUNTING UNITS ACCEPTED IN
INTERNATIONAL TRADE (INFOREIGN CURRENCIES)
Within theexisting amount ofassets, licences expressed invalue ofimports areallocated to
theapplicantsinaccordanewiththeintergovernmentalarrangements.Thelicensingproceduresdescribed
either inpartIorinpartIIofthereplies areapplied depending onthekindofimported goods. Import
under thislicensing system isnegligible anditconcerns onlyfewcountries.