WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/BOP/N/46
17 June 1999
(99-2469)
Committee on Balance-of-Payments Restrictions Original:  English
NOTIFICATION UNDER PARAGRAPH 9 OF THE UNDERSTANDING ON THE
BALANCE-OF-PAYMENTS PROVISIONS OF THE GENERAL AGREEMENT
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE 1994
Communication from the Slovak Republic
The following communication, dated 5 June 1999, has been received from the Permanent
Mission of the Slovak Republic.
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Pursuant to the notification obligation in paragraph 9 of the Understanding on Balance-of-
Payments Provision of the GATT 1994, the Government  of the Slovak Republic would like to inform
the WTO Members that it has introduced an import surcharge of 7 per cent as from 1 June 1999.  The
legal basis for introduction of the import surcharge is Decree of Ministry of Finance of the Slovak
Republic No. 118/1999 Coll. (attached).
The import surcharge has been introduced in order to redress a difficult balance-of-payments
situation and a low level of foreign currency reserves.  In 1998, the current account deficit amounted
to US$ 2,0631 million and foreign trade deficit amounted to US$ 2,2925 million.  At the beginning of
the year 1999, the level of foreign currency reserves declined considerably and deterioration of the
external position of the Slovak economy has further continued.
The import surcharge was adopted as a measure of a temporary character to supplement a
wide system of macroeconomic measures, with impact on monetary, fiscal and income policy
measures, of the Slovak Government addressing current negative developments in Slovak economy.
The level of the import surcharge has been determ ined with the aim to remedy the balance-of-
payments and foreign reserves situation.
The import surcharge is applied on an MFN basis to all products with the exception of some
agricultural items, basic raw materials and inputs (i.e. black coal, energy, iron ore, natural gas and
some basic inputs for the textile and tanning indu stry) listed in the Annex to Decree No. 118/1999
Coll.
The Government of the Slovak Republic envisages application of this measure until the end of
year 2000 according to the timetable specified in the Basic Document for the consultations as well as
taking into account the actual balance-of-payments situation.
Taking into consideration all aspects of macroeconomic development, the Government of the
Slovak Republic considers that this measure is in conformity with the relevant provisions of the
Article XII of the GATT and Understanding on th e Balance-of-Payments Provisions of the GATT
l994.
The Slovak Republic is ready to enter into consultations in the WTO Committee on Balance-
of-Payments Restrictions under Article XII of the GATT 1994 and all applicable provisions and
procedures.WT/BOP/N/46
Page 2
The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic
DECREE No. 118/1999 Coll. ON IMPORT SURCHARGE
28 May 1999
The Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republ ic pursuant to Article 56 of Law No. 42/1980
Coll. on "External Economic Relations" in the wording of Law No. 102/1988 Coll. and Law
No. 113/1990 Coll. has enacted the following:
Article 1
(1) The import surcharge is imposed on imported goods, except goods listed in paragraph (2).
(2) The import surcharge is not imposed on goods covered under paragraph (1) in the following
cases:
(a) imported goods of commercial character listed in the Annex of this Decree
(b) imported goods listed in specific regulation1
(c) documented re-import2
(d) goods sent by the foreign supplier as a remedy for the goods reclaimed.
(3) For the purposes of this Decree it is understood that imported goods are:(a) goods released into free circulation
3
(b) goods released into the inward processing within the drawback system4
(c) re-imported goods released into free circulation from outward processing5
(d) unlawful imported goods and goods removed from customs supervision.
Article 2
The base for the import surcharge is the customs value of goods.6  The rate of the import
surcharge on goods quoted in Article 1, paragraph (1) is 7 per cent of the basis.
                                                     
1 Decree of the Ministry of Finance of the SR No. 17/1994 Coll. on Exemption of Goods from the
Import Duty as amended,
Decree of the Ministry of Finance of the SR No. 4/1998 Coll. on Reliefs of Non-Cash Contributions
from the Import Duty,
Decree of the Ministry of Finance of the SR No. 39/1998 Coll. on Exemption of Goods, being subject
to debt of the Slovak Republic, from the Import Duty,
Decree of the Ministry of Finance of the SR No. 115/1999 Coll. on Exemption of Machines, Machinery
Equipment, Equipment and Tools from Import Duty.
2 Articles 193 to 195 of the National Council of the Slovak Republic No. 180/1996 of Coll. the
Customs Act.
3 Article 95 to 98 of the Customs Act.
4 Article 122 and further of the Customs Act.
5 Article 157 and further of the Customs Act in wording of the Act of the National Council of the
Slovak Republic No. 386/1996 of Coll.
6 Article 27 to 41 of the Customs Act.WT/BOP/N/46
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Article 3
For imported goods that have received a customs declaration before this Decree enters into
effect current regulations are applied.
Article 4
This Decree enters into effect as from 1 June 1999.
Brigita Schmögnerová
Minister of Finance
of the Slovak RepublicWT/BOP/N/46
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ANNEX to Decree No. 118/1999 Coll.
List of Trading Commodities Exempted from the Import Surcharge:
010210 Beef cattle – pedigree cattle
010511 Fowls of the species Gallus domesticus:
01051200 Turkeys
010519 Live poultry, ducks, geese, turkeys weighing not more than 185 g
03 Fish and crustacea, mollusc, and other water invertebrates
04022911 Special types of milk for toddlers, hermetically sealed in vessels whose net contents
do not exceed 500 g. with the fat content not more than 10%
09011100 Coffee, not roasted
1006 Rice
130219 Other vegetable saps and extracts
18010000 Cocoa beans, whole or broken, raw or roasted
200911 to200940Fruit juices (incl. grape must) and vegetable juices, unfermented and not containing
added spirits, with added sugar or other sweetening matter
2301 Powder, drillings and agglomerated products of cylindrical shape, bean and similar
produced shapes of meat, mince, fish or crustacea or other water invertebrates, unfit
for human consumption, greaves
23040000 Pressed residue and other solid waste, al so crushed or agglomerated in a small
cylindrical shape, bean or similar shapes after the extraction of soya oil
25010031 Salt (including table salt and denatured salt) and pure sodium chloride, also
dissolved, used to produce the chemical reaction for preparation of other products
(separation Na from C1)
250300 Sulphur of any kind, other than sublimated, precipitated and colloid
25041000 Natural graphite in powder or flakes
2505 Natural sand of any kind, also dyed, except sand containing metals of Chapter 26
2506 Quartz (other than natural 'sands);  quartzite, whether or not roughly trimmed or
merely cut, by sawing or otherwise, into blocks or slabs of a rectangular (including
square) shape
2507 Kaolin and other kaolin clays, whether or not calcined
2508 Other clays (not including expanded clays of heading No 6806), andalusite, cyanide
and sillimanite, whether or not calcined;  mullite;  chamotte or dinas earth
25292100 Fluorspar containing by weight 97% or less of calcium fluoride
2601 Iron ores and their concentrates including roasted pyrite
26020000 Manganese ores and their concentrates including iron-manganese ores and
concentrates containing 20% manganese or more, calculated for the dry weight
26030000 Copper ores and their concentrates
26060000 Aluminium ores and concentrates
26100000 Chrome ores and their concentrates
2613 Molybdenum ores and their concentrates
2701 Black coal, briquette, bullet and similar solid fuel processed from black coal
2708 Pitch and pitch coke, obtained from coal tar or from other mineral tars
270900 Mineral oil and oil of bitumen mineral, raw
27112100 Earth gas in gaseous form
2712 Petroleum jelly;  paraffin wax, microcrystalline petroleum wax, slack wax,
ozokerite, lignite wax, peat wax, other mineral waxes, and similar products obtained
by – synthesis or by other processes, whether or not coloured
27160000 Electrical energyWT/BOP/N/46
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280300 Carbon (carbon blacks and other forms of carbon not elsewhere specified or
included)
28046900 Silicon – others
2809 Phosphorus oxide, phosphoric acid and multi-phosphoric acids
281000 Boron oxides, boron acids
28182000 Aluminium oxide, other than artificial corundum
28362000 Disodium carbonate
38160000 Refractory cements, mortars, concretes and similar compositions, other than
products of heading No. 3801
4001 Natural rubber, balata, gutta-percha, guajal, chicle and similar natural types of
rubber, in primary form, or boards, sheet or band
4002 Synthetic rubber and faktis (oil rubber) in primary form or boards, sheet or band,
mixture of products of item 4001 with these product categories in primary form or
boards, sheet or band
40030000 Reclaimed rubber in primary forms or in plates, sheets or strip
4101 Unprocessed leather of bovine, equine and other ungulate species, fresh or salted,
dried, limed, pickled or otherwise preserved but not untanned, unprocessed into skin
parchment nor otherwise prepared also dehaired or split
4103 Other unprocessed leather (fresh or salted, dried, limed, pickled or otherwise
preserved but untanned, not processed into skin parchment, nor otherwise prepared)also dehaired or split, other than excluded with the note 1b) or c) from this Chapter
4501 Natural cork, raw or simple prepared, cork waste, crushed, granulated or minced
45020000 Natural cork de-barked or simple roughly cut, or in rectangular (or square) cubicle,
board, sheet or band (including semi-products with sharp edges intended for caps)
5101 Wool, non-carded and non-teased
5105 Wool and fine or rough hair of animals, ca rded or teased (including strips of carded
wool)
520100 Cotton non-carded and non-teased
5301 Linen, rough or processed but not shinned, linen tow, linen waste (including waste
of yarn and cut material)
5302 True hemp, rough or processed, but non-twisted, tow and waste from true hemp
(including waste of yarn and cut material)
5303 Jute and other stalk fibres (except linen, true hemp, and ramie) rough, unprocessed
but non-twisted, tow and waste from such fibres (including waste of yarn and cutmaterial)
5304 Sisal and other textile fibres of Agave species, rough or processed but untwisted,
tow and waste from such fibres (including waste of yarn and cut material)
6902 Refractory bricks, blocks, tiles and similar refractory ceramic constructional goods,
other than those of siliceous fossil meals or similar siliceous earths
7004 Flat glass drawn or blown, also with re flection or absorption layer, otherwise non-
processed
7005 Table float glass and table glass flatted or glazed, also with a surface of absorption
reflection or non-reflection layer, otherwise unprocessed
7201 Rough iron and furnace spiegel cast iron in loaf, block or other basic forms
7202 Ferro-alloy
7204 Ferrous waste and scrap;  remelting scrap ingots of iron or steel
7213 Bars and rods, hot-rolled, in irregularly wound coils, of iron or non-alloy steel
7217 Wire of iron or non-alloy steel
79011210 Zinc unrefined containing zinc weight from 99.995% to 99.99%
81041100 Rough (unprocessed) magnesium containing  at least 99.8% weight of magnesium
84013000 Non-spent (non-irradiated) fuel elements (cans) (Euraton)WT/BOP/N/46
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8713 Invalid carriages, whether or not motorised or otherwise mechanically propelled
9018 Medical, surgical, dental or veterinary instruments and tools, including scintigraphic
instruments, other electric treatment instru ments as well as sigh-testing instruments
9021 Orthopeadic aids and instruments, including crutches, treatment and surgical bands
and medical support bandages;  splints, walking callipers, and other aids and
instruments for treatment of fractures;  prosthetic appliances and instruments;
hearing aids and other instruments carried in hand or on the person or implanted
into the organism for compensation impacts of any failure or disability
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