WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/LIC/N/3/JPN/1Corr.1
9 April 1998
(98-1462)
Committee on Import Licensing Original:  English
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
Notification under Article 7.3 of the
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
JAPAN
Corrigendum
In a communication dated 2 April 1998, the Permanent Mission of Japan has submitted the
following corrections to the replies to the Ques tionnaire circulated in do cument G/LIC/N/3/JPN/1,
dated 20 November 1996:
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I. MARINE PRODUCTS
1. Import quota items
Reply 2:  Add the following sentence to the end:
"("ex" indicates that only a part of the Heading is covered)."
Reply 6, para. III:  Add the following sentence to the end:
"The names of importers to whom a certificate for an import quota is issued is
published in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Official Bulletin and the
International Trade Bulletin."
2. Import approval items
Reply 2:  Add the following to the end:
"(7) Bluefin tuna and their preparations
HS No.
03.01, 03.02, 03.03, 03.04, 03.05, 16.04, 23.01, 23.09"
Reply 3:  Add the following sentence to the end:
"(4) The permit system applies to para.2(7) for those coming from Belize,
Honduras and Panama."G/LIC/N/3/JPN/1Corr.1
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Reply 4:  Add the following sentence to the end:
"The objective of restriction of 2(7) above is to observe the resolution of the ICCAT."
Reply 10:  Add the following sentence to the end:
"In case of para.2(7), an importer shall submit the conformation issued by the
Fisheries Agency, when the goods have originated in Belize, Honduras and Panama."
Please replace Section VIII with the following:"VIII. SILK PRODUCTS,SILK YARN,WOVEN FABRICS OF SILK,GAUZE OF SILK
Outline of systems
1. See reply of Import quota items in Marine products.
Purposes and coverage of licensing
2. Permits are required for woven fabrics of silk as follows:
HS No. ex5007 - Woven fabrics of silk (excluding fabrics of noil and of silk and other fibre
mixture)HS No. ex5803 - Gauze of silk
3. (1) The permit system applies to this paragraph for those products coming from the
People's Republic of China.
4. In principle, licensed products shall be restricted quantitatively.  The permit system is to
secure the results of bilateral agreements though alternative methods of accomplishing the purposeshave not been considered.
5. See reply of Propellant powders.
Procedures
6.I. The information relating to the application of import quotas shall be published in the Official
Gazette, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Official Bulletin, the International
Trade Bulletin and the newspapers.  The total amount shall be published in the Ministry of
International Trade and Industry Official Bulletin and others.  The classification of the import
quotas is made by item, as follows:
Item Originating country
Woven fabrics of silk (excluding fabrics of noil and of silk People's Republic of China
and other fibre mixture)
Gauze of silkG/LIC/N/3/JPN/1Corr.1
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With regard to cases whereby an application for import licence is not necessary the value of a
cargo should be estimated below ¥180,000 and of no commercial value.  In such cases, a
declaration shall be sent to customs, and confirmation shall be received from the customs
bureau.
II. The scale of quota shall be determined taking into account bilateral agreements.  The scale of
import quota is determined on a yearly basis, based on the forecast of domestic supply anddemand.  A certificate of import quota is issued for each application made by importers.  If
more than one application is submitted, the same number of certifications of import quota are
issued in one import quota application for a one-year period.
III. The certificate of import quota is issued to importers such as traders.  Importers shall submit
an application for a certificate of import quota to the MITI.  After obtaining the certificate of
import quota, importers are issued a certificate of approval by the Foreign Exchange Bank,
based on the certificate of import quota.  Importers can then import the goods concerned aftersubmitting the import approval to the customs bureau.
Actual importation corresponding to the import quota issued is confirmed by the report of
importation which importers submit to MITI every month.  Importers are requested to submit
the report of imports according to the application procedure of import quota.
Unused allocations, in principle, are not adde d to the quota for a succeeding period as the
allocation is determined based on the forecast of domestic supply and demand.  However, as
an exception, it shall be allowed to add to the period only on the condition that an importer
has no responsibility for the cause of extending licences or that prohibition from the exporter's
side leads to extending the duration, etc.
The name of importers to whom a certificate for an import quota has been issued is not made
public because a person who obtains the above certificate is from a private company and the
substance of the import quota is a private company's secret.
IV-VII.  See reply of Import items in Marine products.
VIII. See reply of Farm products (Rice).
IX. In cases where export licences are issued, import licensing is necessary.  Import licences are
not issued automatically.
X. Not applicable.
XI. See reply of Import items in Marine products.
7. No quantitative limit on the importation of a product:
(a) The items subject to import approval cannot be imported without a certificate of
import approval.  An importer shall apply for import approval taking into
consideration the processing time for application, which is around three weeks.
(b) Due to sufficient time being required for examination, a permit cannot be granted
immediately on request.
(c) Limitation of application for import appr oval is determined in the information
concerning procedures.
(d) Consideration of an application for import approval shall be carried out by the MITI.G/LIC/N/3/JPN/1Corr.1
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8. See reply of Import items in Marine products.
Eligibility of importers to apply for a licence
9. Qualification for application of the certificate of import quota is described on publication of
the import quota's application.  In principle, importers who qualify for application should be one of
the following two cases:
- an importer who has experience of obtaining the certificate of import quota and of importing
goods using the certificate of import quota;
- an importer who intends to import items subject to the import quota with a definite plan.
There is no system of registration of persons or firms permitted to engage in importation.
Documentational and other requirements for application for licence
10-13. See reply of Import items in Marine products.Conditions of licensing
14-17. See reply of Import items in Marine products.
Other procedural requirements
18-19. See reply of Import items in Marine products."
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