RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
2December 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-5296)
Original: English Working Party ontheAccession
oftheRussian Federation
ACCESSION OFTHE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
Information ontheTreatment Provided Under Preferential Arrangements
Revision
ThePermanent Mission oftheRussian Federation hassubmitted thefollowing information
concerning thetreatment provided under preferential arrangements, withtherequest thatitbecirculated
tomembers oftheWorking Party.
_______________
1. FreeTrade Agreements withCISCountries
Inaccordance withRussia 'sbilateral agreements onfreetrade withother CIScountries, the
importationofanygoods(includingagriculturalproducts)originatingfromCIScountriesintothecustoms
territory oftheRussian Federation isnotsubject toduties. Suchtariff preferences aregranted onthe
basis ofacertificate oforigin (described inAnswers 186-189 ofWT/ACC/RUS/2 andAnswer 53of
WT/ACC/RUS/9/Add.1), provided thattheexporter isaresident ofaCIScountry.
Theregimeoffreetrade(withexemptions)betweentheRussianFederationandthefiveRepublics
ofAzerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Moldova andUkraine isgoverned bythefollowing bilateral
agreements:
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofAzerbaijan, dated 30September 1992;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofArmenia, dated 30September 1992;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofGeorgia, dated 3February 1994;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofMoldova, dated 9February 1993;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
ofUkraine, dated 24June1993; and
- Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment ofUkraine
onImplementation oftheFreeTrade Regime, dated 8February 1995.WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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Theregime offreetrade (with exemptions) isalsoapplicable totrade relations between theRussian
Federation andthethreeRepublics ofUzbekistan, Turkmenistan andTadjikistan. However, exemptions
provided byArticle 1oftheFreeTrade Agreements between theRussian Federation andthese three
countries apply to:
- goods subject totheprovisions oftheRussian legislation onexport tariffs andonlicensing
andquotas imposed ontheexported goods (services) effective asofthedateofthecustoms
clearance ofsuchgoods exported fromtheRussian Federation (Note, these export tariffs have
subsequently beenabolished);
- goods subject totheprovisions ofthelegislation oftheRepublics ofUzbekistan, Turkmenistan,
orTadjikistan onexport tariffs andonlicensing andquotas imposed ontheexported goods
(services) effective asofthedateofthecustoms clearance ofsuchgoods exported fromthese
countries.
Thisregime offreetrade (with exemptions) between theRussian Federation andthethree
Republics ofUzbekistan, Turkmenistan andTadjikistan isgoverned bythefollowing documents:
- Trade Relations Agreement Between theRussian Federation andtheRepublic ofUzbekistan,
dated 13November 1993;
- Protocol ofExemptions fromFreeTrade Regime totheTrade Relations Agreement Between
theRussian Federation andtheRepublic ofUzbekistan, dated 13November 1993;
- Trade Relations Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andthe
Government ofTurkmenistan, dated 11November 1992; and,
- Agreement onTrade andEconomic Cooperation Between theGovernment ofthe
Russian Federation andtheGovernment oftheRepublic ofTadjikistan (Free Trade Agreement),
dated 10October 1992;
During theimportation intothecustoms territory oftheRussian Federation ofgoods originating
from other CIScountries, VAT iscurrently notcollected. During theimportation intothecustoms
territory oftheRussian Federation ofthose goods which originate fromother CIScountries andwhich
areexcisable intheRussian Federation, excise taxiscollected inregular amounts reduced bytheamount
ofexcise taxalready exacted inthecountry oforigin ofsuchgoods.
2. Customs Union
Anumber ofagreements weresigned between theRussian Federation andBelarus, Kazakstan
andtheKyrgyz Republic in1995-1996 toprovide forastep-by-step formation ofacustoms union.
Suchagreements wereentered intobyBelarus on6January 1995, byKazakstan on20January 1995,
andbytheKyrgyz Republic on29March 1996.
Theformation ofthiscustoms union isnowintheinitial stage. Inactual fact,thetrade with
thesecountriesiscurrentlycarriedoutundertheconditionsofafreetraderegime,withoutanylimitations
orrestrictions. Such regime issetoutinthefollowing agreements:
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofBelarus, dated 13November 1992;WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
Page3
- Protocol onIntroduction ofFreeTrade Regime Without Exemptions andRestrictions Between
theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment oftheRepublic ofBelarus,
dated 6January 1995;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheRepublic ofKazakstan, dated 22October 1992;
- Protocol onIntroduction ofFreeTrade Regime Without Exemptions andRestrictions Between
theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment oftheRepublic ofKazakstan,
dated 20January 1995*;
- FreeTrade Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment
oftheKyrgyz Republic, dated 8October 1992; and,
- Agreement onEntering bytheKyrgyz Republic intotheCustoms Union Agreements, dated
29March 1996.
During 1995-1996 therewereconcluded anumber ofagreements among theRussian Federation,
theRepublic ofBelarus, Republic ofKazakstan andtheKyrgyz Republic which provide forthephased
creation bythese States ofthecustoms union.
- Agreement OnCustoms Union Between theRussian Federation andtheRepublic ofBelarus,
dated 6January 1995*;
- Agreement OnCustoms Union Among theRussian Federation, theRepublic ofBelarus and
Republic ofKazakstan, dated 20January 1995*;
- Treaty OnAccession oftheKyrgyz Republic toAgreement onCustoms Union, dated
29March 1995;
- Protocol OnFinalization bytheKyrgyz Republic ofWorks onExecution ofPrimary
Arrangements, Provided bytheTerms fortheFormation ofCustoms Union, dated
22November 1995;
- Agreement Between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment ofthe
Republic ofKazakstan ontheUniform Procedure fortheRegulation ofExternal Economic
Activity, dated 20January 1995*;
- Agreement between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment ofthe
Republic ofBelarus ontheUniform Procedure fortheRegulation ofExternal Economic Activity
upontheUnification (Combination) oftheMonetary Systems oftheRepublic ofBelarus and
theMonetary System oftheRussian Federation, dated 12April 1994;
- Agreement between theGovernment oftheRussian Federation andtheGovernment ofthe
Kyrgyz Republic ontheUniform Procedure fortheRegulation ofExternal Economic Activity,
dated 10January 1996.
*Available forconsultation intheWTO Secretariat (Accessions Division, Room 1126).WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
Page4
3. Partnership andCooperation Agreement withtheEuropean Communities
Tobefullytransparent, theRussian delegation wishes toinform themembers oftheWorking
Party thatArticle 3ofthatsection ofthePartnership andCooperation Agreement related tothetrade
ofgoods, provides forapossible startin1998oftalksontheestablishment ofafreetradezonebetween
Russia andtheEuropean Communities.
4. General System ofPreferences
Aspartofthesystem ofpreferences (GSP), theRussian Federation grants developing andleast
developed countries tariff preferences upon importation intothecustoms territory oftheRussian
Federationofgoods(includingagriculturalproducts)originatingfromthesecountries.Goodsoriginating
from least-developed countries areexempted from duties altogether, while goods originating from
developing countries aresubject toimport duties equal to75percentofthebaserateofcustoms duties
forcountries enjoying most-favoured-nation treatment. Theabove tariff preferences aregranted on
thebasis ofacertificate oforigin described inAnswers 186-189 ofWT/ACC/RUS/2, Answer 53of
WT/ACC/RUS/9/Add.1andAnswer101ofWT/ACC/RUS/9.Thelistofdevelopingandleast-developed
countries towhich Russia grants tariff preferences iscontained inRussian Government Resolutions
No.1057 of13September 1994andNo.1301 of31December 1995. BothResolutions areavailable
forconsultation intheWTO Secretariat (Accessions Division, Room 1126).
Russian Government Resolutions No. 1057 of13September 1994, No.1301 of
31December 1995, No.887of26July1996, No.1560 of27December 1996 andNo.807of
3July1997, aswellastheFederal LawOnAdditions andAmendments totheFederal LawOnExcises
dated 10January 1997, listthose products towhich thegeneral system ofpreferences fordeveloping
andleast-developed countries doesnotapply. SeeAppendix.
Incompiling alistofgoods subject totariff preferences upon importation tothe
Russian Federation, theRussian Government hasproceeded ontheassumption thatsuchpreferences
apply, asageneral rule,toagricultural produce grown indeveloping andleast-developed countries,
products ofthenational industries ofsuchcountries andtraditional handicrafts, aswellascertain articles
ofclothing, pieces ofapplied anddecorative art,andother goods ofsimilar nature.
TheRussian national system ofpreferences issubject toannual revisions pursuant toRussian
Government Resolution No.1057 of13September 1994 andasprovided forbytheRussian Federal
LawOnCustoms Tariff.WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
Page5
APPENDIX 1
INFORMATION PROVIDED UNDER PREFERENTIAL ARRANGEMENTS
Goods Which DoNotReceive GSPTreatment
Code Description ofitem
1 2
2009 Fruit juices (including grape must) andvegetable juices, unfermented, not
containing added spirit, whether ornotcontaining added sugar orother
sweetening matter:
-orange juice:
2202 Waters, including mineral waters andaerated waters, containing added
sugar orother sweetening matter orflavoured, andother non-alcoholic
beverages, other thanfruitorvegetable juices ofheading No.2009
2203 00 Beermade from malt:
2204 (excl.2204
30)Wine offresh grapes, including fortified wines...
2205 Vermouth andother wineoffresh grapes, flavoured withplants oraromatic
substances:
2206 00 Other fermented beverages (forexample cider, perry, mead); ...
2207 10000 -undenatured ethyl alcohol, ofactual alcoholic strength byvolume of80%
vol.or higher
2207 20000 -ethyl alcohol andother spirits, denatured, ofanystrength
2208 Undenatured ethyl alcohol ofanalcoholic strength byvolume oflessthan
80%vol.;
spirits, liqueurs andother spirituous beverages
2710 00 Petroleum oilsandoilsobtained from
2710 00290 -------with octane number 95ormore
2710 00320 -------with octane number 98ormore
------exceeding
2710 00340 -------with octane number notexceeding 98
2710 00360 -------with octane number 98ormore
30 Pharmaceutical Product
Clothes anditstextile accessoiries made onlyofimitation orsynthetic fibre
6201 13 --ofman-made fibres:
6201 93000 --ofman-made fibres
6202 13 --ofman-made fibres:
6202 93000 --ofman-made fibres
6203 12000 --ofsynthetic fibres
6203 19300 ---ofartificial fibres
6203 23 --ofsynthetic fibres:
6203 29110 ----industrial andoccupational
6203 29180 ----otherWT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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Code Description ofitem
1 2
6203 33 --ofsynthetic fibres:
6203 39110 ----industrial andoccupational
6203 39190 ----other
6203 43 --ofsynthetic fibres:
---trousers andbreeches:
6203 49110 ----industrial andoccupational
6203 49190 -----other
----bib andbrace overalls:
6203 49310 -----industrial andoccupational
6203 49390 -----other
6203 49500 ----other
6204 13000 --ofsynthetic fibres
6204 19100 ---ofartificial fibres
6204 23 --ofsynthetic fibres:
6204 29110 ----industrial andoccupational
6204 29180 ----other
6204 33 --ofsynthetic fibres:
6204 39110 ----industrial andoccupational
6204 39190 ----other
6204 43000 --ofsynthetic fibres
6204 44000 --ofartificial fibres
6204 53000 --ofsynthetic fibres
6204 59100 ---ofartificial fibres
6204 63 --ofsynthetic fibres:
---trousers andbreeches:
6204 69110 -----industrial andoccupational
6204 69180 -----other
----bib andbrace overalls:
6204 69310 -----industrial andoccupational
6204 69390 -----other
6204 69500 ----other
6205 30000 -ofman-made fibres
6206 40000 -ofman-made fibres
6207 19000 --ofother textile materials
-nightshirts andpyjamas:
6207 22000 --ofman-made fibres
6207 92000 --ofman-made fibresWT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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Code Description ofitem
1 2
6208 11000 --ofman-made fibres
6208 22000 --ofman-made fibres
6208 92 --ofman-made fibres:
6209 30000 -ofsynthetic fibres
6209 90000 -ofother textile materials
6210 Garments made upoffabrics ofheading No.5602, 5603, 5906 or5907:
6211 11000 --men 'sorboys'swimwear made onlyofsynthetic fibres
6211 12000 --women 'sorgirls'swimwear made onlyofsynthetic fibres
6211 33 --ofman-made fibres:
6211 43 --ofman-made fibres:
6212 Brassières, girdles, corsets, braces, suspenders, garters andsimilar articles
andparts thereof, whether ornotknitted orcrocheted
6213 90000 -ofother textile materials
6214 30000 -ofsynthetic fibres
6214 40000 -ofartificial fibres
6215 20000 -ofman-made fibres
6216 00000 Gloves, mittens andmitts
6217 Other made upclothing accessories; parts ofgarments orclothing
accessories, other thanthose ofheading No.6212
6401 Waterproof footwear withouter soles anduppers ofrubber orofplastics,
theuppers ofwhich areneither fixed tothesolenorassembled bystitching,
rivetting, nailing, screwing, plugging orsimilar processes:
6402 Other footwear withouter soles anduppers ofrubber orplastics:
-sports footwear:
6404 11000 --sports footwear; tennis shoes, basketball shoes, gymshoes, training shoes
andthelike
6404 19 --other:
6405 20910 ---slippers andother indoor footwear
6405 20990 ---other
6405 90100 --with outer soles ofrubber, plastics, leather orcomposition leather
6406 10900 --ofother materials
6406 20100 --ofrubber
6406 20900 --ofplastics
-other:
6406 99 --ofother materials:
7113 Articles ofjewellery andparts thereof; ofprecious metal orofmetal clad
withprecious metal:
-ofprecious metal whether ornotplated orcladwithprecious metal:WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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Code Description ofitem
1 2
7114 Articles ofgoldsmiths 'orsilversmiths 'wares andparts thereof; ofprecious
metal orofmetal cladwithprecious metal:
-ofprecious metal whether ornotplated orcladwithprecious metal:
7116 10000 -ofnatural orcultured pearls
7116 20 -ofprecious orsemi-precious stones (natural, synthetic orreconstructed):
--made wholly ofnatural precious orsemi-precious stones:
7117 Imitation jewellery:
-ofbasemetal, whether ornotplated withprecious
8470 50000 -cash registers
8471 Automatic dataprocessing machines andunits thereof; magnetic oroptical
readers, machines fortranscribing dataontodatamedia incoded form and
machines forprocessing suchdata, notelsewhere specified orincluded
8473 30 -parts andaccessories ofthemachines ofheading No.8471:
8517 11000 --telephone setswithcordless handsets
9517 19900 ---other
-facsimile machines andteleprinters:
8519 Turntables (record-decks), record-players, cassette-players andother sound
reproducing apparatus, notincorporating asound recording device:
8520 Magnetic taperecorders andother sound recording apparatus, whether or
notincorporating asound reproducing device:
8521 Video recording orreproducing apparatus, whether ornotincorporating a
video tuner
8525 10 -transmission apparatus
8525 20 -transmission apparatus incorporating reception apparatus
8525 40 andother video camaras recorders:
8527 Reception apparatus forradio-telephony, radio-telegraphy orradio-
broadcasting, whether ornotcombined, inthesame housing, withsound
recording orreproducing apparatus oraclock:
-radio-broadcast receivers capable ofoperating without anexternal source
ofpower, including apparatus capable ofalsoreceiving radio-telephony or
radio-telegraphy:
8528 Reception apparatus fortelevision whether ornotincorporating radio-
broadcast receivers orsound orvideo recording orreproducing apparatus;
video monitors andvideo projectors:
-Reception apparatus fortelevision whether ornotincorporating
radio-broadcast receivers orsound orvideo recording orreproducing
apparatus
8542 Electronic integrated circuits andmicroassemblies:
-monolithic integrated circuits:
87021Motor vehicles forthetransport oftenormore persons, including driver:WT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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Code Description ofitem
1 2
87032Motor carsandother motor vehicles principally designed forthetransport
ofpersons (other thanthose ofheading No.8702), including station wagons
andracing cars:
9101 Wrist-watches, pocket-watches andother watches, including stop- watches,
withcaseofprecious metal orofmetal cladwithprecious metal
-wrist-watches, battery oraccumulator powered, whether ornot
incorporating astop-watch facility:
9102 Wrist-watches, pocket-watches andother watches, including stop- watches,
other thanthose ofheading No.9101:
-wrist-watches, battery oraccumulator powered, whether ornot
incorporating astop-watch facility:
9103 Clocks withwatch movements, excluding clocks ofheading No.9104:
9104 00 Instrument panel clocks andclocks ofsimilar typeforvehicles, aircraft,
spacecraft orvessels
9105 Other clocks:
-alarm clocks:
9106 Time ofdayrecording apparatus andapparatus formeasuring, recording or
otherwise indicating intervals oftime, withclock orwatch movement or
withsynchronous motor (forexample, time-registers andtime- recorders):
9107 00000 Time switches withclock orwatch movement orwithsynchronous motor
9108 Watch movements, complete andassembled:
-battery oraccumulator powered:
9109 Clock movements, complete andassembled
-battery oraccumulator powered
9110 Complete, watch orclock movements, unassembled orpartly assembled
(movement sets); incomplete watch orclock movements, assembled; rough
watch orclock movements:
-ofwatches:
9111 Watch cases andparts thereof:
9112 Clock cases andcases ofsimilar typeforother goods ofthisChapter, and
parts thereof:
9113 Watch straps, watch bands andwatch bracelets, andparts thereof:
9114 Other clock orwatch parts:
Notes:
1. Themotor carsofthebrands Tavria, OkaandZaporozhets, manually operated, thatarebeing
realized toinvalids intheprocedure determined bytheGovernment oftheRussian Federation
(Decisions oftheGovernment oftheRussian Federation No.356of28May1992 onthe
Measures fortheSocial Protection ofInvalids Needing Special Transport Facilities, No.156
of22February1993onAmendingandInvalidatingCertainDecisionsoftheCouncilofMinisters
oftheRSFSR ontheIssues oftheProvision ofInvalids withSpecial Transport Facilities, andWT/ACC/RUS/21/Rev.1
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No.244of14March 1995 ontheChange oftheBrand ofaCarDesigned toBeGiven to
Invalids FreeofCharge) shallnotbeimposed withexcises.
Forthepurpose ofthecustoms clearance ofthecarsoftheabove-mentioned brands withmanual
operation being imported intotheterritory oftheRussian Federation byorganizations without
collecting theexcise, thedeclarant must atthemoment ofthecustoms clearance submit a
confirmation oftheterritorial bodyofthesocial protection ofthepopulation agreed uponwith
theMinistry ofLabour andSocial Development oftheRussian Federation totheeffect that
thecarsarebeing delivered forthegiven territorial body orbodies ofsocial protection. In
thiscasethere shall bemade aconventional charge oftheexcises inthegoods customs
declaration.
Thespecimens ofthesealoftheMinistry ofLabour andSocial Development ofthe
Russian Federation andofthepersons authorized tosighsuchconfirmations areattached
herewith.
Ifthere havenotbeensubmitted within sixmonths tothecustoms body thatcarried outthe
customs clearance ofthegiven goods thewarrants issued bytheterritorial bodies ofthe
protection ofthepopulation forthereceipt ofthecarsbytheinvalids, andalsoifthecarshave
beengiven toinvalids thatreside inboarding houses foroldpeople andinvalids, vocational
boarding schools andtechnical secondary boarding schools ofthesystem ofthesocial protection
ofthepopulation oftheRussian Federation; orifthecarscleared inthecustom-houses have
intheestablished procedure beenrecognized technically unfittobeoperated byinvalids and
cannot beissued toinvalids, thentheexcise amounts forsuchcarsthatwereconventionally
charged inthecustoms clearance shallbesubject toexaction intheestablished procedure. There
shallalsobesubject toexaction thefinesforadelay inthepayment oftheexcises from the
dayofthecustoms clearance ofsuchcars.
2. Amotor carclassified incommodity Item8702 isatransport facility designed forcarrying
10ormore persons, including thedriver, andhaving thefollowing arrangement ofseatsfor
thedriver andpassengers:
- thefirstrow-seatsforthedriver andpassengers;
- thesecond row(situated inparallel tothefirstrow)-seats forpassengers;
- thethirdandfourth rows(situated inparallel toeachother andperpendicularly tothe
second row)-seatsforpassengers.