G/LIC/N/3/ISR/5  
 
25 March 2021  
(21-2454) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Import Licensing  Original: English  
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES1 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 7.3 OF THE AGREEMENT  
ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES (2021)  
ISRAEL 
The following communication, dated 18 March 2021, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Israel.  
 
_______________  
 
 
Outline of System  
 
1. The import licensing  system is regulated primarily by:  
 
­ Free Import Order of 2014 (replacing Free Import Order of 2012) and its amendments and 
Personal Import Order of 2019 and its amendments, for purposes of public security, health 
and safety, and consumer welfare.  
 
­ Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Ta x Order of 2017, Schedules 3­10 and 13; for 
purposes of MFN tariff quota management , under the GATT and the Free Trade Area 
Agreements (FTAs).  
 
These Orders establish the list of goods subject to import licensing. The first two Orders are 
administered by t he Israeli  Ministry of Economy and Industry. The third Order is administered by the 
Israeli Tax Authority at the Israeli Ministry of Finance, except allocation of quotas which is 
administered by the Ministry of Economy and Industry.  
Purposes  and coverage of licensing  
 
2. Schedules 1 and 2 of the Free Import Order of 2014 and schedul es 1 and 2 of the Personal Import 
Order of 2019 list products subject to non -automatic licensing.  
 
Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Purchase Tax on Goods  Order of 2017, Schedules 3­10 
and 13, regulates the non­automatic licensing of GATT and FTA MFN tariff quotas.  
 
3. The systems mentioned above apply to goods originating in and coming from all WTO Member 
countries and FTA partners.  
 
4. Free Import Order o f 2014 and Personal Import Order 2019: Import licenses are required for 
reasons of safety, health, protection of the environment, and security, or to comply with international 
(non-WTO) commitments.  
 
Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Tax Order of 2017, Schedules 3­10 and 13: Import 
licenses are required for imports of agricultural products and fresh food for quotas management 
purposes.  
 
 
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire.  G/LIC/N/3/ISR/5  
 
- 2 - 
 
  5. The licensing system is based on official regulations (secondary legislation) promulgated under 
The Import and Export Ordinance [New Version], 1979.  
 
Regarding the Free Import Order of 2014, Schedules 1­2 list the tariff items and the products that 
require a license or a permit. Regarding the Personal Import Order of 2019, Schedules 1­2 list the 
tariff i tems and the products that require a license or a permit. Under special circumstances, there 
exists the possibility of granting an exemption from these requirements, based on several reasons 
such as self -use and small quantities. The government may not abolish the system without legislative 
approval.  
 
Regarding the Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Tax Order of 2017, Schedules 3­10 and 
13, no administrative discretion (exemption) is allowed for the government in order to abolish the 
system without l egislative approval.  
 
Procedures  
 
6.  
I. According to Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Purchase Tax on Goods Order of 2017, 
Schedules 3­10 and 13, for products under restriction, the quota system is administered by 
the Ministries of Agriculture an d Rural Development (for agricultural products and fresh food) 
and Economy and Industry (for processed food). The methods used for allocating quotas, as 
well as ongoing announcements related to quota allocation, are published on the websites of 
both Minist ries, on a regular basis. Both Ministries announce the opening of the quotas on 
their websites and in two daily newspapers. The announcement includes information on source 
countries, HS codes, and quota volumes.  
 
II. There are two periods in which licenses  for the purpose of quota allocation are issued; at the 
beginning of the year (January) and the middle of the year (June -July). Licenses are granted 
for up to 12 months, from 1 January to 31 December. However, by mid -year, the Quota 
Allocation Committee ex amines the extent to which the quota is utilized by each importer. 
The Committee reserves the right to recall licenses of importers who have not utilized at least 
40% of the granted quantity by mid -year. The unutilized quantity is then re -allocated to othe r 
bidders who have demonstrated that they have imported at least 50% of the quota granted 
to them by mid -year. 
 
There is a group of products under the quota system that is characterized by low demand. 
For this group the licenses are allocated on a first co me first serve basis throughout the year.  
 
III. Licenses are allocated to importers regardless of whether they are producers of like products. 
Guidelines determine that importers that do not utilize the licenses issued to them cannot 
submit requests for li censes for these products in the following year. Unutilized allocations are 
not added to quotas for the next year. The list of importers to whom licenses have been 
allocated is published on the web site of the relevant Ministries.  
 
IV. From the time of announcing the opening of quotas, an average period of two weeks is allowed 
for the submission of applications for licenses.  
 
V. Applications for licenses under preferential and WTO quotas are normally processed within 2 
to 6 weeks.  Some applications are p rocessed within a shorter time frame.  
 
VI. Import licenses are granted on the date of opening of the period of importation. If necessary, 
the licenses are extended for another period of time.  
 
VII. In most cases, licenses applications are considered by one administrative organ. The specific 
organs which must be approached, relevant to the product, are specified in Schedules 1 and 
2 of the Free Import Order of 2014 and Personal Import Order of 2019.  
 
VIII.  Allocation is generally determined  according to demand and size of quotas. Specific methods 
of allocation are determined according to size of the quotas and number of applicants. 
The methods used include mainly past performance and FCFS. For a very small number of 
highly demanded products,  a competitive tender (auction) method is used in which the bidders 
compete on the price for the consumer and the bidder that proposed the lowest price is G/LIC/N/3/ISR/5  
 
- 3 - 
 
  granted the license to import under the quota. In addition, the lottery system still exists but 
is rarely used.   
 
In general, the quotas are divided into equal portions, for allocation between applicants. 
Priority is given to local producers, in allocation of raw materials, in proportion to the volume 
of the producers' consumption of materials under quota s. Applications are examined upon 
receipt.   
 
IX.  There are no such arrangements.  
 
X.  Non applicable.  
 
XI.  There are no such arrangements.  
 
7.(a) There is no requirement for a certain period of time between the application for a license and 
the importat ion of the goods. Licenses can be obtained for goods arriving at the port without 
a license.  
 
(b) Under certain circumstances, a license can be granted immediately on request.  
 
(c) There are no limitations as to the period of the year during which application for license and/or 
importation may be made.  
 
(d) In most cases, licenses applications are considered by one administrative organ. The specific 
organs which must be approached, relevant to the product, are specified in Schedules 1 and 
2 of the F ree Import Order of 2014 and in the Schedules of Personal Import Order of 2019.   
 
8. None. The reasons for any refusal are given to the applicant in writing. In the event of refusal to 
issue a license, the applicant may first apply to the Quota Allocation Committee and in later stage 
has a right of appeal by petitioning to an administrative court.   
 
Eligibility of importers to apply for license  
 
9. Any registered firm is eligible to apply for licenses. In some specific areas, there is a registration 
fee and  there are published lists of authorized importers.  
 
Documentation and other requirements for application for license  
 
10. Two sample application forms are attached, one for an Import License under the Free Import 
Order of 2014, and another for an Import l icense under the Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions 
and Tax Order of 2017, Schedules 3 -10 and 13 for quotas management purposes. There are no 
standard documents that apply for all products.  
 
11. Upon actual importation, an importer is required to submit the import license.  
 
12. For most goods there are only standardization tests. In addition , there is a licensing fee or 
administrative charge in some specific areas, the amount of the various fees relies on the nature of 
the goods.  
 
13. No. 
 
Conditio ns of licensing  
 
14. For import licenses under the Free Import Order of 2014: The validity of the licenses can vary 
between 1 -5 years according to the nature of the goods. The extension of a license may be 
considered if the applicant so requests.  
 
For import licenses under the Israeli Customs Tariff and Exemptions and Tax Order of 2017, 
Schedules 3­10 and 13 for quotas management purposes: there are two periods in which licenses 
are issued; at the beginning of the year (January) and the middle of th e year (June -July). For the 
vast majority of the goods, licenses are granted for up to 12 months, from 1  January to 
31 December.  G/LIC/N/3/ISR/5  
 
- 4 - 
 
  There is a group of products under the quota system that is characterized by low demand. For  that 
group the licenses are alloca ted on a first come first serve basis throughout the year. For these 
licenses the validity cannot be extended and the importer is required to apply again in order to 
obtain a license to import under the quota.  
 
15. There is no  penalty for the non­utilizati on of a license or a portion of it. Nevertheless, for licenses 
for the purpose of quota allocations, usually  an importer who did not utilize a license may not apply 
for the reserves nor for the following year.  
 
16. Licenses are not transferable between imp orters, unless otherwise stated in the license.  
 
17. In some products there is an additional requirement for compliance with other conditions, usually 
for reasons of protecting human lives and health, and safety.  
 
Other procedural requirements  
 
18. There  are no other administrative procedures, apart from import licensing, required prior to 
importation.  
 
19. There are no foreign exchange limitations in Israel.  
 
__________