G/TBT/52  
 
15 November 2023  
(23-7695) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
  
NOTIFICATION GUIDELINES  
DECISION  
Adopted at the meeting of 8-10 November 2023  
_______________  
 
 
The WTO Committee  on Technical Barriers to Trade (the TBT Committee) adopted  the following 
revised guidelines1 for the inclusion of  information in new notifications of draft  technical regulations 
and conformity assessment procedures : 
 
Guidelines for new notification s of draft technical regulations  
and conformity assessment procedures  
Item  Description  
1. Notifying Member  Government, including the competent authorities of the European 
Union, which has acceded to the Agreement,  and which is making the 
notification; if applicable, name of local government involved Articles 
3.2 and 7.2).  
2. Agency responsible  Body elaborating a proposal for or promulgating a technical 
regulation or procedures for assessment of conformity. The authority 
or agency designated to handle comments regarding the specific 
notification shall be indicated if different from above.  
 
1 In the Ninth Triennial Review, t he TBT Committee agreed  "to amend the notification format and 
associated guidelines to enable a more fulsome description of content under Item 6, in particular when notified 
measures are published in a language other than English, French  or Spanish". ( G/TBT/46 , para.6.2.d(ii)). 
Canada's specific proposals for amendments to the guidelines, as adopted by the TBT Committee, are 
contained  in JOB/TBT/485/Rev.2 . G/TBT/52  
 
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  Item  Description  
3. Notified  under2 Relevant provision of the Agreement:  
Article  2.9.2: proposed technical regulation by central government 
body;  
Article  2.10.1: technical regulation adopted for urgent problems by 
central government body;  
Article 3.2: proposed technical regulation or technical regulation 
adopted for urgent problems by local government (on the level 
directly below that of the central government);  
Article  5.6.2: proposed procedures for assessment of conformity by 
central government body;  
Article 5.7.1: conformity assessment procedure adopted for urgent 
problems by central government body;  
Article 7.2: proposed procedure for assessment of conformity or 
conformity assessment procedure adopted for urgent problems by 
local government (on the level directly b elow that of the central 
government)  
Other Articles under which notification can arise in cases of urgency 
set out in those Articles are:  
Article  8.1: adopted procedures for assessment of conformity by non -
governmental body,  
Article 9.2: adopted procedure s for assessment of conformity by 
international or regional organization.  
4. Products covered  HS or CCCN (chapter or heading and number) where applicable. 
National tariff heading if different from HS or CCCN. ICS numbers 
may be provided in addition, where  applicable. A clear description is 
important for an understanding of the notification by delegations and 
translators. Abbreviations should be avoided.  
5. Title and number of 
pages  Title of the proposed or adopted technical regulation or procedure for 
the assessment of conformity that is notified. Number of pages in the 
notified document. The language(s) in which notified documents are 
available. If a translation of the document is planned, this should be 
indicated. If a translated summary  is available, this too should be 
indicated.  
6. Description of 
content  An abstract of the proposed or adopted technical regulation or 
procedures for assessment of conformity clearly indicating its 
content. A clear comprehensible description stating the ma in features 
of the proposed or adopted technical regulation or procedures for 
assessment of conformity is important for an understanding of the 
notification by delegations and translators. Abbreviations should be 
avoided.  
Members may consider the following when filing out this item:  
• If an impact/economic assessment was done and is publicly 
available, and the findings are not mentioned and/or included in 
the draft text associated with the notified measure, please include 
link to it in section 8 or a ny summary of key findings with trade 
implications under the TBT Agreement.  
• If determined at the time of notification, please name the 
authority responsible for undertaking the conformity assessment.  
• If applicable, please indicate whether testing results are accepted 
according to any voluntary conformity assessment scheme or 
international accreditation recognition arrangement.  
 
2 Notifiers are requested to check the relevant box or indicate relevant information under "oth er". G/TBT/52  
 
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  Item  Description  
7. Objective and 
rationale, including the 
nature of urgent 
problems where 
applicable  For instance: health, safety, nationa l security, ... etc.   
8. Relevant documents  (1) Publication where notice appears, including date and reference 
number;  
(2) Proposal and basic document (with specific reference number or 
other identification) to which proposal refers;  
(3) Publication in which proposal will appear when adopted;  
(4) Whenever practicable, give reference to relevant international 
standard  and include its full title and/or reference number, or any 
other information to explicitly identify the standard;   
(5) Include website addresses for any additional publicly available 
documents related to the proposed/adopted measure, including, but 
not limite d to:  
• relevant studies that are referenced when developing the 
proposed/adopted measure;  
• findings of impact/economic assessments, if any were 
conducted;  
• classifications or guides available to exporters to consult for 
further details on the measure.  
Members are also encouraged to indicate if any of the information 
above is contained in the draft text provided with the notification.  
If a fee is required for documents supplied, this should be indicated.  
9. Proposed dates of 
adoption and entry into 
force  The date when the technical regulation or procedures for assessment 
of conformity is expected to be adopted, and the date from which the  
requirements in the technical regulation or procedures for 
assessment of conformity are proposed or decided to enter into force, 
taking into consideration the provisions of Article  2.12. If a set date 
is not yet available, please provide indicative timeli nes e.g., "To be 
confirmed ", "September -October 20XX ". 
10. Final date for 
comments  The date by which Members may submit comments in accordance 
with Articles  2.9.4, 2.10.3, 3.1 (in relation to 2.9.4 and 2.10.3), 
5.6.4, 5.7.3 and 7.1 (in relation to 5.6.4 and 5.7.3) of the 
Agreement. A specific date should be indicated. The Committee has 
recommended a normal time limit for comments on notifications of 
60 days. Any Member which is able to provide a time limit beyond 60 
days is encouraged to do so. Memb ers are encouraged to advise of 
any extension to the final date for comments.  
11. Texts available 
from3 If available from national enquiry point, put a cross in the box 
provided. If available from another body, give its address, e -mail, 
telex and telefax  number. If available in a web -site, provide the web -
site address. Such indications should not in any way discharge the 
relevant enquiry point of its responsibilities under the provisions of 
Article  10 of the Agreement.  
 
__________  
 
3 Notifiers are requested to check the relevant box or indicate relevant information under "other".