WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
2 October 2012 
 (12-5341) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
1 
 
Notification under Article 7.3 of the Agreement  
on Import Licensing Procedures 
 
CROATIA 
 
  The following communication, dated 1 October 2012, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Croatia. 
 
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  Outline of system 
 1.  As a rule, imports to the Republic of Croa tia are free with the exception of those imports 
specified in the national legislation (products aff ecting public security and order, health, environment 
and cultural heritage).  Products subject to import licensing are specified in the tariff headings and are 
imported under prior authorisation issued by the competent ministry or authorised body.  The 
licensing system is legally regulated by: 
 - the Trade Act, Article 49  (OG No. 87 on 25 Ju ly  2008) and its amendments (OG No. 116 on 
11 October 2008, No. 76 on 1 July 2009 and  No. 114 on 7 October 2011);  
- the Regulation Specifying Goods Subject to Export and Import Licences (OG No. 77 on 
19 June 2010) and its am endments (OG No. 146 on 16 December 2011 and No. 25 on 
28 February 2012); 
- the Regulation concerning trade in certain goo ds which could be used for capital punishment, 
torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrad ing treatment or punishment (OG No. 142 on 
9 December) and its amendments (OG No. 51 on 4 May 2012); 
- the new Regulation on Military List and Non- Military Lethal Goods List (OG No. 89 on 
2 August 2012). 
  The new changes on import licensing pro cedures are related to the following: 
 -  with the Amendments on Regulation Specifyi ng Goods Subject to Export and Import Licences 
(OG No. 25 on 28 February 2012) the licensing regime doesn't apply anymore to imports of 
radio equipment and telecommuni cations terminal equipment; 
-  with the new Regulation on Military List and Non-Military Lethal Goods List (OG No. 89 on 
2 August 2012) Appendix IV-Military List and Appendix V –Non-Military Lethal Goods List 
have been abolished within the Regulation Specifying Goods Subject to Export and Import 
                                                      
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire. G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
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  Licences. New Military List is completely harmonized with the Common Military List of the 
European Union OJ 2012/C 85/01. 
   Import licensing for agricultural products and foodstuffs  is regulated by the Act on Organisation of Agricultural Markets, Article 26,  published in the "Official Gazette" No. 149 of 
15 December 2009 (amendments of  published in the "Official Gazette" No. 22 on 18 February 2011),  
by the Ordinance on the allocation of tariff quotas for agricultural products and foodstuffs published 
in  "Official Gazette" No. 121 of 28 October 2010 (amendments of published in the "Official Gazette" 
No. 145 on 15 December 2011) and by the Ordina nce on import and export licences for agricultural 
products published in "Official Gazette" No. 74 of 16 June 2010 (amendments of published in 
"Official Gazette" No. 106 of 8 September 2010, "Official Gazette" No. 148 of 20 December 2011 
and "Official Gazette" No. 101 of 6 September 2012).   
Purposes and coverage of licensing 
 
2.  Licences are issued to comply  with international agreements, for national security purposes, 
protection of life and health of humans, animals and plants, the environm ent and of exhaustible 
natural resources of the Republic of Croatia, as well as  to protect the public morals, import control of 
pieces of art and particular precious metals.   Import licences are compulsory for tanks, war vessels, military arms, revolvers, pistols, guns, 
parts and equipment for arms, ammunition, swords and sabres, nuclear reactors, radioactive materials, 
isotopes, derivatives, hydrocarbons, mint postage stamps, gold, coins.    The licences are issued by the Ministry of Ec onomy which is also the licensing authority for 
the import of substances depleting the ozone layer (Montreal Convention) and for import of chemicals 
listed in the Chemical Weapons  Convention (CWC) Schedules. 
  Drugs and medical products, gl ands and other organs, vaccin es, drugs, pharmaceutical goods, 
dialysis appliances, and narcotics are subject to li cences issued by the Ministry of Health or by the 
Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices;  imports of veterinary  drugs and vaccines are 
licensed by the Ministry of Agriculture.  
 
 Imports of rough diamonds into the customs terr itory of the Republic of Croatia is legally 
prohibited except if it is accompanied by the Kimb erley Process Certificate issued by the competent 
body of the exporting country. The certificates for the import of rough diamonds are verified by the Customs Authorities of the Republic of Croatia. 
 
 The approval of imports of certain goods whic h could be used for capital punishment, torture 
or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is issued by the new State Office for Trade Policy. State Office for Trade Policy was established on the basis of the Act on the 
Organisation and Competence of the Ministries and other Central Government Administration Bodies 
(OG 150/2011 of 22 December 2011). 
 
 Licences for imports of armaments and militar y equipment for Croatian  Army and Croatian 
Police are issued by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of the Interior, respectively.      Licences for the import of radioactive goods are issued by the State Office for Radiological 
and Nuclear Security.  Licences for import of nucl ear materials are issued by Ministry of Economy 
with prior consent from the State Office for Radiological and Nuclear Security. 
 3.  The licensing regime applies e qually to imports from all countries. 
  G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
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  4.  The licensing system is not intended to restrict  the quantity or value of imports but to protect 
national security, health, environment and cultural he ritage and to fulfil the Republic of Croatia's 
commitments undertaken by the international agreements.  5.  Import licensing system is regulated by the Trade Act, Article 49,  published in the "Official 
Gazette" No. 87 on 25 July 2008 and the Amendmen ts of Trade Act published in the "Official 
Gazette" No. 116 on 11 October 2008, No. 76 on 1 July 2009 and  No. 114 on 7 October 2011.  
Import licensing is also regulated by the Act on Or ganisation of Agricultural Markets, Article 26, 
published in the "Official Gazette" No. 149 of 15 December 2009 and the amendments of the Act on 
Organisation of Agricultural Markets published in th e "Official Gazette" No. 22 on 18 February 2011. 
 
 The system of licensing can be abolished or  changed by the Government without changing 
the Trade Act.   
Procedures 
 
6. With regard to the agricultural products there are no products prescribed to be imported under 
restriction as to the quantity or value of imports.  
(i) Licences for goods subject to tariff quotas 
 Agricultural products are not prescribed to be imported under restriction as to the quantity or 
value of imports. 
 
Nevertheless, there is a licensing system applied to certain agricultural products in order to 
administer imports under tariff quotas, whose purpose is to fulfil commitments undertaken by Croatia regarding preferential or free trade ag reements.  In these cases the governmental body 
responsible for issuing licenses for certain agri cultural products is the Paying Agency for 
Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development.  This system applies to specified agricultural 
products originating in the countries with whic h Croatia concluded preferential or free trade 
agreements.  Those agricultural products that ar e intended to be imported within tariff quotas 
are subject to import licensing.  
 
 The executive branch can abolish abovementi oned system without legislative approval. 
 
(ii) Import licenses for agricultural products 
 In Croatia, licenses are needed for import of  certain agricultural products but the licensing 
regime is not intended to restri ct the quantity or value of imports.  The purpose of licenses is 
to ensure the administrative monitoring of imports of agricultural products.  
  The governmental body which is responsible fo r issuing of import licenses is the Paying 
Agency for Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development. 
  The licensing regime applies equa lly to imports from all countries. 
 
 The executive branch can abolish this system without legislative approval. 
 
(iii) General Procedures  
 Licences for import under Regulation Specifyin g Goods Subject to Export and Import are 
issued by the competent ministries and authorised state bodies upon written application of the 
importer. G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
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 Exceptionally, if the application for issuing import licences falls under specific regulations 
then it is submitted according to specific regula tion as set forth in the Regulation Specifying 
Goods Subject to Export and Import Licences. 
 
 The competent ministries i.e. other competent government administration bodies shall issue 
the licence not later than within 15 days from th e date of the duly submitted application if not 
specifically regulated. The exceptions are licence s issued for certain agricultural products 
which are issued within 30 days from th e date of the duly submitted application. 
 
7.  When there is no quantitative limit on impor tation or no limit on importation from a particular 
country:  (a)  There is no fixed time-limit for subm itting an application before importation; 
 
(b)  A license cannot be granted immediately up on request. Prior review of the application is 
required; the licenses are issued within 30 da ys from the date on which the complete 
application was submitted; 
 (c)  There are no limitations as to the period of the year during which applications can be made; 
 
(d)  Import licences are issued only by one admi nistrative body and it is the Paying Agency for 
Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development.  The importer does not have to approach more 
than one administrative organ. 
 8.  For non-agricultural products applications coul d only be rejected if the importer did not fulfil 
the conditions stipulated in interna tional conventions for specific goods or  did not meet standard criteria 
for the transportation of certain goods.     Import licenses for certain agricultural products shall be issued by the Paying Agency for 
Agriculture, Fisheries and Rural Development acco rding to particular request submitted by an 
applicant in 30 days following the receipt of a valid application.  If the Paying Agency finds out in the 
administrative control that a particular request is in complete or ineligible, the applicant shall be given 
a possibility to complete the application within 7 days from the date on which the initial application 
was submitted. An importer denied an import license could submit a complaint if a licence application is refused. 
 
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence 
 
9.  All persons, firms and institutions are eligible to apply for licences.  
 
Documentation and other requirement s for application for a licence 
 
10.  The application for import of certain produc ts has to provide the following information: 
 1. Title and seat of the company, i.e.  title and residence of natural person; 
2. Company ID number, i.e. persona l identity number for natural persons; 
3. Title and seat of the end user with  written Statement of End-Use for Goods; 
4. Commercial description, quantity and va lue of the imported goods respectively; 
5. Chemical description, structural formula a nd concentration for chemicals referred to in 
Annex III of Regulation;  
6. Classification of nuclear material, nuclear content by weight, chemical and physical 
characteristics; radioactivity (Bq/kg);  G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
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  7. CN Code; 
8. Unit price; 9. Country of production; 10. Title and address of producer; 11. Exporting country; 
12. Title and address of the exporting company and, importing company; 
13. Import deadline. 
 
For import licenses of products under tariff quotas as well as import licenses for certain 
agricultural products the application for impor t has to provide the following information: 
 
- Company name and full address or name and full address of person; 
- Company code; - Quantity of importing products; - Tariff number and tariff code;  
- Import country. 
 
The importer is also required to supply ot her documentation depending on the products 
imported (weapons, munitions) such as end-user statemen t, contract and the material safety data sheet. 
 
For import under tariff quotas or import of certain  agricultural products, the importer is also 
required to supply other documentation such as eviden ce of the registration in the relevant registry 
(copy of the Decision of the registration in the Tr ade Court Register; Crafts register or copy of 
identity card), certificate of income for the year pr eceding the year of application, original specimen 
of the certificate on fulfilment of financial obligations towards the state budget.   
11.  Upon actual importation the importer has to present to the customs authorities invoice, 
transport documents, specifications, customs declara tion, certification of origin and import licence.  
 12.  For non-agricultural products an administrative fee of HRK 125.00 is charged for each import licence. As regards import within tariff quota th ere is no administrative charge, and for import 
licences of certain agricultural products, a certain amount of security must be lodged, the amount of 
which shall be determined depending on the quantity and type of produc ts for which the application is 
being made.   13.  There is no deposit or advance payment requirement regarding the issuance of licence except in 
case of import licenses for certai n agricultural products.  At the time of submitting the application for an 
import license for certain agricultural products  the importers must pay the security the am ount of which 
shall be determined depending on the quantity and type  of products for which the application is being 
made.  In cases where the total amount of the secu rity per application for an import licence comes to 
HRK 730.00 or less, the applicant shall not be required to lodge a security.  The Paying Agency will reimburse the security payment provided that the importer has submitted the documents proving the 
level of fulfilment of the obligations under the import licence. 
 
Conditions of licensing 
 
14.  For non-agricultural products in most cases th e import licence is valid for six months during 
which it has been granted. The validity of a licen ce could be extended upon request of the licence 
holder except for weapons and narcotics. 
 G/LIC/N/3/HRV/7 
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   In case of import licences for cer tain agricultural products the va lidity of a licence depends on 
the type of product for which the licence is issu ed.  The validity of a licence cannot be extended. 
In the case agricultural products under the tariff quot as the validity of import licences is until the end 
of a calendar year in which they are issued.  
15.  There are no penalties for the non-utilization of a licence or a portion of a licence.  The 
exception is import licences for certa in agricultural products where the penalty for non-utilization of 
the license, or its partial utilisation is full or par tial retention of the security deposit lodged at the time 
of application.  
16.  Licences are not transferable to other importers. 
 17.  There are no other conditions rela ted to the issuance of a licence.  
 
Other procedural requirements 
 
18.  No other administrative procedures are required.  19.  The foreign exchange issues are not applicable to import licensing.   
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