G/RO/N/96  
 
24 July 2013  
(13-3962)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
  NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 5 AND PARAGRAPH 4  
OF ANNEX II OF THE AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN 
NON-PREFERENTIAL AND PREFER ENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN 
1. According to Article 5.1 of the Agreement on Rules of Origin, each Member shall provide to 
the Secretariat, within 90 days after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement for it, its rules of origin, judicial decisions, and administrative rulings of general application relating to rules 
of origin in effect on that date.  If by inadvertence a rule of origin has not been provided, the 
Member concerned shall provide it immediately after this fact becomes known.  Article 5.2 of the Agreement provides, moreover, that during the period referred to in Article 2, Members introducing modifications, other than de minimis  modifications, to their rules of origin or 
introducing new rules of origin, shall publish a notice to that effect at least 60 days before the 
entry into force of the modified or new rule in such a manner as to enable interested parties to become acquainted with the intention to modify a rule of origin or to introduce a new rule of 
origin, unless exceptional circumstances arise or threaten to arise for a Member. 
2. Moreover, paragraph 4 of Annex II to the Agreement on Rules of Origin envisages that 
Members shall provide to the Secretariat as soon as possible their existing or new preferential 
rules of origin, including a listing of the preferen tial arrangements to which they apply, judicial 
decisions, and administrative rulings of general application relating to their preferential rules of origin. In this respect, the Committee on Rules of Origin further agreed that notifications made to 
the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) or to the Committee on Trade and 
Development (CTD) could also suffice to discharge Members' notification obligations under the 
Agreement on Rules of Origin (G/RO/M/59).   As a result, the Committee agreed that notifications 
which had initially been received by the CRTA or the CTD should also be circulated by the 
Secretariat to the CRO. The information regarding such notifications, including related to 
preferential rules of origin, can, in addition, be  retrieved through the WTO data base of regional 
trade agreements (http://rtais.wto.org) or in the WTO data base of preferential trade agreements 
(http://ptadb.wto.org). 
3. With reference to these rules, the following notification has been received:
 
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC 
 
A. NON PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN 
- Decree No. 228/PM "On the Origin of Import  and Export of Goods" dated 22 April 2010, 
relating to both Preferential and Non-Preferential Rules of Origin1. 
 
B. PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN 
- Decree No. 228/PM "On the Origin of Import  and Export of Goods" dated 22 April 2010, 
relating to both Preferential and Non-Preferential Rules of Origin2; 
- ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA).  The protocol relating to the rules of origin under this 
agreement is available at:  http://www. asean.org/communiti es/asean-economic-
community/category/asean-trad e-in-goods-agreement or http ://www.laotradeportal.gov.la; 
                                               
1 A copy of the legislation is available with the Secretariat for consultation. 
2 A copy of the legislation is available with the Secretariat for consultation. G/RO/N/96 
 
- 2 - 
 
  - Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and Australia and New Zealand.  The protocol 
relating to the rules of origin under this agreement is available at:  http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-aust ralia-new-zealand-free-trade-area or 
http://www.laotradeportal.gov.la; 
- Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and China.   The protocol relating to the rules of 
origin under this agreement is available at :  http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-china-
free-trade-area-2 or http: //www.laotradeportal.gov.la; 
- Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and India.  The protocol relating to the rules of origin 
under this agreement is available at:  h ttp://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-india-free-
trade-area-3 or http://www. laotradeportal.gov.la; 
- Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and Japan.   The protocol relating to the rules of 
origin under this agreement is available at :  http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-japan-
free-trade-area-2 or http: //www.laotradeportal.gov.la; 
- Free Trade Agreement between ASEAN and the Repu blic of Korea.  The protocol relating to 
the rules of origin under this agreement is available at: 
http://www.asean.org/news/item/asean-repu blic-of-korea-free-trade-area-2 or 
http://www.laotradepo rtal.gov.la; and 
- Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA).  The protocol relating to the rules of origin under this 
agreement is available at:  http ://www.unescap.org/tid/apta.asp or 
http://www.laotradeportal.gov.la. 
 
 
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