G/SCM/N/284/HND  
26 July 2016  
(16-3965)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  SUBSIDIES 
NEW AND FULL NOTIFICATION PURSUANT TO ARTICLE XVI:1 OF THE GATT 1994  
AND ARTICLE 25 OF THE AGREEMENT ON SUBSIDIES AND  
COUNTERVAILING MEASURES 
HONDURAS  
The following communication, dated 20 July 2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Honduras. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
1. Title of the subsidy programme, if relevant, or brief description or identification of the 
subsidy 
 
 Temporary Import Regime (RIT) and Free Zones  
2. Period covered by the notification 
 
2015 
 
3. Policy objective and/or purpose of the subsidy 
 
 These incentives are designed to promote exports, attract investment, stimulate production 
and competitiveness, support human development and create jobs. 
 4. Background and authority for the subsidy (including identification of the legislation under 
which it is granted) 
 
 The Temporary Import Regime (RIT) was established for the purpose of strengthening the Honduran economy, boosting domestic production  and increasing exports, promoting employment 
in combination with other national and foreign resources, stimulating investment and creating 
mechanisms for the development of export indust ries and increasing foreign trade by fostering 
export diversification. This Regime has its legal basis in Executive Decree No. 37 of 
20 December 1984, as amended by Legislative Decree No. 190-86 of 31 October 1986, Legislative 
Decree No. 8-85 of 7 February 1985 and Decree No. 135-94 of 28 October 1994, which rescinds the exemption from corporate tax for enterprises covered by the regime as from that date. 
 
 The purpose of the Law on Free Zones was to take advantage of the geographical location of Honduras in the Central American and Caribbean region in order to provide opportunities for the development of domestic and international trade, as well as to create more employment 
opportunities through the establishment of commercial and industrial free zones. It has its legal 
basis in Decree No. 356 of 19 July 1976, as amended by Decree No. 131-98 of 20 May 1998, 
whereby the title of the law setting up the Free Zone of Puerto Cortés was changed to Law on 
Free Zones and the benefits and provisions of th e law were extended to the entire national 
territory.  G/SCM/N/284/HND 
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  5. Form of the subsidy (i.e. grant, loan, tax concession, etc.) 
 
 The only benefits granted under the special regimes are exemptions from and suspension 
(in the case of the Temporary Import Regime) of import duties, taxes and internal charges. 
 
6. To whom and how the subsidy is provided (whether to producers, to exporters or others; 
through what mechanism; whether a fixed or fluctuating amount per unit; if the latter, how 
determined) 
 
Temporary Import Regime 
 
 The beneficiaries of the Temporary Import Regime are natural and legal persons eligible 
under the regime.  
Benefits under the Law: 
  Producers/exporters duly authorized under th is regime are not subject, when importing 
goods, to the payment of customs duties or any other taxes or charges, including the general sales 
tax on imports.  Free Zones 
  Free zone benefits are extended to all Honduran and foreign natural and legal persons eligible under the regime as users or user-operators. 
 
Benefits under the Law:  
 
 Export-based commercial and industrial enterprise s, duly authorized at the time of bringing 
goods into the free zones, are exempt from the payment of customs duties, charges, surcharges 
and other taxes and levies directly or indirectly related to customs import operations.  
 Sales and output in the free zone and commercial and industrial property and 
establishments located therein are exempt from the payment of municipal taxes and charges at 
the end of the fiscal year. Similarly, companies established in this zone are exempt from the 
payment of corporate tax on operating profits at the end of the fiscal year. 
 7. Subsidy per unit or, in cases where this is not possible, the total amount or the annual 
amount budgeted for that subsidy (indicating, if possible, the average subsidy per unit in the 
previous year). Where provision of per-unit subsidy information (for the year covered by the 
notification, for the previous year, or both) is not possible, a full explanation.  
 The nature of the programmes makes any calculation of the amount of the subsidy per unit 
impossible. The information requested can therefore not be provided. 
 8. Duration of the subsidy and/or any other time-limits attached to it, including date of 
inception/commencement  
 The benefits currently granted to enterprises under the RIT and Free Zone programmes are 
of indefinite duration. However, under the RIT, firms are no longer exempt from corporate tax, in 
accordance with Decree No. 135-94 of 28 October 1994. 
 9. Statistical data permitting an assessment of the trade effects of the subsidy. The specific 
nature and scope of such statistics is left to the judgment of the notifying Member. To the 
extent possible, relevant and/or determinable, however, it is desirable that such information 
include statistics of production, consumption, imports and exports of the subsidized 
product(s) or sector(s):  
a. For the three most recent years for which statistics are available; 
b. for a previous representative year, which, where possible and meaningful, should be the 
latest year preceding the introduction of th e subsidy or preceding the last major change 
in the subsidy. G/SCM/N/284/HND 
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  ENTERPRISES ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS UNDER THE SPECIAL REGIMES 
2015 
YEAR NUMBER OF ENTERPRISES COVERED  
TEMPORARY IMPORT REGIME (RIT) FREE ZONES 
2015 303 774 
Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade (r evised figures)/RIT and Free Zone data. 
EMPLOYMENT GENERATED BY ENTERPRISES COVERED 
BY THE SPECIAL REGIMES 
2015 
YEAR NUMBER OF JOBS  
TEMPORARY IMPORT REGIME (RIT) FREE ZONES 
2015 67,609 129,721 
Source: Secretariat of Economic Development (revised  figures)/RIT, Export Pr ocessing Zone (ZIP) and 
Free Zone data. 
Note: Although the Law on Export Processing Zones (ZIP) is still in force, there are no enterprises 
currently operating under the regime, since all of the authorized enterprises asked to withdraw in 
order to be able to benefit fro m the Free Zone regime instead. 
 
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