G/RO/N/178  
 
28 November 2018  
(18-7493) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Rules of Origin  Original: English  
 
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE  5 AND PARAGRAPH  4 OF 
ANNEX  II TO THE AGREEMENT ON RULES OF ORIGIN  
NON-PREFERENTIAL AND PREFERENTIAL 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 o f 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, m oreover, 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 ar ise for a Member.  
2. Furthermore, paragraph 4 of Annex II to the Agreement on Rules of Origin envisages that 
Members shall promptly provide to the Secretariat their existing or new preferential rules of origin, 
including a listing of the preferential arran gements 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 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 whic h had been initially received 
by the CRTA or the CTD should also be circulated by the Secretariat to the CRO. Information 
regarding such notifications, including related to preferential rules of origin, can also be obtained 
through the WTO database on regi onal trade agreements ( http://rtais.wto.org ) or the WTO database 
on preferential trade agreements ( http://ptadb.wto.org ). 
3. With reference to these rules, the following notificatio n has been received:  
SRI LANKA  
A. NON-PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN   
Sri Lanka does not have any non -preferential  rules of origin.  
B. PREFERENTIAL RULES OF ORIGIN  
Sri Lanka applies the rules of origin with respect to the following  preferential trading 
arrangements:  
- Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (ISFTA)  
The text of the Agreement can be found in the following website link: 
http://doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=154&lang=e
n. G/RO/N/178  
 
- 2 - 
 
  - Pakistan -Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement (PSFTA)  
The text of the Agreement can be found in the following website link: 
http://doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=30&Itemid=155&lang=e
n. 
- SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA)  
The text of the Agreement can be found in the following website link: 
http://doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=31&Itemid=156&lang=e
n. 
- South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA)  
The text of the Agreement can be f ound in the following website link: 
http://doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=32&Itemid=157&lang=e
n. 
- Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (A PTA) 
The text of the Agreement can be found in the following website link: 
http://doc.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33&Itemid=158&lan g=e
n. 
- Sri Lanka – Singapore Free Trade Agreement (SLSFTA)  
The text of the Agreement can be found in the following website link: http://modsit.gov.lk/32 -
uncategorised/115 -free-trade -agreement -between -the-democratic -socialist-republic -of-sri-
lanka -and-the-republic -of-singapore.html . 
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