WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/MA/W/110 
10 April 2012 
 (12-1864) 
Committee on Market Access  
  
DRAFT DECISION ON NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR 
QUANTITATIVE RESTRICTIONS
1 
 
Adopted by the Council fo r Trade in Goods on ... 
  
 
 The Council for Trade in Goods takes note of  the mandate of the Committee on Market 
Access (paragraph (d) of document WT/L/47) and agrees that: 
 1. Members shall make complete notifications of all quantitative restrictions in force by 
30 September 2012 and at two  yearly intervals thereafter.  They should also notify changes to those 
quantitative restrictions as soon as possible, but not later than six months from their entry into force.   
Members will also retain the right to notify, at any time, corrections to their notifications, as well as to 
reverse notifications to which they are subject.  No tifications shall be circulated in a new document 
series and will automatically be included in the ag enda of the meeting of the Committee on Market 
Access. 
 
2. Members shall prepare their notifications
2 in accordance with the format in Annex 1 and 
provide the following information for each restriction in force:    
 
(i) General description of the restriction:  a gene ral description of the restriction in force (e.g. 
prohibition to import ozone de pleting substances; prohibition to import live animals of 
endangered species; prohibition to import pork meat; quota for the import of fish; non-automatic licence for the import of guns and ammunition, etc.);   
 
(ii) Type of restriction:  a precise indication of the type of restriction imposed using the symbols 
contained in Annex 2.  If the restriction re lates to a measure for which a symbol does not 
exist, then a full description of the measure shall be provided;  
 (iii) Tariff line code: a detailed description of the tari ff line(s) or parts of tariff line(s) affected by 
the restriction, together with an indication of  the Harmonized System (HS) version on which 
the code(s) is(are) based (e.g. HS2002, HS2007, HS2012, etc.).  The symbol "ex" should be 
added after the tariff line code to indicate that  only part of the products classified therein are 
covered by the restriction; 
 
(iv) Detailed product(s) description:  a detailed description of the product(s) covered by the 
restriction, which should correspond to the tari ff line codes listed.  Members shall make an 
effort to be precise in those cases where the restriction only covers part of an HS subheading (i.e. only part of a six digit code);  
                                                      
1 These notification procedures ar e without prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members under 
the WTO Agreement.  SPS and TBT measures, as well as  automatic import licensing and tariff rate quotas 
(TRQs) are not covered by this Decision.   
2 All notifications made pursuant to this Decision sha ll also be provided to the Secretariat in electronic 
form. G/MA/W/110 
Page 2  
 
  (v) WTO justification: an indication of the grounds and WTO justification for the measures 
maintained, including any relevant interna tional commitment where appropriate, and the 
precise WTO provisions which the Member cites as justification.3  
 (vi) National legal basis:  reference to the law,  regulation or administrative decision establishing 
the restriction, including its date of entry into force and the date it ceases to be in force, if 
known; 
 (vii) Member comments, administration of the restriction or modification of a previously notified 
restriction:  this column provides an opportuni ty to provide additional information about the 
restriction or to explain the modifications introduced to a previously notified measure.  It 
should include, where applicable, the following  elements: 1) a description of the manner in 
which the restriction is administered (e.g. th rough an import licencing procedure, etc.) and 
whether it is applied globally (i.e. on an MFN basis) or specifically to the trade of one or 
more trading partners (i.e. bilate rally or plurilaterally, and to which trading partners); 2) In the 
case of volume-based measures, information on the quantity of permissible imports, the 
degree of quota utilization and, wh en available, on the level of production or consumption; 3) In 
the case of modifications to a previously notified restriction,  a description of the change. 
 
3. Information on quantitative restrictions in force and already notified in accordance with other 
notification requirements shall be no tified as provided for in Section 2 of Annex 1 of this Decision, if 
not already covered in Section 1 of the same Annex.4   
 
4. Notifications made pursuant to this Decisi on shall be compiled by the Secretariat in a new 
database, which shall be made accessible to the pu blic.  If a notification lacks any of the elements 
described in paragraph 2, the Secretariat shall incl ude the notification in the database and inform the 
Member concerned of the missing information.  
5. Members shall be free to make reverse notifica tions, which shall be made using the format in 
Annex 1 of this Decision and shall identify the Member maintaining the restriction, as well as the known elements of paragraph 2 above.  These notifica tions will also be automatically included in the 
agenda of the Committee on Market Access.  The Member who is the subject of the notification will have two months from the date of circulation of the notification to comment in writing on whether the 
notified measure is in force and to correct any information element contained therein.  If such 
comment is not provided within such a time frame, the Secretariat shall input into the database the 
information contained in the reverse notification.   6. The Secretariat shall assist developing and least-developed countries in the preparation of their notification, at their request. 
                                                      
3 Provisions which have been invoked by Members to introduce quantitative restrictions under specific 
circumstances include, inter alia :  Articles XI:2(a), XII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI of the GATT 1994, as well as 
Annex 5 of the Agreement on Agriculture, the Understanding on Balance of Payments, and the Agreement on Safeguards.  See also JOB/MA/6.  The justification is provided for transpar ency purposes only and is therefore 
indicative.  It shall not prejudice any legal position a Member may take on the particular measure that the 
justification is intended to cover. 
4 Notifications with information on quantitative restrictions in force may have already been made by 
the Member under the Agreement on Agriculture, Agreement on Balance of Payments, Agreement on 
Safeguards, and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures.  G/MA/W/110 
 Page 3 
 
 
  7. The Secretariat shall circulate yearly a report listing: i) the WTO Members having made a 
notification; ii) the type of notification made (i.e . whether "complete", "changes" or "reverse");   
iii) the date of the notification and the period cove red by it; iv) the sections of the notification in 
which information was provided (i.e. Sections 1 or 2); and v) whether the Secretariat informed the 
Member that information was missing. 
 
8. This Decision and its annexes replace th e Decision on Notification Procedures for 
Quantitative Restrictions contained in G/L/59 and the format for the notification of quantitative restrictions circulated in G/MA/NTM/QR/2.  The new database replaces the exis ting database as of the 
date of adoption of  this Decision. G/MA/W/110 
Page 4  
 
  ANNEX 1  
 
Format for the Notification of Quantitative Restrictions in Force 
 
A.  Notifying Member:        
B.  Date of notification:       
C.  First time notification: 
 Yes 
 No, last notification was made in (doc. symbol):        
D.  Type of notification: 
 1. Complete (i.e. notification of all quantitative restrictions in force) 
 2. Changes to a notification previously made in (doc. symbol)        
  which are of the following nature: 
  2.1 Introduction of new restrictions, as listed in Section 1. 
  2.2 Elimination of restrictions, as described in G below. 
  2.3 Modification of a previously notified restriction, as described in Section 1. 
 3. Reverse notification of restrictions maintained by (Member):      
E.  The notification provides information for the following biennial period  
 (e.g. 2012-2014):       and relates to restrictions in force as of (date)        
 
F.   This notification contains information relating to: 
 
 Section 1:   List of quantitative restricti ons that are currently in force. 
 
 Section 2:   Cross-reference to other WTO notifi cations with information on quantitative 
restrictions that are currently in  force and additional information. 
 
G.  Comments of a general nature, incl uding a description of the elimination of 
restrictions notified under D.2.2 and th e date they ceased to be in force. 
      
  
 
  
   G/MA/W/110
 Page 5Section 1: List of quantitative restrictions that are currently in force 
 
QR
No. General description of 
the restriction Type of 
restriction 
(Symbol in 
Annex 2 of 
the 
Decision)  Tariff line 
code(s) 
affected, based 
o n  H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
(e.g. Article XX(g) of 
the GATT, etc.) and 
Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments (e.g. 
Montreal Protocol, 
CITES, etc) National legal basis 
and entry into force 
(i.e. Law, regulation 
or administrative 
decision) Administration, 
modification of 
previously notified 
measures, and other 
comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 
1        
2        
3        
4        
5        
6        
7        
8        
9        
10        
11        
  
  G/MA/W/110 
Page 6 
Section 2: Cross-reference to other WTO notifi cations with information on quantitative restrictions that are currently in force  
 
 This section shall be filled by Members in case a notification made pursuant to another notifi cation requirement (e.g. set in the Agreement on 
Agriculture, Agreement on Balance of Payments, Agreement on Safe guards, and the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures, etc.)  contains information 
on a quantitative restriction in force and which is not listed in Section 1.   
 
1.  Agreement on Agriculture 
 
A.  Was a notification made with info rmation on a quantitative restriction?   Yes     No   
B.  If yes, then list below the relevant document symbol an d include any information element missing in the notification: 
 
Document symbol 
of notification General 
description Type 
of 
restr. 
 Tariff line 
code(s) affected, 
based on 
H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
and Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments  National legal basis 
and entry into force 
 Administration; 
modification of prev. 
notified measures; 
and other comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
G/AG/N/             
 
2.  Agreement on Balance of Payments  
A.  Was a notification made with info rmation on a quantitative restriction?   Yes  
   No   
B.  If yes, then list below the relevant document symbol an d include any information element missing in the notification: 
 
Document symbol 
of notification General 
description Type 
of 
restr. 
 Tariff line 
code(s) affected, 
based on 
H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
and Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments National legal basis 
and entry into force 
 Administration; 
modification of prev. 
notified measures; 
and other comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
WT/BOP/N/             
  
   G/MA/W/110
 Page 73.  Agreement on Safeguards 
 
A.  Was a notification made with info rmation on a quantitative restriction?   Yes     No   
B.  If yes, then list below the relevant document symbol an d include any information element missing in the notification: 
 
Document symbol 
of notification General 
description Type 
of 
restr. 
 Tariff line 
code(s) affected, 
based on 
H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
and Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments National legal basis 
and entry into force 
 Administration; 
modification of prev. 
notified measures; 
and other comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
G/SG/N/             
 
4.  Agreement on Import Licensing Pr ocedures (non-automatic licences) 
 
A.  Was a notification made with info rmation on a quantitative restriction?   Yes     No   
B.  If yes, then list below the relevant document symbol an d include any information element missing in the notification: 
 
Document symbol 
of notification General 
description Type 
of 
restr. 
 Tariff line 
code(s) affected, 
based on 
H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
and Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments  National legal basis 
and entry into force 
 Administration; 
modification of prev. 
notified measures; 
and other comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
G / L I C / N /              
 
  
  G/MA/W/110 
Page 8 
5. Other notifications 
 
A. Was a notification made with information on a quantitative restriction in other notifications?   Yes     No   
B. If yes, then list below the relevant document symbol a nd include any information element missing in the notification: 
 
Document symbol 
of notification General 
description Type 
of 
restr. 
 Tariff line 
code(s) affected, 
based on 
H S (      )  Detailed Product 
Description WTO Justification 
and Grounds for 
Restriction, e.g., 
Other International 
Commitments National legal basis 
and entry into force 
 Administration; 
modification of prev. 
notified measures; 
and other comments 
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 
             
 
    
 
 
  G/MA/W/110 
 Page 9 
 
 
  ANNEX 2 
 
Symbols to be used in notifications of quantitative restrictions5 
  
 
P Prohibition  CP Prohibition except under defined conditions  
GQ Global quota 
 GQC Global quota allocated by country  BQ Bilateral quota (i.e. anythi ng less than a global quota) 
 
NAL Non-automatic licensing  STR Quantitative restricti on made effective through state-trading operations   
 MXR Mixing regulation 
 
MPR Minimum price, triggeri ng a quantitative restriction 
 VER "Voluntary" export restraint  
 
Add the following suffixes to  the above as appropriate: 
 -S Seasonal restriction  -X Export restriction 
 
 
__________  
 
                                                      
5 The symbols, which are indicative, and general descriptions contained in Annex 2 are for notification 
purposes and are without prejudice to Members' rights and obligations under the WTO Agreement.  They are, 
therefore, not intended to define or harmonize the concept of quantitative restrictions under the WTO.