WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/COD/1 
18 October 2006 
 
 (06-5024) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   French 
  
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
1 
 
Notification Under Article 7.3 of the Agreement  
on Import Licensing Procedures  
 
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO 
   The following communication, dated 2 October 2006, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 
 
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Outline of systems
 
 1. The import licensing regime is laid down by the Exchange Regulations establishing the list of 
products subject to import licensing.  The licensing system is administered by the Central Bank of the Congo. 
Purpose and coverage of licensing
 
 
2. Imports of goods are subject to licensing with the exception of border trade. 
3. The regime applies to products originating in or coming from any country. 
4. Automatic import licensing is used for statisti cal purposes.  Non-automatic import licensing is 
used to administer import restrictions maintained under the customs regulations. 
5. The licensing regime is not statutorily required.   The regime may be suspended when such 
action is deemed appropriate.  The suspension is not published in the Official Journal. 
Procedures  
 
6. For products under restriction: 
I. Information on quotas, procedures for filing li cence applications, exceptions and waivers is 
published in the Official Journal. 
 
II. There are no quotas.  III. Licences are issued to importers regardless of  whether they are producers of like products.  
Under the regulations, unused IB (goods imports) or EB (goods export s) licences must be surrendered 
                                                     
 
1 See document G/LIC/3 (annex) for the questionnaire. G/LIC/N/3/COD/1 
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  by the importer or exporter to the authorized bank concerned for cancellation not later than one month 
after the validity date.   An EB declaration duly validated by an aut horized bank shall count as an authorization to 
export and an obligation to receive the totality of th e value of the export that has taken place within 
the time period laid down in Article 19 of the Regulations. 
  It has a maximum validity of three months from the date of validation, and may be extended at the request of the applicant for a further 3-month period.  
 For statistical purposes, the banks concerned mu st transmit to the Central Bank of the Congo, 
on a quarterly basis, a table of the transactions c onducted in this connection containing the following 
data:   - Exact nature of the goods imported; 
 
 - customs tariff number;   - quantity;   - freight cost; 
 
 - insurance cost;   - country of origin or source of imported goods.  
IV. As from the date of announcement of the ope ning of quotas, there is no specified time-limit 
for the submission of licence applications.  V. There is no specified time period for the processing of licence applications.  VI. There is no specified deadline for issuing im port licences before the date of opening of the 
period of importation, except in the case of urgent imports of goods under the same tariff heading 
whose characteristics are not known at the time of validation of the exchange  document, for which the 
economic operators may use the ge neral format IB declaration. 
 VII. Licence applications are processed by a si ngle administrative entity, namely the bank 
concerned. 
 VIII. Licences are issued primarily on the basis of imports for the review period.  None of the quota 
is allocated to new importers.  Applications are examined as and when they are received. 
 IX. There are no bilateral quotas or export restrain t arrangements.  Export permits issued by the 
exporting countries are not required. 
 X. Export permits issued by the exporting countries are not required.  XI. Licences are not issued on condition that goods should be exported and not sold in the 
domestic market. 
    G/LIC/N/3/COD/1 
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  7. When there is no quantitative limit on importati on of a product or imports from a particular 
country: 
 (a) The licence application is filed on the da te agreed by the economic operator before 
the importation takes place. 
 
 (b) Under certain circumstances, a licence may be issued immediately upon request. 
  (c) There are no limitations as to the period of the year which licence applications and/or 
importation may be made. 
 
 (d) In connection with import licence applications, importers approach a single 
administrative entity. 
 8. None.  When a licence is denied, the reasons are not given, and no right of appeal to any 
jurisdiction is provided for in the Exchange Regulations. 
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
 
 
9. All persons, firms or institutions are eligible to apply for licences. 
Documentational and other require ments for application for licence  
 
10. A sample application form is available for re ference in the Secretariat. Importers are required 
to submit the following documents with their application: 
  - Commercial contract  and/or the invoice;   - any other document required in international trade. 
 
11. Upon actual importation, the importer is requi red to present the approved import licence or a 
copy thereof.  12. A licence fee and an administrative charge are collected.  
13. Issue of the licence is not conditional on payment of a deposit or an advance. 
 
Conditions of licensing
 
 
14. The period of validity of a licence is three mont hs reckoned from its date of validation.  It 
may be extended for another three months at the applicant's request. 
15. There is no penalty for non-utilization of all or part of a licence. 
16. Licences are not transferable between importers. 
17. The following documents must be s ubmitted for a licence to be issued. 
 (a) For exports 
 
 - Sales contract and/or invoice; 
  - consignment report for goods to be exported; G/LIC/N/3/COD/1 
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 - quality certificate;   - inspection certificate (precious materials);  
 - certificate of origin (precious materials); 
  - any other document required in international trade.   (b) For imports 
 
 - Commercial contract and/or invoice;   - any other document required in international trade.  Other procedural requirements
 
 
18. Apart from the licence requirement, imports are not subject to any other prior administrative 
procedures. 
19. Foreign exchange is automatically provided by the banking authorities for the goods. 
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