WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/L/968 
26 October 2011 
 (11-5376) 
  
 
 
 
REPORT (2011) OF THE COMMITTEE ON IMPORT LICENSING 
TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS 
 
 
1. The Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures (hereinafter "the Agreement") which entered  
into force on 1 January 1995, establishes disciplines on users of import licensing systems with the 
principal objective of ensuring that the procedur es applied for granting import licences do not in 
themselves restrict trade.  It aims to simplify, clarify and minimize the administrative requirements necessary to obtain import licences. 
2. The Committee on Import Licensing was established to afford Members the opportunity of 
consulting on any matters relati ng to the operation of the Agreement or the furtherance of its 
objectives.  The Committee's Rules of Procedure, which were approved by the Council for Trade in 
Goods, are contained in document G/L/147. 
3. All Members of the WTO are ipso facto  members of the Committee.  Observer governments 
in the General Council of the WTO have Observe r status in the Committ ee. The International 
Monetary Fund, the World Bank and UNCTAD have regular Observer status in the Committee. 
4. The focus of this report is on the period si nce the Committee's last annual report (G/L/941), 
i.e. 30 October 2010 - 14 October 2011 (hereinafter "t he review period").  During the review period, 
the Committee held two meetings on 11 April and 14 October 2011 (G/LIC/M/33 and [G/LIC/M/34]).  
At its meeting on 11 April 2011, the Committee took note of the nomination of Mr Flavio Soares Damico (Brazil) as Chairperson of the Comm ittee for the current year and elected him by 
acclamation.  At that meeting, the Committee el ected as Vice-Chairperson for the current year, 
Mr. Gustavo Bosio (Israel).  Pursuant to Committee's Rules of Procedure, they took office at the end of that meeting.   
5. Pursuant to Articles 1.4(a) and/or 8.2(b) of  the Agreement and procedures agreed by the 
Committee, all Members are required to notify thei r laws, regulations and administrative procedures 
relevant to import licensing and submit copies of any relevant publications or  laws and regulations 
upon becoming a WTO Member.  Any subsequent changes to these laws, regulations and 
administrative procedures are also required to be notified.  Since the entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement, 100 Members
1 have notified the Committee of their legislation and/or publications under 
these provisions.  During the review period, th e Committee received 14 notifications from the 
following 12 Members: Angola, Argentina, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, India, Kuwait, 
Lesotho, Malaysia, Morocco, Togo, Tonga, Turkey , and the United States (see Figure 1).  These 
notifications may be found in document series G/LI C/N/1/-.  Copies of publications and legislation 
submitted with these notifications are availa ble for consultation in the Secretariat. 
6. The Committee also received, pursuant to paragr aphs 5.1-5.4 of Article 5, 14 notifications 
relating to the institution of new import licensi ng procedures or changes in these procedures 
from 7 Members: Argentina, Colombia, India, Jamaica, Paraguay, Thailand, and Ukraine (see 
                                                      
1 The European Union and its Member States counted as one Member. G/L/968 
Page 2  
 
  Figure 1).  These notifications may be found in document series G/LIC/N/2/-.  Since the entry into 
force of the WTO Agreement, 37 Members have submitted notifications under these provisions.  
Article 5.5 of the Agreement allows Members to submit reverse notifications, where a Member considers that another Member has not notified the institution of a licensing procedure or changes in 
the procedures.  However, no such reverse notifica tions have been received under this provision since 
the entry into force of the Agreement. 
7.  Article 7.3 of the Agreement requires all Me mbers to provide replies to the Questionnaire on 
Import Licensing Procedures
2 by 30 September each year.  Since the entry into force of the WTO 
Agreement, 102 Members have made no tifications under this provision.  This includes replies to the 
Questionnaire from 11 Members in 1995, 22 Members in 1996, 25 Members in 1997, 26 Members in 
1998, 20 Members in 1999, 32 Members in 2000, 23 Members in 2001, 41 Members in 2002, 
25 Members in 2003, 21 Members in 2004, 19 Members in 2005, 46 Members in 2006; 37 Members in 2007, 31 Members in 2008, 42 Members in 2009, 34 Members in 2010 and 35 Members up in 2011. During the review period, the Committee received 53 notifications from the following 44 
Members:  Albania, Argentina, Australia, Brazil,  Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Central 
African Republic, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia , Dominican Republic, European Union, Former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gambia, Honduras, Hong Kong China, India, Japan, Kingdom of 
Saudi Arabia, Korea, Kuwait, Lesotho, Macao China, Madagascar, Malaysia, Nicaragua, Norway, 
Peru, the Philippines, Qatar, Senegal, Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and 
Matsu, Switzerland, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tunisi a, Turkey, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay and 
Viet Nam updated (see Figure 1).  These notifications may be found in document series G/LIC/N/3/-. 
 
FIGURE 1: NUMBER OF MEMBERS HAVING NOTIFIED AND NUMBER OF 
NOTIFICATIONS SUBMITTED DURI NG THE REVIEW PERIOD 2010-2011 
 
8. Written replies to comments and questions  from Members concerning the notifications 
submitted to the Committee and/or on import licensing procedures maintained by Members, and replies thereto, may be found in document series G/LIC/Q/
3. During the review period, the United 
States posed written questions to Indonesia on its Decree 56/2008 (document G/LIC/Q/IDN/17) and 
Turkey to India on import licensing procedur es applied to marble and similar stones 
(G/LIC/Q/IND/17).  The following Members provided responses to comments and questions: (i) 
                                                      
2 Annexed to document G/LIC/3. 
3 See understanding on Procedures for the Review of Notifications (G/LIC/4). 010 20 30 40 50 60 
N/1 Notif N/2 Notif N/3 Notif No. of Members
having notified
No. of notifications G/L/968 
 Page 3 
 
 
  Argentina (in document G/LIC/Q/ARG/13) to questions from Turkey (in document 
G/LIC/Q/ARG/12) with regard to its non-automati c import licensing regime which affected Turkey's 
exports of household electrical appliances; (ii) India (in document G/LIC/Q/IND/16) to questions 
from the United States (in document G/LIC/Q/IND/11/Add.2), concerning India's import licensing regime applied to boric-acid; and, (iii) Indonesi a (in document G/LIC/Q/IDN/16) to questions from 
the European Union (in document G/LIC/Q/IDN/15) w ith regard to the procedures in Decree 56/2008 
which the EU considered an import licensing re gime, even though Indonesia had asserted it was only 
to register importers.  The Committee received, i mmediately before the meeting of 14 October 2011, 
India's responses to the questions by the United St ates in G/LIC/Q/IND/17 and Indonesia's responses 
to Turkey in document G/LIC/Q/IDN/17.  These two documents (G/LIC/Q/IND/18 and 
G/LIC/Q/IDN/18), were referred to the next meeting.   
9. At the 14 October meeting, the EU, the US , Japan, Turkey, Switzerland, Peru, Canada and 
Korea reiterated their concerns with regard to  the non-automatic import licensing regime (NAL) 
notified and applied by Argentina.  Argentina i ndicated that its NAL was WTO compatible.     
10. The Committee has provided a regular forum for the discussion of specific notifications 
submitted by Members.  Members' compliance with the transparency obligations of the Agreement 
has been the main preoccupation of  the Committee for some time now.  Informal meetings have taken 
place, preceded by informal consultations with va rious delegations from a large geographical range.  
During this process, delegations who have attende d the informal consultations as well as those who 
have intervened at the informal Committee meetings  have unanimously highlighted the importance of 
improving compliance with notification obligations.  As a result of two years of informal discussions, 
two notification forms under Articles 1.4a) and/or 8. 2b) and under Article 5 of the Agreement, were 
submitted by the Chair for the Committee's consideration.   At the 11 April 2011 meeting, in light of 
the wide support for the use of the forms, on a vol untary basis, the Committee agreed that these forms 
be circulated in the G/LIC document series and posted on the Member s website (document 
G/LIC/22). Since then, many Members have starte d to use these forms as well as a short statement 
form to indicate that the already notified import licensing regimes under Article 7.3 remain valid. As 
evident in the Annex to this report, there have b een improvements in the level of compliance with the 
mandatory notification requirements, particular ly under Articles 1.4(a), 8.2(b) and 7.3. 
 11. During the review period, eleven Members had submitted, for the first time, notifications to 
the Committee under various Articles of the Agre ement: under Articles 1.4a) Angola, Lesotho, 
Malaysia and Tonga; under Article 5 Colombia, Paraguay and Ukraine; and, under Article 7.3 
Cambodia, Central African Republic, Tonga and Vi et Nam.  The Chair thanked these Members for 
their notifications and urged Members who had not yet notified and had not updated their notifications 
or provided clarifications sought by other Members to do so as soon as possible.  
12. At its meeting of 14 October 2011, the Co mmittee conducted the Final Transitional Review 
under Paragraph 18 of the Protocol  on Accession of the People's Repub lic of China. The committee's 
report to the Goods Council is contained in document G/LIC/23. 
   
 
   G/L/968 
Page 4  
 
  ANNEX 
 
Notifications
1 
 
NOTIFICATIONS  SUBMITTED  BY MEMBERS  SINCE  THE  ENTRY  INTO  FORCE  OF THE  
AGREEMENT  UNTIL  14.10.2011 
MEMBERS2 N/13 DATE N/24 DATE N/35 DATE 
ALBANIA N/1/ALB/3 07.10. 09 N/2/ALB/2 28.11.08  N/3/ALB/5 24.01.11 
ANGOLA N/1/AGO/1  12.05.11         
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA N/1/ATG/1 31.01. 02     N/3/ATG/2 30.01.02 
ARGENTINA N/1/ARG/4 14.04. 11 N/2/ARG/24 04.04.11 N/3/ARG/6 
N/3/ARG/7  20.10.10 20.10.10 
ARMENIA N/1/ARM/4 24.09.07     N/3/ARM/5 03.10.08 
AUSTRALIA N/1/AUS/1/A.1 22.05.97 N/ 2/AUS/1 14.06.04 N/3/AUS/4 25.05.11 
BAHRAIN N/1/BHR/1 13.06.97     N/3/BHR/1 15.09.00 
BANGLADESH N/1/BGD/2 01.04.05     N/3/BGD/4 05.10.07 
BARBADOS N/1//BRB/1 04.10.96     N/3/BRB/5 26.01.10 
BELIZE             
BENIN N/1/BEN/1 10.02. 97         
BOLIVARIAN REP. OF 
VENEZUELA N/1/VEN/1 25.10.02 N/2/VEN/5 20.05.03 N/3/VEN/1 27.05.02 
BOLIVIA, 
PLURINATIONAL 
STATE OF  N/1/BOL/1 16.06.97     N/3/BOL/3 29.06.00 
BOTSWANA             
BRAZIL N/1/BRA/5 19.04.10 N/2/BRA /5 19.04.10 N/3/BRA/9 15.09.11 
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM         N/3/BRN/1 10.04.97 
BURKINA FASO N/1/BFA/1 10.02.97      N/3/BFA/4 05.09.11 
BURUNDI N/1/BDI/1 27.04.01     N/3/BDI/2 07.11.01 
CAMBODIA         N/3/KHM/1 23.11.10 
CAMEROON N/1/CMR/1 18.09.01     N/3/CMR/3 25.09.09 
CANADA N/1/CAN/2 10.06.09     N/3/CAN/9 18.10.10 
CAPE VERDE          N/3/CPV/2  05.09.11 
CENTRAL AFRICAN 
REP.          N/3/CFA/1  16.12.10 
CHAD N/1/TCD/2 16.08.00     N/3/TCD/2 20.08.01 
                                                      
1 The title "Date" refers to the da te of issuance of the document. 
2 The European Union and its Member States counted as one Member. 
3 Article 1.4(a) and/or Article 8.2(b) publications and/or legislation (date of latest communication). 
4 Article 5.1-5.4 – Ad hoc New import licensing procedures or changes (date of latest communication). 
5 Article 7.3 – Annual Replies to Questionnaire (date of latest communication).  G/L/968 
 Page 5 
 
 
  MEMBERS2 N/13 DATE N/24 DATE N/35 DATE 
CHILE N/1/CHL/1 31.07.06     N/3/CHL/6 15.09.11 
CHINA N/1/CHN/6 24.03.10     N/3/CHN/9 09.11.10 
COLOMBIA N/1/COL/2 08.10.07  N/2/ COL/1  06.10.11 N/3/COL/9 10.10.11 
CONGO             
COSTA RICA N/1/CRI/2 15.03.07 N/2/ CRI/2 20.10.10 N/3/CRI/7 14.10.10 
COTE D'IVOIRE N/1/CIV/1 08.02.02      N/3/CIV/2 05.10.07 
CROATIA N/1/HRV/5 21.10. 10  N/2/HRV/1  09.10.09 N/3/HRV/6 26.09.11 
CUBA N/1/CUB/1 24.01.96     N/3/CUB/3 20.01.09 
CONGO DEM. REP. OF  N/1/COD/1 19. 10.06     N/3/COD/1 18.10.06 
DJIBOUTI             
DOMINICA N/1/DMA/1 22.02.01     N/3/DMA/2 06.12.06 
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC N/1/DOM/1 04.05. 04     N/3/DOM/5 06.04.11 
EUROPEAN UNION N/1/EEC/2/A.4 10.01.03 N/ 2/EEC/2 14.07.97 N/3/EEC/14+A.1 26.09.11 
ECUADOR N/1/ECU/2 15.06.06     N/3/ECU/3/A.1 19.04.10 
EGYPT              
EL SALVADOR N/1/SLV/1 03.02.04         
REP. OF THE FIJI 
ISLANDS N/1/FJI/1 03.09.97     N/3/FJI/1 16.04.97 
FMR. YUGOSLAV REP. 
OF  MACEDONIA N/1/MKD/4 26.09.11  N/2/MKD/ 1 17.04.09 N/3/MKD/3 26.09.11 
GABON N/1/GAB/2 13.03.02         
GAMBIA         N/3/GMB/3 12.12.10 
GEORGIA N/1/GEO/1 08.04.02     N/3/GEO/3 04.09.06 
GHANA N/1/GHA/1 21.04.04     N/3/GHA/4 29.09.09 
GRENADA N/1/GRD/1 10.04.02     N/3/GRD/4 08.09.10 
GUATEMALA N/1/GTM/2 28.01.00     N/3/GTM/4 09.11.07 
GUINEA BISSAU             
GUINEA, REP.OF             
GUYANA N/1/GUY/1 10.04.02     N/3/GUY/2 28.10.03 
HAITI N/1/HTI/2 27.10.06     N/3/HTI/5 30.10.09 
HONDURAS N/1/HND/1 03.12.96 N/2/ HND/4 18.01.10 N/3/HND/6 29.08.11 
HONG KONG, CHINA N/1/HKG/5 07.01.03 N/ 2/HKG/4 18.09.09 N/3/HKG/15 29.09.11 
ICELAND N/1/ISL/1 26.01.99     N/3/ISL/3 28.10.04 
INDIA N/1/IND/13 20.09.11 N/2/I ND/11 20.09.11 N/3/IND/12 21.09.11 
INDONESIA N/1/IDN/1 02.11.98 N/2/I DN/3 06.07.09 N/3/IDN/4 23.02.10 
G/L/968 
Page 6  
 
  MEMBERS2 N/13 DATE N/24 DATE N/35 DATE 
ISRAEL N/1/ISR/1 19.10.06 N/2/IS R/1 19.10.06 N/3/ISR/1 19.10.06 
JAMAICA N/1/JAM/1 11.07.96 N/2/JA M/2 02.09.11 N/3/JAM/3 03.09.08 
JAPAN N/1/JPN/2/R.1 26.02.97 N/2/ JPN/3 27.04.01 N/ 3/JPN/10 30.09.11 
JORDAN N/1/JOR/2/A.1 03.09.03 N/2/ JOR/2 10.06.05 N/3/JOR/1 11.12.00 
KENYA N/1/KEN/1 12. 06.03     N/3/ KEN/2/A.1 12.06.03 
KINGDOM OF SAUDI 
ARABIA          N/3/SAU/2 27.09.11 
KOREA, REP. OF N/1/KOR/3 14.04.98 N/2/KOR/1/R1 27.07.09 N/3/KOR/10 21.09.11 
KUWAIT N/1/KWT/2 30.09.11     N/3/KWT/2 26.09.11 
KYRGYZ REPUBLIC N/1/KGZ/1 18.01. 00     N/3/KGZ/2 09.10.06 
LESOTHO N/1/LSO/1  23.11.10     N/3/LSO/2 23.11.10 
LIECHTENSTEIN N/1/LIE/2 26.10.00 N/2/ LIE/2 26.10.00 N/3/LIE/4/A.1 14.04.03 
MACAO, CHINA N/1/MA C/3 10.12.07     N/3/MAC/14 07.10.11 
MADAGASCAR N/1/MDG/2 25.04.00     N/3/MDG/6 19.05.11 
MALAWI N/1/MWI/1 13.10.99 N/2/MW I/1 10.05.10 N/3/MWI/2 03.10.06 
MALAYSIA N/1/MYS/1 05.09.11  N/2/ MYS/4 19.04.10 N/ 3/MYS/6 28.04.11 
MALDIVES         N/3/MDV/1 15.04.02 
MALI N/1/MLI/1 27.08.01     N/3/MLI/2 27.08.01 
MAURITANIA             
MAURITIUS N/1/MUS/2 11.05.07 N/2/ MUS/1 17.03.08 N/ 3/MUS/3 17.03.08 
MEXICO N/1/MEX/3 18.01.10     N/3/MEX/3 18.01.10 
MOLDOVA N/1/MDA/1 22.01.02 N/2/M DA/1 16.10.08 N/3/MDA/1 08.02.02 
MONGOLIA N/1/MNG/ 1 27.04.01     N/3/MNG/1 12.06.03 
MOROCCO N/1/MAR/2+C1 26.01.10     N/3/MAR/7/R.1 09.10.09 
MOZAMBIQUE             
MYANMAR             
NAMIBIA N/1/NAM/1 29.10.02     N/3/NAM/6 30.08.10 
NEPAL             
NEW ZEALAND N/1/NZL/1 22.08.96     N/3/NZL/1/A.1 06.04.98 
NICARAGUA N/1/NIC/1 05.08.96     N/3/NIC/3  27.09.11 
NIGER N/1/NER/1 12.01. 98         
NIGERIA N/1/NGA/1 18.02.98 N/2/ NGA/2 18.02.98 N/3/NGA/6 26.07.10 
NORWAY N/1/NOR/2 03.12.97     N/3/NOR/6 04.07.11 
OMAN N/1/OMN/1 20.02.01     N/3/OMN/4 08.05.09 
 G/L/968 
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  MEMBERS2 N/13 DATE N/24 DATE N/35 DATE 
PAKISTAN N/1/PAK/1 29.05.96 N/2/PAK/1 29.05.96     
PANAMA N/1/PAN/2 16.11. 98 N/2/PAN/1 18.08.98  N/3/PAN/2 04.03.04 
PAPUA NEW GUINEA     N/2/PNG/1 17.02.98     
PARAGUAY N/1/PRY/ 2 14.09.10 N/2/PRY/1 17.05.11     
PERU N/1/PER/2/R.1 31.05.05     N/3/PER/7 23.09.11 
PHILIPPINES N/1/PHL/1 14.04.98      N/3/PHL/8 07.02.11 
QATAR N/1/QAT/1 02.04.98     N/3/QAT/8 14.06.11 
RWANDA         N/3/RWA/1 20.07.06 
ST. KITTS AND NEVIS N/1/KNA/1 07.08. 98      N/3/KNA/1 08.12.09 
ST. LUCIA N/1/LCA/3 10.07.08 N/2/ LCA/2 17.10.02 N/3/LCA/5 29.09.08 
ST. VINCENT & 
GRENADINES           
SENEGAL N/1/SEN/1 23.10.02     N/3/SEN/4 01.10.11 
SIERRA LEONE              
SINGAPORE N/1/SGP/5 04. 04.08 N/2/SGP/5 05.10.09  N/3/SGP/7 06.10.09 
SOLOMON ISLANDS             
SOUTH AFRICA     N/2/ZAF/ 1 15.07.97 N/3/ZAF/4 17.09.02 
SRI LANKA N/1/LKA/1 20.05.03     N/3/LKA/1 27.05.03 
SURINAME N/1/SUR/1 15.12.03      N/3/SUR/1 09.10.09 
SWAZILAND N/1/SWZ/1 04. 10.96         
SWITZERLAND N/1/CHE/2 26.09.00 N/2/ CHE/2 26.09.00 N/3/CHE/7 03.10.11 
CHINESE TAIPEI  N/1/TPKM/6 20.12.04 N/2/TPKM/4 20.12.04 N/3/TPKM/2/R.2 05.09.11 
TANZANIA             
THAILAND N/1/THA/1 28. 09.07  N/2/THA/2  21.09.11 N/3/THA/4 21.09.11 
TOGO N/1/TGO/2 24.05.11     N/3/TGO/2 15.09.11 
TONGA N/1/TON/1 06.04.11     N/3/TON/1  05.04.11 
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO N/1/TTO/1 10.11. 98     N/3/TTO/9 22.09.10 
TUNISIA N/1/TUN/2 14.02.07     N/3/TUN/6 26.09.11 
TURKEY N/1/TUR/9 23.09.11     N/3/TUR/11 23.09.11 
UGANDA N/1/UGA/1 03.10.96     N/3/UGA/1/A.2 07.10.05 
UKRAINE N/1/UKR/1 03.09.08  N/2/ UKR/2 17.05.11 N/3/UKR/4 22.08.11 
UNITED ARAB 
EMIRATES N/1/ARE/1 18.04.97     N/3/ARE/1 25.04.00 
UNITED STATES N/1/USA/6/Add.1 30.09.11 N/2/USA/2/A1 06.04.09 N/3/USA/8 30.09.11 
URUGUAY N/1/URY/3 25.09.01     N/3/URY/5 06.10.11 
G/L/968 
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  MEMBERS2 N/13 DATE N/24 DATE N/35 DATE 
VIETNAM         N/3/VNM/1  12.05.11 
ZAMBIA N/1/ZMB/2 18.02.04     N/3/ZMB/2 18.02.04 
ZIMBABWE N/1/ZWE/2 28.09.98     N/3/ZWE/3 24.06.10 
TOTAL:   100   37   102   
 
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