WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/TUN/4 
11 January 2007 
 
 (07-0135) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   French 
  
 
REPLIES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON  IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES 
 
Notification Under Article 7.3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
 
 
TUNISIA 
 
  The following notification, dated 12 December  2006, has been received from the Permanent 
Mission of Tunisia.  
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 Outline of system
 
 1. Tunisia's foreign trade is governed by Law No. 94-41 of 7 March 1994 which establishes the 
treatment applicable to importation and exporta tion of goods.  The Law embodies the principle of 
freedom of foreign trade, with the exception of a list of products affecting in particular security, public order, health and the protection of cultu ral heritage (Article 2 of Law No. 94-41 of 
7 March 1994).  Tunisia accordingly applies no quantita tive or other restrictions to imports covered 
by the free foreign trade regime. 
 Under the former regulations on procedures for foreign trade operations, as prescribed by 
Decree 1743 of 29 August 1994, importers of products  entering duty free had to deposit an import 
certificate for domiciliation with an approved interm ediary together with a commercial invoice. 
  The import certificate, which bore the same information as an import authorization, was deposited in quadruplicate.  After domiciliation, th e approved intermediary kept one of the four 
originals along with the original of the invoice.  He sent another of the four originals to the importer 
along with a copy of the invoice, and the two remaining originals of the authorization and the other copies of the invoice to the Central Bank of Tunisia.   When clearing the goods through customs, importe rs had to provide Customs with a copy of 
the import certificates in their possession together wi th the invoice used for domiciliation and the final 
invoice.   Since October 2006, customs clearance of goods requires only domiciliation of the commercial invoice with an approved intermediary, the import certificate having been abolished.  
This new procedure was established by  Decree No. 2006-2619 of 2 October 2006
1, which amended 
Decree No. 94-1743 of 29 August 1994.  The new regulations further simplify foreign trade 
operations, rationalize and reduce the number of documen ts required by providing (Article 2) that 
"foreign trade operations and the financial settleme nt thereof are done under cover of a commercial 
invoice." 
                                                      
1 The text can be consulted at the Secret ariat (Market Access Division), in French. G/LIC/N/3/TUN/4 
Page 2  
 
   
 Under the integrated system for automatic pr ocessing of foreign trade formalities and in the 
interests of facilitation, domiciliation of the commer cial invoice and confirmation of conformity by 
customs ( imputation douanière ) will be done through the TradeNet ne twork, which is accessible to all 
operators involved in foreign trade.  Should any pr oblem arise, importers will still be able to deposit 
the commercial invoice directly with  their approved intermediaries. 
  Products excluded from the free foreign trad e regime are imported under a prior import 
authorization issued by the ministry responsible for trade.  
Purposes and coverage of licensing
 
 2. The import authorization required for products  not included in the free trade regime falls 
under the definition of non-automatic  licensing within the meaning of Article 2 of the Agreement on 
Import Licensing Procedures.  This procedure applies to the products mentioned in Article 2 of the 
above-mentioned Foreign Trade Law and published by decree. 
 3. The import authorization regime applie s to all countries without discrimination. 
 4. The import authorization procedure enables the administration to apply restrictions on the quantity of imports. 
 
5. The import authorization regime is established by  legislative provision (law).  This legislation 
does not permit the administration to draw up the lis t of products subject to import authorization.  
Only the Executive Power may establish this list, by decree.  The import authorization regime may be 
abolished only by the legislature. 
 
Procedures
 
 6, 7, 8.  The import authorization procedures are set out in Articles 24 to 35 of Decree No. 94-1743
2 
of 29 August 1994, as amended by Decree No. 97-1934 of 29 September 1997.  
Eligibility of importers to apply for a licence
 
 9. Any person, enterprise or institution establis hed in accordance with the current national 
regulations is eligible to appl y for an import authorization. 
 
Documentational and other require ments for application for licence
 
 10. The particulars to be entered in the applica tion for an import authorization (which serves as 
the importation document) include the enterprise, the products to be imported, the suppliers, the 
country of origin and provenance, and means of  transport.  Article 5 of Decree No. 94-1743 of 
29 August 1994 requires the foreign trade document to be accompanied by the commercial contract or 
some other document in its stead, and any other documents the minister responsible for trade 
considers necessary to examine the app lication and grant the authorization. 
 11. When the goods are actually imported, the importer must attach to its customs declaration the original of the import authorization in its possession,  the original of the invoice used for domiciliation 
and the final invoice. 
 12. A fiscal stamp of one Tunisian Dinar is levied on each import authorization. 
                                                     
 
2 The text may be consulted at the Secretariat (Market Access Division).  G/LIC/N/3/TUN/4 
 Page 3 
 
 
   
13. No deposit or advance paymen t is required in order to obtain an import authorization. 
 Conditions of licensing
 
 
14. The period of validity of an import authoriza tion is 12 months from the date of the decision 
by the minister responsible for trade.  However, for certain sen sitive products a period of validity 
shorter than 12 months but no shorter than two months may be indicated on the authorization. 
 15. There is no penalty for the non-utilization or partial utilization of an import authorization. 
 
16. The import authorization is an administrativ e document issued personally to the beneficiary 
and may not be transferred.  Other procedural requirements
 
 
18. There are no other procedural requirements.  19. Under the current foreign exchange legisla tion, payments for import transactions are not 
subject to restriction.  
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