WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
16 December 2010 
 (10-6776) 
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  
 
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 
   The following communication, dated 23 November 2010, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of the Central African Republic. 
 
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Outline of system
 
 
1. In general, the Central African Republic has abolished most of its quantitative import 
restrictions, except on imports of sugar, pharmaceu ticals and petroleum products, which have been 
subject to special regulations that affect all im ports of products into Central African territory 
since 1986. 
- In the case of sugar, on 9 September 2003, the Government signed a protocol of agreement 
with SUCAF-RCA, the SUCAF company under priv ate law, on privatization of SOGESCA, a 
former sugar mill.  A regulatory body has been  set up to monitor the market in the sugar 
subsector.  SUCAF-RCA has a monopoly of 90 per cent of sugar imports, with the remaining 
10 per cent being allocated to other importers which put in applications. 
 - Import of pharmaceuticals into the Central African Republic is subject to registration 
formalities.  All imports of pharmaceuticals, me dical and surgical consumables and all other 
pharmacological items into Central African te rritory require prior declaration to the 
Directorate of Pharmaceutical Services, La boratories and Traditional Medicine (SPLMT). 
 - Import of petroleum products is subject to a pproval given in the form of a decree by the 
Council of Ministers following a report from the Minister responsible for energy, chair of the 
interministerial commission. 
 
Purpose and coverage of licensing
 
2. Imports of sugar:  an import/export permit issu ed by the Minister responsible for trade must 
be obtained;  an import decision duly signed by th e Ministers responsible for trade and for finance 
must be given before the import declaration itself can be made. 
                                                      
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the questionnaire. G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  Import of medicines:  a prior declaration must be made to the SPLMT Directorate.  
This enables the SPLMT's Director to issue a receip t for the declaration, which is attached to the 
customs documentation and to the commercial import declaration (DIC). 
3. These different systems apply to the produc ts mentioned above coming from all countries 
without exception.  The customs regime applies depending on the country in question. 
4. In the case of sugar, the purpose of the licensing regime is to limit the volume to be imported 
solely in order to protect the domestic industry.  Im port is therefore only allowed in order to make up 
the shortfall in production and to meet local c onsumption needs, which amount to 35,000 tonnes 
annually. 
The purpose of the regulations on pharmaceutical s is to protect the population's health and 
also to eliminate illegal imports by unauthorized persons and/or entities which compete forcefully 
with the official structures in place. 
5. The following are the basic texts regulating the sugar subsector, pharmaceuticals and products 
downstream in the Central African Republic: 
Sugar
 
- Ordinance 83.069 of 10 November 1983 containing regulations on foodstuffs in the Central 
African Republic; 
 - Ordinance 83.83 of 31 December 1983 regulati ng trading activities and the supply of services 
in the Central African Republic; 
 
- Order No. 031 of 31 March 2008 creating the re gulatory body for the sugar market in the 
Central African Republic; 
 - Protocol of agreement of 4 September 2008 between the Central African State and SUCAF 
Centrafrique on the extension of protection; 
 
- Decision No. 0027 of 20 April 2009 containing the rules of procedure for the regulatory body 
for the sugar market in the Central African Republic. 
 Pharmaceuticals
 
- Ordinance 83.083 of 31 De cember 1983 regulating trading activities and the supply of 
services in the Central African Republic; 
 - Decree No. 94.196 of 4 June 1994 regulating th e import of pharmaceuticals into the Central 
African Republic; 
 
- Order No. 005 of 17 January 1995 on requi rements for obtaining permits to import 
pharmaceuticals into the Central African Republic; 
 - Order No. 272 of 15 October 1994 setting up a multidisciplinary technical commission for 
pharmaceuticals in the Central African Republic; 
 
- Interministerial Order No. 040 of 17 May 2010 on declaration of the import of 
pharmaceuticals, medical and surgical consumab les and other items that are the monopoly of 
pharmacists in the Central African Republic.  G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  Petroleum products  
- Law No. 07.005 of 24 April 2007 on reorganizati on of the downstream petroleum subsector 
in the Central African Republic; 
 - Decree No. 08.005 of 8 January 2008 determin ing the implementing regulations for certain 
provisions of Law No. 07.005 of 24 April 2007 on reorganization of the downstream 
petroleum subsector in the Central African Republic; 
 - Decree No. 07.271 amending and supplementing the provisions in Decree No. 06.391 of 
29 December 2006 determining the methodology fo r fixing the price of petroleum products in 
the Central African Republic. 
 Staple goods
 
- Subject to approval, with prices fixed by an interministerial committee. 
 Procedures
 
6.I Information on the allocation of import quotas for sugar and formalities for filing requests for 
authorization can be found in the Order crea ting the regulatory body for the sugar market 
(ORMS), which has been published. 
  The Central African Republic has recently set up an Internet site.  Work is going on to make 
the information available to importers.  In the meantime, importers seeking information can 
contact the Ministry responsible for trade, whic h can provide them with copies of the texts. 
  An importer wishing to request an exception to or waiver from licensing requirements must 
write officially to the Ministries responsible for trade and for finance, and this is also 
published. 
  For other products, there are no quantitative rest rictions and enterprises request the volume to 
be imported according to supply and demand, while complying with the buffer stock margin. 
 II. According to the provisions in the protocol  of agreement on sugar, domestic consumption of 
sugar is 35,000 tonnes annually. 
  SUCAF only produces 11,000 tonnes, the shortfall is therefore 24,000 tonnes;  applications 
are made by importers quarterly.  After they have been received, the ORMS meets and automatically allocates 90 per cent of the shortfall to SUCAF-RCA, i.e. 21,600 tonnes.  
The remaining 2,400 tonnes are allocated to ot her importers in accordance with their needs. 
 III. With the exception of sugar, pharmaceutical s and petroleum products, no other products are 
subject to licensing.  Import licensing and other similar practices are applicable to both national and foreign importers provided that th ey comply with the authorities' regulations. 
 
 Decisions on imports granted to importers by th e competent authorities take effect as of the 
date of their signature and are registered and transmitted as necessary. 
  After receiving the decision, an importer h as to complete a DIC and obtain an inspection 
certificate from the Veritas Bureau (BIVAC) to enable the authorities to verify whether the 
goods have actually been imported.  Each week , the ORSM, together with the services in the 
Ministries responsible for trade (Competition Directorate) and for finance (Customs G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  Directorate), monitors the actual import of the vol umes authorized.  If an importer is unable to 
import the goods within the time limit, he will not be given any import quota, even if he 
applies for one.  The decision is ad personam and non-transferable and it lapses automatically 
four months after having been signed. 
 
 An import decision may also be extended if the importer can prove a case of force majeure 
within a reasonable period before expiry of the decision's validity. 
 IV. Licence applications are submitted quarter ly to the ORMS, which receives the import 
applications sent to the Minister responsible for trade, duly annotated. 
 
 In the case of petroleum products, importers' requirements for the purpose of supplying the 
domestic market for a period of one year are cen tralized from 1 to 31 January each year by 
the ARSRP, which deals with all the bids for supplying the market. 
 
V. A reply to all applications to import suga r submitted in accordance with the requirements 
must be given within thirty (30) days of f iling the application.  For petroleum products, the 
interministerial commission has a maximum period of thirty (30) days to carry out enquiries 
before taking a decision on the application.  Moreover, the authorities have a maximum 
period of sixty (60) days in which to issue the approval requested. 
 
VI. Three (3) months for sugar. 
 VII In the case of sugar, the ORSM is composed of the trade, customs and taxation services and a 
representative of the importers.  All these servi ces verify that the importer has complied with 
their regulations before giving a technical opi nion to enable the two Ministers (Trade and 
Finance) to sign the decision.  Applications are sen t directly to the Minister of Trade, chair of 
the ORSM. 
 - Applications for approval in the energy sector are sent to the Minister responsible for energy, 
which transmits them to the interministerial  approval commission for consideration.  The 
latter is composed of representatives of the energy department, the ASRP, the General 
Storage Company, the Ministry of National Defen ce, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry 
of Trade, the Ministry of Finance and Budget, a nd the Ministry of the Environment.  All these 
technical services ensure that the importer meets all the requirements before giving a technical opinion to enable the Minister responsible for energy, Chair of the Commission, to introduce a draft decree granting approval in the Council of Ministers. 
 
- A multidisciplinary technical commission for pharmaceuticals (CTPPP) has been set up with 
responsibility for considering applications fo r permits to import pharmaceuticals into the 
Central African Republic.  Its chair may give  the Minister of Health and Population a 
substantiated opinion for or against the app lication.  The commission is composed of 
representatives of pharmaceutical and medicines services, health and environmental services, 
hospitals, medicines policies and regulations bodies,  surgical, gastroenterological, paediatrics, 
opthamological, gynaecological and obstetrical, and internal medicine services, private pharmacists, private veterinarians and a toxico logist from the Science and Health Faculty. 
 VIII. Importers in general (new or existing) are aware that they have to file their next application at 
the end of the quarter.  The ORSM does not ma ke any distinction between new and existing 
importers.  If they all meet the requirements, the ORSM gives them all an authorization in 
light of the remaining volume and according to needs.  The same applies to other products.  G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  IX. All traders, without exception, must complete  a DIC for all import/export transactions in the 
Central African Republic.  This is the method used by the Government to securitize customs 
revenue, on the one hand, and to keep  trade statistics, on the other. 
 X. The export licensing regime was abolished in  the Central African Republic in 1986.  
Exporters therefore only have to submit a DIC before exporting their goods.  The importing 
country must verify the export permit from the BIVAC, authorized for this purpose.  The BIVAC then issues the DIC, which is countersigned by the Ministry responsible for trade in order to allow the importer to import the goods. 
 
XI. Such a provision does not yet exist in the Central African Republic. 
 7.(a) According to the texts in effect, counterfeit goods and the means used to import them into the 
Central African Republic are automatically seized. 
 
(b) See the replies to section IX. 
 (c)-(d) The replies to all these questions can be found in section VII.  8. In principle, for all petroleum products  downstream, approval may be suspended or 
withdrawn if there is a serious or repeated violatio n of legal, regulatory or contractual obligations.  
Decisions on suspension or withdrawal are taken thirty  (30) days after the person concerned has been 
notified of the complaint against him and has been gi ven formal notice to consult the file and submit 
written justification.  The decision on suspension or w ithdrawal must be substantiated.  Suspension is 
notified in an order from the Minister respons ible for energy, following a report from the 
interministerial approval commission. 
 
 After the enterprise has been notified, it may utilize all the appeal procedures provided in the 
texts in force.   Renewal of approval requires re gularization and/or payment, where applicable, of the fines 
and compensation laid down in the texts in force. 
 
 Any laboratory whose application for an impor t permit has been rejected may file a new 
application after a period of two (2) years.   An import permit may be renewed every five (5) years.  The application for renewal is sent to 
the Minister of Public Health and Population in two (2) copies comprising: 
 - A letter applying for renewal addressed to the Minister of Health;  - a marketing authorization (AMN) from the country of origin;  
- a retail sale certificate (AVC) for the country of origin for imported goods; 
 - the price and cost of daily treatment.  
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
 
9. For all applications to import sugar, the importer must meet the following requirements: 
- Be in possession of ministerial approval and a trader's card; G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  - have the status of importer and prove  annual turnover of not less than 
CFAF fifty (50) million, as well as proper book-keeping practices; 
 - prove compliance with the Finance Law for the current year;  
- have imported the quotas previously allocated within the time limits; 
 - be domiciled with a bank;  - prove payment of administrative costs. 
 
 Any candidate for one of the activities in the downstream petroleum subsector in the Central 
African Republic must meet the following requirements:  - Be a natural or legal pers on under Central African law; 
 
- have its registered office in the Central African Republic;  - provide proof that it is not bankrupt;  - according to its level of activit y, provide a guarantee to cover its commitments to the State, 
whose threshold is determined in a joint orde r from the Ministers responsible for energy, for 
trade, and for finance; 
 - Provide proof of adequate professional experience on the part of the director and the technical 
and financial managers; 
 
- present an investment programme that cont ributes towards achieving the objectives of the 
national energy policy during the period of validity of the approval. 
 
There is no registration system.  All import tran sactions for such products require submission 
of the decisions allowing the operators  to engage in such transactions. 
The list of those authorized is automatically published, thereby informing other economic 
operators. 
Documentation and other requireme nts for applications for licence
 
10. There is no sample form for import applications  for sugar, but the application must show the 
company's logo, its contact numbers (its full address ), the reasons for applying for the quota and the 
volume requested, together with the signature and st amp of the firm's director.  All the documents 
listed above under paragraph 9 a nd point (a) must also be attached to the application. 
 
In the case of pharmaceuticals, app lications for registration must be accompanied by an 
authentic copy of the AMN of the exporting country  and the receipt for the cost of registration 
formalities issued by the Director ate of Pharmacies and Medicines.  G/LIC/N/3/CAF/1 
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  11. 
- The DIC; - The pro forma invoice of the supplier and th e administrative fees payable to the Veritas 
Bureau (BIVAC), given responsibility for this pur pose by the State, together with a copy of 
the decision authorizing the importer to import the goods in question. 
12-19. No reply has been given. 
 
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