./.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/Q/MYS/3 
13 June 2006 
 (06-2830) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF REPLIES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING 
PROCEDURES FROM MALAYSIA
1 
 
Questions from the UNITED STATES to MALAYSIA2 
 
 
 The following communication, dated 9 June 2006, has been received from the delegation of the 
United States. 
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Malaysia Import Licensing  
 1. The United States is deeply troubled by the fact that for a year we have requested information 
on Malaysia’s Approved Permits (AP) import licensi ng regime and have not received any response.  
For this reason, we are transmitting comments and qu estions in advance of the meeting of the Import 
Licensing Committee of 21 June 2006, in order for th e Malaysia authorities to reply and to provide 
any information that may be incomplete . 
2. At the June 2005 meeting of the Committee on Import Licensing, the United States requested 
that Malaysia update its replies to the annua l import licensing questionnaire to cover products 
requiring import licenses, specifically motor vehicl es, construction equipmen t, and paper and wood 
products (G/LIC/M/21) that we believe are cove red by the AP (Approved Permits) import licensing 
system.  Information on this system is not contained in Malaysia’s replies to the Questionnaire on Import Licensing Procedures, provided to the Comm ittee in December 1997 (G/LIC/N/3/MYS/1). 
3. At the September 2005 meeting, we  renewed our request, noting that  in July 2005, Malaysia’s 
Ministry of International Trade and Industry had initia ted consultations with st akeholders in order to 
conduct a review of its import licensing requirements on a variety of products, and sought an update 
on the status of the approved permits policy review.  The Malaysian delegate noted that he hoped to 
respond to the U.S. delegation at the next meeting. (G/LIC/M/22) 
4. At the January 2006 Trade Policy Review of Mala ysia, the United States reiterated the request 
for updated information from Malaysia on its impor t licensing regime and asked whether Malaysia 
was considering new ways to streamline or reduce th e scope of products subject to licensing and what 
types of appeal were available to companies if an application for a non-automatic license was denied. 
The representative from Malaysia said that his delegation would examine the questions raised closely and noted in a more general context that in the in terest of making its operations more efficient, the 
Government was in the process of reviewing wh ether it was necessary to maintain the existing 
licensing and permit system WT/TPR/M/156).  In  March 2006, the Government of Malaysia 
published the National Automotive Policy in which there was a commitment to phase out the current 
system of Approved Permits (APs) by 31 December 2010.   
                                                     
 
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire. 
2 G/LIC/4 G/LIC/Q/MYS/3 
Page 2  
 
  5. We renew our request to Malaysia that it abid e by its WTO obligations in the area of import 
licensing procedures and provide the requested information on the AP system . 
6. The Government of Malaysia should submit an  updated reply to the annual import licensing 
questionnaire to reflect its current import licensi ng regime.  This regime includes import licensing 
requirements for motor vehicles, construction equi pment, and paper and w ood products under the AP 
system.     
7. In addition, we have the following specific qu estions on the current AP system and ask that 
Malaysia be prepared to provide responses at the time of the next meeting of the WTO Committee on 
Import Licensing Procedures.   
- What are the procedures for appl ying for an AP import license? 
 
- Have the procedures for obtaining an AP import license and the products subject to AP import 
licensing been published? 
 
- Who is eligible to obtain an AP import license and how are licenses and/or the right to import 
under a license allocated among eligible applicants and/or license holders? 
 
- What rights are conferred to holders of an  AP import license?  Is there a quantitative 
restriction on how much may be imported under an AP import license?  If so, how is this 
restriction determined?  Is there a restricti on on the products that may be imported with a 
license based on type of vehicle, manufacturer, or any other criteria?  How long is an AP 
import license valid? 
 
- Is there a limit to the number of AP import li censes that will be issued? How are such limits 
determined? 
 
- Is it possible to appeal denial of an applicati on for an AP import license?  If so, what are the 
procedures and how long does it take for an appeal to be resolved? 
 
- With respect to motor vehicles subject to the AP import licensing requirement:   
 
o What categories (by HS tariff line) of motor vehicles are covered?   
o Can passenger vehicles only be imported if an AP import license has been issued?   
o Are imports of other vehicles also conditioned on an AP import license?  
 
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