RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  S/WPDR/W/37 
6 October 2005 
 
 (05-4511) 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation Original:   English 
  
 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE SEPARATE CUSTOMS TERRITORY OF TAIWAN, 
PENGHU, KINMEN AND MATSU 
 
Definitions of Qualification Requirements, Qu alification Procedures, Licensing Requirements,
 
Licensing Procedures and Technical Standards  
  
The following communication, dated 6 Octobe r 2005, from the delegation of Separate 
Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Mats u, is being circulated to the Members of the 
Working Party on Domestic Regulation. 
I. INTRODUCTION 
1. Certain Members, including the Separate Cust oms Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and 
Matsu, consider that clearer definitions of th e terms "qualification requirements:, "qualification 
procedures", "licensing requirements" "licensing pr ocedures" and "technical standards" under GATS 
Article VI Domestic Regulations would be bene ficial to the current negotiations on developing 
disciplines in domestic regulations.  In the note S/ WPPS/W/9, the Secretariat provided interpretations 
and examples of qualification requirements/pr ocedures, licensing requirements/procedures and 
technical standards, which are helpful in devel oping a workable comprehensive definition of these 
terms.
1  A number of Members have also added to the discussion by offering various suggested 
definitions and clarifications on the nature of th ese terms.  Members have also contributed and 
discussed numerous examples of measures under each category in Annex I of JOB(02)/20/Rev.10. 
2. In this paper, the Separate Customs Territo ry of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu builds 
upon these previous papers and proposes definiti ons on the terms "qualification requirements", 
"qualifications procedures", "licensing requirements", "licensing procedures" and "technical 
standards" for discussion by Members.  These prelim inary views are offered without prejudice to our 
final position on this issue in the services negotiations. 
II. DISCUSSION 
3. Qualification requirements, licensing requirement s and technical standards seem to overlap to 
a significant degree.  Qualification and licensing requirements are both necessary preconditions to the 
provision of a service, which all se em to be aimed at ensuring the quality of the service provided.  In 
our view, in order to differentiate among the three,  the following general categorizations derived from 
prior discussions can serve as a good starting point:  
(a) Qualification requirements tend to be re quirements concerning capability to be met 
by the service supplier prior to being authorized to practice; 
                                                      
1 The Relevance of the Disciplines  of the Agreements on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and on 
Import Licensing Procedures to Article VI.4 of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, Note by the 
Secretariat, S/WPPS/W/9, pp. 5, 6. S/WPDR/W/37 
Page 2  
 
 (b) Licensing requirements tend to be requireme nts for obtaining a license or a formal 
authorization to provide a service, which are stipulated by licensing authorities in order to meet public objectives such as qua lity of service and consumer protection; 
and 
(c) Technical standards tend to establish practical  rules according to which the particular 
service is to be supplied, with a focus on characteristics of the service itself rather 
than the suppliers.  
We note that one of the issues regarding tec hnical standards is whether voluntary standards 
should be included in the disciplines.  In our view, this issue is best suited to be discussed in the 
development of disciplines in domestic regulati ons rather than in our current discussion on 
definitions.  Therefore, we take  no position on this issue here. 
4. The above categorizations can be fu rther refined.  First, with rega rd to technical standards, the 
above characterization may be too limited.  In add ition to focusing only on th e service itself, technical 
standards can also relate to how a service supplier is  to perform the service.  The two cannot be easily 
separated.  Therefore, we do not see the usefulness in including the focus on the characteristics of the 
service itself in the definition.  With regard to in ternational standards, they may exist and may be 
relevant.  However, the applica tion of these standards is subject to discussions in the development 
disciplines, rather than in the definition. 
5. Second, licensing requirements are generally requ irements that go beyond the ability of the 
service supplier to provide adequate service to cons umers, which the service supplier has to actively 
do or fulfil prior to obtaining the license or authorization.  These requirements are not necessarily 
country-specific, but may be aimed at ensuring sp ecific public objectives such as consumer protection 
or quality control.  Failure to meet these require ments do not imply any inability on the part of the 
supplier to provide the service, but may affect the qua lity of the service or rights of consumers.  It is 
worth noting that the satisfaction of qualificati on requirements may be a licensing requirement in 
itself.  Other licensing requirements may also include: establishment or residency requirement, 
membership to a professional association, professional indemnity insurance requirement, or minimum capital requirement. 
6. Third, qualification requirements generally concer n directly the ability of natural persons to 
perform the service in a specific country, region or  market.  Meeting these requirements ensures a 
certain minimum level of competency, though not necess arily quality.  In order to clearly delineate the 
differences between qualification requirements and li censing requirements, it may be useful to limit 
the scope of qualification requirements as applicable to  natural persons only.  In terms of the sequence 
of events  leading to the service provider co mmencing its service, preliminary qualification 
requirements must be met before either licensing re quirements or technical standards come into play, 
although there may be qualification requirements that obligate the natural person to maintain a certain 
level of competence through periodic re-certifica tion, re-examination, or additional education.  
Qualification requirements may include: education, ex amination or certification, experience, practical 
training, and specific skills such as language. 
7. With regard to qualification and licensing pr ocedures, we believe that as long as the 
definitions of qualification and licensing requireme nts are clear, the procedures relating to these 
requirements can then be readily defined.  S/WPDR/W/37 
 Page 3 
 
 
 8. The following table may be helpfu l in illustrating the differences: 
Requirements on the Service Suppliers Requirements on the Service 
or Supplier 
Qualification Requirements Licensing Requirements Technical Standards 
z Education 
z Examination/ 
certification 
z Experience 
z Practical training 
z Language skills 
 z Satisfaction of 
qualification 
requirements 
z An establishment or 
residency requirement 
z Membership to an 
association 
z Professional indemnity 
insurance 
z Minimum capital 
requirement z Standards according to 
which the service is to 
be supplied or 
performed by the 
supplier 
 
 
 Members may also wish to consult Annex I of JOB(02)/20/Rev.10 for more examples.  
However, we note that the examples contained in that document do not reflect the consensus of 
Members, and given the proposed definitions belo w, some examples may need to be categorized 
differently. 
III. PROPOSED DEFINITION 
9. In sum, we may suggest the following definitions: 
(i) Qualification requirements: requiremen ts on natural persons that directly 
relate to the ability to perform a particular service, the fulfilment of which 
ensures a certain minimum level of knowledge, skills, and competence; 
(ii) Qualification procedures: procedu res related to the fulfilment and 
administration of qualification requirements; 
(iii) Licensing requirements: requirements on the service supplier for obtaining 
a license, authorization, permit or permission that go beyond the ability of service suppliers to provide a or the service; 
(iv) Licensing procedures: procedures relat ed to the fulfilment and processing 
of licensing requirements. 
(v) Technical standards: standards according to which the service is to be 
supplied or performed by the service supplier; 
 
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