RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/LIC/N/3/ECU/1
2October 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-2948)
Original: Spanish Committee onImport Licensing
REPLIES TOQUESTIONNAIRE ONIMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
NOTIFICATION UNDER ARTICLE 7.3OFTHE
AGREEMENT ONIMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
ECUADOR
Thefollowing notification hasbeenreceived from thePermanent Mission ofEcuador.
_______________
Description ofthecurrent regime
1. TheState ofEcuador guarantees therightofanynatural orlegalperson residing inEcuador
tocarry outforeign trade operations. Before obtaining animport licence, itisnecessary tocomplete
adeclaration ontheappropriate form andsubmit ittotheCentral Bank ofEcuador, together witha
noteorletter requesting alicence.
Theimport licence regime hasbeendulypublicized andiswellknown toagents involved in
foreign trade. Itisnotintended torestrict thequantity orvalue ofimports.
Licences apply toimports from anyorigin andtheyareautomatically approved before the
dispatchofimportedgoods.Attachedisascheduleofgoodswhichrequireanimportlicence(AnnexA).1
2. Anyimporter whomeets therequirements toobtain animport licence forgoods subject to
priorauthorizationbythecompetentpublicbodiesmayimportsuchgoods.TheCentralBankofEcuador
requires submission oftheauthorization given bythecompetent authority. Ifthecompetent public
bodies consider thattheuseofsuchproducts doesnotpresent anundue risktohealth, security and
theenvironment, theywillissue theauthorization.
Theimport ofgoods which aredangerous tohuman oranimal health, arms andammunition
andproducts which haveanadverse environmental impact require prior authorization. There isno
intention whatsoever torestrict thequantity orvalue ofsuchgoods.
3. Becausethereisafreeimportregime,theimportlicenceisusedprimarilyforstatisticalpurposes.
4. TheCentral Bank ofEcuador issues theimport licence notmore thanthreeworking daysafter
ithasbeenapplied for.
1Available inSpanish onlyforconsultation intheSecretariat (Office No.2014).
./.G/LIC/N/3/ECU/1
Page2
5. Goods which arrive inaportwithout animport licence maybecleared bycustoms subject
topayment ofafineequivalent to10percentofthec.i.f. value ofthegoods.
6. Customs clearance ofgoods inwarehouses oronthesitesoftrade fairsdoesnotrequire an
import declaration endorsed bytheCentral Bank ofEcuador.
7. Import licences mustobligatorily beobtained before thegoods areshipped andnotafterwards.
8. TheCentral Bank istheonlybody which issues import licences andthere arenorestrictions
regarding theperiod oftheyearinwhich animport licence maybeapplied for.
9. Import licences arenotrefused because ofslight errors inthedocumentation. Theyarereturned
totheimporter iftheycontain important errors, forexample, relating tothesignatures; thenumbers
intheSingle Register ofTaxpayers; theidentity number orlandregister number oftheimporter,
dependingonthecircumstances;inconnectionwithtariffheadings;incorrectcalculationsorinaccurate
description ofgoods. Once theerrors havebeenrectified, theimporter mayresubmit theapplication.
10. TheCentral Bank doesnotpublish thenames ofthenatural orlegalpersons importing goods
listed initsregisters.
11. Importers mayonlyregister withtheCentral Bank and,todoso,mustfilloutforms showing
theirdomicile, citizenship andtaxdetails, andregistration ofthesignatures ofthepersons responsible
forendorsing theimport documents.
12. Inorder toclear thegoods, theimporter must submit tothecustoms, inaddition tothe
documentation fromtheCentral Bank, afinalverification formula called the"Customs Declaration",
which isusedtocalculate andsubsequently paythetariff duties.
13. Theimport licence formcostsUS$0.20 andnodeposit orpriorpayments arerequired inorder
toobtain thelicence.
14. Import licences areusually valid180daysfromthedateofissue. Thisperiod maybeextended
foruptotwoyears.
15. There arenosanctions fornon-utilization ofpartutilization oftheimport licence. Ifthelicence
isnotusedwithin theperiod ofvalidity, theimporter mayrequest cancellation ofthelicence andmust
rapidly return allthedocuments totheCentral Bank ofEcuador.
16. Animporter whohasobtained thecorresponding import licence mayrequest anextension for
thetotality ortheunutilized part, provided hedoessowithin theperiod ofvalidity oftheimport
declaration andonlyifthedispatch orshipping hasnotbeeneffected.
17. Theregulations donotprovide fortransfer orassignment oflicences asbetween importers.
18. Importers mayobtain theforeign currency necessary fortheirtransactions onthefreeexchange
market; theexchange regime isfreeandthere arenorestrictions onaccess.