Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No 237 / 1993 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Treaty establishing a Customs Union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic
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Effective from 03.05.1993
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237
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that on 29 October 1992 the Treaty establishing a customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic was signed in Prague.
The Czech National Council has agreed with the Treaty and has ratified it on behalf of the President of the Czech Republic.
On the basis of Article 38, the Treaty has been applied provisionally since 1 January 1993 and entered into force on 3 May 1993.
The Czech version of the Treaty is hereby published at the same time.
TREATY
establishing a customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic
the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Contracting Parties'),
taking into account the importance of relations between them and the common values they share,
Recognising that the pursuit of the free movement of goods and services requires the implementation of coordinated and mutually agreed measures,
having regard to the joint intention to participate actively in the economic integration process in Europe,
Believing that this Treaty will facilitate the creation of conditions for the admission of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic to the European Communities,
Expressing the interest of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic in GATT membership and its determination to continue to fulfil the obligations for the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, as one of the founding Contracting Parties, arising from the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade,
agree as follows:
OBJECTIVES AND PRINCIPLES
1. A Customs Union of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the "Customs Union ') is hereby established which is in accordance with the provisions of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
2. The customs territory of the customs union is the customs territory of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic.
3. The customs union shall have the following objectives and shall follow the following principles:
- the objective of the Customs Union is the free movement of goods and services, the integration of economies and economic policies of the Contracting Parties and the safeguarding of favourable conditions for the development of trade between the Customs Union and third States,
- in the customs territory of the customs union, the Contracting Parties shall implement the same trade and customs policy vis-à-vis third States,
- the trade and customs policy shall be coordinated, to the extent agreed, by the Council of Customs Union,
- the customs union shall apply the common customs tariff to third States, including the method of establishing customs value,
- the free movement of goods and services between the two Contracting Parties is ensured by the elimination of customs duties and quantitative restrictions,
- the Contracting Parties shall apply the same rules on origin as those applied in trade with third States,
- the Contracting Parties shall apply customs legislation covering the same provisions for the assessment, payment, repayment and exemption from customs duties, leasing, the same prohibitions and restrictions on imports and exports, including non-tariff measures and suspension of customs duties in cases of justified economic interest,
- the financial needs of the Customs Union cover the contributions of the two Contracting Parties, taking into account that the duties collected in each Contracting Party will be entered in their budgets,
- the customs union ensures the coordinated implementation of customs statistics and the registration of goods,
- the same customs documents are in practice applied in both Contracting Parties,
- customs control of goods is carried out at the common national and customs border between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic,
- any disputes between the Contracting Parties arising in the implementation of this Treaty shall be settled through an arbitration body.
Within the scope of the Treaty and without prejudice to any specific provisions contained therein, any discrimination on grounds of nationality shall be inadmissible.
The following customs union authorities are hereby established:
- Council of the Customs Union of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Council),
- Permanent Secretariat of the Customs Union Council (Secretariat),
- The Arbitration Committee of the Customs Union.
FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS
The Contracting Parties confirm that, on the date of entry into force of this Treaty, they have no tariff barriers to trade or quantitative restrictions or other measures having equivalent effect. At the same time, no export or import duties or any charges having equivalent effect shall be introduced in trade between the Contracting Parties.
1. A combined goods nomenclature shall be applied to the classification of products in trade between the Contracting Parties.
2. This Treaty shall apply to products covered by Chapters 1-97 of the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System.
The use of fiscal duties between the Contracting Parties is inadmissible.
Common Customs Tariff
The Contracting Parties shall establish a common customs tariff for trade in goods with third States.
1. The basic duty for each product for the purpose of establishing the Common Customs Tariff shall be the duty applied by the CSFR on 31 December 1992.
2. If, after the entry into force of this Treaty, any change in the customs duties as a result of GATT negotiations occurs, those new duties shall replace the basic duties referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.
3. The Council shall, by agreement of the two Contracting Parties, declare autonomous arrangements or suspensions in the Common Customs Tariff.
Rules on origin and methods of administrative cooperation shall be agreed.
Quantitative restrictions and other instruments and measures to regulate trade
The use of quantitative import and export restrictions and all measures having equivalent effects between the Contracting Parties shall be inadmissible.
Article 10 shall not preclude prohibitions or restrictions on the import, export or transit of goods, justified for reasons of public morality, public interest or public security, the protection of health or human life, life and animal or plant health and the environment, the protection of national wealth having an artistic, historical or archaeological value, the protection of intellectual property, the rules applicable to gold and silver or the maintenance of depleted natural resources, provided that such measures are applied in conjunction with restrictions on domestic production or consumption. However, such prohibitions and restrictions may not become an instrument of arbitrary discrimination or a disguised restriction on trade between the Contracting Parties and shall be notified in advance to the other Party.
Prohibition of discrimination
1. The Contracting Parties shall refrain from any measure or practice of a national fiscal nature which directly or indirectly discriminates against products of one Contracting Party as compared to similar products originating in the other Contracting Party.
2. Products exported from the territory of one Contracting Party to the territory of the other Contracting Party may not benefit from repayment of national taxes in excess of the amount of indirect taxes imposed on them.
Where a Contracting Party considers that dumping is being applied in trade with the other Contracting Party within the meaning of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, it may take appropriate measures against such practices in accordance with the Agreement on the application of Article VI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
1. The Contracting Parties shall gradually adapt all state monopolies of a commercial nature so that, within 5 years of the entry into force of the Treaty, there is no discrimination between Contracting Parties' bodies as regards the conditions for the procurement and disposal of goods.
2. The Contracting Parties shall inform the Secretariat of the measures taken pursuant to paragraph 1.
3. The provisions of this Article shall apply to any body through which, in law or in fact, the Contracting Party determines or significantly affects, directly or indirectly, imports or exports between the Contracting Parties. These provisions also apply to monopolies delegated by the State to other entities.
4. The Parties shall refrain from introducing any new measures which are contrary to the principles set out in paragraph 1 or which restrict the scope of the Articles on the elimination of customs duties and quantitative restrictions between the Contracting Parties.
AGRICULTURE
The customs union shall comprise trade in agricultural products which are considered to be products falling within Chapters 1-24 of the Harmonised System Combined Nomenclature.
Agricultural products shall not be subject to the provisions of Articles 19 and 26 of this Treaty.
1. The Contracting Parties shall coordinate agricultural policy.
2. The coordination of agricultural policy shall include in particular export aid, taxes and other market regulation instruments.
COMPETITION, OTHER ECONOMIC PROVISIONS AND LIABILITIES
1. The Contracting Parties shall consider the following facts to be incompatible with the proper functioning of this Treaty where they may affect trade between them:
(a) any agreements between business entities, decisions of associations of undertakings and agreed practices between undertakings which aim to prevent, restrict or distort competition;
(b) abuse of a monopoly or dominant position by one or more business entities within the territory of the Contracting Parties as a whole or a substantial part thereof.
2. These provisions shall apply to the activities of all business entities, including public undertakings and undertakings to which the Parties have granted special or exclusive rights.
1. Any aid granted by the Contracting Party or through State resources in any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort competition by favouring certain undertakings or the production of certain goods, if it may affect trade between Contracting Parties, shall be incompatible with the proper functioning of this Treaty.
2. All cases contrary to paragraph 1 of this Article shall be evaluated on the basis of criteria to be agreed.
3. At the request of the Contracting Party, the Council may propose that the aid which the Contracting Party has granted or intends to grant shall be considered compatible with the Treaty as an exception to the provisions of paragraph 1 if the proposal is justified by exceptional circumstances.
1. The Parties shall provide and ensure adequate, effective and non-discriminatory protection of intellectual property rights, including measures to enforce such rights, against their violation and against counterfeiting.
2. The Parties shall not grant less favourable treatment to entities of any of them in the field of intellectual property than to those of their own and those of any other State. Any advantage, privilege, privilege or immunity derived from:
(a) bilateral agreements applicable to the Contracting Party to this Treaty on 31 December 1992;
(b) existing and future bilateral agreements, including regional economic integration agreements, which are not parties to both Parties;
may be excluded from this commitment provided that it does not constitute arbitrary and unjustifiable discrimination against the bodies of the other Contracting Party.
1. The Contracting Parties shall provide the entities of the other Contracting Party with access to procedures for the award of contracts on their public procurement markets and treatment no less favourable than that accorded to their own entities and entities of third States.
2. The Parties shall endeavour to accede to the Agreement on Public Procurement negotiated under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade of 12.4.1979 and as amended by the Protocol of 2.2.1987.
3. At the request of one of the Contracting Parties or on its own initiative, the Council shall examine cases where there is a suspicion of infringement of the provisions of this Article. If it finds that such a breach has taken place, it shall propose measures to eliminate it.
If any of the Contracting Parties is experiencing difficulties resulting from increased imports resulting from the implementation of this Treaty and such increased imports harm or threaten to harm the market of this Contracting Party, that Contracting Party shall have the right, after consulting the Council, to take the necessary measures.
Legal standards
1. The Contracting Parties recognise that an important condition for the application of the Treaty is:
(a) adoption and implementation of the same legal standards in the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, in particular in the following areas:
- customs tariffs, customs procedures and customs statistics,
- licence import and export procedures,
- intellectual property protection,
- anti-dumping measures and other countervailing duties,
(b) coordination in the adoption and implementation of legal standards in the following areas:
- trade and foreign exchange regulations,
- competition, State aid and public procurement.
2. To this end, the Contracting Parties undertake to adopt and implement the legal standards in particular in the field of customs tariffs and customs procedures, licensing import and export procedures.
3. In cases where the CSFR legislature exists in the areas referred to in paragraph 1, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic shall take this legislature into their own legal order on 1 January 1993. In other cases, the competent authorities of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic shall adopt in the course of 1993 the legal standards necessary for the implementation of the contract and the functioning of the customs union, with effect from 1 January 1994 at the latest.
4. Where necessary, the Council may propose to the Contracting Parties the adoption of additional legal standards necessary for the implementation of the Treaty and the functioning of the customs union.
TRADE POLICY
1. The Parties shall implement the same trade policy vis-à-vis third States. The Secretariat shall submit proposals to the Council for the implementation of this policy.
2. The same trade policy will be based on the same principles, in particular in the field of customs, non-tariff measures and individual liberalisation measures, as well as on export policy and measures taken to protect trade and domestic markets, as in the case of dumping and subsidies.
3. In cases where agreements with third States are needed, the Secretariat shall make appropriate recommendations to the Council, which, in agreement with the Contracting Parties, shall authorise it to open the necessary negotiations. The Secretariat shall conduct these negotiations within the framework of directives issued by the Council.
The Parties shall, on all matters relevant to the interests and needs of the Customs Union and both Contracting Parties, proceed through the customs union bodies in international economic organisations in accordance with a procedure agreed by the Contracting Parties. To this end, the Secretariat shall submit proposals to the Council for the content and method of application of the procedure and measures.
The Contracting Parties undertake to consolidate their systems of aid for exports to third States to the extent necessary to ensure undistorted competition between the Contracting Parties' business entities.
SERVICES
Trade in services between the Contracting Parties shall be free on the date of entry into force of the Treaty and shall not introduce any restrictive measures therein.
In trade in services, the Contracting Parties shall grant the entities of the other Contracting Parties the same treatment as those of their own. The Contracting Parties may negotiate in separate agreements details for each service sector.
CUSTOMS UNION AUTHORITIES
Customs Union Council
1. The Council shall ensure coordination of the foreign trade and customs policy of the Contracting Parties.
2. The Council shall represent the customs union in foreign relations on all matters governed by this Treaty. To this end, in agreement with the Contracting Parties, it may establish its permanent missions with international governmental organisations.
3. The Council declares a common customs tariff and other commercial policy measures.
4. The Council shall submit to the Contracting Parties an annual report on the implementation of the Customs Union Treaty.
5. The Contracting Parties shall agree the Statute of the Council and its Rules of Procedure.
1. The Council shall be composed of the same number of members of the governments of the two Contracting Parties.
2. The Council shall adopt its decisions by agreement.
3. The activities of the Council shall be managed by the President, whose office shall be held alternately by representatives of the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic for 6 months.
4. Council meetings shall be held at least once every 3 months. The President shall convene a Council meeting whenever one of the Contracting Parties so requests.
Permanent Secretariat
1. The seat of the Secretariat is Bratislava.
2. The Secretariat shall be the executive body of the Council which,
- exercise the powers deriving from the contract,
- prepare draft recommendations for the Council and,
- carry out other tasks entrusted to it by the Council.
In particular, the Secretariat shall carry out the following tasks:
(a) monitor the implementation of the customs union's trade and customs policy;
(b) monitor the harmonisation of the systems for the application of State export aid in order to prevent distortions of competition between the entities of the two Contracting Parties;
(c) submit to the Council draft annual reports on the implementation of the Customs Union Treaty;
(d) make recommendations to both Contracting Parties as regards measures affecting foreign trade;
(e) coordinate and ensure the exchange of customs statistics from the Republic data collection system;
(f) ensure the technical and organisational activities of the Council and the Arbitration Commission;
(g) monitor the development of customs legislation, in particular in the European Communities;
(h) monitor the customs legislation of the Contracting Parties.
Decisions of the Standing Secretariat shall be subject to approval at the next Council meeting.
The Secretariat shall be headed by the Director-General appointed and removed by the Council.
The Council shall adopt recommendations binding upon them after their approval by the Contracting Parties.
Customs Union Arbitration Committee
1. Disputes arising from this Treaty shall be settled by the Arbitration Commission of the Customs Union ("the Arbitration Commission ').
2. The arbitration panel shall initiate proceedings on a proposal from the Council or from one of the Contracting Parties.
3. The arbitration panel shall be formed for each individual dispute. The arbitration panel shall consist of an arbitrator appointed by the Government of the Czech Republic, an arbitrator appointed by the Government of the Slovak Republic and a third arbitrator agreed upon by the designated arbitrators. The third arbitrator who will be chairman of the arbitration panel may be a third-State national. A Contracting Party that has made a request to initiate proceedings shall appoint its arbitrator in that proposal. In other cases, within 30 days of the date of receipt of the application initiating the procedure.
4. The Rules of the Arbitration Committee shall be agreed by the Contracting Parties.
5. The decisions of the Arbitration Commission shall be binding on the Contracting Parties and both Contracting Parties shall undertake to implement them within the time limit set out in the Decision.
GENERAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS
1. The Contracting Parties shall take all necessary measures to ensure that the objectives of this Treaty referred to in Article 1 (3) are attained.
2. The Contracting Parties shall refrain from any measures which could jeopardise the achievement of the objectives of this Treaty.
3. Where one of the Contracting Parties considers that the other Contracting Party has failed to fulfil its obligations under this Treaty, the injured Contracting Party may take appropriate measures. Before doing so, it shall provide the Council with all relevant information necessary for a thorough assessment of the situation in order to find a solution acceptable to both Parties.
4. The choice of measures must give priority to measures which least disturb the functioning of the Treaty. Such measures shall be notified to the Council without delay and shall be the subject of consultations within the Council if the other Contracting Party so requests.
This Treaty shall enter into force after it has been approved by both Parties under their respective constitutional requirements. The Treaty shall be applied on a provisional basis as from 1 January 1993. The Contracting Parties may denounce it in writing. The contract shall expire 12 months after its notification to the other Contracting Party.
Expenditure relating to the activities of the customs union shall be borne by the Contracting Parties in accordance with their agreement.
This contract is drawn up in two copies, each in the Czech and Slovak languages, the two texts being equally authentic.
Dane in Prague on 29 October 1992.
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 237 / 1993 Coll., on the Agreement establishing a Customs Union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 10.09.1993 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 03.05.1993 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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