Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 56 / 1995 Coll.
Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the negotiation of the Protocol on the interpretation of Article 19 of the Treaty establishing a Customs Union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic
Valid
Effective from 23.01.1995
56
COMMUNICATION
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announces that on 23 January 1995 the Protocol on the interpretation of Article 19 of the Treaty establishing a Customs Union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic was signed in Časté-Papier.
The Protocol entered into force on 23 January 1995 pursuant to Article 7 thereof.
Czech version The Protocol shall be published simultaneously.
PROTOCOL
on the interpretation of Article 19 of the Treaty establishing a customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic
The Government of the Czech Republic and the Government of the Slovak Republic, in order to ensure the objectives pursued by the Treaty establishing a customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, signed on 29 October 1992, agreed as follows:
The application of Article 19 of the Treaty establishing a customs union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic (hereinafter referred to as the Treaty) shall be subject to the criteria set out in this Protocol.
This Protocol shall not apply to agricultural products within the meaning of Article 16 of the Treaty.
As State aid ("the aid '), only those measures which lead to net transfer of funds from state resources to business entities through direct subsidies or which are reflected in tax revenues reduced by previously granted concessions can be classified as State aid. In determining the effects of the aid, the cumulative effect of all types of aid granted to business operators must be considered. Aid granted under schemes which are fully paid by an undertaking shall not constitute aid within the meaning of Article 19 of the Treaty.
Types of aid compatible with the proper functioning of the Treaty within the meaning of Article 19:
(a) promoting research, development and innovation where it is clearly oriented towards stimulating activities that are at pre-competitive level; pre-competitive means the level that includes applied research and development, including the development of the first prototype; such aid may be granted up to 50% of the project costs or at different tax rates of equivalent effect; basic research can be subsidised to a greater extent, the closer the project is to a market place, the lower the degree of subsidisation;
(b) support to sectors with overcapacity problems in order to rationalise the structure of industry by ensuring a proper reduction in production and employment; such measures shall be strictly limited in time and shall include an adaptation programme; when assessing the problem of overcapacity, account should be taken of the international situation as a whole and not only of the situation in the country concerned;
(c) general export support, such as national weeks, aid for commercial houses, industrial fairs, provided that such aid is not specifically intended for one business entity;
(d) regional development aid to the extent that it does not distort conditions of fair competition; its purpose must be to place industry in regional development areas on the same economic basis as industry in other parts of the country and not to increase capacity in sectors where there are already overcapacity problems; the definition of regional development areas is the exclusive competence of the Contracting Parties to this Treaty; the definition may be requested to be supplemented by statistical data indicating the reasons for identifying such areas;
(e) aid in the form of general public services for trade and industry under conditions which do not favour certain sectors and undertakings;
(f) general support for the creation of new jobs, provided that such jobs are not in sectors that are already suffering from overcapacity;
(g) environmental support under the general principle that the polluter pays principle is maintained; investments specifically designed to reduce pollution may be subsidised to a range of 25% or different tax rates of equivalent effect; the degree of subsidisation of specific industries must be kept under constant supervision, recognising the existence of different legislation or standards in other countries and their potential impact on trade and competition;
(h) aid to SMEs aimed at offsetting disadvantages directly linked to the size of the undertaking concerned; such undertakings are undertakings which do not employ more than 100 people and which have an annual turnover of less than ECU 10 million.
Types of aid incompatible with the proper functioning of the Treaty within the meaning of Article 19:
(a) aid intended to compensate for operating losses incurred by undertakings either directly or by way of remission of payments owed by undertakings to public authorities;
(b) contributions of share capital to business entities where they have the same effect as aid intended to offset the operating losses of business entities;
(c) support for business entities in sectors with structural overcapacity problems or business entities having problems, unless such aid is accompanied simultaneously by an adaptation programme and strictly limited in duration;
(d) aid granted as a rescue measure to businesses where it is not provided for the development of long-term solutions and in order to avoid acute social problems;
(e) subsidy measures, including indirect taxes, which are applied in such a way that they discriminate against goods of the other Party in favour of comparable goods produced in the country;
(f) the forms of support for the export of goods to the other Contracting Party referred to in Article 5 of this Protocol.
In particular, the following forms of aid for the export of goods are incompatible within the meaning of Article 19 of the Treaty:
(a) programmes of a type of foreign exchange standard or any similar method which include export or re-export premiums;
(b) granting direct government subsidies to exporters;
(c) remission of direct taxes or social security benefits assessed by business operators and calculated in relation to exports;
(d) exemption of exported goods from fees or taxes other than those relating to imports or indirect taxes imposed in one or more stages on the same goods, provided that they are sold for internal consumption;
(e) accounting for prices lower than world prices for government supplies or deliveries by government agencies of imported raw materials for export under conditions other than domestic market;
(f) as regards government export credit guarantees, charging premiums at rates that are manifestly inadequate to cover long-term operating costs and losses of credit institutions;
(g) the provision of export credits by government or government-controlled institutions at rates lower than those applicable to the acquisition of funds so used;
(h) take over by the Government of all or parts of the costs incurred by exporters when obtaining credit.
Where one of the Contracting Parties intends to grant aid within the meaning of this Protocol, it shall inform the other Contracting Party and the Permanent Secretariat of the Customs Union Council of the date of entry into force of such a measure.
This Protocol shall enter into force on the date of signature.
Dane v Časté- Papierníku on 23 January 1995 in duplicate, each in Czech and Slovak languages, both texts being equally authentic.
For the Government
Czech Republic:
Ing. Vladimir Long CSc. v. r.
Minister for Industry and Trade
For the Government
Slovak Republic:
Yán Ducký v. r.
Minister for Economy
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Regulation Information
| Citation | Communication from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs No. 56 / 1995 Coll., on the negotiation of a Protocol on the interpretation of Article 19 of the Treaty establishing a Customs Union between the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic |
|---|---|
| Regulation Type | - |
| Author | - |
| Collection | Code of Laws |
| Date of Promulgation | 18.04.1995 |
|---|---|
| Effective from | 23.01.1995 |
| Effective until | - |
| Status | Valid |
The regulation text is for informational purposes only.
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