General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade

Article IX
Marks of Origin

1. Each contracting party shall accord to the products of the territories
of other contracting parties treatment with regard to marking
requirements no less favourable than the treatment accorded to like
products of any third country .

2. The contracting parties recognize that, in adopting and enforcing laws
and regulations relating to marks of origin, the difficulties and
inconveniences which such measures may cause to the commerce and industry
of exporting countries should be reduced to a minimum, due regard being
had to the necessity of protecting consumers against fraudulent or
misleading indications.

3. Whenever it is administratively practicable to do so, contracting
parties should permit required marks of origin to be affixed at the time
of importation.

4. The laws and regulations of contracting parties relating to the
marking of imported products shall be such as to permit compliance
without seriously damaging the products, or materially reducing their
value, or unreasonably increasing their cost.

5. As a general rule, no special duty or penalty should be imposed by any
contracting party for failure to comply with marking requirements prior
to importation unless corrective marking is unreasonably delayed or
deceptive marks have been affixed or the required marking has been
intentionally omitted.

6. The contracting parties shall co-operate with each other with a view
to preventing the use of trade names in such manner as to misrepresent
the true origin of a product, to the detriment of such distinctive
regional or geographical names of products of the territory of a
contracting party as are protected by its legislation. Each contracting
party shall accord full and sympathetic consideration to such requests or
representations as may be made by any other contracting party regarding
the application of the undertaking set forth in the preceding sentence to
names of products which have been communicated to it by the other
contracting party.

Article X
Publication and Administration of Trade Regulations

1. Laws, regulations, judicial decisions and administrative rulings of
general application, made effective by any contracting party, pertaining
to the classification or the valuation of products for customs purposes,
or to rates of duty, taxes or other charges, or to requirements,
restrictions or prohibitions on imports or exports or on the transfer of
payments therefor, or affecting their sale, distribution, transportation,
insurance, warehousing, inspection, exhibition, processing, mixing or
other use, shall be published promptly in such a manner as to enable
governments and traders to become acquainted with them. Agreements
affecting international trade policy which are in force between the
government or a governmental agency of any contracting party and the
government or governmental agency of any other contracting party shall
also be published. The provisions of this paragraph shall not require any
contracting party to disclose confidential information which would impede
law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest or would
prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises,
public or private.

2. No measure of general application taken by any contracting party
effecting an advance in a rate of duty or other charge on imports under
an established and uniform practice, or imposing a new or more burdensome
requirement, restriction or prohibition on imports, or on the transfer of
payments therefor, shall be enforced before such measure has been
officially published.

3. (a) Each contracting party shall administer in a uniform, impartial
and reasonable manner all its laws, regulations, decisions and rulings of
the kind described in paragraph 1 of this Article.

(b) Each contracting party shall maintain, or institute as soon as
practicable, judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures
for the purpose, inter alia, of the prompt review and correction of
administrative action relating to customs matters. Such tribunals or
procedures shall be independent of the agencies entrusted with
administrative enforcement and their decisions shall be implemented by,
and shall govern the practice of, such agencies unless an appeal is
lodged with a court or tribunal of superior jurisdiction within the time
prescribed for appeals to be lodged by importers; Provided that the
central administration of such agency may take steps to obtain a review
of the matter in another proceeding if there is good cause to believe
that the decision is inconsistent with established principles of law or
the actual facts.

(c) The provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph shall not
require the elimination or substitution of procedures in force in the
territory of a contracting party on the date of this Agreement which in
fact provide for an objective and impartial review of administrative
action even though such procedures are not fully or formally independent
of the agencies entrusted with administrative enforcement. Any
contracting party employing such procedures shall, upon request, furnish
the CONTRACTING PARTIES with full information thereon in order that they
may determine whether such procedures conform to the requirements of this
sub-paragraph.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, country.