Provisional Translation
| OTO No. | 602 | Classification | MITI-140 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of Acceptance | October 22, 1999 | Ministry/Agency Receiving Complaint | Economic Planning Agency |
| Responsible Ministries | Ministry of International Trade and Industry | Related Laws | Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Law |
| Complainant | Domestic firm | Exporting Countries | China |
| Subject | Flexible application of import quotas for mackerel | ||
| Description of Complaint | The complainant was allotted an import quota of 200 tons for mackerel in 1998. The period of import was from December 1998 to September 1999, but abnormal weather patterns made it impossible to catch high-quality mackerel and as a result, the complainant was only able to import 50 tons during that period (25% of the import quota allotted). The complainant approached the ministry to receive an import quota for mackerel this fiscal year but was told that no quota could be allotted since the previous year's imports had not amounted to 80% or more of the allotted quota. The reason for the low level of imports was abnormal weather patterns, but the ministry failed to take this situation into account at all. The complainant cannot accept the ministry's refusal to allot a quota this year, with its inflexible requirement that imports have reached 80% or more of the quota. Accordingly, the complainant believes that in a case like this, the requirement that imports have reached 80% or more of the quota the previous year should be applied flexibly and that an import quota should be allotted for this year. |
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| Details of Measures | Quotas for marine products have been included in the Three Year Plan for Promoting Deregulation (Revised) (decided by the Cabinet on March 28, 1999), and in order to ensure the transparency and fairness of the system, it was decided that no adjustments would be made to quota allotments, and that importers with no practical reasons for a low rate of import clearance compared to their import quotas would not receive any import quota for subsequent fiscal years. Where first-come, first-served allotments are concerned, in principle, the system calls for not allotting a quota for the next first-come, first-serve allotments, if customs-cleared import volume (use of quota allotment) was under 80%, although when there are practical reasons, the system is applied flexibly by allowing customs clearance, etc. (Import Announcements No. 21, on import quotas for mackerel, September 16, 1998, Trade No. 2). In this case, the complainant states that "abnormal weather patterns made it impossible to catch high-quality mackerel." However, this is not a special case affecting the complainant alone. All other businesses with import quotas were likely to have been affected in the same way, but even so, many of them used up 80% or more of their quota allotment (of the 44 companies with first-come, first-serve quota allotments for mackerel in fiscal 1998, the average rate of quota usage for 39 companies was 90.77%). Given the above, it is difficult for the ministry to believe that the complainant's situation constitutes a "practical reason," and therefore, flexible application of the system will not be made in this case. |
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| Classification of Processing | D | Directions | IV |
| Remarks | |||