TNAG-2112-FCO40-3011-International-Rights-and-Obligations-Sub-Group-of-the-Sino-B-1990 — Page 157

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number; they undertake in any case, as regards import and export licences, to do everything in their power to ensure:

(a) That the conditions to be fulfilled and the formalities to be observed in order to obtain such licences should be brought immediately in the clearest and most definite form to the notice of the public;

(b) That the method of issue of the certificates of licences should be as simple and stable

as possible;

(c) That the examination of applications and the issue of licences to the applicants should

be carried out with the least possible delay;

(d) That the system of issuing licences should be such as to prevent the traffic in licences. With this object, licences, when issued to individuals, should state the name of the holder and should not be capable of being used by any other person;

(e) That, in the event of the fixing of rations, the formalities required by the importing country should not be such as to prevent an equitable allocation of the quantities of goods of which the importation is authorised.

Article 4.

· The Contracting States shall publish promptly all regulations relating to Customs and similar formalities and all modifications therein, which have not been already published, in such a manner as to enable persons concerned to become acquainted with them and to avoid the prejudice which might result from the application of Customs formalities of which they are ignorant.

The Contracting States agree that no Customs regulations shall be enforced before such regu- lations have been published, either in the Official Journal of the country concerned or through some other suitable official or private channel of publicity.

This obligation to publish in advance extends to all matters affecting tariffs and import and export prohibitions or restrictions.

In cases, however, of an exceptional nature, when previous publication would be likely to injure the essential interests of the country, the provisions of the second and third paragraphs of this Article will lose their obligatory force. In such cases, however, publication shall, so far as possible, take place simultaneously with the enforcement of the measure in question.

Article 5.

Every Contracting State whose tariff has been modified by successive additions and alter- ations affecting a considerable number of articles shall publish a complete statement, in an easily accessible form, of all the duties levied as a result of all the measures in force.

For this purpose all duties levied by the Customs authorities by reason of importation or exportation shall be methodically stated, whether they are Customs duties, supplementary charges, taxes on consumption or circulation, charges for handling goods or similar charges, and in general all charges of any description, it being understood that the above obligation is limited to duties or charges which are levied on imported or exported goods on behalf of the State and by reason of clearing goods through the Customs.

The charges to which goods are liable being thus clearly stated, a clear indication shall be given in the case of taxes on consumption and other taxes levied on behalf of the State by reason of clearing goods through the Customs, whether foreign goods are subject to a special tax owing to the fact that, as an exceptional measure, goods of the country of importation are not or are only partially liable to such taxes.

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The Contracting States undertake to take the necessary steps to enable traders to procure official information in regard to Customs tariffs, particularly as to the amount of the charges to which any given class of goods is liable.

Article 6.

In order to enable Contracting States and their nationals to become acquainted as quickly as possible with all the measures referred to in Articles 4 and 5 which affect their trade, each Contracting State undertakes to communicate to the diplomatic representative of each other State, or such other representative residing in its territory as may be designated for the purpose, all publications issued in accordance with the said Articles. Such communication will be made in duplicate and so soon as publication is effected. If no such diplomatic or other representative exists, the communication will be made to the State concerned through such channel as it may designate for the purpose.

Further, each Contracting State undertakes to forward to the Secretariat of the League of Nations, as soon as they appear, ten copies of all publications issued in accordance with Articles 4 and 5.