Notification to the Parties

CONCERNING:

Management of export quotas and combating fraudulent
use of permits and certificates

1. At its 45th meeting (Paris, France, 19-22 June 2001), the Standing Committee accepted a report from the Secretariat (SC45 Doc. 11.2) about problems relating to the management of export quotas and the fraudulent use of permits and certificates. The Standing Committee endorsed the following guidance prepared by the Secretariat and requested that it be distributed to the Parties.

2. The Secretariat is aware that a number of Parties, having established an annual export quota, then divide the quota and allocate it to specific traders. In some cases, export permits appear to be issued at this stage, the traders having provided details of the intended destinations and quantities that will be exported. The Secretariat believes that such an approach is open to abuse and often results in the need to cancel permits and issue replacements when either a destination is altered or the export does not occur within the expected time. The Secretariat has noted cases where a single permit has been cancelled and replaced on four occasions.

3. The Secretariat offers the following advice to assist in quota management and combating fraudulent use of permits and certificates:

– traders should be encouraged to apply for permits and certificates shortly before the time of intended export and not at the beginning of a year, the harvest season or at the time when annual export quotas are established;

– issuing authorities should require as much detail as possible about the quantity to be exported and include the details on permits and certificates accordingly. It is common for permits and certificates to be issued with quantities in round figures, e.g. 50 or 100, which may not accurately reflect what will actually be exported;

– no replacement permit or certificate should be issued until the original has been returned to the issuing authority;

– if a trader claims to have used a permit or certificate for the export of a smaller quantity than was originally authorized and requests another permit or certificate for the remainder, the original document should be inspected and proof of the number exported should be obtained before any new permit or certificate is issued; and

– document and shipment inspections should be conducted at the time of export. This should be regarded as essential for live animal shipments.