Inward Investment and North South Unit

Explanatory Leaflet for Firms Interested in an application for Tariff Suspension/Quota

1. The form entitled "Request for Tariff Suspension & Quota" must be completed in full. Separate forms must be completed in respect of each application. The deadline set for suspension applications cannot be waived. Any incomplete form received will be returned to the applicant for completion. There can be no question of proceeding with a request unless all the required information has been supplied.
2. One of the most important points which an applicant has to satisfy (See Part I, Question 5 of "Request for Tariff Suspension/Quota" form) is that recent contacts have been made with potential suppliers of the item on which Tariff Suspension is being sought and that the item is unavailable in the Community. Or, in the case of Tariff Quota, contacts with EU manufacturers of the product in question indicating that they are unable to supply the required quantity of the product to the applicant. Documentation on these contacts (such as copies of letters, faxes, telexes, etc.), which can be used as evidence, should be included with the applications. If further names of potential suppliers are subsequently passed to the applicant, rapid contact must be taken up with these and documentation on these contacts promptly sent to the Department.
3. Two samples of each product on which a Tariff Suspension is being requested should be enclosed with the completed application forms.
4. Detailed technical description sheets on the item on which Tariff Suspension or Quota is being sought should be sent with the application. These would typically be a full description of the nature, characteristics, functions etc. of the product and what it is used in conjunction with, in particular, to make clear that it is not a finished product. As Community firms are converting increasingly to assembling products requiring parts that are already highly sophisticated, some of the parts required are used without major modification and can therefore be considered finished products. Nevertheless tariff suspensions could, in certain circumstances, be granted for finished products used as components in the final product, provided the added value of such an assembly operation is sufficiently high. Sales literature, manufacturers specifications and any other relevant details should be supplied.
5. Applicants must be involved in significant manufacturing/ processing of the item on which duty suspension is sought. This processing activity must also generate worthwhile added value.
6. Applications forwarded to the Commission require to be considered and approved by the Tariff Suspensions Group, consisting of the Commission and representatives of all Member States. Ireland is represented at this Group by officials from the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation.
7. As regards Part I, Question 6, applicant firms should include details of any similar existing suspension/quota or a lapsed suspension/quota. Details on any existing binding tariff information (BTI) should also be included. Applicant firms should indicate, under separate cover, the general economic advantages that will accrue if they as a Community producer are granted the tariff suspension request. Anything that substantiates this, or highlights significant/unique aspects of the application, should be mentioned.
8. The information required under Part II, Question 7 of the Request for Tariff Suspension form is the amount of duty the company would expect to pay in the year indicated.
9. Requests for duty suspensions from other Member States are assessed in the Department with input from the relevant industry organisations and, where necessary, individual Irish-based companies. A firm which manufactures items (or substitute or equivalent ones) which are the subject of a new application or an existing suspension and who wishes to object to the granting or continuation of that suspension should inform the Department as early as possible in proceedings and should supply all relevant documentation on contacts with the applicant firms plus confirmation of capability to produce the product (or equivalent or substitute ones). Where there are valid grounds for objections, these are pursued on behalf of Irish producers by the Department.
10. The Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation publishes twice yearly notices in the National Press, concerning deadlines for applications under the Tariff Suspension Scheme. In general an application in response to such an advertisement is for a suspension period commencing some twelve months ahead. This lead-in time enables all the necessary investigations to be carried out to ensure that the criteria for granting tariff suspension in respect of each application are satisfied.
11. Beneficiary companies who wish to be made aware of proposals for the withdrawal, termination or changes in an existing suspension should inform the Department of those suspension cases which are of interest to them. Many companies only contact this Department when a suspension has been withdrawn or amended in a manner that does not suit them. In order to protect Irish interests, this Department should be kept fully informed of all duty suspensions used by companies.
12. If your company wishes to make, or object to, an application under the Tariff Suspension/Quota Scheme, or requires more information, please contact:

Stephen Walsh

Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation,

Kildare Street

Dublin 2

Fax: (01) 631 2821

Telephone: (01) 631 2350

Email: stephen.walsh@djei.ie