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TCE Banking Domiciliation

Bank domiciliation means the choice by a natural or legal person of an approved intermediary to carry out a transfer of foreign currency (in payment for an import or for another reason) or to send foreign currency in recovery of an export transaction.

Bank domiciliation
The bank domiciliation is made under cover of a TCE foreign trade document which is an administrative document personal to its beneficiary. It is called:

Import authorization when it comes to products excluded from the free trade regime.
The commercial contract when it comes to free import product.

Bank domiciliation
The bank domiciliation is made under cover of a TCE foreign trade document which is an administrative document personal to its beneficiary. It is called:

Import authorization when it comes to products excluded from the free trade regime.
The commercial contract when it comes to free import product.
Bank domiciliation

  • The direct debit request (accompanied by the commercial contract and any other document deemed necessary) is submitted to the authorized intermediary who verifies the content of the invoice and the NGP code of the product to be imported.

  • Request for authorization without payment: The file is transmitted directly to the Ministry of Trade and Export Development via the TTN application (without going through the approved intermediary) which decides on the latter by possibly transmitting it to another competent structure to technical advice.

    The authorized intermediary must respect the regulatory change requirements and obtain the agreement of the central bank in the event that the importation provides for special payment conditions (provisions of the circular of the BCT to authorized intermediaries No. 94-14 of September 14, 1994).
    Following a suitable decision from the Ministry of Commerce and possibly the central bank, the operator can proceed with the domiciliation of his foreign trade title, unless he claims to domicile his title with another approved intermediary.

As for the commercial invoice, its duration is fixed at 6 months from the date of its domiciliation. The importation can be made in a split way during the period of validity of the domiciliation of the foreign trade document.

  • If it is a product excluded from the freedom of foreign trade regime, the import authorization is transmitted under slip to the Ministry of Trade and Export Development.

    Depending on the nature of the product, the Ministry of Trade and Export Development may forward this file to another competent authority for technical advice..

    After obtaining the technical opinion, the Ministry of Trade and Export Development mentions its decision to the authorized intermediary who is then, responsible for transmitting this decision to the operator.

    For the case of the first import operation of a product excluded from the freedom of foreign trade regime: a legal file must be filed with the Directorate General for Foreign Trade so that it can update its internal databases. This file contains an information sheet, the customs code, a copy of the license, the commercial register and the legal status relating to the importer.

The import authorization is valid for 12 months from the date of the decision of the Ministry of Trade and Export Development.

Domiciliation of the Foreign Trade Document

Pre-Import Surveillance

Article 30 of Law No. 98-106 of 18 December 1998 relating to import safeguard measures stipulates that, when it appears that the development in imports of a given product threatens to cause damage to national producers, the importation of this product may be subject to prior surveillance in accordance with the procedures laid down by the Order of the Minister of Commerce of 12 August 2004 establishing the procedures for surveillance prior to importation.
Surveillance prior to importation takes the form of an information sheet aimed at informing the Ministry responsible for trade, in advance, of the bank domiciliation of any import operation of products subject to this regime.

Import authorization

Despite the general rule of freedom to import, Article 3 of the law on foreign trade excludes from the regime of freedom of foreign trade all products relating to security, public order, hygiene, health, morals, protection of fauna and flora and cultural heritage.
However, these products may exceptionally be imported under cover of an import authorization granted by the Ministry responsible for trade. They mainly concern the following products:

Products imported under import authorization
Products excluded from the regime of freedom of foreign trade

established by Decree No. 94-1742 of 29 August 1994

Transactions carried out under the compensation regime;
Products benefiting from tax privileges under government decree no. 2015-2605 of 25 December 2015 on the modalities and procedures for granting tax advantages provided for in articles 31 and 75 of law no. 2015-53 of 25 December 2015, Finance Act for 2016;
Imports without payment
Products benefiting from a reduction in customs duties under tariff quotas;
Products subject to the warehousing or temporary admission procedures in the event of a financial settlement with foreign countries of the value of imported products if such products are subject to authorization under common law;
Sales of totally exporting companies, excluding those released for consumption within the framework of the 30% reserved for release for consumption on the local market for products excluded from the freedom of foreign trade regime;
Used or renovated products
Products benefiting from total or partial exemption from import customs duties within the framework of bilateral agreements and conventions concluded between Tunisia and other countries;
Imported products released for consumption under special regimes if they are subject to authorization under common law;
Imports without currency transfer;
Importation of certain hazardous chemicals;

Modes of transport and their particularities

In order to optimize the operations of transporting the goods to the customer, it is better to choose the most appropriate mode of transport by taking into account parameters such as the quantity of goods to be transported, the delivery time, the cost of transport, the distance to be covered and the security linked to the delivery of the goods. The table below shows the advantages and disadvantages for each mode of transport.

Advantages and disadvantages of modes of transport

Avantages et inconvénients des modes de transport

The customs code

To complete an import procedure, it is necessary to have a customs code, which will be used by the operator as a unique identifier in the TTN foreign trade electronic counter. The latter is presented as the computer network that connects the various stakeholders in the procedures of foreign trade and transport in Tunisia.
The economic operator can file his request for the creation of a customs code at the customs office closest to his home or at the one-stop shop of the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII).

The file contains the following documents:
  • The original of the certificate of registration in the national business register;
  • A request on a specific form to be collected from the nearest customs office or from the counter of the Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation (APII);
  • A copy of the tax identity card legalized at the tax control office;
  • A copy of the declaration of existence certified with the tax control office;
  • A certificate of publication of the notice of creation of the company in the Official Journal of the Republic of Tunisia (in the case of a legal person);
  • A copy of the company’s status (in the case of a legal entity);
  • A copy of the national identity card of the applicant or the legal representative of the company

Procedural phases relating to the defense against unfair import practices

The procedural phases relating to the defense against unfair
import practices are defined as follows:
  1. Presentation of a request from a national industry or instruction from the Minister responsible for trade.
Verification
Notification of admissibility of the file:
Check whether the file is complete or not.
Transmission
Carry out a preliminary examination: verify the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence provided. Check the condition of representativeness of the applicant
Motion requiring preliminary examination
Sufficient evidence and conditions fulfilled, therefore, initiation of an investigation after advice from the Ministry of Trade. Possibility of imposition of provisional anti-dumping or countervailing duties.
Verification
Publication in the J.O.R.T of the decision to open investigation/ Provisional measures taken.OMC notification. Sending inquiries to foreign parties.
Verification
Verification of information provided by foreign parties. Investigative operations with the possibility of making site visits and hearings.
Verification
Negative preliminary examination
Verification
File classification. OMC notification.
Verification
Imposition of anti-dumping or countervailing duties. OMC notification. Publication in the J.O.R.T. Monitoring of the application of the measures taken.
Reception
Termination of the investigation in case of insufficient evidence concerning the increased imports and their detrimental effects on local production
Notification of the OMC, Publication in the J.O.R.T

The subsidy

Subsidy is the granting of a benefit to a foreign exporter by the government of the exporting country in the form of a financial contribution that confers a benefit measured against generally applicable trading standards and normal market conditions.

The financial contribution can take one of the following forms:

  • A direct transfer of funds (for example a donation, a loan, equity participation)
  • A potential direct transfer of funds or liabilities (e.g. a loan guarantee),
  • Public revenues that are normally payable are abandoned or not collected (example: tax credits),
  • Supplies of goods or services other than general infrastructure, or purchase of goods by public authorities
  • Income or price support

Conditions for considering the subsidy as an unfair import practice

For the subsidy as defined above to be considered an unfair import practice, it must be “specific”, i.e. reserved for certain companies or when its granting is not subject to objective criteria or that these criteria, despite their existence, are not respected.

condition-de-la-subvention-en
Calculation of the subsidy amount
The amount of the subsidy is calculated by making a comparison between the conditions on which the public authorities make the financial contribution and the conditions which the beneficiary could obtain on the market. Next, it is necessary to quantify the amount of the subsidy, per unit or ad valorem, i.e. the amount attributable to the product under investigation.

The imposition of countervailing duties can only be applied on the basis of an investigation which has found that the imports in question are subsidized and are causing damage to the domestic industry producing a like product. The damage determination is based on the following positive evidence:

Countervailing duty investigations must cease immediately in cases where the amount of subsidy is de minimis or where the volume of subsidized imports is negligible.

<0% ad valorem
The amount of the subsidy is considered de minimis
Countervailing duties are applied for a maximum period of 5 years when they are definitive and for a period of 4 months subject to extension up to 6 months or 9 months if they are provisional.

Procedural phases relating to the defense against unfair import practices

Dumping

Dumping is a Practice which consists of selling a product on the Tunisian market at prices lower than that of the country of origin or country of provenance. To determine the existence of dumping, a comparison must be made between the export price and the normal value of the product in question. The following two tables make it possible to calculate the two values mentioned above.

The dumping margin rate is calculated on the basis of the following formula:

An anti-dumping measure may be applied if the volume of the dumped imports represents

-1%
Imports of the similar product in Tunisia
+1%
The dumping margin rate
Threat of damage
The damage or threat of damage must affect all producers of similar products or producers having a major proportion of domestic production.
Real positive cause and effect relationship
In the same context, it must be shown that there is a real and substantial positive cause and effect relationship between the dumped imports and the damage. This must be based on solid and verifiable evidence distinguishing damage caused by other factors from damage caused by dumped imports.
Threat of significant damage
Threat of damage to a domestic industry means when the introduction of the dumped imports will cause damage to occur imminently.
Measure to reduce the effect of damage
Before the termination of the investigation, provisional duties may be applied when there is a preliminary affirmative determination of the existence of dumping as well as the judgment of the need to apply such a measure to reduce the effect of the damage.
Mesures définitives
At the end of the investigation, the competent authorities within the Ministry of Trade and Export Development may apply definitive measures in the form of anti-dumping duties or acceptance of an undertaking by the foreign exporter to revise its prices and eliminate the effects of the unfair practice.

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