Basic information
Outline of the system
Import permits (non-automatic licences) are required for the importation of refrigerant substances in all forms and for all purposes, in order to comply with the timetable for eliminating CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and controlling consumption as part of national obligations under the Montreal Protocol.
Authorization to import these substances is granted only to firms duly registered with the UTOH (Technical Ozone Unit), which comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (SERNA).
Product coverage
Import licences or authorizations are necessary for:
- CFC refrigerant gases (chlorofluorocarbons);
- HFC refrigerant gases (hydrofluorocarbons);
- HCFC refrigerant gases (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) Mixed azeotropic refrigerant gases;
- Zeotropic refrigerant gases.
Nature of licensing
Automatic
If Automatic, administrative purpose
Non-Automatic
If Non-Automatic, description of the notified Non-Automatic Licensing regime
Products under restriction as to the quantity or value of imports
The purpose of the import licensing system for refrigerants is to control the quantities imported per annum and per type of substance, in accordance with the CFC elimination timetable in force; it also entirely restricts the entry of equipment functioning with this type of gas (CFC).
Questions for products under restriction as to the quantity or value of imports
With regard to imports of CFCs, Honduras has a timetable for reducing and eliminating imports, limiting quantities for each type of CFC refrigerant each year until the goal of zero imports is attained from 2010 onwards, an undertaking shared by all the world's developing countries. See Answers 6.1-6.11.
The system applies to products originating from which country?
The import licensing system applies to products from all countries without exception.
Expected duration of licensing procedure
Legal requirements
Is the licensing statutorily required?
The procedure under this system of authorization is set out in Chapter II of the General Regulations on the Use of Substances Which Deplete the Ozone Layer, published in the Official Gazette (La Gaceta) of 13 November 2002 under Executive Decision No. 907-2002, giving effect to the general provisions of the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and its annexes and the Montreal Protocol and its amendments.
Does the legislation leave designation of products to be subject to licensing to administrative discretion?
Is it possible for the government to abolish the system without legislative approval?
Eligibility of applicants
Is there a system of registration of persons or firms permitted to engage in importation?
What persons or firms are eligible to apply for a licence?
Any person, firm or institution registered as an importer or distributor of refrigerants, as required by the General Regulations on the Use of Substances Which Deplete the Ozone Layer, may apply for an import or export authorization.
Is there a registration fee?
Is there a published list of authorized importers?
Contact point for information on eligibility
Ministry/Authority
Address
Telephone
Fax
E-mail address
Website
Contact officer
Submission of an application
Administrative body(ies) for submission of an application
Technical Ozone Unit, Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment
Documentation requirements
What information is required in applications?
The main data to be supplied in the import application are the precise quantities per type of refrigerant to be imported, tariff classification by substance, trade name, type of compound (pure, mixed), port of entry, final destination, country of provenance, and exact name and address of the firm from which the substances are being obtained.
What documents is the importer required to supply with the application?
A copy of the pro forma invoice for the importer's order or purchase must be attached.
Window of submission of an application
How far in advance of importation must application for a licence be made?
Applications must be made before importation and are processed within the next five working days following the date of receipt of the application containing all the required information, otherwise not until all the information has been supplied.
Are there any limitations as to the period of the year during which application for licence can be made? If so, explain
Available quotas or amounts for refrigerant imports are valid only for the current year. It is not possible to carry over quota amounts from previous years or make advance use of quantities for future years, because Honduras, as a member of the Montreal Protocol, is required each year to communicate its statistics on consumption of these substances and the country's consumption is measured on the basis of imports, which may not exceed the annual limits permitted under the provisions of the Montreal Protocol.
Issuing the license
Can a licence be granted immediately on request?
No.
Can licences be obtained within a shorter time-limit or for goods arriving at the port without a licence
For imports arriving at the port of entry without the corresponding authorization, the latter is granted if they are within the permitted quantities; otherwise the surplus or non-permitted quantities are seized and the firm incurs an administrative penalty from the Executive Directorate of Revenue and the Ministry of Natural Resources and a penal sanction from the competent bodies such as the Border Police and the Special Environment Prosecution Authority.
Which administrative body is responsible for approving application of licences?
Honduras's Technical Ozone Unit, which comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (SERNA), is in sole charge of processing applications for imports of refrigerants.
Must the applications be passed on to other organs for visa, note or approval?
Honduras's Technical Ozone Unit, which comes under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (SERNA), is in sole charge of processing applications for imports of refrigerants.
Are there any other conditions attached to the issue of a licence?
Only for firms registered for importation of non-CFC refrigerants; these are not subject to quantitative restrictions, but the products may be used only for internal, not for commercial, purposes.
Fees and other administrative charges
Is there any licensing fee or administrative charge?
Not applicable.
What is the amount of the fee or charge?
Is there any deposit or advance payment required associated with the issue of licences?
Not applicable.
Amount or rate?
Is it refundable?
What is the period of retention?
What is the purpose of this requirement?
Refusal of an application
Under what circumstances may an application for a licence be refused other than failure to meet the ordinary criteria?
The main reason for refusing authorization to import refrigerants is that no quota is available or that the quota available to the importing firm has been used up, or where the substance the firm seeks to import is not registered with the relevant office or there is inadequate technical information to permit identification and classification of the substance.
Are the reasons for any refusal given to applicants?
Have applicants a right of appeal in the event of refusal to issue a licence?
If so, to what bodies and under what procedures?
Importation
Are there any limitations as to the period of year during which importation may be made?
What documents are required upon actual importation?
In addition to the documentation required by the Executive Directorate of Revenue, the importer must present the import authorization granted by the Technical Ozone Unit, which must correspond in all details and amounts to the invoices and certificates for the products imported; this will be checked by the customs official at the port of entry of the product.
Are there any other administrative procedures, apart from import licensing and similar administrative procedures, required prior to importation?
There are no other procedural requirements prior to importation.
Conditions of licensing
What is the period of validity of a licence? Can the validity be extended? How?
Authorization is granted by the relevant office for each import applied for and is valid for variable periods. It cannot be extended where the importer does not import the products within the period of validity, in which case the importer will have to submit a further application explaining the causes or reasons for failure to import. The original authorization will be revoked and another will be issued with a new period of validity.
Is there any penalty for the non-utilization of a licence or a portion of a licence?
There is no penalty for non-use or partial use. If the permitted quantities are exceeded, the importer incurs a penalty and the surplus is seized.
Are licences transferable between importers? If so, are any limitations or conditions attached to such transfer?
They are not transferable.
Foreign Exchange
Is foreign exchange automatically provided by the banking authorities for goods to be imported?
Not applicable.
Is a licence required as a condition to obtaining foreign exchange?
Is foreign exchange always available to cover licences issued?
What formalities must be fulfilled for obtaining the foreign exchange?
The following questions are only for products under restriction as to the quantity or value of imports (whether applicable globally or to a limited number of countries or whether established bilaterally or unilaterally)
Where is information on allocation and formalities for licences published? Is the overall amount published? The amount allocated to goods from each country? The maximum amount allocated to each importer? How to request any exceptions or derogations from the licensing requirement?
Information on the limited quantities to be imported per CFC refrigerant per annum was given in an appendix to the General Regulations on the Use of Substances Which Deplete the Ozone Layer, published in the Official Gazette (La Gaceta) in November 2002.
Is the size of the quota determined: on yearly, six-monthly or quarterly basis? Are there cases where the size of quota is determined on a yearly basis but licences are issued for imports on a six-monthly or quarterly basis? In the latter case, is it necessary for importers to apply for a fresh licence on a six-monthly or quarterly basis?
The quantity or volume of CFC refrigerant must be calculated on the basis of the quantity fixed as the baseline for the country, which is the product of the average quantities reported as consumed in the period 1995-1999, frozen from the year 2002 until 2010. These quantities must show a gradual decrease, the percentage of which will vary according to each country's individual undertakings under the Montreal Protocol.
Are licences allocated for certain goods partly or only to domestic producers of like goods? What steps are taken to ensure that licences allocated are actually used for imports? Are unused allocations added to quotas for a succeeding period? Are names of importers to whom licences have been allocated made known to governments and export promotion bodies of exporting countries upon request? If not, for what reason? (Indicate products to which replies relate)
As regards products or refrigerants, the quotas are allocated for each type of refrigerant; in the case of Honduras only control of reduction and elimination of three types of CFC substances (R-12, R-502, R-11) is recorded; quotas are allocated as an average per type of refrigerant and the import authorizations are allocated for each importation applied for by registered firms and for a limited time, so that they are valid only for each individual importation and lose their validity after a certain time.
Any firm which has not imported the products within this period of validity must make a new application for authorization, which must then be checked by the UTOH for the Executive Directorate of Revenue (DEI). The quantities and restrictions are managed together with the other member countries of the Montreal Protocol which apply legislation and import controls of this kind.
From the time of announcing the opening of quotas, as indicated in I above, what is the period of time allowed for the submission of applications for licences?
Quotas and quantities are annual; they terminate on the last day of the last month of the year and give entitlement from the first day of the first month of the year; surplus quantities which have not been applied for within the period of validity may not be carried over to the following year. Applications are made according to the needs or the procurement programme drawn up by each firm, and the UTOH approves only quantities coming within the limits which country is permitted to import each year.
What are the minimum and maximum lengths of time for processing applications?
From the first of January to the second half of December each year.
How much time remains, at a minimum, between the granting of licences and the date of opening of the period of importation?
Not applicable, as authorizations are given within the period corresponding to each importation period, in this case within the current year.
Is consideration of licence applications effected by a single administrative organ? Or must the application be passed on to other organs for visa, note or approval? If so, which? Does the importer have to approach more than one administrative organ?
Applications for importing refrigerants are processed only by the UTOH, a section of SERNA, which is responsible for applying the Montreal Protocol at national level.
If the demand for licences cannot be fully satisfied, on what basis is the allocation to applicants made? First come, first served? Past performance? Is there a maximum amount to be allocated per applicant and if so, on what basis is it determined? What provision is made for new importers? Are applications examined simultaneously or on receipt?
The total quantities which the country is permitted to import each year are administered by the Technical Ozone Unit, which at the same time controls the registration system for importers and distributors of these substances at national level. The amounts (percentages) of CFC refrigerant making up the import total are allocated by the project office to each firm in proportion to the average imports reported and registered in previous years, and are granted as and when applications are received; where a quota is available for a firm which does not intend to use it, it may be distributed among other registered importers for their use.
In the case of bilateral quotas or export restraint arrangements where export permits are issued by exporting countries, are import licences also required? If so, are licences issued automatically?
Honduras envisages a corresponding measure within the existing legal framework for the importation of ozone-depleting substances.
In cases where imports are allocated on the basis of export permits only, how is the importing country informed of the effect given by the exporting countries to the understanding between the two countries?
Import permits and authorizations are granted under the procedures laid down in the current Regulations on the Use of Substances Which Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Are there products for which licences are issued on condition that goods should be exported and not sold in the domestic market?
In addition to the three CFCs referred to earlier and included in the annual CFC quotas, this system of authorizations comprises all refrigerants in general, the quantities of which are however not restricted. The only imports authorized on condition that they are not marketed inside the country are those granted to transnational or domestic firms operating under the Temporary Import Rules, and solely for the firm's use; such authorizations are granted only for non-CFC substances.