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21.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
48/5
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) No 155/2013
of 18 December 2012
establishing rules related to the procedure for granting the special incentive arrangement for
sustainable development and good governance under Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the
European Parliament and of the Council applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
(b) the binding undertaking, to be done by the signature by the
competent authority of the requesting country of the form
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European
in the Annex to this Regulation, containing:
Union and in particular Article 207 thereof,
(i) a statement of the commitment to maintain ratification
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 of the
of the relevant conventions and to ensure their effective
European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2012
implementation;
applying a scheme of generalised tariff preferences and repealing
Council Regulation (EC) No 732/2008 ( 1 ), and in particular
Article 10(7) thereof,
(ii) a statement to accept without reservation the reporting
requirements imposed by each relevant convention and
Whereas:
to accept regular monitoring and review of its imple
mentation record in accordance with the provisions of
(1) Article
9(1)
of
Regulation
(EU)
No
978/2012
establishes
the relevant conventions;
the requirements for the granting of the preferences
under the special incentive arrangement for sustainable
development and good governance. To ensure the trans
(iii) a statement of the commitment to participate in and
parency and predictability of the process, the
cooperate with the monitoring procedure referred to in
Commission has been empowered by the European
Article 13 of the GSP Regulation.
Parliament and the Council to adopt a delegated act to
establish rules related to the procedure for granting the
3. To facilitate the review process of the applications, all
special incentive arrangement for sustainable devel
requests and accompanying documentation shall be submitted
opment and good governance in particular with respect
in English. The copy of the documents under point 2(a) if the
to deadlines and the submission and processing of
original language is different from English shall be accompanied
requests.
by an English translation.
(2) In
line
with
paragraph
4
of
the
Common
Understanding
on delegated acts between the European Parliament, the
4. The
request,
together
with
the
accompanying
documents,
Council and the European Commission, appropriate and
shall be submitted to the Commission’s mail reception service:
transparent consultations, including at expert level, have
been carried out on the procedural rules provided for in
Central mail service (Courrier central)
this Regulation,
Btiment DAV1
Avenue du Bourget/Bourgetlaan 1
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
1140 Bruxelles/Brussel
BELGIQUE/BELGI
Article 1
Submission of application
5. In addition to the formal written submission, the request
and the accompanying documents shall also be submitted in
1. The
requesting
country
shall
submit
its
request
in
writing. electronic format. Any request submitted exclusively in elec
The requesting country shall explicitly state that its request is
tronic format will not be considered valid for the purposes of
made in the framework of the special incentive arrangement for
this Regulation.
sustainable development and good governance (GSP+
arrangement) under Article 9(1) of Regulation (EU) No
6. To
facilitate
information
exchange
and
verification,
in
its
978/2012 (GSP Regulation).
application the requesting country shall inform the Commission
of the contact person who is competent to handle the
2. The
request
shall
be
accompanied
by
the
following
docu
processing of the application.
mentation:
7. The
request
shall
be
deemed
to
have
been
lodged
on
the
first working day following its delivery to the Commission by
(a) comprehensive information concerning the ratification of
registered mail or the issuing of an acknowledgement of receipt
the conventions listed in Annex VIII to the GSP Regulation
by the Commission.
(the ‘relevant conventions’), including a copy of the
deposited ratification instrument to the relevant inter
Article 2
national organisation, the reservations made by the
requesting country and the objections to these reservations
Examination of application
made by other parties to the convention;
1. The
Commission
shall
examine
whether
the
conditions
of
Article 9(1) of the GSP Regulation have been met. When
( 1 ) OJ L 303, 31.10.2012, p. 1.
examining the request the Commission shall assess the most

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L 48/6
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
21.2.2013
recent available conclusions of the monitoring bodies of the
and, normally, not later than 45 days prior to a definitive
relevant conventions. It may ask the requesting country any
decision by the Commission of any proposal for final action.
questions which it considers relevant, and may verify the
Where the Commission is not in a position to disclose certain
information received with the requesting country or with any
facts or considerations at that time, these shall be disclosed as
other relevant sources.
soon as possible thereafter.
2. Failure
to
provide
the
necessary
information
as
required 4. Disclosure
shall
not
prejudice
any
subsequent
decision
by Article 10(2) of the GSP Regulation or requested by the
which may be taken but where such decision is based on any
Commission may lead to termination of the examination and
different facts and considerations, these shall be disclosed as
the rejection of the request.
soon as possible.
3. The
Commission
shall
finalise
the
examination
of
the 5. Submissions
made
after
disclosure
is
given
shall
be
taken
request and decide whether to grant a requesting country the
into consideration only if received within a period to be set by
GSP+ arrangement within six months from the date of acknowl
the Commission in each case, which shall be at least 20 days,
edgement of receipt of the request.
due consideration being given to the urgency of the matter.
Article 3
Article 5
Constituted file
General hearing
1. The
Commission
shall
establish
a
constituted
file.
A
1. A requesting country has the right to be heard by the
constituted file shall contain the documents submitted by the
Commission.
requesting country and the relevant information which has been
obtained by the Commission.
2. The
requesting
country
shall
submit
a
written
request
specifying the reasons for it to be heard orally. Such a
2. The
content
of
a
constituted
file
shall
comply
with request shall be received by the Commission at the latest one
provisions of confidentiality in accordance with Article 38 of
month after the date of acknowledgement of receipt of the
the GSP Regulation.
application.
3. The
requesting
country
has
a
right
of
the
access
to
the
Article 6
constituted file. Upon written request, it may inspect all
information contained in the constituted file except internal
Involvement of Hearing Officer
documents prepared by the Commission.
1. On
procedural
grounds
a
requesting
country
may
also
Article 4
request the intervention of the Hearing Officer of the Direc
torate-General for Trade. The Hearing Officer shall review
Disclosure
requests for access to the constituted file, disputes on the
confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time
1. The
Commission
shall
disclose
the
details
underlying
the limits and requests of a requesting country to be heard.
essential facts and considerations on the basis of which the
Commission’s decisions are taken.
2. If
the
requesting
country
has
an
oral
hearing
with
the
Hearing Officer the relevant Commission service shall
2. Disclosure shall be given in writing. It shall contain the
participate in it.
Commission’s findings and shall reflect its provisional intention
whether to grant a requesting country the GSP+ arrangement.
Article 7
3. Disclosure
shall
be
made,
with
due
regard
to
the This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that
protection of confidential information, as soon as possible
of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 2012.
For the Commission
The President
José Manuel BARROSO

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EN
21.2.2013 Official
Journal
of
the
European
Union
L
48/7
ANNEX
Binding Undertaking
We, the Government of …, represented by …, in our capacity as …, express our commitment to maintain the ratification
of the conventions listed in Annex VIII of the Regulation (EU) No 978/2012 and to ensure effective implementation
thereof.
We accept without reservation the reporting requirements imposed by each convention and regular monitoring and
review of the implementation record in accordance with the provisions of the conventions listed in Annex VIII of the
Regulation (EU) No 978/2012.
We express our commitment to participate in and cooperate with the monitoring procedure referred to in Article 13 of
the Regulation (EU) No 978/2012.
We fully accept that withdrawal of any of these commitments may result in removal of the GSP+ arrangement according
to Article 10(5) of the Regulation (EU) No 978/2012.
Place and date
Signature(s)

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Document Outline

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