All
manufactured products, including capital goods and processed agricultural
products, and those falling outside the definition of “unprocessed agricultural
products” are covered by the CEPT Scheme. There are three (3) instances when a
product may be excluded from the CEPT Scheme:
a) General Exceptions - A Member State may
exclude a product which it considers necessary for the protection of its
national security, the protection of public morals, the protection of human,
animal or plant life and health, and the protection of articles of artistic,
historic or archaeological value. The provision on General Exceptions in the
CEPT Agreement is consistent with Article X of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade (GATT) 1994.
b) Temporary Exclusions - Member States
which are, in the interim, not ready to include certain sensitive products in
the CEPT Scheme may exclude such products on a temporary basis. Products in the
Exclusion List cannot enjoy the CEPT tariff from other ASEAN Member States. The
Exclusion List does not in any way relate to products covered under the General
Exceptions provisions.
c) Unprocessed Agricultural Products -
These are agricultural products defined as:
1) agricultural raw materials and
unprocessed products covered under Chapters 1 to 24 of the Harmonized System
(HS) Code and similar agricultural raw materials and unprocessed products in
other related HS headings; and
2) products
which have undergone simple processing with minimal change in form from the
original products.
There are two programs of tariff reduction under the CEPT
Scheme:
(i)
the Normal Track
Program; and
(ii)
the Fast Track Program
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