RASTICheat sheet

Based on the review of laws and regulations and the interviews with government officials and stakeholders, the expert doing the field research should be able to answers the following questions.

Note that each question may include several questions. Reponses should be brief and straight to the point, but should address all the points raised in the question line. The focus should be on the content of the answer, rather than its form or presentation. A typical answer should take not less than two or three paragraphs, but can be as long as needed. Answers may direct to annexes or other documents with additional guidance.

The questions from the Cheat Sheet are meant to complement the RASTI questionnaires, in particular the Horizontal Questionnaires.

A.Cross-border supply

  1. List any services which cannot be purchased fromservices suppliers not established in the country, indicating the origin of the restriction (the law or regulation, or the practice that impairs that such services is acquired from a foreign country. If these services can be acquired from certain countries, but not from others, explain. Provide specific answers for the services listed below.
  2. Professional services , including
  3. lawyers
  1. bookkeeping and accounting,
  1. architecture and engineering
  1. medical professionals
  1. Insurance, including
  2. mandatory insurances, such as health insurance, professionals, transport, etc
  1. life insurances
  1. reinsurance
  1. Banking services
  2. deposits
  1. loans
  1. Land transport (can trucks from a neighboring countries transport goods into this country?)
  1. Any other sectors

B.Registration and Licensing

  1. What are the main laws and regulations that apply to foreign investment? List them and indicate where they can be accessed
  1. Are there any services sectors that are excluded from the coverage of this law? If so, list them, and provide a rationale
  1. Are there any kind particular kind of investment that are excluded from this law (e.g., those made through concession agreements)? If so, what regime does it apply to them? Are these contracts relevant to the establishment of services companies?
  1. What are the main laws and regulation that apply to the registration of a new company?List them and indicate where they can be accessed
  1. Please describe in the procedures necessary for the registration of a company as they are set out in the regulation. Are these procedures are publicly available?
  1. Is the procedure in practice the same as indicated in the regulation? Are there any steps or requirements in practice that are not reflected on the text of the regulation? Describe any differences between practice and regulation.
  1. Once the company has been registered, are there any further licenses, permits or authorizations required to operate? Which are the agencies in charge of issuing that license?
  1. Besides registration and licensing, are there any additional steps for services providers to operate? Indicate in what sectors these requirement apply and describe the procedures.

C.Measures on operations

Incentives

  1. What are the laws and regulations setting out the general incentive regime for investment? Do they apply only to foreign investment, or also to domestic investment? --Do not include incentives related to on-time contracts or agreements with individual investors, such as concessions, BOT, etc.
  1. Describe any conditions that need to be fulfilled to qualify for any general incentives.

Taxation

  1. List the main laws and regulations on taxation, and indicate where they can be accessed
  1. Describe the enforcement of taxation regulation. Are there any differences on how foreigners and domestic companies are treated in the implementation of taxes? Are there any differences between big companies and SMEs?
  1. Is there any services sector where differences in the implementation of taxation are most prominent and affect particularly the expansion of the sector? Explain how.

Other regulation

  1. Describe the monitoring and enforcement of regulation on sanitary controls (for services such as hotels, restaurants, etc), employment. Are big companies targeted more frequently than SEMs? Are foreign services suppliers targeted more frequently than nationals?

D.Administrative practices

  1. Consider the following restrictions derived from administrative practices and assess in what services sectors they occur, or, if they occur across the board, if there is a sector in which they have a particular negative impact. Describe details and, where possible, provide examples from the interviews with experts and stakeholders
  1. Licenses or permit not being granted
  1. Regulatory requirements not publicly available
  1. Ambiguous or unclear regulation
  1. Unofficial fees
  1. Inconsistent or unpredictable interpretation of regulation
  1. Selective monitoring and enforcement of regulation

E.Sector – specific regulation

Professional Services

  1. List the laws and regulations that govern the professional services, and indicate where they can be accessed
  1. lawyers
  1. bookkeeping and accounting,
  1. architecture and engineering
  1. medical professionals
  1. Are foreign professionals able to provide services in the domestic market? Describe the procedures and conditions they have to meet, for each of the professions indicated above.
  1. lawyers
  1. bookkeeping and accounting,
  1. architecture and engineering
  1. medical professionals
  1. Are these procedures and conditions the same as required in practice? Describe in detail any barriers in practice that prevent foreign professionals obtaining a license as described in the regulation.

Road Transport

  1. List the laws and regulations that govern road transport, and indicate where they can be accessed. Include regulation related to road safety, liabilities ,
  1. Describe the procedures, as set out in the law, for obtaining the license. If different activities, even within the same services sector, have different regimes, explain so in detail.
  1. Describe the conditions, as set out in the law, for obtaining the license. If different activities, even within the same services sector, have different regimes, explain so in detail.
  1. Are these procedures and conditions in practice the same as indicated in the regulation? Are there any steps or requirements in practice that are not reflected on the text of the regulation? Highlight any differences between practice and regulation
  1. What are the main de jure or de facto barriers faced by foreign road transport companies?

Tourism

  1. List the laws and regulations that govern road transport, and indicate where they can be accessed.
  1. List the activities related to tourism which are subject to specific licenses (e.g. hotel, restaurants, pensions, tourist guides, tourism agency, etc).
  1. Describe the procedures, as set out in the law, for obtaining the licenses mentioned above. If different activities, even within the same services sector, have different regimes, explain so in detail.
  1. Describe the conditions, as set out in the law, for obtaining the license. If different activities, even within the same services sector, have different regimes, explain so in detail.
  1. Are these procedures and conditions in practice the same as indicated in the regulation? Are there any steps or requirements in practice that are not reflected on the text of the regulation? Highlight any differences between practice and regulation

Annexto question […]

Feel free to include as many Annexes as necessary with additional information. Name the annex after the question in which is referred to.

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