WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/TBT/Notif.99.514
12 October 1999
(99-4309)
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade
NOTIFICATION
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   THE NETHERLANDS
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):           
2. Agency responsible:   Commodity Board for Soft Drinks and Waters          
Agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be
indicated if different from above:           
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [    ], 5.6.2 [    ], 5.7.1 [    ], other:           
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading.
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):   Soft drinks and waters
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   First Amendment to
the Ordinance on the Handling Fee of Extra Returnable Packaging 1996
6. Description of content:   This amendment aims to extend the obligation to charge VBR (a
kind of grading allowance for empty bottles and crates) from the soft drinks and mineral
water industry to include the Dutch food industry, insofar as the latter brings bottles andcrates subject to the VBR regulation into circulation within the Dutch market.
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:
The present ordinance does not cover all cases in which VBR is to be charged.  The system
functions only in an environment which is free of competition, i.e. if all bottles and crates
are subject to VBR.  However, returnable bottles and crates imported directly from abroad
and brought into the Dutch system by the food industry, do, strictly speaking, not fall withinthe scope of the ordinance.  The ordinance does only apply to imports made via the soft
drinks industry and the drinks wholesale trade and to soft drinks and waters produced in the
Netherlands in said bottles and crates.  The present amendment aims to eliminate this flawin the ordinance.
8. Relevant documents:
- Ordinance establishing the Soft Drinks and Waters Commodity Board;
- Industrial Organisation Act;
- Deposit ordinance on soft drinks and waters 1997.
9. Proposed date of adoption:  25 November 1999
Proposed date of entry into force:  1 January 2000
10. Final date for comments:   20 November 1999
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, e-mail and telefax
number of the other body:           