Ruling on Certificate of Compliance Applications

(1) The Ministry shall determine an application for a Certificate of Compliance within 30 working days of submission. (2) The owner or owners of an EPZ business enterprise shall sign an Operations Contract pledging compliance with all applicable legal and regulatory requirements under the laws of Belize, and all rules and regulations of the established EPZ. The operations contract shall be in the form of Schedule IV. Schedule IV. (3) Where a Certificate of Compliance is granted it shall be in the form of Schedule V. Schedule V. (4) EPZ businesses may be allowed to sub-contract with firms which have Development Concessions or with other EPZ firms, part of their production process, provided the following are adhered to– (a) the beneficiaries shall submit such a request to the Ministry and the Ministry shall act on such requests within thirty (30) working days; (b) no more than thirty-five (35) percent of the production process shall be sub-contracted; (c) the Ministry shall authorise sub-contracts for such periods as may be reasonable having regard to the needs of the applicant; (d) sub-contracting EPZ firms shall submit quarterly reports to the Ministry outlining Export Processing Zone 9 amounts, percentages, and conditions of operations sub-contracted. (5) EPZ businesses shall supply the Ministry with bi-annual reports describing the activities of EPZ businesses, their general performance, opportunities for domestic sales to EPZ firms, occupied EPZ space, expected changes in relevant EPZ matters and any other information which the Ministry may reasonably require.