5. Each Party shall establish one or more enquiry points to provide specific information to services providers of the other Party, upon request, on any of its measures of general application referred to in paragraph 1. The Parties shall notify each other of these enquiry points no later than one year after the entry into force of this Agreement. Enquiry points need not be depositories of laws and regulations.
6. Nothing in this Chapter shall require any Party to provide confidential information, the disclosure of which would impede law enforcement or otherwise be contrary to the public interest, or which would prejudice legitimate commercial interests of particular enterprises, public or private.
Subsection 2. DOMESTIC REGULATION
Article 18.13. Scope
1. This Sub-Section only applies to sectors for which a Party has undertaken specific commitments as listed in Annexes 18-A to 18 E and to the extent that these specific commitments apply.
2. This Sub-Section does not apply to measures to the extent that they constitute limitations pursuant to Articles 18.3 and 18.4.
3. In sectors where specific commitments are undertaken as listed in Annexes 18-A to 18-E, each Party shall ensure that all measures of general application affecting trade in services and establishment are administered in a reasonable, objective and impartial manner.
4. Each Party shall comply with this Sub-Section with regard to measures relating to licensing requirements and procedures and qualification requirements and procedures.
5. This Sub-Section applies to measures of each Party relating to licensing and qualification requirements and procedures that affect:
(a) the cross-border supply of services;
(b) the establishment in their territory of an enterprise defined in Article 18.2; or
(c) the temporary stay in their territory of categories of natural persons defined in Article 18.2.
Article 18.14. Definitions
For the purposes of this Sub-Section:
(a) "competent authority" means any central, regional or local government or authority, or any non-governmental body in the exercise of powers delegated by central, regional or local governments or authorities and which is entitled to take a decision concerning the authorisation to supply a service, or concerning the authorisation to establish an enterprise in order to perform an economic activity;
(b) "licensing procedures" means administrative and procedural rules that a service supplier or an investor seeking authorisation to supply a service or to establish an enterprise must adhere to in order to demonstrate compliance with licensing requirements;
(c) "licensing requirements" means substantive requirements other than qualification requirements with which a services supplier or investor is required to comply in order to obtain, from a competent authority, a decision concerning the authorisation to supply a service or concerning the authorisation to establish an enterprise in order to perform an economic activity, including a decision to amend or renew such authorisation;
(d) "qualification procedures" means administrative or procedural rules that a natural person must adhere to in order to demonstrate compliance with qualification requirements, for the purpose of obtaining authorisation to supply a service; and
(e) "qualification requirements" means substantive requirements relating to the competence of a natural person to supply a service and which are required to be demonstrated for the purpose of obtaining authorisation to supply a service.
Article 18.15. Conditions for Licensing
1. Measures of each Party relating to licensing requirements shall be based on criteria which are:
(a) proportionate to a public policy objective;
(b) clear and unambiguous;
(c) objective; and
(d) made public in advance.
2. A licence should be granted by the competent authority as soon as it is established, in the light of an appropriate examination, that the conditions for obtaining a licence have been met.
3. If the number of licences available for a given activity is limited because of the scarcity of available natural resources or technical capacity, each Party shall select candidates through an impartial and transparent selection procedure which provides, in particular, adequate publicity about the launch, conduct and completion of the procedure. Subject to the provisions specified by this Article, each Party may take into account public policy objectives when establishing the rules for the selection procedures.
Article 18.16. Licensing Procedures
1. Licensing procedures shall be clear and made public in advance. Each Party shall ensure that the licensing procedures used by, and the related decisions of, their competent authorities are objective and impartial with respect to all applicants.
2. Licensing procedures shall not be dissuasive and shall not unduly complicate or delay the provision of the service.
3. Any licensing fees (1) which applicants may incur from their application shall be reasonable and shall not in themselves restrict the supply of the service. To the extent practicable, those fees should be proportionate to the cost of the licensing procedures in question.
4. The competent authorities of a Party shall, to the extent practicable, provide an indicative timeframe for processing an application. Applications shall be processed within a reasonable period of time. The period shall run only from the time when all documentation has been received by the competent authorities. If justified by the complexity of the issue, the time period may be extended, by the competent authority, for a reasonable time. The extension and its duration shall be duly motivated and shall be notified to the applicant, to the extent practicable, before the original period has expired.
5. In the case of an incomplete application, the applicant shall be informed as quickly as possible of the need to supply any additional documentation. In such a case, the period referred to in paragraph 4 may be suspended by the competent authorities until they have received all documentation.
6. If a request is rejected because it fails to comply with the required procedures or formalities, the applicant shall be informed of the rejection and of the available means of redress as quickly as possible.
Article 18.17. Qualification Requirements
1. Qualification requirements shall be based on criteria which are:
(a) proportionate to a public policy objective;
(b) clear and unambiguous;
(c) objective; and
(d) made public in advance.
2. If a Party imposes qualification requirements for the supply of a service, it shall ensure that adequate procedures exist for the verification and assessment of qualifications held by service suppliers of the other Party. If the competent authority of a Party considers that membership in a relevant professional association in the territory of another Party is indicative of the level of competence or extent of experience of the applicant, such membership shall be given due consideration.
3. For the supply of professional services, the scope of examinations and of any other qualification requirements by a competent authority shall be related to the rights to practise a profession for which authorisation is being sought, so as to avoid unduly restricting persons of the other Party from applying.
4. Provided that an applicant has presented all necessary supporting evidence of his or her qualifications, the competent authority, in verifying and assessing such qualifications, shall identify any deficiency and inform the applicant of requirements to meet this deficiency. Such requirements may include course work, examinations and training. The presentation by an applicant of a Party of evidence of qualifications obtained in the territory of a third country shall not in itself constitute an a priori reason for the competent authority of the other Party to reject the application and refrain from making an assessment of the qualifications presented.
5. If examinations are required, each Party shall ensure that they are scheduled at reasonably frequent intervals. Applicants for examinations shall be allowed a reasonable period to submit applications.
6. Once qualification requirements and any other applicable regulatory requirements have been fulfilled, each Party should ensure that a service supplier is allowed to supply the service without undue delay.
Article 18.18. Qualification Procedures
1. Qualification procedures shall be based on criteria which are:
(a) clear and unambiguous;
(b) objective; and
(c) made public in advance.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the qualification procedures used by, and the related decisions of, their competent authorities are impartial with respect to all applicants.
3. An applicant shall, in principle, not be required to approach more than 1 (one) competent authority for qualification procedures.
4. If specific time periods for applications exist, an applicant shall be allowed a reasonable period for the submission of an application. The competent authority shall initiate the processing of an application without undue delay. To the extent practicable, the competent authority shall accept applications in electronic format under the same conditions of authenticity as an application submitted in paper format.
5. Authenticated copies should be accepted by the competent authority, if possible, in place of original documents.
6. If the competent authority rejects an application, it shall inform the applicant, to the extent practicable in writing, without undue delay. It shall inform the applicant, upon request, of the reasons for the rejection of the application and identify any deficiencies and ways in which those deficiencies can be addressed. It shall inform the applicant of the timeframe for an appeal against the decision, if available. It shall permit an applicant to resubmit an application within a reasonable time limit.
7. Each Party shall ensure that the processing of an application, including the verification and assessment of a qualification, is completed within a reasonable timeframe from the date of the submission of a complete application. Each Party shall endeavour to establish a normal timeframe for the processing of an application.
8. Each Party shall ensure that any fees relating to qualification procedures are commensurate with the costs incurred by the competent authorities and do not in themselves restrict the supply of the service.
Article 18.19. Review of Administrative Decisions
Each Party shall maintain or institute judicial, arbitral or administrative tribunals or procedures which provide, on request of an affected investor or service supplier of the other Party, for the prompt review of, and if justified, appropriate remedies for, administrative decisions affecting establishment, cross border supply of services or the temporary stay of natural persons supplying services. If such procedures are not independent of the agency entrusted with the administrative decision concerned, each Party shall ensure that the procedures in fact provide for an objective and impartial review.
Subsection 3. POSTAL SERVICES
Article 18.20. Scope
1. This Sub-Section sets out the principles of the regulatory framework for postal services regarding which each Party has undertaken specific commitments, as listed in Annexes 18-A and 18‑E, in accordance with this Sub-Section.
2. This Sub-Section does not require a Party to liberalise services reserved to 1 (one) or more designated operators as listed in Annexes 18-A and 18-E.
Article 18.21. Definitions
For the purposes of this Sub-Section:
(a) "essential requirements" means general non-economic reasons for imposing conditions on the supply of postal services and may include the confidentiality of correspondence, the security of the network as regards the transport of dangerous goods, data protection, environmental protection and regional planning;
(b) "licence" means any form of authorisation or permission (1) setting out rights and obligations specific to the postal sector, granted to an individual supplier by a regulatory authority, or any other competent body, and which is required before supplying a given service;
(c) "postal item" means an item addressed in the final form in which it is to be carried by a postal service provider, whether public or private, and may include items such as a letter, parcel, newspaper, catalogue and others;
(d) "postal service" (2) means services involving the collection, sorting, transport and delivery of postal items, irrespective of the destination (domestic or foreign), the speed of the service, (priority, non-priority, urgent, express or others), or the operator (public or private);
(e) "regulatory authority" means the independent body or bodies charged with the regulation of postal services mentioned in this Sub-Section; and
(f) "universal service" means the permanent provision of a postal service of specified quality at all points in the territory of a Party at affordable prices for all users.
Article 18.22. Prevention of Anti-competitive Practices In the Postal Sector
Each Party shall ensure that a supplier of postal services subject to a universal service obligation or a postal monopoly does not engage in anti-competitive practices such as:
(a) using revenues derived from the supply of such service to cross-subsidise the supply of an express postal service or any non-universal postal service, and
(b) differentiating among customers such as businesses, large volume mailers or consolidators with respect to tariffs or other terms and conditions for the supply of a service subject to a universal service obligation or a postal monopoly, if such differentiation is not based on objective or impartial criteria.
Article 18.23. Universal Services
Each Party has the right to define the kind of universal service obligation it wishes to maintain and to decide on its scope and implementation. Each Party may adopt the necessary measures in order to safeguard the implementation, development and maintenance of the universal postal service. Such measures and obligations shall not be regarded as anti-competitive per se if they are applied in a transparent, non-discriminatory and proportionate way.
Article 18.24. Licences to Provide Postal Services
1. Each Party may require licences for the supply of postal services. A licence should be granted wherever possible, by means of a simplified authorisation procedure in accordance with national laws and regulations.
2. A licence may require compliance with essential requirements, including quality standards and respect for the exclusive and special rights of designated operators of reserved services or of universal postal services.
3. If a Party requires a licence:
(a) it shall make publicly available in an easily accessible form:
(i) the rights and obligations resulting from such a licence;
(ii) the criteria, terms and conditions for licensing; and
(iii) to the extent possible, the period of time normally required to reach a decision concerning an application for a licence.
(b) the procedures for granting a licence shall be transparent, non-discriminatory, proportionate and based on objective criteria; and
(c) any licensing fees (1) which the applicants may incur from their application shall be reasonable and shall not in themselves restrict the supply of the service.
4. The status of an application for a licence and the reasons for the refusal to grant a licence shall be made known to the applicant upon request. Each Party shall, in accordance with its laws and regulations, maintain or establish a procedure for applicants to appeal against the refusal to grant a licence to a domestic independent body. Such a procedure shall be transparent, non-discriminatory and based on objective criteria.
Article 18.25. Independence of the Regulatory Body
Each Party may designate a regulatory body, whether specific to the postal service sector or not. The regulatory body shall be legally separate from, and not accountable to, any supplier of postal services. The decisions of, and the procedures used by, the regulatory bodies shall be impartial with respect to all market participants.
Subsection 4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
Article 18.26. Scope
1. This Sub-Section sets out principles of the regulatory framework for telecommunications services, other than broadcasting (1) , regarding which each Party has undertaken specific commitments in accordance with this Chapter.
2. Nothing in this Sub-Section shall be construed:
(a) as requiring a Party to authorise a supplier of telecommunications services of the other Party to establish, construct, acquire, lease, operate, or supply telecommunications transport networks or services, other than as provided for in Annexes 18-A, 18-B, 18-C and 18-E; or
(b) as requiring a Party to oblige service suppliers under its jurisdiction, to establish, construct, acquire, lease, operate or supply telecommunications transport networks or services not offered to the public generally.
Article 18.27. Definitions
For the purposes of this Sub-Section:
(a) "essential telecommunications facilities" (1) means facilities of a public telecommunications transport network and public telecommunications transport service that:
(i) are exclusively or predominantly provided by a single or limited number of suppliers; and
(ii) cannot feasibly be economically or technically substituted in order to provide a service;
(b) "interconnection" means linking with suppliers of telecommunications transport networks or telecommunications transport services in order to allow the users of one supplier of telecommunications services to communicate with users of another supplier of telecommunications services and to access telecommunications services provided by another supplier of telecommunications services;
(c) "licence" means any form of authorisation, including registration, declaration or notification procedures or others as defined in the laws and regulations of a Party, setting out rights and obligations specific to the telecommunications sector granted to an individual service supplier of telecommunications services by a regulatory authority which is required for the provision of a telecommunications service;
(d) "major supplier" in the telecommunications sector is a supplier of telecommunications transport networks or services which has the ability to materially affect the terms of participation, having regard to price and supply, in a relevant market for telecommunications services as a result of control over essential facilities or the use of its position in that market;
(e) "public telecommunications transport network" means the public telecommunications infrastructure which permits telecommunications between and among defined network termination points;
(f) "public telecommunications transport service" means any telecommunications transport service required, explicitly or in effect, by a Party to be offered to the public generally;
(g) "regulatory authority" means the body or bodies charged with the regulation of telecommunications mentioned in this Sub-Section;
(h) "service supplier" means a person that has been granted a licence to supply telecommunications services;
(i) "telecommunications services" means all services which consist in the transmission and reception of electro-magnetic signals and excludes services providing, or exercising editorial control over, the content transmitted; and
(j) "universal service" means the set of services of specified quality that must be made available to all users in the territory of a Party regardless of their geographical location and at an affordable price.
Article 18.28. Regulatory Authority
1. Each Party shall ensure that its regulatory authority for telecommunications services is legally distinct and functionally independent from any supplier of telecommunications services.
2. The regulatory authority shall be sufficiently empowered and resourced to regulate the sector. The competences of regulatory authority shall be made public in an easily accessible and clear form, in particular if those tasks are assigned to more than one body.
3. The decisions of, and the procedures used by, the regulatory authority shall be impartial with respect to all market participants.
4. A supplier of telecommunications services affected by a decision of a regulatory authority shall have the right to appeal against that decision to a domestic appeal body that is independent of the parties involved and of the regulatory authority. If the appeal body is not judicial in character, written reasons for its decision shall be given and its decisions shall also be subject to review by an impartial and independent domestic judicial or administrative authority.
Article 18.29. Licences to Provide Telecommunication Services
1. Each Party shall ensure that a licence is granted, by means of a simplified procedure wherever possible.
2. Each Party shall ensure that the terms and conditions for the granting of rights of use of numbers and frequencies are made publicly available.
3. If a licence is required by a Party:
(a) all the licensing criteria shall be made publicly available;
(b) the reasonable period of time normally required to reach the decision on whether to grant a licence, after the submission of the complete application, shall be public;
(c) if the grant of a licence is refused, the reasons for such a refusal shall be made known in writing to the applicant on request; and
(d) the applicant for a licence shall be able to seek recourse to a domestic appeal body to establish whether a licence has been unduly refused.
Article 18.30. Anti-competitive Practices
Each Party shall adopt or maintain appropriate measures for the purpose of preventing all suppliers of telecommunications services who, alone or together, are a major (1) supplier, from engaging in or continuing anti-competitive practices. These anti-competitive practices may include an abuse of a dominant position, and all individual or concerted practices, conduct or recommendations which have the effect of restricting, limiting, hindering, distorting or preventing current or future competition in the relevant market.
Article 18.31. Access to Essential Telecommunications Facilities
Each Party shall ensure that a major supplier 48 in its territory grants access to its essential telecommunications facilities to suppliers on reasonable and non-discriminatory 49 terms and conditions, including in relation to rates, technical standards, specifications, quality and maintenance.
Article 18.32. Interconnection
1. Each Party shall ensure that any supplier authorised to provide telecommunications services in its territory shall have the right to negotiate interconnection with other suppliers of public telecommunications transport networks and public telecommunications transport services. Interconnection should in principle be agreed on the basis of commercial negotiation between the suppliers concerned.
2. Each Party shall ensure that suppliers of telecommunications services that acquire information from another supplier of telecommunications services during the process of negotiating interconnection arrangements use that information solely for the purpose for which it was supplied and respect, at all times, the confidentiality of information transmitted or stored.
3. Interconnection with a major supplier (1) shall be ensured at any technically feasible point in the network. Such interconnection shall be provided:
(a) under non-discriminatory terms, conditions, including technical standards and specifications, and rates, and of a quality no less favourable than that provided for their own like services of such a major supplier, or for like services of non-affiliated service suppliers, or for its subsidiaries or other affiliates;
(b) in a timely fashion, on terms and conditions, including technical standards and specifications, that are transparent, reasonable having regard to economic feasibility and sufficiently detailed, so that the supplier need not pay for network components or facilities that it does not require for the service to be provided; and
(c) on request by another supplier of telecommunication services, and subject to an assessment by the regulatory authority if appropriate, at any technically feasible points in addition to the network termination points offered to the majority of users, subject to reasonable charges.
4. The rules applicable for interconnection to a major supplier shall be made publicly available.
5. Major suppliers shall make publicly available either their interconnection agreements or their reference interconnection offers, as appropriate.
6. Each Party shall ensure that a supplier of telecommunications services requesting interconnection with a major supplier has a right of recourse, either at any time or after a reasonable period of time which has been made publicly known, to an independent domestic body to resolve disputes regarding appropriate terms, conditions and rates for interconnection. Such an independent domestic body may be the regulatory authority referred to in Article 18.28.
Article 18.33. Scarce Resources
Each Party shall conduct its procedures for granting rights of use of scarce resources including frequencies, numbers and rights of way, in an objective, timely, transparent and non-discriminatory manner. To the extent possible, each Party shall make publicly available the current state of allocated frequency bands, but detailed identification of frequencies for specific government uses is not required.