Joint decree clarifies process of exporting minerals

THE Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) and the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) have issued a joint prakas that aims to clarify the procedures and formalities for mineral commodity exports, according to a blog post by Integrity Cambodia, a pro-transparency group covering the Kingdom’s extractive industries.

The decree, signed by MME and MEF officials in late June and posted by the group on Friday, outlines a two-step approval process for commodity exports that aims to give the government better oversight of the narrowly regulated sector.

“The joint-prakas requires an exporter – who has to be a mineral licensee – to first gain an export quota approval in principle [EQAP], by submitting an export plan for a fixed period of at most one year to MME,” the group said in its post.

Additionally, licence hold- ers with an EQAP are required to receive an export certificate from the MME and approval from the General Department of Customs and Excise of the MEF for each individual shipment. Exporters must notify MME seven days before they load the minerals for export to allow for inspection, and submit a report with the supporting customs documents to MME within 10 days of the shipment leaving the country.

“[ This] requires the MME and the MEF to cross-monitor mineral commodity exports regularly,” the joint prakas said.

Penalties for exporters that fail to conform to the edict include MME’s refusal to issue future commodity export certificates, a three-month suspension of the EQAP, and the possibility of being “blacklisted” by the government “for a set period of time”.

MME officials could not be reached yesterday to comment on the prakas.