Belize's Policies and Legislation

For the monitoring and control of Ozone Depleting Substances

Regulation 47 (1) and (3) of the Pollution Regulations:


47. (1) Only an individual or company listed in Part I of the Sixth Schedule shall apply, on the form prescribed in Seventh Schedule, to the Chief Environmental Officer for a license to import or export any of the scheduled substances or mixtures of such substances.

(3) The individuals or companies listed in Part I of the Sixth Schedule shall only import or export scheduled substances in accordance with:

(a) A license granted by the Department pursuant to the Eight Schedule; and

(b) Their respective annual quota allocations for CFC’s specified in Part III of the Sixth Schedule.


The companies listed under Part I of the Sixth Schedule are Midway Convenience Store of Spanish Lookout and Enrique Martinez & Sons Ltd. of Belize City. Only these two importers are permitted to import Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) namely R-12 and R-502 with a license granted by the Department of the Environment.

Effective 1st January 2007, all importers including Midway Convenience Store and Enrique Martinez & Sons Ltd. will first need to apply for a license to import the following Refrigerants:

a. HCFC 22 with HS code 2903.49 (R22)
b. HCFC 141b with HS code 2903.49 (R141b)
c. ODS Blend 401A with HS code 3824.74 (R401A)

46. (1) The importation into Belize of equipment, using or containing any scheduled substances or mixtures of such substances, listed in the first column of the Fifth Schedule shall be prohibited with effect from the dates specified in the second column of that Schedule.

This means that any equipment containing CFCs as their refrigerant, are prohibited from importation.

FIFTH SCHEDULE

[Regulation 46]
Equipment Effective Date
Domestic refrigerators and freezers 1/1/03

Industrial refrigeration units 1/1/03

Commercial refrigeration units, including Display Cabinets, 1/1/03
bottle coolers and Soda fountains

Aerosols, foams and solvents which use or are made up 1/1/03
of the following ozone depleting substances
CFC-11
CFC-12
CFC-113
CFC-114
CFC-115

Vehicular air conditioning units 1/1/03

Halon-based fire fighting equipment 1/7/02


(2) This Regulation shall not apply to the importation of CFC-based propellants in metered dose inhalers for medical use.

(3) Owners or Importers of any vehicle whose air conditioning system is using CFC-12 or a mixture of CFC-12 shall before any such vehicle is allowed to enter into Belize, be required to retrofit any such vehicle with a non Ozone Depleting Substance, or permanently disable the air conditioning system, at any of Belize’s border points before the Customs Department releases the vehicle for entry into Belize.

47 (8) Any individual or company operating in any free zone in Belize, who or which has intention of exporting any scheduled substance, must first apply to the Chief Environmental Officer for a permit authorizing the transshipment or transit through Belize of the scheduled substance.

Importers

There are only two licensed importers in the country, namely, Enrique Martinez & Sons, and Midway Convenience Store. Each one has 50% of the total quota for the year. Each of the licensed CFC importers also functions as CFC and warehouse retailer, and are also importing and distributing HCFCs. One important characteristic of the CFC distribution chain in the country is that CFCs are bought massively by numerous grocery stores which in turn retail the refrigerants in smaller quantities.

Midway Convenient Store of Spanish Lookout and Enrique Martinez and Sons Ltd. of Belize City are the two only licensed Importers allowed to import CFCs. Any other Importer can import HCFCs and other refrigerants into Beize, but will first need to apply for a License to import HCFCs.

Import/Export License