COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 3280/94 of 19 December 1994 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural, industrial and fisheries products
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the Community has undertaken, within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), to open each year, subject to certain conditions, Community tariff quotas at reduced or zero duty for a certain number of agricultural, industrial and fisheries products;
Whereas, under the Agreement with the United States on the Mediterranean preferences, citrus and pasta, the Community has undertaken to suspend provisionally, within the limits of Community tariff quotas of appropriate volumes and varying duration, part of the customs duties applicable to certain fruits and fruit juices; whereas, in order to ensure the balance of reciprocal concessions provided for in the Agreement, provision should be made to empower the Commission to suspend the application of the tariff measures in question by means of a Regulation; whereas eligibility for these tariff quotas is, however, subject to presentation to the Community customs authorities of a certificate of authenticity issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin certifying that the products comply with the specifications laid down;
Whereas, by its decision of 9 March 1993, the Commission approved the agreements negotiated between the Community and the United States of America on the permanent importation, free of customs duties and agricultural levies, of certain mixtures of malt sprouts and barley screenings, within the limit of Community tariff quotas;
Whereas the Community has declared its readiness to open each year, for certain handmade products, a zero-duty Community tariff quota for an overall annual amount of ECU 10 540 000, with a maximum value of ECU 1 200 000 for each group of products covered; whereas eligibility for these Community tariff quotas is nevertheless subject to presentation to the Community customs authorities of a certificate issued by the recognized authorities of the country of manufacture certifying that the goods in question are handmade;
Whereas the Community has declared itself ready to open zero-rated annual Community tariff quotas for certain fabrics of silk, silk waste or cotton, woven on handlooms, up to a value (customs value) of ECU 2 316 000 for silk fabrics and ECU 2 069 000 for cotton fabrics; whereas eligibility for these Community tariff quotas is nevertheless subject to the presentation of a certificate of manufacture recognized by the relevant Community authorities, the presence of a stamp approved by those authorities at the beginning and end of each piece, and direct transport from the country of manufacture to the Community;
Whereas it is for the Community, in the performance of its international obligations, to open Community quotas for the products listed in the Annexes to this Regulation; whereas all Community importers should be guaranteed equal and continuous access to the said quotas, and the rates of duty laid down for the quotas should be applied without interruption to all imports of the products concerned into all Member States until the quotas are exhausted; whereas there is, however, no reason why the efficiency of the common administration of these quotas should not be ensured by authorizing the Member States to draw from the quota volumes the requisite quantities corresponding to actual imports,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The products listed in the Annexes to this Regulation shall be eligible for reduced rates of duty under Community tariff quotas during the periods and according to the provisions set out in the said Regulation and Annexes.
Article 2
1. Without prejudice to the Community's international obligations, the Member States may charge against the tariff quotas referred to in Annex I under Order Nos 09.0015 and 09.0017 other types of paper conforming, save as regards the criterion relating to watermarks, to the definition of newsprint given in Additional Note 1 to Chapter 48 of Part Two of the combined nomenclature and falling within CN code 4801 00 90.
2. From 30 November 1995, any part of the quota volumes for newsprint referred to in Annex I not used on 29 November 1995 and unlikely to be used by 31 December 1995 may be used to cover of the products in question from Canada or another third country.
Article 3
1. Customs duties on the products referred to in Annex IIIa shall be totally suspended within the limits of a tariff quota bearing Order No 09.0105, a custom value determined according to the provisions of the custom code and representing a volume with a maximum of ECU 1 200 000 for each six-digit CN code.
2. Access to this quota shall, however, be restricted to products accompanied by a certificate recognized by the relevant authorities in the Community conforming to one of the models in Annex IIIc, issued by a recognized authority of the country of manufacture listed in Annex IIId and certifying that the goods in question have been handmade.
3. The customs duty for the products of Annex IIIb shall be totally suspended within the limits of the tariff quotas laid down in part B.
Article 4
1. For the purposes of applying this Regulation to products listed in Annex IIIc:
(a) 'handlooms' shall mean looms for the manufacture of cloth which are moved exclusively by hand or foot;
(b) 'customs value' shall mean the value as defined in the relevant Community legislation.
2. Access to these quotas shall, however, be reserved for fabrics, pile and chenille:
(a) which are accompanied by a certificate of manufacture recognized by the relevant Community authorities and conforming to one of the models in Annex IIIe, stamped by one of the recognized authorities of the country of manufacture listed in Annex IIIf;
(b) which bear, at the beginning and end of each piece, a stamp approved by the said authorities or, in derogation, a seal approved by the authorities of the country of manufacture and affixed to each piece;
(c) which are transported direct to the Community from the country of manufacture.
3. The following shall be considered to have been transported direct:
(a) goods which have been transported without entering the territory of a country not a Member State of the Community; calls at ports in countries not members of the Community shall not be held to breach direct transport, provided the goods are not transhipped in the course of such a call;
(b) goods which have been transported via, or transhipped in, the territory of one or more non-member countries, provided such transit or transhipment is covered by a single transport document drawn up in the country of manufacture.
Article 5
1. The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission, which may take all appropriate measures to ensure their effective administration.
2. Where an importer enters a product covered by this Regulation for release for free circulation in a Member State, applying to take advantage of the tariff quota, and the entry is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall, by notifying the Commission, draw an amount corresponding to its needs from the volume of that quota.
Requests for drawings, showing the date on which such entries were accepted, shall be sent to the Commission without delay.
Insofar as the available balance permits, drawings shall be granted by the Commission on the basis of the date of acceptance of entries for release for free circulation by the customs authorities of the Member States concerned.
3. If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return them to the relevant quota volume as soon as possible.
4. If the quantities requested exceed the available balance of the quota volume, the balance shall be allocated among applicants in proportion to their requests. The Commission shall keep the Member States informed of the quantities drawn.
Article 6
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure compliance with this Regulation.
Article 7
Each Member State shall guarantee importers of the products in question equal and continuous access to the quotas insofar as the balance of the quota volumes permits.
Article 8
The Commission may, by means of a Regulation, suspend the application of tariff measures opened for lemons and almonds under order numbers 09.0039 and 09.0041 of the list in Annex I and for the products referred to in Annex II should it appear that the reciprocity provided for was no longer ensured.
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1995.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 19 December 1994.