COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 3671/93 of 22 December 1993 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain wines originating in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania
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, in accordance with the agreements in the form of exchanges of letters concluded between the European Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, the Republic of Hungary, and Romania, of the other part, approved by Decisions 93/721/EC (1), 93/723/EC (2) and 93/725/EC (3), the Community undertook to open tariff quotas subject to reduced customs duties for certain wines originating in the said countries; whereas access to those quotas is confined to the wines in question accompanied by a document issued by a mutually recognized official body certifying that the wines correspond to those covered by the agreement and originate in the countries concerned;
Whereas those quotas should be opened on an annual basis running from 1 January to 31 December;
Whereas it is necessary, in particular, to ensure for all the parties concerned equal and uninterrupted access to the said quotas and to ensure the uninterrupted application of the rate laid down for the quotas to all imports or re-imports into all Member States of the product meeting the conditions specified until the quotas have been used up;
Whereas the decision to open the tariff quotas should be taken by the Community in compliance with its international obligations; whereas, to ensure the efficiency of a common administration on these quotas, there is no obstacle to authorizing Member States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas, however, this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, and the latter must in particular be able to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and inform the Member States accordingly;
Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are united within and represented by the Benelux economic union, all transactions concerning the administration of the quantities drawn by that economic union may be carried out by any one of its members,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. From 1 January to 31 December 1994, and without prejudice to paragraph 2, the customs duties applicable on importation of the following products originating in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania shall be suspended at levels and within the limits of tariff quotas as indicated with respect to each product:
(a) Wines originating in Bulgaria:
>(5)(6)"> ID="1">09.7001> ID="2">ex 2204 10> ID="3">Quality sparkling wine, in containers holding not more than 2 litres> ID="4">1 100> ID="5">60"> ID="1">09.7003> ID="2">ex 2204 21> ID="3">Quality wine, including quality wine with a designation of origin> ID="4">247 200> ID="5">60"> ID="1">09.7005> ID="2">ex 2204 29> ID="3">Quality wine, including quality wine with a designation of origin, and wine obtained from grapes of the 'Gamza' vine variety designated and presented under that name or under the synonym 'kadarka'> ID="4">118 000> ID="5">60""
>
(b) Wines originating in Hungary:
>(7)(8)"> ID="1">09.7007> ID="2">ex 2204 29> ID="3">Wine of fresh grapes> ID="4">70 000> ID="5">60"> ID="1">09.7009> ID="2">ex 2204 10> ID="3">Quality sparkling wine, in containers holding not more than 2 litres> ID="4">2 700> ID="5">60"> ID="1">09.7011> ID="2">ex 2204 21> ID="3">Quality wine, including wine of superior quality and quality wine bearing the geographical indication 'Tokaj' and wine bearing the name 'Tajbor'> ID="4">130 000> ID="5">60""
>
(c) Wines originating in Romania:
>(9)(10)"> ID="1">09.7013> ID="2">ex 2204 10 ex 2204 21 ex 2204 29> ID="3">Wine of fresh grapes, including sparkling wine and liqueur wine> ID="4">120 000> ID="5">60""
>
2. Admission under the tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1 shall be confined to wines acompanied by a document VI 1 or an extract VI 2, completed in accordance with the provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3590/85. Document VI 1 must include in Box 15 one of the following endorsements, certified by the approriate Bulgarian, Hungarian or Romanian body: (a) quota No 09.7001: 'This is to certify that the wine referred to in this document is a quality sparkling wine in accordance with Bulgarian legislation on wine-growing'. (b) quota No 09.7003: 'This is to certify that the wine referred to in this document is a quality wine with a designation of origin in accordance with Bulgarian legislation on wine-growing.' (c) quota No 09.7005: 'This is to certify that the wine referred to in this document is a quality wine with a designation of origin, in accordance with Bulgarian legislation on wine-growing, or a wine obtained from grapes of the "Gamza" vine variety designated and presented under that name or under the synonym "kadarka".' (d) quota No 09.7009: 'This is to certify that the wine referred to in this document is a quality sparkling wine in accordance with Hungarian Law No 36/1970 on wine-growing and implementing Regulation No 40/1977 (MEM), as amended by Regulations No 7/1990 (FM) and No 23/1992 (FM).' (e) quota No 09.7011: 'This is to certify that the wine referred to in this document is a quality wine, including wine of superior quality and quality wine bearing the geographical indication "Tokaj" and wine bearing the name "Tajbor" (country wine) in accordance with Hungarian Law No 36/1970 on wine-growing and implementing Regulation No 40/1977 (MEM), as amended by Regulations No 7/1990 (FM) and No 23/1992 (FM).' Furthermore, the wines in question shall remain subject to observance of the free-at-frontier reference prices. In order for these wines to benefit from the tariff quotas, Article 54 of Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 (4) must be complied with.
Article 2
The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be managed by the Commission, which may take all appropriate administrative measures in order to ensure effective administration thereof.
Article 3
If an importer presents, in a Member State, a declaration of entry into free circulation, including a request for preferential benefit for a product covered by this Regulation, and if this declaration is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall draw from the tariff quota, by means of notification to the Commission, a quantity corresponding to those needs. The drawing requests, with indication of the date of acceptance of the said declaration, must be communicated to the Commission without delay. The drawings shall be granted by the Commission on the basis of the date of acceptance of the declaration of entry into free circulation by the customs authorities of the Member States concerned to the extent that the available balance so permits. If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return them as soon as possible to the tariff quota. If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota, allocation shall be made on a pro rata basis with respect to the requests. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the drawings made.
Article 4
Each Member State shall ensure that importers of the products in question have equal and continuous access to the quotas for as long as the balance of the relevant quota volume so permits.
Article 5
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied with.
Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1994.This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 22 December 1993.