COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2914/95 of 18 December 1995 introducing prior Community surveillance of imports of certain iron and steel products covered by the ECSC and EC Treaties originating in certain third countries
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 of 22 December 1994 on common rules for imports and repealing Regulation (EC) No 518/94 (1), and in particular Article 11 thereof,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports from certain third countries and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 1765/82, (EEC) No 1766/82 and (EEC) No 3420/83 (2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 839/95 (3), and in particular Article 9 thereof,
Having regard to the Committees set up under the Regulations referred to above,
Whereas by Commission recommendation No 3118/94/ECSC (4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 393/95 (5), imports in to the Community of certain iron and steel products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community were subject to a priori Community surveillance;
Whereas in accordance with the provisions of Regulations (EC) No 3285/94 and (EC) No 519/94 products covered by the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community are subject to the common rules for imports and it is therefore necessary that the arrangements for Community surveillance measures in respect of ECSC products be adopted in accordance with the provisions of those Regulations;
Whereas the Community industry producing similar or competing products, represented in all Member States, has pointed out that its situation is forecast to deteriorate in 1996, as the following trends in the economic indicators show:
- in 1995, production of crude steel in the Community is expected to be 3,0 % above the 152 million tonnes produced in 1994, but this rate of annual growth conceals a slowing down of activity in the second semester of 1995. Initial estimates for 1996 suggest that growth in production will continue to be slow,
- imports into the Community from all third countries are expected to rise by an average of 30-35 % in 1995 compared to 11,6 million tonnes in 1994, and to increase by a further 10 % in 1996,
- Community exports are estimated to decrease by 15-20 % in 1995 compared with 28,0 million tonnes in 1994, and to fall by a further 6 % in 1996,
- the prices at which certain ECSC products have been imported into the Community are generally substantially below those of Community products,
- there are similar trends in relation to certain steel products covered by the EC Treaty. In the case of steel tubes and butt-welding fittings, Community production is expected to rise by 2 % in 1995 compared to 11,3 million tonnes in 1994, and to fall by 3 % in 1996; exports are expected to fall by 5 % in 1995 compared to 5,3 million tonnes in 1994, and to fall by a further 3 % in 1996; imports in 1995 are expected to increase by 25 % in 1995 compared to 4,4 million tonnes in 1994 (imports from certain third countries increasing in 1995 by between 36 % and 370 %) and, according to initial estimates, will rise by a further 10 % in 1996; prices of products from certain countries are 30-50 % below those of Community producers;
Whereas, therefore, the trend in imports of certain ECSC and EC products originating in third countries covered by this Regulation threatens to cause injury to Community producers and the interests of the Community require that imports of these products should be subject to prior Community surveillance in order to provide statistical information permitting rapid analysis of import trends;
Whereas the completion of the internal market requires that the formalities to be accomplished by Community importers be identical wherever the goods may be cleared;
Whereas release for free circulation of the products covered by this Regulation should be made subject to presentation of a surveillance document meeting uniform criteria;
Whereas that document should on simple application by the importer, be endorsed by the authorities of the Member States within a certain period but without the importer thereby acquiring any right to import; the document should therefore be valid only during such period as the import rules remain unchanged;
Whereas the surveillance documents issued for the purposes of Community surveillance must be valid throughout the Community, regardless of the Member State of issue;
Whereas the Member States and the Commission should exchange the information resulting from Community surveillance as fully as possible;
Whereas the issue of surveillance documents, while subject to standard conditions at Community level, is to be the responsibility of the national authorities;
Whereas it should be recalled that the import of certain iron and steel products from certain third countries is subject not only to a surveillance document but also to an export document to be granted in accordance with arrangements established within the framework of an agreement with those third countries and the application of this Regulation is without prejudice to those arrangements,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. From 1 January 1996, the release for free circulation in the Community of iron and steel products covered by the ECSC and EC Treaties listed in Annex I, originating in non-member countries other than the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) or the countries which are parties to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA), shall be subject to prior Community surveillance in accordance with Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EC) No 3285/94 and Articles 9 and 10 of Regulation (EC) No 519/94.
2. The classification of the products covered by this Regulation is based on the tariff and statistical nomenclature of the Community (hereinafter called the 'combined nomenclature`, or in abbreviated form 'CN`). The origin of the products covered by this Regulation shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.
Article 2
1. The release for free circulation of the products referred to in Article 1 in the Community shall be subject to presentation of a surveillance document issued by the relevant authorities of a Member State.
2. The surveillance document referred to in paragraph 1 shall be issued automatically by the competent authority in the Member States, without charge for any quantities requested, within five working days of presentation of an application by any Community importer, wherever established in the Community. This application shall be deemed to have been received by the competent national authority no later than three working days after submission, unless it is proven otherwise.
3. A surveillance document issued by one of the authorities listed in Annex II shall be valid throughout the Community.
4. The surveillance document shall be made out on a form corresponding to the model at Annex III. The importer's application shall include the following elements:
(a) the name and full address of the applicant (including telephone and telefax numbers, and possible identification number used by the competent national authorities) and VAT registration number, if subject to VAT;
(b) if applicable, the name and full address of the declarant or representative of the applicant (including telephone and telefax numbers);
(c) the full name and address of the exporter;
(d) the exact description of the goods, including - their trade name,
- the combined nomenclature (CN) code(s),
- the country of origin,
- the country of consignment;
(e) the net weight, expressed in kg and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight, by combined nomenclature heading;
(f) the cif value of the goods in ECU at the Community frontier by combined nomenclature heading;
(g) whether the products concerned are seconds or of substandard quality (1);
(h) the proposed period and place of customs clearance;
(i) whether the application is a repeat of a previous application concerning the same contract;
(j) the following declaration, dated and signed by the applicant with the transcription of his name in capital letters:
'I, the undersigned, certify that the information provided in this application is true and given in good faith, and that I am established in the Community`.
The importer shall also submit a copy of the contract of sale or purchase, the pro forma invoice and/or, in cases where the goods are not directly purchased in the country of production, a certificate of production issued by the producing steel mill.
5. Surveillance documents may be used only for such time as arrangements for liberalization of imports remain in force in respect of the transactions concerned. Without prejudice to possible changes in the import regulations in force or decisions taken in the framework of an agreement or the management of a quota:
- the period of validity of the surveillance document is hereby fixed at four months,
- unused or partly used surveillance documents may be renewed for an equal period.
Article 3
1. A finding that the unit price at which the transaction is effected exceeds that indicated in the surveillance document by less than 5 % or that the total value or quantity of the products presented for import exceeds the value or quantity given in the surveillance document by less than 5 % shall not preclude the release for free circulation of the products in question.
2. Applications for surveillance documents and the documents themselves shall be confidential. They shall be restricted to the competent authorities and the applicant.
Article 4
1. Within the first 10 days of each month, the Member States shall communicate to the Commission:
(a) details of the quantities and values (calculated in ecus) for which surveillance documents were issued during the preceding month;
(b) details of imports during the month preceding the month referred to in subparagraph (a).
The information provided by Member States shall be broken down by product, CN code and by country. It shall be communicated electronically in the form agreed for this purpose.
2. The Member States shall give notification of any anomalies or cases of fraud which they discover and, where relevant, the basis on which they have refused to grant a surveillance document.
Article 5
Any notices to be given hereunder shall be given to the Commission of the European Communities (DGI/D/2 and DG III/C/2).
Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
This Regulation shall apply from 1 January to 31 December 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 December 1995.