COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2152/2005
of 23 December 2005
amending Regulation (EC) No 327/98 opening and providing for the administration of certain tariff quotas for imports of rice and broken rice and Regulation (EC) No 1549/2004 derogating from Council Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 as regards the arrangements for importing rice and laying down separate transitional rules for imports of basmati rice
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in rice (1), and in particular Articles 10(2) and 11(4) thereof,
Having regard to Council Decision of 20 December 2005 on the conclusion of an agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the European Community and Thailand pursuant to Article XXVIII of GATT 1994 relating to the modification of concessions with respect to rice provided for in EC Schedule CXL annexed to the GATT 1994 (2), and in particular Article 2 thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Decision of 20 December 2005 provides for the opening of a new global annual import quota of 13 500 tonnes of semi-milled or wholly milled rice falling within code 1006 30 at zero duty and an increase in the annual import quota for broken rice falling within code 1006 40 00 referred to in Article 1(1)(c) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 327/98 of 10 February 1998 opening and providing for the administration of certain tariff quotas for imports of rice and broken rice (3) to 100 000 tonnes.
(2)
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1549/2004 (4) derogates from Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 as regards the arrangements for importing rice and lays down separate transitional rules for imports of basmati rice.
(3)
To improve the management of the quotas provided for by Regulation (EC) No 327/98, the quotas should be given individual serial numbers.
(4)
Decision of 20 December 2005 lays down detailed rules for calculating the rate of duty to be applied to imports into the Community of semi-milled or milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30, between 1 September 2005 and 30 June 2006. Appropriate measures should therefore be taken as regards the customs duties applicable to semi-milled or milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30 for the transitional period provided for.
(5)
Decision of 20 December 2005 also lays down that the rate of duty applicable to imports of broken rice falling within code 1006 40 00 is EUR 65 per tonne.
(6)
Given that the agreement approved by Decision of 20 December 2005 applies from 1 September 2005, provision should be made for the application from the same date of the provisions of this Regulation concerning the customs duties applicable to semi-milled and wholly milled rice and broken rice. Provision should also be made for the application, from 1 January 2006, of the new tariff quantities provided for in the agreement with Thailand and for increasing proportionately the quantities covered by the new global quota for semi-milled and wholly milled rice and that for broken rice to take account of the quantities corresponding to the period from 1 September 2005 to 31 December 2005.
(7)
Regulations (EC) Nos 327/98 and 1549/2004 should therefore be amended accordingly.
(8)
The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Regulation (EC) No 327/98 is hereby amended as follows:
1.
Article 1 is replaced by the following:
‘Article 1
1. Annual global tariff quotas, broken down by country of origin and by tranche in accordance with Annex IX, shall be opened on 1 January each year as follows:
(a)
63 000 tonnes of wholly milled or semi-milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30 at zero duty;
(b)
20 000 tonnes of husked rice falling within CN code 1006 20 at a duty of EUR 88 per tonne;
(c)
100 000 tonnes of broken rice falling within CN code 1006 40 00 with a 30,77 % reduction in the duty fixed in Article 1d of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1549/2004 (5);
(d)
13 500 tonnes of wholly milled or semi-milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30 at zero duty.
2. For 2006, the quotas referred to in paragraph 1 and the tranches relating thereto shall be as set out in Annex X.
2.
Article 2 is amended as follows:
(a)
paragraphs 1, 2 and 2a are deleted;
(b)
in the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 ‘paragraph 1(c)’ is replaced by ‘Article 1(1)(c) and (d)’;
3.
Article 3 is amended as follows:
(a)
in the first subparagraph ‘Article 2’ is replaced by ‘Article 1(1)(a), (b) and (c)’;
(b)
in the third subparagraph ‘Article 2’ is replaced by ‘Articles 1 and 2’;
4.
Article 4 is amended as follows:
(a)
in the first indent of paragraph 2 ‘Article (a)’ is replaced by ‘Article 1(1)(a) and (d)’;
(b)
in paragraph 4, the following point (d) is added:
‘(d)
in the case of the quota referred to in Article 1(1)(d), one of the entries listed in Annex VIII.’;
5.
in Article 5(1), the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
‘Within two working days of the closing date for the submission of licence applications, the Member States shall notify the Commission, by e-mail and in accordance with the Annex III to this Regulation, of the quantities covered by import licence applications, broken down by eight-digit CN code and quota serial number, specifying the country of origin; the number of the licence applied for and the name and address of the applicant. Where the export licence is requested, the number of that licence shall also be indicated.’;
6.
the introductory sentence of the first paragraph of Article 8 is replaced by the following:
‘The competent bodies shall notify the Commission, by e-mail and in accordance with Annex III, as follows:’;
7.
Annex III is replaced by Annex I to this Regulation;
8.
Annex V is replaced by Annex II to this Regulation;
9.
Annex VII is replaced by Annex III to this Regulation;
10.
Annex IV to this Regulation is added as Annexes VIII, IX and X.
Article 2
Regulation (EC) No 1549/2004 is hereby amended as follows:
1.
in Article 1a ‘husked rice’ is replaced by ‘husked rice, semi-milled rice and wholly milled rice’;
2.
Article 1b is replaced by the following:
‘Article 1b
1. Notwithstanding Article 11(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003, the import duty for semi-milled or wholly milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30 shall be fixed by the Commission within 10 days after the end of the reference period concerned at:
(a)
EUR 175 per tonne in the following cases:
-
where it is noted that imports of semi-milled and wholly milled rice during the marketing year just ended exceed 387 743 tonnes,
-
where it is noted that imports of semi-milled and wholly milled rice during the first six months of the marketing year exceed 182 239 tonnes;
(b)
EUR 145 per tonne in the following cases:
-
where it is noted that imports of semi-milled and wholly milled rice during the marketing year just ended do not exceed 387 743 tonnes,
-
where it is noted that imports of semi-milled and wholly milled rice during the first six months of the marketing year do not exceed 182 239 tonnes.
The Commission shall fix a new applicable duty only if the calculations performed under this paragraph indicate a need to change it. Until such time as a new applicable rate is fixed, the duty previously fixed shall apply.
2. When calculating imports as referred to in paragraph 1, account shall be taken of the quantities for which import licences for semi-milled or wholly milled rice falling within CN code 1006 30 were issued under the first subparagraph of Article 10(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 during the corresponding reference period.’;
3.
the following Article 1d is inserted:
‘Article 1d
Notwithstanding Article 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003, the import duty for broken rice falling within CN code 1006 40 00 shall be EUR 65 per tonne.’
Article 3
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 1 shall apply from 1 January 2006.
Article 2(2) and (3) shall apply from 1 September 2005. However, the first fixing of duties under Article 1b of Regulation (EC) No 1549/2004, as amended by Article 2(2) of this Regulation, shall be undertaken within three days of the publication of this Regulation.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 23 December 2005.