COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 3509/93 of 10 December 1993 opening and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for certain hand-made products (1994)
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, as regards certain handmade products, the Community has declared its readiness to open an annual duty-free Community tariff quota of an overall amount which, for 1993, amounted to ECU 10 540 000 with a maximum value of ECU 1 200 000 for each group of products considered; whereas products may, however, be admitted under the Community tariff quota only on presentation to the Community's customs authorities of a document issued by the recognized authorities of the country of manufacture certifying that the goods concerned are hand made; whereas the tariff quota in question should therefore be opened with effect from 1 January 1994, at the volume set for 1993;
Whereas equal and continuous access to the quotas should be ensured for all Community importers and the rate laid down for the quotas should be applied consistently to all imports until the quotas are used up;
Whereas the decision for the opening, in the execution of its international obligations, of tariff quotas should be taken by the Community, whereas, to ensure the efficiency of a common administration of these quotas, there is no obstacle to authorizing the Member States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas 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 jointly represented by, the Benelux Economic Union, any operation relating to the administration of the quotas may be carried out by any one of its members,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. From 1 January to 31 December 1994, the customs duties applicable to imports of the products listed in Annex I shall be totally suspended within the limits of a Community tariff quota bearing the serial No 09.0105 and being of a volume corresponding to a value of ECU 10 540 000 subject to a maximum of ECU 1 200 000 for each six-figure code of the combined nomenclature.
2. Admission under this quota shall, however, be granted only for products accompanied by a certificate recognized by the relevant authorities of the Community conforming to one of the models in Annex II, issued by one of the recognized authorities of the country of manufacture as given in Annex III and certifying that the goods in question are hand made. The goods must in addition be accepted as hand made by the relevant authorities of the Community.
3. Regulations (EEC) No 2779/78(1) and (EEC) No 289/84(2) shall apply for the purposes of determining the equivalent value in national currencies of amounts expressed in ecus.
Article 2
The tariff quota referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission which may take any appropriate administrative measure in order to ensure efficient administration.
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 quota volume by means of notification to the Commission, a quantity corresponding to these needs.
The requests for drawing, with the indication of the date of acceptance of the said declarations, must be communicated to the Commission without delay.
The drawings are 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 State 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 corresponding quota volume.
If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota volume, allocation shall be made on a pro rata basis with respect to the requests. Member States shall be informed thereof by the Commission.
Article 4
Each Member State shall guarantee importers of the products in question equal and continuous access to the quota as long as the balance of the corresponding quota volume so allows.
Article 5
Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely in order to ensure compliance with this Regulation.
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, 10 December 1993.