COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 86/98 of 19 December 1997 concerning the export of certain ECSC steel products from Bulgaria to the Community for the period 1 January to 31 December 1998 (renewal of the double-checking system)
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 a Europe Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part, entered into force on 1 February 1995 (1);
Whereas the Parties decided in Association Council Decision No 3/97 (2) to extend the double-checking system introduced by Decision No 1/96 (3) for the period 1 January to 31 December 1998;
Whereas it is consequently necessary to renew the Community implementing legislation introduced by Regulation (EC) No 2486/96 (4),
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. For the period 1 January to 31 December 1998, in accordance with the provisions of Association Council Decision No 3/97, imports into the Community of certain iron and steel products covered by the ECSC Treaty originating in Bulgaria, as listed in Annex I, shall be subject to the presentation of a surveillance document issued by the authorities in the Community.
2. The surveillance document shall be made out on a form corresponding to the model set out in Annex II.
3. 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.
4. For the period 1 January to 31 December 1998, imports into the Community of the products listed in Annex I shall, in addition, be subject to the issue of an export document issued by the competent Bulgarian authorities. Presentation by the importer of the original of the export document must be effected not later than 31 March of the year following that in which the goods covered by the document were shipped.
5. Shipment is considered to have taken place on the date of loading on to the exporting means of transport.
6. The export document shall conform to the model shown in Annex III. It shall be valid for exports throughout the customs territory of the Community.
Article 2
1. The surveillance document referred to in Article 1(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 proved otherwise.
2. A surveillance document issued by one of the competent national authorities listed in Annex IV shall be valid throughout the Community.
3. 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 kilograms and also quantity in the unit prescribed where other than net weight, by Combined Nomenclature heading;
(f) the cif value of the goods in ecus at the Community frontier by Combined Nomenclature heading;
(g) whether the products concerned are seconds or of substandard quality, using the criteria laid down in Commission Communication 91/C 180/04 (5);
(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 and of the pro forma invoice. If so requested, for example in cases where the goods are not directly purchased in the country of production, the importer shall present a certificate of production issued by the producing steel mill.
4. 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.
5. The importer shall return surveillance documents to the issuing authority at the end of their period of validity.
6. The competent authorities may, under the conditions fixed by them, allow the submission of declarations or requests to be transmitted or printed by electronic means. However, all documents and evidence must be available to the competent authorities.
7. The surveillance document may be issued by electronic means as long as the customs offices involved have access to this document across a computer network.
Article 3
1. A finding that the unit price at which the transaction is effected varies from that indicated in the surveillance document by less than 5 % in either direction 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. Member States shall communicate to the Commission:
(a) on as regular and up-to-date a basis as possible and at least by the last day of each month, details of the quantities and values (calculated in ecus) for which surveillance documents have been issued;
(b) within six weeks of the end of each month, details of imports during that month, in accordance with Article 26 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 840/96 (6).
The information provided by Member States shall be broken down by product, CN code and by country.
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 and shall be communicated electronically within the integrated network set up for this purpose, unless for imperative technical reasons it is necessary to use other means of communication temporarily.
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 with effect from 1 January 1998.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 19 December 1997.