COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 521/92 of 27 February 1992 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas and ceilings for certain agricultural and industrial products originating in Hungary, Poland and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR) (1992)
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the association agreements between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Poland and the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic (CSFR) respectively were signed on 16 December 1991; whereas pending the entry into force of those agreements the Community has concluded interim agreements on trade and trade-related measures with those countries;
Whereas the interim agreements stipulate, inter alia, that certain products originating in the countries in question may attract a reduced or zero rate of duty on import into the Community, within the limits of tariff quotas or ceilings; whereas pursuant to the provisions annexed to those agreements, the volumes of the tariff quotas and ceilings established when the association agreements were signed must be increased from the date on which the interim agreements enter into force by a percentage specific to each country and category of products; whereas in accordance with Protocol 7 attached to each of those agreements, provision must furthermore be made for deduction of any quantities which have already benefited from generalized preferences between 1 January 1992 and the entry into force of those agreements and for pro rata adjustments to the quantities of the agricultural products listed in Annex II to this Regulation;
Whereas the quantities in question will be known only on the day preceding the entry into force of the interim agreements; whereas the Commission should be made responsible for informing the Member States and economic operators as rapidly as possible of the quantities actually available under the tariff measures described in this Regulation by means of publication in the 'C' series of the Official Journal of the European Communities;
Whereas it seems advisable in the interests of clarity to divide the products into two groups, in Annexes I and II to this Regulation, one for industrial products and one for agricultural products, specifying for each product the volume of its quota or ceiling and the rate of customs duty applicable;
Whereas under the tariff measures in question, Spain and Portugal will apply duties calculated in accordance with the provisions of their respective protocols, which are attached to the interim agreements;
Whereas in the case of the products listed in Annexes I and II to this Regulation which are subject to tariff quotas, particular care should be taken to ensure that all Community importers have equal and continuous access to those quotas and that the rates laid down for the quotas are applied to all imports of the products in question into all Member States until the quotas are exhausted; whereas the necessary measures should be taken to provide for effective Community administration of the tariff quotas so that the Member States may draw against the tariff quotas such quantities as they may need, corresponding to actual imports recorded; whereas this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission;
Whereas in the case of the products listed in Annexes I and II to this Regulation which are subject to Community tariff ceilings, Community surveillance may be achieved by means of an administrative procedure based on charging imports of the products in question against the ceilings at Community level as and when those products are entered with the customs authorities for free circulation;
Whereas this administrative procedure requires close and particularly rapid cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, and the latter must in particular be able to monitor quantities charged against the ceilings and keep the Member States informed; whereas this cooperation has to be particularly close since the Commission must be able to take appropriate measures to reintroduce customs duties once a ceiling is reached;
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 concerning the administration of these tariff measures may be carried out by any one of its members,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. From 1 March to 31 December 1992, imports into the Community of certain products originating in Hungary, Poland and the CSFR which are listed in Annexes I and II shall be subject to Community tariff quotas or ceilings.
Annexes I and II provide a description of the products concerned, their combined nomenclature codes, their origin and the rates of customs duty applicable.
Once the interim agreements enter into force, the volumes of the tariff quotas and ceilings indicated in the Annexes shall if necessary be reduced to take account of the volume of goods imported from Hungary, Poland and the CSFR from 1 January 1992 under other preferential arrangements, in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 7 annexed to the interim agreements.
The Commission shall inform the Member States and economic operators of the reduction in quota and ceiling volumes attributable to generalized preferences as rapidly as possible, by publishing them in the 'C' series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.
2. Within the limits of the tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1 and until reintroduction of the levying of customs duty on products subject to tariff ceilings, Spain and Portugal shall apply duties calculated in accordance with the provisions of Protocol 5 attached to the interim agreements.
3. The Protocol on the definition of the concept of originating products and methods of administration cooperation, attached to the interim agreements, shall apply.
Article 2
1. The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission, which may take all appropriate administrative measures in order to ensure efficient administration thereof.
2. Where an importer declares a product covered by this Regulation for free circulation in a Member State and applies to take advantage of the preferential arrangements, and that declaration is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall, by notifying the Commission, draw an amount corresponding to its requirements from the quota volume.
Requests for drawings, indicating the date of acceptance of the said declarations, must be sent to the Commission without delay.
The drawings shall be granted by the Commission by reference to the date of acceptance of the declaration for free circulation by the customs authorities of the Member State concerned, to the extent that the available balance so permits.
3. If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return them to the corresponding quota volume as soon as possible.
4. If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota volume, the balance shall be allocated on a pro rata basis. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the drawings made.
Article 3
1. Quantities shall be charged against the ceilings as and when products are declared to the customs authorities for free circulation.
Goods may be charged against a ceiling only if the movement certificate is presented before the date on which levying of customs duties is reintroduced.
2. The level of utilization of the ceilings shall be determined at Community level on the basis of the imports charged against them in accordance with paragraph 1.
Member States shall inform the Commission within the periods laid down in paragraph 4 of the imports made.
3. As soon as the ceilings have been reached, the Commission may adopt a regulation reintroducing the customs duties applicable to the third countries in question until the end of the calendar year.
4. Member States shall send the Commission not later than the fifteenth day of each month statements of the quantities charged during the preceding month.
Article 4
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure compliance with this Regulation.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force three days following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 March 1992 or the date of entry into force of the interim agreements, whichever is the later (1). This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 27 February 1992.