1997R0544 — EN — 25.11.1998 — 001.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 544/97
of 25 March 1997
introducing certificates of origin for garlic imported from certain third countries
(OJ L 84, 26.3.1997, p. 8)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/98 of 24 November1998 L 315 10 25.11.1998
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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 544/97
of 25 March 1997
introducing certificates of origin for garlic imported from 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 2200/96 of 28 October
1996 on the common organization of the market in fruit and veget-ables (
1), and in particular Article 31 (2) thereof,
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1859/93 of 12 July 1993 on
the application of the system of import licences for garlic imported fromthird countries (
2), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1662/94 (3),
makes the release of garlic for free circulation in the Communitysubject to the presentation of an import licence;
Whereas, in recent years, particularly as a result of the introduction of a
safeguard clause on the import of garlic originating in China, massive orsudden increases have been recorded in imports of this product fromcertain third countries that are not traditionally exporters to theCommunity;
Whereas, based on these observations and the information received by
the Commission, there are well-founded grounds for doubting the trueorigin of the garlic imported from these countries; whereas, on thisbasis, the competent Commission staff have alerted the appropriateoffices in the Member States; whereas, however, imports whose trueorigin remains doubtful have continued at a high rate;
Whereas, to improve controls and prevent any risk of a deflection of
trade based on incorrect documents, imports of garlic from these coun-tries should be made subject to the presentation of a certificate of originissued by the competent national authorities, in accordance with Articles56 to 62 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation(EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (
4), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 89/97 (5); whereas, for the same
reason, direct transport of garlic originating in these third countries tothe Community must be imposed;
Whereas introduction of this certificate scheme will require adminis-
trative cooperation between the Community and the third countriesinvolved, in accordance with Articles 63 to 65 of Regulation (EEC) No2454/93, with a view to providing the Commission with information onthe competent authorities for issuing certificates of origin in each of thethird countries; whereas, once this information is sent by each of thecountries concerned to the Commission, it will be published in the ‘C'series of the Official Journal of the European Communities ; whereas,
upon publication of this information, this Regulation will apply to eachof the third countries concerned; whereas a maximum limit of threemonths should howeverbe laid down forsending the Commission thenecessary information; whereas this Regulation shall apply to all of thecountries concerned once this deadline has passed, irrespective ofwhetherthey have sent the infor mation to the Commission ornot;
Whereas application of this Regulation should be specifically waived in
the case of goods already on their way to the Community;
(1) OJ No L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 170, 13. 7. 1993, p. 10.
(3) OJ No L 176, 9. 7. 1994, p. 1.
(4) OJ No L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1.
(5) OJ No L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. 28.
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Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance
with the opinion of the Management Committee forFr uit and Veget-ables,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The release for free circulation in the Community of garlic from the
third countries listed in the Annex hereto shall be conditional on:
(a) the presentation of a certificate of origin issued by the competent
national authorities of these countries in accordance with Articles55 to 65 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93; and
(b) the product being transported direct from these countries into the
Community.
Article 2
1. The following shall be considered as transported direct to the
Community from the third countries listed in the Annex:
(a) products transported without passing through the territory of any
othercountr y;
(b) products transported through countries other than the country of
origin, with or without transhipment or temporary warehousing inthose countries, provided that passage through those countries isjustified for geographical reasons or exclusively on account oftransport requirements, and that the products:
— have remained under the supervision of the customs authorities
of the country of transit or warehousing,
— have not entered into commerce or been released for consump-
tion, and
— have not undergone operations other than unloading and
r eloading orany otheroper ation to keep them in good condition.
2. Proof that the conditions laid down in 1 (b) above have been met
shall be provided by supplying the Community authorities with:
(a) a single transport document issued in the country of origin covering
passage through the country of transit;
or
(b) a certificate issued by the customs authorities of the country of
transit containing:
— an exact description of the goods,
— the dates of their unloading and reloading or, where applicable,
theirlading orunlading, identifying the vessels used,
— certification of the conditions under which they were kept
during their time in the country of transit; or
(c) failing these, any substantiating documents.
Article 3
Once sent by each of the third countries listed in the Annex hereto, the
information needed to implement the administrative cooperation underArticles 63 to 65 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall be published inthe ‘C'series of the Official Journal of the European Communities .
Article 4
1. This Regulation shall not apply to products in the process of
shipment to the Community within the meaning of paragraph 2.
2. Products shall be deemed to be in the process of shipment to the
Community if they:
— left the country of origin before the date this Regulation begins to
apply, and
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— are shipped from the place of loading in the country of origin to the
place of unloading in the Community undercoverof a valid tr ans-port document issued before the date this Regulation begins toapply.
3. The parties concerned shall provide proof to the satisfaction of the
customs authorities that the conditions laid down in paragraph 2 havebeen met.
However, the authorities may regard the products as having left the
country of origin before the date this Regulation begins to apply if oneof the following documents is provided:
— in the case of transport by sea, the bill of lading showing that
loading took place before that date,
— in the case of transport by rail, the consignment note that was
accepted by the railway authorities in the country of origin beforethat date,
— in the case of transport by road, the CMR contract for the carriage
of goods or any other transport document issued in the country oforigin before that date,
— in the case of transport by air, the air consignment note showing that
the airline took the products over before that date.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall apply to all the countries listed in the Annex upon publication of
the information referred to in Article 3 or, failing that, three monthsafterits publication.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all MemberStates.
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ANNEX
List of third countries referred to in Article 1 (1)
Lebanon
IranUnited Arab EmiratesVietnam
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Malaysia