,19.12.77 NoL324/96 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities
COUNCILREGULATION (EEC)No2708/77
of28November1977
opening,allocatingandprovidingfortheadministration ofaCommunitytariffquotafor
raworunmanufactured Virginiatypetobaccosoriginatingindevelopingcountries
whereaspreferentialimportsoftheproductsconcerned
couldbeeffectedwithoutquantitativerestrictions;
whereasitappearsappropriate,however,inviewofthe
sensitivenessofthetobaccosectorgenerallyandofthe
needtosafeguardtheinterestsoftheassociatedcoun­
triesandoftheACPStatesinthisfield,tolaydownfor
raworunmanufactured Virginiatypetobaccospecial
conditionsconsistinginareductionofthecustomsduty
applicabletotheseproductswithinthelimitsofa
Communitytariffquota;THECOUNCILOFTHEEUROPEANCOMMUNITIES ,
HavingregardtotheTreatyestablishingtheEuropean
EconomicCommunity,andinparticularArticle43
thereof,
HavingregardtotheproposalfromtheCommission ,
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEuropeanParlia­
ment(1),
HavingregardtotheopinionoftheEconomicand
SocialCommittee (2),
WhereasintheJointDeclarationofIntent,onthede­
velopmentoftraderelationswithSriLanka,India,
Malaysia,PakistanandSingapore(3),theCommunity
declareditsreadinesstoseeksolutionstotheproblems
whichmayariseinthefieldoftradewiththecountries
referredto;
Whereas,ontheonehand,forseveralAsiancountries
oftheCommonwealth andparticularlyIndia,thetypes
ofunmanufactured tobaccosconcernedareanimpor­
tantexportproductandtheflowoftradeinsuchpro­
ductsislikelytobechangedasaresultoftheenlarge­
mentoftheCommunityand,ontheotherhand,these
countriesareamongtheworsthitbythepresent
economiccrisis;whereasthesystemofgeneralizedtariff
preferencesmayconstituteasolutiontotheproblemsof
thisnature;whereasthesetypesoftobaccosshouldbe
includedinthegeneralizedpreferencesscheme;
Whereas,withinthecontextofUNCTAD,theEuro­
peanEconomicCommunityofferedtogranttariffpre­
ferencesoncertainprocessedagriculturalproductsof
Chapters1to24totheCommonCustomsTariffwhich
originateindevelopingcountries;whereasthepreferen­
tialtreatmentproposedinthatofferconsists,inrespect
ofcertaingoodswhicharesubjecttothetradear­
rangementslaiddowninRegulation (EEC)No
1059/69,ofareductioninthefixedcomponentofthe
chargeapplicabletosuchgoodsbyvirtueofthatRegul­
ation,and,inrespectofproductswhicharesubjectto
thesinglecustomsduty,ofareductioninsuchduty;WhereastheoffermadebytheCommunityincludesa
clausestatingthattheCommunitydrewuptheofferon
theassumptionthatallthemainindustrializedcountries
whicharemembersoftheOECDwouldparticipatein
grantingpreferencesandwouldmakesimilareffortsin
thisdirection;whereas,moreover,itisevidentfromthe
conclusionsworkedoutinUNCTADthatthisoffer,
whilebeingofatemporarynature,doesnotconstitutea
bindingcommitmentand,inparticular,maybewith­
drawnwhollyorinpartatalaterdate;whereasthis
possibilitymaybeadoptedinteraliawithaviewto
remedyinganyunfavourable situationswhichmight
ariseintheACPStatesfollowingtheimplementation of
thegeneralizedpreferencescheme;
Whereas,moreover,theconferenceofHeadsofStateor
ofGovernment oftheMemberStatesandtheStates
accedingtotheEuropeanCommunities heldinParis
from19to21October1972,invitedtheCommunity
institutionsandtheMemberStatesprogressivelyto
adoptanoverallpolicyofdevelopmentcooperationon
aworld-widescalecomprisinginparticulartheim­
provementofgeneralizedpreferenceswiththeaimof
achievingasteadyincreaseinimportsofmanufactures
fromthedevelopingcountries;
Whereastariffpreferenceshavebeenappliedasfrom
thesecondhalfof1971;whereas,however,forthe
flue-curedVirginiatypetobacco,thesaidsystemof
tariffpreferenceshasbeenmadeapplicablefrom1974
anditisappropriatetoapplythissystemhenceforthfor
allVirginiatypetobaccos;
Whereasitisexpedient,therefore,thattheCommunity
shouldopenfor1978fortheseraworunmanufactured
tobaccos,originatinginthecountriesandterritories
listedintheAnnex,aCommunitytariffquotalimitedto
60000tonnes,atacustomsdutyrateof7%witha
minimumchargeof15unitsofaccountper100kilo­
gramsnetweightforVirginiatypetobaccosfalling(x)OJNoC266,7.11.1977,p.16.
(2)Opiniondeliveredon26/27October1977(notyetpub­
lishedintheOfficialJournal).
(3)OJNoL73,27.3.1972,p.195.

19.12.77 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoL324/97
withinsubheading24.01exBandwithamaximum
chargeof45unitsofaccountper100kilogramsnet
weightfortheVirginiatypetobaccosfallingwithin
subheadings24.01AexIand24.01AexII;Whereas,onthebasisoftheavailablestatisticaldata
whichcoveronlyarelativelybriefperiodandwhereas
theyshouldbeweightedonthebasisoftheestimates
whichmaybemadeinrespectofthequotayear,the
sharesinthefirsttranchemaybesetoutasfollows:
Whereas,inaccordancewithProtocol23totheActof
Accession(1),thegeneralizedtariffpreferencescheme
becamefullyapplicableinthenewMemberStateson1
January1974;Germany 10315tonnes,
Benelux 5586tonnes,
France 980tonnes,
Italy 3920tonnes,
Denmark 1862tonnes,
Ireland 1935tonnes .
UnitedKingdom 34202.tonnes Whereasthebenefitofthistariffquotashouldbere­
servedforproductsoriginatinginthecountriesandter­
ritoriesunderconsideration ,theconceptof'originating
products'beingdeterminedinaccordancewiththe
procedurelaiddowninArticle14ofCouncilRegula­
tion(EEC)No802/68of27June1968onthecommon
definitionoftheconceptoftheoriginofgoods(2);
Whereasitisnecessarytoensureequalandcontinuous
accessforallCommunityimporterstotheabovemen­
tionedquotaandtheuninterruptedapplicationofthe
ratelaiddownforthisquotatoallimportsofthepro­
ductsconcernedintoallMemberStatesuntilthisquota
isusedup;whereashavingregardtotheprinciplesset
outabove,theCommunitynatureofthequotacanbe
respectedbyallocatingtheCommunitytariffquota
amongMemberStates;whereas,moreover,tothisend
andinthecontextoftheutilizationsystem,theactual
chargesagainstthequotamayrelateonlytoproducts
whichhavebeenenteredforhomeuseandwhichare
accompaniedbyacertificateoforigin;WhereasMemberStatesmayexhausttheirinitialshares
fortheproductsinquestionatdifferentrates;whereas
toavoiddisruptionofsuppliesonthisaccountitshould
beprovidedthatanyMemberStatewhichhasalmost
usedupitsinitialshareshoulddrawanadditionalshare
fromthereserve;whereasthismustbedonebyeach
MemberStateasandwheneachofitsadditionalshares
isalmostentirelyusedup,andrepeatedasmanytimes
asthereserveallows;whereastheinitialandadditional
sharesmustbeavailableforuseuntiltheendoftRe
quotaperiod;whereas,however,itseemsadvisableto
permittheMemberStatestolimittheexerciseoftheir
totalobligationtodrawonthereserveamounttoa
levelnotexceeding40%oftheirinitialshare;whereas
thismethodofadministration callsforcloseco­
operationbetweenMemberStatesandtheCommission
whichmust,inparticular,beabletoobservetheextent
towhichthequotaamountisusedandinformMember
Statesthereof;
Whereasif,ataspecifieddateinthequotaperiod,a
considerable balanceremainsinoneorotherMember
StateitisessentialthatthatMemberStatepaysalarge
amountofitbackintothereserve,inordertoavoida
partoftheCommunityquotaremainingunusedinone
MemberStatewhenitcouldbeusedinothers;
WhereassincetheKingdomofBelgium,theKingdomof
theNetherlandsandtheGrandDuchyofLuxembourg
areunitedinandrepresentedbytheBeneluxEconomic
Union,alltransactionsconcerningtheadministration of
sharesallocatedtothateconomicunionmaybecarried
outbyanyoneofitsmembers,Whereas,totakeaccountoffutureimporttrendsforthe
productsinquestioninthevariousMemberStates,the
quotasshouldbedividedintotwotranches,thefirst
beingallocatedamongMemberStatesandthesecond
heldasareservetocoversubsequentlytherequirements
ofMemberStateswhichhaveexhaustedtheirinitial
shares;whereas,moreover,thereserveconstitutedin
themannerdescribedabovetendstoavoidmakingthe
systemofutilizationofthequotaexcessivelyrigid,to
thedetrimentofthedevelopingcountriesconcernedand
willcontributetoachievingtheaimalreadymentioned
ofimprovingthegeneralizedpreferencessystem;where­
as,togiveimportersineachMemberStatesomedegree
ofcertainty,thefirsttrancheoftheCommunityquota
mightbefixedatarelativelyhighlevel,inthiscase
98%ofthefullquota;HASADOPTEDTHISREGULATION :-
Article1
(!)OJNoL73,27.3.1972,p.178.
(2)OJNoL148,28.6.1968,p.1.1.From1Januaryto31December1978,aCommun­
itytariffquotaof60000tonnesshallbeopenedinthe

OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 19.12.77 NoL324/98
2.IfaMemberState,afterexhaustingitsinitialshares,
hasused90%ormoreofthesecondsharedrawnbyit,
thatMemberStateshallforthwith,bynotifyingthe
Commission,drawathirdshare,equalto5%ofitsini­
tialshareroundedupshouldtheoccasionarisetothe
nearestunitabove.Communityfortheimportsofraworunmanufactured
Virginiatypetobaccosfallingwithinsubheadings24.01
AexI,24.01AexIIand24.01exBoftheCommon
CustomsTariff.Withinthistariffquotathecustoms
dutyshallbesuspendedat7%withaminimumcharge
of15unitsofaccountper100kilogramsnetweightfor
Virginiatypetobaccosfallingwithinsubheading24.01
exBandamaximumchargeof45unitsofaccountper
100kilogramsnetweightforVirginiatypetobaccos
fallingwithinsubheadings24.01AexIand24.01A
exII.
2.Thistariffquotashallapplysolelytoproducts
originatinginthecountriesandterritorieslistedinthe
Annex.However,thoseimportswhichenjoyexemption
fromcustomsdutiesunderotherpreferentialtariff
arrangementsgrantedbytheCommunitymaynotbe
chargedagainstthistariffquota.
ForthepurposesoftheapplicationofthisRegulation
theconceptof.'originatingproducts'shallbedeter­
minedinaccordancewiththeprocedurelaiddownin
Article14ofRegulation (EEC)No802/68.
Entrytothistariffquotashallbesubjecttotheproduc­
tionofacertificateofauthenticityappearinginthecer­
tificateoforiginandmadeoutinaccordancewiththe
procedurereferredtointhesecondsubparagraph .
Article23.IfaMemberState,afterexhaustingitssecondshare,
hasused90%ormoreofthethirdsharedrawnbyit,
thatMemberStateshall,underthesameconditions,
drawafourthshareequaltothethird.Thisprocess
shallcontinueuntilthereservehasbeenexhausted .
4.Bywayofderogationfromparagraphs 1,2and3,a
MemberStatemaydrawshareslowerthanthose
specifiedinthoseparagraphsiftherearegroundsfor
believingthatthosespecifiedmaynotbeusedinfull.
AnyMemberStateapplyingthisparagraphshallinform
theCommissionofitsgroundsforsodoing.
5.AnyMemberStatemaylimitthesumtotalofits
additionalsharesto40%ofitsinitialshare,informing
theCommissionthatitissodoing.
Article4
AdditionalsharesdrawnpursuanttoArticle3shallbe
validuntil31December1978.
1.Afirsttrancheof58800tonnesshallbeallocated
amongtheMemberStates.Theshareswhich,subjectto
Article5,shallbevaliduntil31December1978,shall
foreachMemberStatebeasfollows:
Germány 10315tonnes,
Benelux 5586tonnes,
France 980tonnes,
Italy 3920tonnes,
Denmark 1862tonnes,
Ireland 1935tonnes,
UnitedKingdom 34202tonnes.Article5
AMemberStatewhichon25October1978hasnot
exhaustedoneofitsinitialsharesshall,notlaterthan7
November1978,returntothereserveanyunused
portioninexcessof15%oftheinitialamount.Itmay
returnagreaterportioniftherearegroundsforbeliev­
ingthatsuchportionmaynotbeusedinfull.
MemberStatesshall,notlaterthan7November1978,
notifytheCommissionofthetotalquantitiesofthe
productinquestionimporteduptoandincluding25
October1978andchargedagainsttheCommunity
quotasandofanyportionoftheirinitialsharesre­
turnedtothereserve.2.Thesecondtrancheof1200tonnesshallconstitute
thereserve.
Article3
1.IfaMemberStatehasused90%ormoreofitsini­
tialshareasfixedinArticle2(1),orofthatshareminus
anyportionreturnedtothereservepursuanttoArticle
5,itshallforthwith,bynotifyingtheCommission ,draw
asecondshare,totheextentthatthereservesopermits,
equalto10%ofitsinitialshareroundedupshouldthe
occasionarisetothenearestunitabove.Article6
TheCommissionshallkeepanaccountoftheshares
openedbytheMemberStatespursuanttoArticles2and
3andshall,assoonastheinformationreachesit,in­
formeachStateoftheextenttowhichthereservehas
beenusedup.

19.12.77 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoL324/99
petitiveproductsataseriousdisadvantageorcreatean
unfavourablesituationintheACPStates,thecustoms
dutiesappliedwithintheCommunitymaybere-intro­
ducedinpartorinfullforimportsoftheproductsin
questionfromthecountryorcountriesorterritoryor
territorieswhicharethecauseofsuchdisadvantage .
Suchmeasuresmayalso'betakenintheeventofa
seriousdisadvantage ,eitheractualorforeseeable,which
isconfinedtoasingleregionoftheCommunity .Itshall,notlaterthan21November1978,informthe
MemberStateoftheamountstillinreservefollowing
anyreturnofsharespursuanttoArticle5.
Itshallensurethatwhenanamountexhaustingthe
reserveisdrawntheamountsodrawndoesnotexceed
thebalanceavailable,andtothisendshallnotifythe
amountofthatbalancetotheMemberStatemakingthe
lastdrawing.
TheMemberStatesshalltakeallappropriatemeasures
toensurethatadditionalsharesdrawnpursuantto
Article3areopenedinsuchawaythatimportations
maybechargedwithoutinterruptionagainsttheir
cumulativesharesoftheCommunityquota.Article10
1.InordertoensurethatArticle9isapplied,the
Commissionmay,bywayofaRegulation,re-introduce
normaldutiesforafixedperiod.
2.IftheCommissionhasactedattherequestofa
Member.State,theformershallgiveitsdecisionwithina
maximumperiodof10workingdaysfromthedateof
receiptoftherequestandshallinformtheMember
Stateoftheactionithastaken.
3.EachMemberStatemayreferthemeasuretakenby
theCommissiontotheCouncilwithinaperiodof10
workingdaysfollowingthedateitwasnotified.The
factthatthematterhasbeenreferredtotheCouncil
shallnotconstitutethesuspensionofthemeasure.The
Councilshallmeetwithoutdelay.Actingonaqualified
majority,itmayamendorrepealthemeasureinques­
tion.Article7
1.TheMemberStatesshallensurefreeaccesstothe
shareswhichhavebeenallocatedtothemforimporters
ofthesaidgoodswhoareestablishedintheirterritory.
2.TheextenttowhichaMemberStatehasusedupits
shareshallbedeterminedonthebasisofimportsofthe
saidgoodswhichhavebeenenteredforhomeuse,on
thebasisofthecustomsvalueofthesaidgoods,and
whichareaccompaniedbyacertificateoforiginin
accordancewiththerulesreferredtoinArticle1(2).
3.Goodsshallqualifyforatariffquotaonlyifthe
certificateoforiginreferredtoinparagraph2issubmit­
tedbeforethedateonwhichthelevyingofdutiesis
re-introduced .Article11
Articles9and10shallnotprejudicetheapplicationof
theprotectiveclausesdrawnupinconnectionwiththe
commonagriculturalpolicypursuanttoArticle43of
theTreatynorthosedrawnupinconnectionwiththe
commoncommercialpolicypursuanttoArticle113of
theTreaty.Article8
MemberStatesshallinformtheCommissionatmonthly
intervalsofimportsoftheproductsinquestioncharged
againsttheirshares.Thisinformationshallshowboth
thevalueexpressedinunitsofaccountandthequantity
expressedintonnes.Article12
MemberStatesandtheCommissionshallcooperate
closelytoensurethattheaboveArticlesareobserved. Article9
Shouldimportsoftheproductsbenefitingunderthe
arrangementsprovidedforinArticle1beimportedinto
theCommunityatpricessuchastoputorbelikelyto
putCommunityproducersofsimilarordirectlycom­Article13
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceon1January
.1978.
ThisRegulationshallbebindinginitsentiretyanddirectlyapplicableinallMemberStates.
DoneatBrussels,28November1977.
FortheCouncil
ThePresident
L.OUTERS

NoL324/100 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 19.12.77
ANNEX
i
Listofdevelopingcountriesandterritoriesenjoyinggeneralizedtariffpreferences (x)
I.INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES
660Afghanistan 260Guinea 801PapuaNewGuinea
208Algeria 257GuineaBissau 520Paraguay
/
330Angola 488Guyana 504Peru
528Argentina 452Haiti 708Philippines
453Bahamas 424Honduras 644Qatar
640Bahrain 664India 066Romania
666Bangladesh 700Indonesia 324Rwanda
469Barbados 616Iran 819Samoa
284Benin 612Iraq 311SaoTomeandPrincipe
675Bhutan 272IvoryCoast632SaudiArabia
516Bolivia 464Jamaica 248Senegal
391Botswana 628Jordan 355SeychellesandDependencies
508Brazil 696Kampuchea,Democratic264SierraLeone
676Burma 346Kenya 706Singapore
328Burundi 728Korea,Republicof342Somalia
302Cameroon 636Kuwait 669SriLanka
247CapeVerdeIslands 684Laos 224Sudan
306CentralAfricanEmpire 604Lebanon 492Surinam
244Chad 395Lesotho 393Swaziland
512Chile
«► 268Liberia 608Syria
480Colombia 216Libya352Tanzania
375Comoros 370Madagascar680Thailand
318Congo,People'sRepublicof 386Malawi 280Togo
436CostaRica 701Malaysia 817Tonga
448Cuba 667MaldiveIslands 472TrinidadandTobago
600Cyprus 232Mali 212Tunisia
338Djibouti 228Mauritania 350Uganda
456DominicanRepublic 373Mauritius 647UnitedArabEmirates
500Ecuador 412Mexico 236UpperVolta
220Egypt 204Morocco 524Uruguay
428ElSalvador 366Mozambique484Venezuela
310EquatorialGuinea 803Nauru 690Vietnam
334Ethiopia 672Nepal652Yemen
815^···Fiji 432Nicaragua656Yemen,Democratic
314Gabon 240Niger 048Yugoslavia
252Gambia 288Nigeria322Zaire
276Ghana 649Oman378Zambia
473Grenada 662Pakistan
416Guatemala 440Panama
(*)Thecodenumberprecedingthenameofeachbeneficiarycountryorterritoryisthatgivenin'Geonomenclature 1977',publishedbytheStatisticalOfficeoftheEuropean
Communities .

19.12.77 OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities NoL324/101
II.COUNTRIES ANDTERRITORIES
dependentoradministered,orforwhoseexternalrelationsMemberStatesoftheCommunityorthird
countriesarewhollyorpartlyresponsible
890AustralianAntarcticTerritory
421Belize
413Bermuda
890BritishAntarcticTerritory
357BritishIndianOceanTerritory
812BritishPacificOcean
703Brunei
202CanaryIslands
463CaymanIslandsandDependencies
205CeutaandMelilla
802ChristmasIsland,Cocos/(Keeling)Islands,HeardIslandandMcDonaldIslands,NorfolkIsland
529FalklandIslandsandDependencies
822FrenchPolynesia
890FrenchSouthernandAntarcticTerritories
044Gibraltar
740HongKong
743Macao
377Mayotte
476NetherlandsAntilles
809NewCaledoniaandDependencies
808PacificIslandsadministeredbytheUnitedStatesofAmericaorunderUnitedStatestrusteeship (x)
329StHelenaandDependencies
814TerritoriesforwhichNewZealandisresponsible (CookIslands,NiueIsland,TokelauIslands)
454TurksandCaicosIslands
457VirginIslandsoftheUnitedStates
811WallisandFutunaIslands
471WestIndies
Note:Theabovelistsmaybeamendedsubsequentlytotakeaccountofchangesintheinternational
statusofcountriesorterritories.
(*)ThePacificIslandsadministeredbytheUnitedStatesofAmericainclude:Guam,AmericanSamoa(includingSwain'sIsland),Midway
Islands,JohnstonandSandIslands,WakeIslandandtheTrustTerritoryofthePacificIslands(theCaroline,MarianasandMarshall
Islands).