COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) N° 3915/92 of 19 December 1992 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural and industrial products

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 Community has undertaken, within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), to open yearly reduced or zero-duty Community tariff quotas on certain conditions for certain agricultural and industrial products; whereas the tariff quotas in question should accordingly be opened for 1993, specifying, where appropriate, the agreed entry conditions;

Whereas all Community importers should be ensured equal and continuous access to the said quotas and the duty rates laid down for the quotas should be applied consistently 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 ensure efficient administration of the tariff quotas at Community level by providing for Member States to draw against the quota volumes such quantities as they may need to cover actual imports as recorded; whereas this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission;

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 quantities drawn by that economic union may be carried out by any one of its members,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. The customs duties applicable to imports of the following products shall be suspended during the periods, at the levels and within the limits of the Community tariff quotas shown below:

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2. Imports of products listed in paragraph 1 which are subject to a lower or equal customs duty under other preferential tariff arrangements shall not be charged against the corresponding tariff quota.

Article 2

1. Without prejudice to the Community's international obligations, Member States may charge against the tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 (1) under order Nos 09.0015 and 09.0017 other types of paper corresponding, except as regards the criterion relating to watermarks, to the definition of newsprint contained in additional note 1 of Chapter 48 of Part Two of the combined nomenclature and falling within CN code 4801 00 90.

2. From 30 November 1993 imports of newsprint from Canada or from other third countries may be charged against the remainder of either of the quota volumes for newsprint referred to in Article 1 (1) not used by 29 November 1993 and not expected to be used by 31 December 1993.

Article 3

The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be managed by the Commission, which may take any appropriate administrative measures to ensure that they are managed efficiently.

Article 4

Where an importer presents a product covered by this Regulation for release for free circulation in a Member State, applying to take advantage of the preferential arrangements, and the entry 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 on which the entries were accepted, must be sent to the Commission without delay.

Drawings shall be granted by the Commission in chronological order of the dates on which the customs authorities of the Member States concerned accepted the entries for release for free circulation, to the extent that the available balance so permits.

If a Member State does not use a drawing in full, it shall return any unused portion to the corresponding quota volume as soon as possible.

If the quantities requested are greater than the available balance of the quota volume, the balance shall be allocated among applicants pro rata. The Commission shall inform the Member States accordingly.

Article 5

Each Member State shall ensure that importers of the products in question have equal and continuous access to the quotas for as long as the balance of the relevant quota volume so permits.

Article 6

Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied with.

Article 7

The Commission may, by means of a Regulation, suspend the application of the tariff quotas opended for lemons and almonds under order Nos 09.0039 and 09.0041 if the reciprocity provided for is no longer ensured.

Article 8

This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1993.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 19 December 1992.

For the Council

The President

J. GUMMER

ANNEX

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