COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) N° 3913/92 of 17 December 1992 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products (first series 1993)

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 28 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas production in the Community of certain agricultural and industrial products will remain in the course of 1993 unable to meet the specific requirements of the user industries in the Community; whereas, consequently, Community supplies of products of this type will depend to a considerable extent on imports from third countries; whereas the most urgent Community requirements for the products in question should be met immediately on the most favourable terms; whereas Community tariff quotas at reduced or at zero duty should therefore be opened within the limits of appropriate volumes for a period up to 30 June or 31 December 1993 taking account of the need not to disturb the markets for such products nor the starting out or development of Community production;

Whereas it is necessary, in particular, to ensure for all Community importers equal and uninterrupted access to the said quotas and to ensure the uninterrupted application of the rates laid down for the quotas to all imports of the products concerned into all Member States until the quotas have been used up;

Whereas the decision for the opening of autonomous tariff quotas should be taken by the Community; whereas, to ensure the efficiency of a common administration of these quotas, there is no reasonable obstacle to authorizing Member States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas, however, this method of administration requires close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission and the latter must in particular be able to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used up and inform the Member States accordingly;

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, all transactions concerning the administration of the quantities drawn by that economic union may be carried out by any one of its members,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

From 1 January 1993 until the date shown in the table below, the customs duties applicable to imports into the Community of the products listed below shall be suspended at the levels and within the limits of the Community tariff quotas shown below:

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Article 2

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 3

Where an importer presents a declaration 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 appropriate 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 of the drawings made.

Article 4

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 5

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

Article 6

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, 17 December 1992.

For the Council

The President

R. NEEDHAM

ANNEX

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