COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) N° 526/86 of 28 February 1986 on transitional measures applicable to trade within the Community in goods obtained in Spain, in Portugal or in another Member State under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, customs duties or other import changes - compensatory levy

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 50 (3) and 210 (3) thereof, and Article 8 (3) of Protocol 3 thereto,

Whereas it is necessary to determine the conditions under which goods obtained in the Community under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, customs duties or other import charges may benefit from Community arrangements in trade between Spain and Portugal on the one hand, and the other Member States on the other hand, and in trade between the two new Member States;

Whereas there is a danger that admission of the said goods to the benefit of the Community arrangements may distort the conditions of competition in the common market, in so far as the products used in their manufacture are third country products, unless that admission is subject to the collection of a levy, hereinafter referred to as a 'compensatory levy', so designed as to compensate for the effects of those arrangements;

Whereas that danger is not likely to prove serious as long as the reduction in customs tariffs in trade between Spain and Portugal, and in trade between those two Member States on the one hand, and the other Member States on the other, does not reach a significant level; whereas it is accordingly unnecessary to prescribe, in principle, the collection of a compensatory levy unless that reduction exceeds roughly 25 % to 30 % of the basic duties;

Whereas, leaving aside the special tariff resulting from agreements concluded between the Community and certain third countries, goods in the manufacture of which products from other third countries have been used are admitted to free circulation only if the appropriate customs duties of the Common Customs Tariff or of the ECSC unified tariff have been levied in full on those products;

Whereas for these reasons the compensatory levy that will be a condition for the admission of goods to the benefit of the Community arrangements should be based on the duties of the Common Customs Tariff or of the ECSC unified tariff applicable in respect of the products used in the manufacture of the aforesaid goods, where at the time of importation of those goods the customs duties or charges having equivalent effect which were applicable to those products in Spain, in Portugal or in the other Member States have not been levied, or where the products have benefited from a total or partial drawback of such duties or charges;

Whereas the rate of the compensatory levy should, in principle, be such as to correspond to the percentage tariff reduction applied in the importing Member State; whereas straightforward conversion of the reductions concerned into compensatory levy rates would be likely, on account, in particular, of the number and diversity of arrangements adopted for dismantling duties, to lead to the adoption of measures that would be very complex and consequently virtually inapplicable; whereas it is accordingly necessary to group together the categories of products in respect of which the tariff reductions are similar in order to reduce considerably the number of compensatory levy rates, without, however, losing sight of the need, in order to avoid deflections of trade, to limit the gap between those rates and those which would result from strict application of the reductions laid down in the Act of Accession;

Whereas, moreover, to simplify arrangements, a 100 % compensatory levy should be collected where the levy resulting from strict application of the Act of Accession would exceed 75 %, and in all cases in which Portugal applied to Community products, before 31 December 1985, a low specific duty;

Whereas the application of a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, the levies and other charges provided for under the common agricultural policy on agricultural products and on certain goods processed from agricultural products obtained within the Community is incompatible with the arrangements for compensatory amounts as prescribed in Articles 53 and 72 or in Articles 213 and 240 of the Act of Accession;

Whereas a method should be determined for calculating the compensatory levy on agricultural products subject in the Community to the common organization of markets and on processed agricultural products subject to specific rules consequent upon the implementation of the common agricultural policy where such products are used in the manufacture of goods that are listed neither in Annex II to the EEC Treaty nor in Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3033/80 of 11 N°vember 1980 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products(1), nor in Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3035/80 of 11 N°vember 1980 laying down general rules for granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex II to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds(2), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) N° 1982/85(3), under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, the charges levied on them;

Whereas, in so far as the products so used are subject exclusively to levies and other charges provided for under the common agricultural policy, the amount of the compensatory levy that will be a condition for admitting the goods obtained to the benefit of the Community arrangements could, in the interests of simplifying administrative formalities, be the total amount drawn back or in respect of which relief has been granted;

Whereas, for such time as customs duties or the component designed to protect the processing industry referred to in Articles 78 and 273 of the Act of Accession continue to be charged in trade between Spain and Portugal on the one hand, and the other Member States on the other hand, in certain agricultural products and certain goods processed from agricultural products, a compensatory levy should be applied both to a percentage of the Common Customs Tariff duties or of the component designed to protect the processing industry and to the full amount of the agricultural levy or variable component drawn back or in respect of which relief has been granted;

Whereas, in respect of products on the importation of which into the Community provision is made for the abolition of customs duties under agreements concluded between the Community and certain third countries, it is not necessary to provide for the collection of the compensatory levy when such products are used in the manufacure of goods under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, those duties; whereas, however, as regards agricultural products subject to a common organization of the market, and goods processed from agricultural products, it is necessary to provide for collection of the full amount of the agricultural levy or variable component drawn back or in respect of which relief has been granted in order to avoid damaging the price mechanism;

Whereas it is necessary to ensure that the compensatory levy system is not used with the sole aim of circumventing the provisions relating to the charging of duties or other commercial policy measures applicable to third country products, by subjecting such products to minor processing under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, customs duties on imports;

Whereas the trend of trade in the said goods must be monitored closely with a view to taking appropriate measures should the detailed arrangements for the admission of such goods to the benefit of Community arrangements give rise to difficulties;

Whereas the charges referred to in Article 194 of the Act of Accession applied by Portugal in trade with the other Member States and the customs duties of a fiscal nature or the fiscal component of customs duties applied by Portugal under Article 196 (2) of the said Act are not regarded as customs duties for the purposes of this Regulation;

Whereas it is advisable to fix the percentages of the compensatory levy only for a limited period, so as to be able to take account of experience gained when fixing the percentages applicable subsequently,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

TITLE I GENERAL

Article 1

1. Goods obtained in a Member State and in the manufacture of which have been used products on which have not been charged, as appropriate:

-customs duties and charges having equivalent effect, or -compensatory amounts as prescribed in Articles 53 and 72 or in Articles 213 and 240 of the Act of Accession, any amounts applied in accordance with the compensatory mechanism referred to Article 270 of the said Act or any other amounts provided for in Part Four, Title II Chapter 3 or Title III Chapter 3 of the said Act,

-levies and other import charges provided for under the common agricultural policy or under specific arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products,

to which they were liable in that Member State, or which have benefited from a total or partial drawback of such duties, charges, amounts, agricultural levies or other import charges, shall benefit from Community arrangements under the conditions of this Regulation on importation into another Member State.

2. The Community arrangements referred to in paragraph 1 shall consist of:

(a)the application of the compensatory amounts prescribed in Articles 53 and 72 or in Articles 213 and 240 of the Act of Accession, any amounts applied in accordance with the compensatory mechanism referred to in Article 270 of the said Act or any other amounts provided for in Part Four, Title II Chapter 3 or Title III Chapter 3 of the said Act, and the progressive abolition:

(i)in respect of the products covered by Regulation (EEC) N° 3033/80:

-by Spain and the Community as constituted on 31 December 1985, hereinafter referred to as 'the Community of Ten', of the fixed component referred to in Article 52 (2) and (5) of the said Act,

-by Portugal and the Community of Ten, of the fixed component referred to in Article 213 (2) of the said Act,

-by Spain and Portugal, of the fixed component referred to in Article 7 (2) of Protocol 3 to the said Act,

-by the Community of Ten, of the fixed component referred to in Article 53 (5) and Article 213 (5) of the said Act,

(ii)in respect of the products covered by the common organization of the markets in cereals and rice: by Spain, Portugal and the Community of Ten, of the component for the protection of the processing industry referred to in Articles 78 and 273 of the said Act;

(b)the progressive abolition of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect and of quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect in respect of goods subject thereto.

3. For the purposes of this Regulation, the Community of Ten shall be regarded as a single Member State.

Article 2

In cases where products from a third country are subjected to a treatment insufficient to be regarded as manufacture, the goods so obtained shall benefit from the arrangements referred to in Article 1 only on condition that the said products are in free circulation in accordance with the provisions of the EEC Treaty or the ECSC Treaty and the Act of Accession. Member States shall regularly inform the Commission of those cases in which they have ruled treatments to be insufficient within the meaning of this Article.

Article 3

Without prejudice to the conditions governing the application by Spain and Portugal of the inward processing arrangements laid down in Annex XXXII to the Act of Accession, products which, under Council Directive 69/73/EEC of 4 March 1969 on the harmonization of provisions laid down by law, regulation or administrative action in respect of inward processing(1), are imported into the Member State of manufacture with relief from customs duties, charges having equivalent effect, compensatory amounts, agricultural levies or other import charges referred to in Article 1 (1) to which they are liable, in place of the same quantity of products of the same kind, quality and having the same technical characteristics as products from the home market of that Member State used in the manufacture of goods exported to another Member State in the context of an equivalent compensation operation, shall be regarded as used, in the circumstances referred to in Article 1 (1), in the manufacture of goods.

TITLE II COMPENSATORY LEVY PROVISIONS Section I Principles

Article 4

Subject to the exceptions set out in Title III, goods obtained in a Member State in the circumstances referred to in Article 1 (1) shall benefit from the Community arrangements on importation into another Member State on condition that a compensatory levy is charged in the Member State of manufacture in respect of each product used in such manufacture.

1. (or,applicable,or,,kind,operation.

2. goods,quantity,or,appropriate,goods,/73/EEC.

Article 6

1. The date which determines the rate of the duties referred to in Article 7 shall be that which would apply if the goods obtained were entered for free circulation in the Member State of manufacture in completion of a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, duties or other import charges instead of being exported to another Member State.

However, that date shall be 1 March 1986 in respect of products, entered in Spain or Portugal before that date under a procedure involving relief from, or drawback of, duties or other charges, which are used in those countries in the manufacture of goods.

2. The date which determines the percentage of the compensatory levy shall be that on which the competent customs authority accepts the declaration by which the person concerned states his intention to export the goods in question to another Member State. However, where the said goods are placed in a customs warehouse or a free zone in the Member State of manufacture before being exported to another Member State, the date for the determination of the percentage shall be that on which the competent customs authority accepts the declaration by which the person concerned states his intention to place the goods in question under one of the procedures referred to above.

Section 2 Compensatory levy applicable when products other than those referred to in Section 3 are used

Article 7

The compensatory levy in respect of products other than those referred to in Section 3 used in the manufacture of goods shall be based, as appropriate, on:

-the Common Customs Tariff duty if the products are covered by the EEC Treaty, or -the customs duty of the ECSC unified tariff, if the products are covered by the ECSC Treaty.

Article 8

1. The rate of the compensatory levy shall be a percentage of the rate of the duties referred to in Article 7.

2. In trade between the Community of Ten and Spain:

(a)where goods obtained in Spain:

-are listed in Annex I, the percentage shall be:

0 % for the period from 1 March 1986 to 31 December 1987,

-are not listed in Annex I, the percentage shall be:

60 % for the period from 1 March 1986 to 31 December 1986,

65 % for the period from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1987;

(b)where goods obtained in the Community of Ten:

-are listed in Annex II, the percentage shall be:

64 % for the period from 1 March 1986 to 31 December 1986,

69 % for the period from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1987;

-are not listed in Annex II, the percentage shall be:

0 % for the period from 1 March 1986 to 31 December 1986.

35 % for the period from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1987.

3. In trade between the Community of Ten and Portugal:

(a)where goods obtained in Portugal:

-are listed in Annex III, the percentage shall be 0 %,

-are not listed in Annex III, the percentage shall be 100 %;

(b)where goods obtained in the Community of Ten:

-are listed in Annex IV (a), the percentage shall be 0 %;

-are listed in Annex IV (b), the percentage shall be:

50 % for the period from 1 March 1986 to 31 December 1986,

56 % for the period from 1 January 1987 to 31 December 1987,

-are not listed in Annex IV, the percentage shall be 100 %.

4. In trade between Spain and Portugal:

(a)where goods are obtained in Spain, the compensatory levy shall be that prescribed in paragraph 3 (b);

(b)where goods are obtained in Portugal, the compensatory levy shall be that prescribed in paragraph 2 (b).

However, where goods obtained in Portugal, falling within Chapters 25 to 99 of the Common Customs Tariff, with the exception of those covered by Council Regulations (EEC) N° 2783/75 of 29 October 1975 on the common system of trade for ovalbumin and lactalbumin(1), (EEC) N° 3033/80 and (EEC) N° 3035/80, fulfil the conditions laid down in the rules adopted or to be adopted by the Council in accordance with Article 1 (3) of Protocol 3 to the Act of Accession such that they obtain the status of products originating in Portugal, the percentage shall be 100 %.

Article 9

The compensatory levy in respect of goods covered by Regulation (EEC) N° 3033/80, used in the manufacture of other goods, shall be equal to the full amount of the variable component drawn back or in respect of which relief is given and a percentage of the fixed component applicable to imports of those goods into the Community of Ten from third countries. That percentage shall be fixed in accordance with Article 8.

Section 3 Compensatory levy applicable when agricultural products subject to the system of levies and other charges laid down under the common agricultural policy, with the exception of products covered by Regulation (EEC) N° 3033/80,

are used

Article 10

1. The compensatory levy in respect of agricultural products subject to the system of levies and other charges laid down under the common agricultural policy and of products covered by Council Regulations (EEC) N° 2730/75, of 29 October 1975 on glucose and lactose(2), or (EEC) N° 2783/75, used in the manufacture of goods, shall be equal to the full amount of the charge drawn back, or in respect of which relief is given.

However, the compensatory levy applicable to the products referred to in Articles 78 and 273 of the Act of Accession shall be equal to the full amount of the variable component drawn back, or in respect of which relief is given, and a percentage of the component for the protection of the processing industry used for calculating the duty on imports of those products from third countries into the Community of Ten.

2. Where products used in the manufacture of goods are subject to customs duties and to levies or other charges provided for under the common agricultural policy, the compensatory levy shall be equal to the full amount of the agricultural levy or charge drawn back, or in respect of which relief is given, and a percentage of the Common Customs Tariff duty.

3. Monetary compensatory amounts shall not be taken into account when determining the compensatory levy in the cases referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2; however, the monetary coefficient shall apply to import duties fixed in ECU.

Article 11

1. Without prejudice to Article 9, the percentage referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 10 (1) and Article 10 (2) shall be:

(a)in trade between the Community of Ten and Spain:

-where the goods are obtained in Spain, that prescribed in respect of the goods concerned in Annex V,

-where the goods are obtained in the Community of Ten, that prescribed in respect of the goods concerned in Annex VI;

(b)in trade between the Community of Ten and Portugal:

-where the goods are obtained in Portugal, that prescribed in respect of the goods concerned in Annex VII,

-where the goods are obtained in the Community of Ten, 0 %;

(c)in trade between Spain and Portugal, 0 %.

2. Where goods are not listed in one of Annexes V to VII, the percentage referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 10 (1) and Article 10 (2) shall be 0 %.

TITLE III EXCEPTIONS

Article 12

1. Goods obtained in a Member State in the circumstances referred to in Article 1 (1) shall, on importation into another Member State, benefit from the Community arrangements, without collection of the compensatory levy on the products used in their manufacture, where the products:

(a)come under Article 9 (2) of the EEC Treaty; or (b)come under the ECSC Treaty and have been released for free circulation in a Member State; or (c)have been obtained in another Member State and meet the necessary conditions to benefit from the Community arrangements.

2. However, goods subject to a common organization of the market or to the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) N° 3035/80, manufactured or obtained from products falling within Section 3 of Title II, imported from a Member State, shall not benefit from the Community arrangements unless a compensatory levy equal to the accession compensatory amounts drawn back or in respect of which relief has been given has been collected on those products in the Member State of manufacture.

Article 13

1. By way of derogation from Article 4, and subject to any provisions that might be enacted in the future to obviate distortions of competition within the Community, no compensatory levy shall be charged on products imported from third countries with which the Community has concluded preferential tariff agreements, provided that the said products fulfil the conditions necessary to qualify for such arrangements in the Community.

2. However, in respect of products falling within Section 3 of Title II, the rules laid down in Article 10 (1) and (2) shall apply to the agricultural levy or the variable component resulting from those agreements.

TITLE IV FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 14

Proof of the customs status of the products used and of the goods obtained shall be established in accordance with the methods of administrative cooperation laid down for that purpose in Commission Regulation (EEC) N° 409/86(1).

Article 15

Goods in the manufacture of which have been used products which, if they had been released for free circulation on being placed under a procedure for the relief from, or drawback of, customs duties or other import charges, would have been liable to anti-dumping duties, shall not benefit from the Community arrangements referred to in Article 1 (1) on importation into another Member State unless those anti-dumping duties have been collected in the Member State of manufacture in respect of each product used in the manufacture to which they are applicable.

Article 16

Where application of the provisions of this Regulation leads or seems likely to lead, to economic difficulties, in particular because of any increase in the full customs charges applicable to the goods produced, the Commisssion shall decide, either on its own initiative or at the request of a Member State, what adjustments it considers necessary to remedy this situation.

Article 17

Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures which they take for the purpose of applying this Regulation and of any problems raised by its application.

Article 18

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply from 1 March 1986 until 31 December 1987.

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

Done at Brussels, 28 February 1986.

For the CommisionCOCKFIELDVice-President

(1)OJ N° L 323, 29. 11. 1980, p. 1 (2)OJ N° L 323, 29. 11. 1980, p. 27.

(3)OJ N° L 186, 19. 7. 1985, p. 8.

(1)OJ N° L 58, 8. 3. 1969, p. 1.

(1)OJ N° L 282, 1. 11. 1975, p. 104.

(2)OJ N° L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 20.

(1)OJ N° L 46, 25. 2. 1986, p. 5.

ANNEX I List of goods referred to in Article 8 (2) (a)

>TABLE>

ANNEX II List of goods referred to in Article 8 (2) (b)

>TABLE>

ANNEX III List of goods referred to in Article 8 (3) (a)

>TABLE>

ANNEX IV (a) List of goods referred to in the first indent of Article 8 (3) (b)

>TABLE POSITION>

ANNEX V List of goods referred to in the first indent of Article 11 (a)

>TABLE>

ANNEX VI List of goods referred to in the second indent of Article 11 (a)

>TABLE>

ANNEX VII List of goods referred to in the first indent of Article 11 (b)

>TABLE>