Commission Regulation (EC) No 1393/97 of 18 July 1997 establishing administrative procedures for the 1998 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China
Date: 1997-07-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: China, footwear industry, household article, import licence, quantitative restriction, toy industry













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31997R1393

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1393/97 of 18 July 1997 establishing administrative procedures for the 1998 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China  


Official Journal L 190 , 19/07/1997 P. 0024 - 0030 





COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1393/97 of 18 July 1997 establishing administrative procedures for the 1998 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of ChinaTHE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 520/94 of 7 March 1994 establishing a Community procedure for administering quantitative quotas (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 138/96 (2), and in particular Articles 2 (3) and (4), 13 and 24 thereof,Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports from certain third countries and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 1765/82, (EEC) No 1766/82 and (EEC) No 3420/83 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 847/97 (4), introduced annual quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China listed in Annex II to that Regulation; whereas the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 are applicable to those quotas;Whereas the Commission accordingly adopted Regulation (EC) No 738/94 (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 983/96 (6), laying down general rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas these provisions apply to the administration of the above quotas subject to the provisions of this Regulation;Whereas certain characteristics of China's economy, the seasonal nature of some of the products and the time needed for transport mean that orders for products subject to quota are generally placed before the beginning of the quota year; whereas it is therefore important to ensure that administrative constraints do not impede the realization of the planned imports; whereas in order not to affect the continuity of trade flows, the arrangements for allocating and administering the 1998 quotas should accordingly be adopted before the start of the quota year;Whereas after examination of the different administrative methods provided for by Regulation (EC) No 520/94, the method based on traditional trade flows should be adopted; whereas under this method quota tranches are divided into two portions, one of which is reserved for traditional importers and the other for other applicants;Whereas this has proved to be the best way of ensuring the continuity of business for the Community importers concerned and avoiding any disturbance of trade flows;Whereas, however, the introduction of a Community system must ensure progressive access by non-traditional importers; whereas in the light of all these factors a balance must therefore be sought in determining the portions to be allocated to the two categories of importers; whereas, to this end, it is appropriate that the portion set aside for non-traditional importers should be increased as compared to 1997;Whereas the reference period used for allocating the portion of the quota set aside for traditional importers in earlier regulations on the administration of these quotas should be updated to ensure open access to the quotas; whereas that update should be based on the latest period for which complete data is available; whereas the year 1995 is therefore a suitable reference period, it being the only recent representative year of the normal trend of trade flows in the products in question for which full customs data are available; whereas traditional importers must therefore prove that they have imported products originating in China and covered by the quotas in question in the year 1995;Whereas it has been found in the past that the method provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94, which is based on the order in which applications are received, may not be an appropriate way of allocating that portion of the quota reserved for non-traditional importers; whereas, consequently, in accordance with Article 2 (4) of Regulation (EC) No 520/94, an alternative method of apportioning the quota should be determined; whereas, to this end, it is appropriate to provide for allocation in proportion to the quantities requested, on the basis of a simultaneous examination of import licence applications actually lodged, in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94;Whereas in order to ensure that the quotas can be efficiently allocated and used, any speculative applications should be excluded, and it is furthermore necessary to allocate economically significant quantities; whereas to this end the amount that any non-traditional importer may request should be restricted to a set volume or value;Whereas for the purposes of quota allocation, a time limit must be set for the submission of licence applications by traditional and other importers;Whereas with a view to optimum use of quotas, licence applications for imports of footwear under quotas which refer to several CN codes must specify the quantities required for each code;Whereas the Member States must inform the Commission of the import licence applications received, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas the information about traditional importers' previous imports must be expressed in the same units as the quota in question; whereas if the quota is set in ecus, the counter-value of the currency in which previous imports are expressed must be calculated in accordance with Article 18 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 82/97 (8);Whereas in view of the special nature of transactions concerning products subject to quota, and in particular the time needed for transport, the import licences should expire on 31 December 1998;Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the administration of quotas set up pursuant to Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:Article 1 This Regulation lays down for 1998 specific provisions for the administration of the quantitative quotas referred to in Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 519/94.Regulation (EC) No 738/94 laying down general rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 shall apply, subject to the specific provisions of this Regulation.Article 2 1. The quantitative quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be allocated using the method based on traditional trade flows, referred to in Article 2 (2) (a) of Regulation (EC) No 520/94.2. The portions of each quantitative quota set aside for traditional importers and other importers are set out in Annex I to this Regulation.3. The portion set aside for non-traditional importers shall be apportioned using the method based on allocation in proportion to quantities requested; the volume/value requested by a single importer may not exceed that shown in Annex II.Article 3 Applications for import licences shall be lodged with the competent authorities listed in Annex III to this Regulation from the day following the day of publication of this Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Communities until 3 p.m., Brussels time, on 12 September 1997.Article 4 1. For the purposes of allocating the portion of each quota set aside for traditional importers, 'traditional` importers shall mean importers who can show that they have imported goods in the calendar year 1995.2. The supporting documents referred to in Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 shall relate to the release for free circulation during the calendar year 1995 of products originating in the People's Republic of China which are covered by the quota in respect of which the application is made.3. Instead of the documents referred to in the first indent of Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 applicants may enclose with their licence applications documents drawn up and certified by the competent national authorities on the basis of available customs information as evidence of the imports of the product in question during the calendar year 1995 carried out by themselves or, where applicable, by the operator whose activities they have taken over.4. Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 shall apply where supporting documents are expressed in national currencies.Article 5 Member States shall inform the Commission no later than 26 September 1997 at 10 a.m., Brussels time, of the number and aggregate quantity of import licence applications and, in the case of applications from traditional importers, of the volume of previous imports carried out by traditional importers during the reference period referred to in Article 4 (1) of this Regulation.Article 6 The Commission shall adopt the quantitative criteria to be used by the competent national authorities for the purpose of meeting importers' applications no later than 14 October 1997.Article 7 Import licences shall be valid for one year, starting on 1 January 1998.Article 8 This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 18 July 1997.For the CommissionLeon BRITTANVice-President(1) OJ No L 66, 10. 3. 1994, p. 1.(2) OJ No L 21, 27. 1. 1996, p. 6.(3) OJ No L 67, 10. 3. 1994, p. 89.(4) OJ No L 122, 14. 5. 1997, p. 1.(5) OJ No L 87, 31. 3. 1994, p. 47.(6) OJ No L 131, 1. 6. 1996, p. 47.(7) OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.(8) OJ No L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. 1.ANNEX I Allocation of the quotas >TABLE>ANNEX II Maximum quantity which may be requested by each importer other than traditional >TABLE>ANEXO III - BILAG III - ANHANG III - ÐÁÑÁÑÔÇÌÁ ÉÉÉ - ANNEX III - ANNEXE III - ALLEGATO III - BIJLAGE III - ANEXO III - LIITE III - BILAGA III Lista de las autoridades nacionales competentes Liste over kompetente nationale myndigheder Liste der zuständigen Behörden der Mitgliedstaaten Ðßíáêáò ôùí áñìüäéùí åèíéêþí áñ÷þí List of the national competent authorities Liste des autorités nationales compétentes Elenco delle competenti autorità nazionali Lijst van bevoegde nationale instanties Lista das autoridades nacionais competentes Luettelo kansallisista toimivaltaisista viranomaisista Lista över nationella kompetenta myndigheter 1. BELGIQUE/BELGIËMinistère des affaires économiques/Ministerie van Economische ZakenAdministration des relations économiques, 4e division - Mise en oeuvre des politiques commerciales/Bestuur van de Economische Betrekkingen, 4e afdeling - Toepassing van de HandelspolitiekService Licences/Dienst VergunningenRue Général Leman/Generaal Lemanstraat 60B-1040 Bruxelles/BrusselTél./Tel.: (32 2) 230 90 43Télécopieur/Fax: (32 2) 230 83 22 ou 231 14 842. DANMARKErhvervsfremme StyrelsenSøndergade 25DK-8600 SilkeborgTlf. (45) 87 20 40 60Fax (45) 87 20 40 773. DEUTSCHLANDBundesamt für WirtschaftFrankfurter Straße 29-31D-65760 EschbornTel. (49) 61 96 404-0Fax (49) 61 96 40 42 124. ÅËËÁÄÁÕðïõñãåßï ÅèíéêÞò ÏéêïíïìßáòÃåíéêÞ Ãñáììáôåßá Äéåèíþí Ïéêïíïìéêþí Ó÷ÝóåùíÃåíéêÞ Äéåýèõíóç Åîùôåñéêþí Ïéêïíïìéêþí êáé Åìðïñéêþí Ó÷ÝóåùíÄéåýèõíóç Äéáäéêáóéþí Åîùôåñéêïý ÅìðïñßïõÊïñíÜñïõ 1GR-10563 ÁèÞíáÔçë.: (30-1)328 60 31 7 328 60 32ÔÝëåöáî: (30-1)328 60 29 7 328 60 595. ESPAÑAMinisterio de FomentoDirección General de Comercio ExteriorPaseo de la Castellana, 162E-28071 MadridTel.: (34 1) 349 38 94 - 349 38 78Fax: (34 1) 349 38 32 - 349 38 316. FRANCEServices des autorisations financières et commerciales (Safico)42, rue de ClichyF-75436 Paris Cedex 09Tél.: (33 1) 42 81 91 44Télécopieur: (33 1) 40 23 06 51Télex: 285123 SAFICO F7. IRELANDDepartment of Tourism and TradeLicensing Unit (Room 315)Kildare StreetIRL-Dublin 2Tel.: (353 1) 662 14 44Fax: (353 1) 676 61 548. ITALIAMinistero del Commercio con l'EsteroDirezione generale delle Importazioni e delle EsportazioniViale America, 341I-00144 RomaTel.: (39-6) 599 31Telefax: (39-6) 59 93 26 31 - 59 93 22 35Telex: 610083 - 610471 - 6144789. LUXEMBOURGMinistère des affaires étrangèresOffice des licencesBoîte postale 113L-2011 LuxembourgTél.: (352) 22 61 62Télécopieur: (352) 46 61 3810. NEDERLANDCentrale Dienst voor In- en UitvoerEngelse Kamp 2Postbus 30003NL-9700 RD GroningenTel.: (31-50) 523 91 11Telefax: (31-50) 526 06 9811. ÖSTERREICHBundesministerium für wirtschaftliche AngelegenheitenLandstraßer Hauptstraße 55-57A-1031 WienTel. (43) 1-71 10 23 61Fax (43) 1-715 83 4712. PORTUGALMinistério do Comércio e TurismoDirecção-Geral do ComércioAvenida da República, 79P-1000 LisboaTelefone: (351-1) 793 09 93 - 793 30 02Telefax: (351-1) 793 22 10 - 796 37 23Telex: 1341813. SUOMITullihallitusPL 512FIN-00101 HelsinkiPuh.: (358 9) 6141Telekopio: (358 9) 614 285214. SVERIGEKommerskollegiumBox 6803S-113 86 StockholmTfn: (46 8) 690 48 00Fax: (46 8) 306 75915. UNITED KINGDOMDepartment of Trade and IndustryImport Licensing BranchQueensway HouseWest PrecinctBillinghamUK-Cleveland TS23 2NFTel.: (44 1642) 36 43 33/36 43 34Fax: (44 1642) 53 35 57