Commission Regulation (EC) No 1045/98 of 19 May 1998 opening and providing for the administration of an import tariff quota for frozen beef intended for processing (1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999)
Date: 1998-05-19
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: beef, food processing, frozen product, import, import licence, tariff quota

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20. 5. 98

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1045/98

of 19 May 1998

opening and providing for the administration of an import tariff quota for
frozen beef intended for processing (1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1095/96 of
18 June 1996 on the implementation of the concessions
set out in Schedule CXL drawn up in the wake of the
conclusion of the GATT XXIV.6 negotiations (1), and in
particular Article 1(1) thereof,

Whereas pursuant to Schedule CXL the Community has
undertaken to open an annual
tariff quota of
intended for processing;
50 700 tonnes of frozen beef
whereas
the quota year
1998/99 starting 1 July 1998 must be established;

the rules of application for

import

Whereas the import of frozen beef under the tariff quota
shall qualify for the total suspension of the specific rate of
customs duty where the meat is intended for the manu-
facture of preserved food, which does not contain charac-
teristic components other than beef and jelly; whereas
where the meat is intended for other processed products
containing beef
the import shall qualify for a 55 %
suspension of the autonomous specific rate of customs
duty; whereas the breakdown of the tariff quota into each
of the arrangements referred to above should be made
taking into account the experience gained in respect of
similar imports in the past;

Whereas so as to avoid speculation, access to the quota
should be allowed only to active processors carrying out
processing in a processing establishment approved in
accordance with Article
of Council Directive
77/99/EEC (2), as last amended by Directive 95/68/EC (3);

8

ates for agricultural products (4), as last amended by Regu-
lation (EC) No 1033/98 (5), and Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1445/95 of 26 June 1995 on rules of application
for import and export licences in the beef and veal sector
and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2377/80 (6), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 759/98 (7), shall apply to
import licences issued under this Regulation;

the present

the application of

Whereas
tariff quota
requires strict surveillance of imports and effective checks
as to their use and destination; whereas the processing
should therefore be authorized only in the importing
Member State; whereas, furthermore, a security shall be
lodged in order to ensure that the imported meat is used
according to the tariff quota specifications; whereas the
amount of security should be fixed taking into account
the difference between the customs duties applicable
inside and outside the quota;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Beef and Veal,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

frozen beef

An import tariff quota of 50 700 tonnes, bone-in
1.
falling within CN code
equivalent of
or
0202 20 30,
0206 29 91 and intended for processing in the Commun-
ity is hereby opened for the period 1 July 1998 to 30
June 1999.

0202 30 10,

0202 30 50,

0202 30 90

Whereas, imports into the Community under the present
tariff quota are subject
to presentation of an import
licence; whereas licences may be issued following alloca-
tions of import rights on the basis of applications from
eligible processors; whereas subject to the provisions of
this Regulation the provisions of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 3719/88 of 16 November 1988 laying down
common detailed rules for the application of the system
of import and export licences and advance fixing certific-

The overall quantity referred to in paragraph 1 shall

2.
be divided into two quantities:

(a) 38 000 tonnes of frozen beef intended for manufacture

of preserved food as defined in Article 7(a),

(b) 12 700 tonnes of frozen beef intended for manufacture

of products as defined in Article 7(b).

(1) OJ L 146, 20. 6. 1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 26, 31. 1. 1977, p. 85.
(3) OJ L 332, 30. 12. 1995, p. 10.

(4) OJ L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 148, 19. 5. 1998, p. 4.
(6) OJ L 143, 27. 6. 1995, p. 35.
(7) OJ L 105, 4. 4. 1998, p. 7.

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3.

The quota shall bear the following order Nos:

— 09.4057 for the quantity to in paragraph 2(a),

— 09.4058 for the quantity referred to in paragraph 2(b).

4.
The customs import duties to apply on frozen beef
under the present tariff quota are those referred to in
order No 13 of Annex 7 to Part Three of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 2086/97 (1).

The conversion rate for the relevant amounts of duty shall
be the agricultural rate applicable on the day of importa-
tion.

5.
For the purpose of this Regulation the day of im-
portation is the day of acceptance of the declaration of
release for free circulation.

Article 2

1.
An application for import rights is valid only if it is
lodged by, or on behalf of a natural or legal person who,
during the 12 months prior to the entry into force of this
Regulation, has been in the business of producing
processed products containing beef and who is entered in
a national VAT register. Furthermore,
the application
shall be lodged by, or on behalf of a processing establish-
ment
to Article 8 of Directive
77/99/EEC. For each quantity referred to in Article 1(2)
only one application for import rights may be accepted in
respect of each approved processing establishment.

approved pursuant

approval numbers of
concerned.

the processing establishments

The Commission shall decide as soon as possible to what
extent applications may be accepted, where necessary as a
percentage of the quantity applied for.

Article 4

1.
Any import of frozen beef for which import rights
have been allocated pursuant to Article 3 shall be subject
to presentation of an import licence.

2. Within his allocated import rights a processor may
apply for import licences until 26 February 1999 at the
latest. The application shall be lodged in the Member
State where the import rights are registered.

For the purpose of
bone-in beef equals 77 kilograms of boneless beef.

this paragraph 100 kilograms of

3.
A security shall be lodged with the competent
authority at the time of importation ensuring that the
processor processes the entire quantity of meat imported
into the required finished products in the establishment
specified in the licence application, within three months
following the day of importation.

The amounts of security are fixed in the Annex.

Article 5

Applicants no longer active in the meat processing
2.
industry on 1 May 1998 shall not qualify under the ar-
rangements provided for in this Regulation.

1. On the licence application and the licence itself
shall be entered:

3. Documentary evidence,
the
competent authority, of compliance with the conditions
of the preceding paragraphs shall be lodged together with
the application.

to the satisfaction of

Article 3

1.
Each application for import rights for production of
A-products or B-products shall be expressed in bone-in
equivalence and shall not exceed the available quantity
under each of the two categories.

2.
Each application referring to either A-products or
B-products shall reach the competent authority by 8 June
1998.

3. Member States shall forward to the Commission by
22 June 1998 a list of applicants and quantities applied
for under each of the two categories together with the

(1) OJ L 312, 14. 11. 1997, p. 1.

(a)

in box 8, the country of origin,

(b) in box 16, one of the eligible CN codes,

(c) in box 20, at least one of the following endorsements:

— Certificado v ´alido en . . . (Estado miembro expedi-
dor) / carne destinada a la transformaci(cid:155)n . . .
[productos A]
(t ´achese lo que no
proceda) en . . . (designaci(cid:155)n exacta y n ´umero de
registro del establecimiento en el que vaya a proce-
derse a la transformaci(cid:155)n) / Reglamento (CE) no
1045/98.

[productos B]

til

forarbejdning til

— Licens gyldig i . . . (udstedende medlemsstat) / Kød
(B-
bestemt
produkter)
. . .
(nøjagtig betegnelse for den virksomhed, hvor
forarbejdningen sker)
(EF) nr.
/
1045/98.

(det ikke gældende overstreges)

(A-produkter)

forordning

i

— In . . . (ausstellender Mitgliedstaat) g(cid:129)ltige Lizenz /
Fleisch f(cid:129)r die Verarbeitung zu [A-Erzeugnissen]
(Unzutreffendes bitte streichen)
[B-Erzeugnissen]
in . . . (genaue Bezeichnung des Betriebs, in dem
die Verarbeitung erfolgen soll) / Verordnung (EG)
Nr. 1045/98.

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. . .

— To pistopoigtij ˜o isw ˜uei

(jq ˜ator l ˜ekor
˜ejdosgr) / Jq ˜ear pou pqooq˜ifetai cia leta-
po˜igsg . . . [pqoˇi ˜omta A] [pqoˇi ˜omta B] (diacq ˜a-
vetai g peqitt ˜g ˜emdeing) . . . (ajqib ˜gr peqi-
˜ecjqisgr tgr ecjat ˜as-
cqav ˜g jai aqihl ˜or
tasgr ˜opou pq ˜ojeitai ma pqaclatopoighe˜i g
letapo˜igsg) / Jamomisl ˜or (EJ) aqih. 1045/98.

— Licence valid in . . . (issuing Member State) / Meat
[B-prod-
intended for processing . . .
ucts] (delete as appropriate) at . . . (exact designa-
tion and approval No of the establishment where
the processing is to take place) / Regulation (EC)
No 1045/98.

[A-products]

— Certificat valable . . .

((cid:144)tat membre (cid:130)metteur) /
viande destin(cid:130)e (cid:133) la transformation de . . . [produits
A] [produits B] (rayer la mention inutile) dans . . .
(d(cid:130)signation exacte et num(cid:130)ro d’agr(cid:130)ment de l’(cid:130)ta-
blissement dans lequel la transformation doit avoir
lieu) / r(cid:138)glement (CE) no 1045/98.

— Titolo valido in . . .

(Stato membro di rilascio) /
Carni destinate alla trasformazione . . . [prodotti A]
[prodotti B] (depennare la voce inutile) presso . . .
(esatta designazione e numero di riconoscimento
dello stabilimento nel quale (cid:138) prevista la trasfor-
mazione) / Regolamento (CE) n. 1045/98.

— Certificaat geldig in . . . (lidstaat van afgifte) / Vlees
bestemd voor verwerking tot
[B-
producten] (doorhalen wat niet van toepassing is)
in . . .
(nauwkeurige aanduiding en toelatings-
nummer van het bedrijf waar de verwerking zal
plaatsvinden) / Verordening (EG) nr. 1045/98.

[A-producten]

— Certificado v ´alido em . . . (Estado-membro emissor)
/ carne destinada (cid:133) transforma(cid:135)˜ao . . . [produtos A]
(riscar o que n˜ao interessa) em . . .
[produtos B]
(designa(cid:135)˜ao exacta e n ´umero de aprova(cid:135)˜ao do esta-
belecimento em que a transforma(cid:135)˜ao ser ´a efec-
tuada) / Regulamento (CE) nº 1045/98.

— Todistus on voimassa . . .

(my(cid:148)nt(cid:132)j(cid:132)j(cid:132)senvaltio) /
Liha on tarkoitettu [A-luokan tuotteet]
[B-luokan
tuotteet] (tarpeeton poistettava) jalostukseen . . .:ssa
(tarkka ilmoitus laitoksesta,
jossa jalostus suorite-
taan, hyv(cid:132)ksynt(cid:132)numero mukaan lukien) / Asetus
(EY) N:o 1045/98.

— Licensen (cid:132)r giltig i . . . (utf(cid:132)rdande medlemsstat) /
K(cid:148)tt avsett f(cid:148)r bearbetning . . .
[B-
produkter] (stryk det som inte g(cid:132)ller) vid . . . (exakt
angivelse av och godk(cid:132)nnandenummer f(cid:148)r anl(cid:132)g-
gningen d(cid:132)r bearbetningen skall ske) / F(cid:148)rordning
(EG) nr 1045/98.

[A-produkter]

2. Without prejudice to the provisions of this Regula-
tion, Regulations
(EEC) No 3719/88 and (EC) No
1445/95 shall apply.

Import licences shall be valid for 120 days from the
3.
date of issue within the meaning of Article 21(1) of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 3719/88. However, their term of validity
shall expire on 30 June 1999 at the latest.

4. Notwithstanding Article 8(4) of Regulation (EEC)
No 3719/88, the full Common Customs Tariff duty ap-
plicable on the date of release for free circulation shall be
collected in respect of all quantities imported in excess of
those shown on the import licence.

Article 6

1. Quantities for which import
licence applications
have not been lodged by 26 February 1999 shall be
subject to a further allocation of import rights.

To that end, by 5 March 1999, Member States shall
forward to the Commission details of the quantities for
which no applications have been received.

2.
The Commission shall decide as soon as possible on
the breakdown of those quantities into those intended for
A-products and those intended for B-products. In doing
so, the actual utilisation of the import rights allocated
pursuant to Article 3 under each of the two categories
may be taken into account.

3.
For the purposes of this Article, Articles 2 to 5 shall
apply. However, the date referred to in Article 3(2) shall
be replaced by 2 April 1999 and the date referred to in
Article 3(3) shall be replaced by 9 April 1999.

Article 7

For the purposes of this Regulation:

1602 10,

(a) An A-product shall be defined as a processed product
falling within CN code
1602 50 31,
1602 50 39 or 1602 50 80, not containing meat other
than that of animals of the bovine species, with a
collagen/protein ratio of no more than 0,45 % (1) and
containing by weight at least 20 % (2) of lean meat
excluding offal (3) and fat with meat and jelly ac-
counting for at least 85 % of the total net weight.

The product must be subjected to a heat treatment
sufficient to ensure the coagulation of meat proteins
in the whole of the product which may not show any
traces of a pinkish liquid on the cut surface when the
product is cut along a line passing through its thickest
part.

(1) Determination of collagen content: the collagen content shall
be taken to mean the hydroxyproline content multiplied by
the factor 8. The hydroxyproline content must be determined
according to ISO method 3496–1978.

(2) The lean bovine meat content exclusing fat is determined in
accordance with the procedure prescribed in the Annex to
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2429/86 (OJ L 210,
1.8.1986, p. 39).

feet,

tails, hearts, udders,

(3) Offal includes the following: heads and cuts thereof (including
livers, kidneys, sweetbreads
ears),
(thymus glands and pancreas), brains,
thick
skirts, pleens, tongues, caul, spinal cords, edible skin, repro-
ductive organs (i.e. uteri, ovaries and testes), thyroid glands,
pituitary glands.

throats,

lungs,

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(b) A B-product shall be defined as a processed product

containing beef, other than:
— one specified in Article 1(1)(a) of Council Regula-

tion (EEC) No 805/68 (1), or

— one referred to under (a).

However, a processed product falling within CN code
0210 20 90 which has been dried or smoked so that
the fresh meat has
the colour and consistency of
totally disappeared and with a water/protein ratio not
exceeding 3,2 shall be considered to be a B-product.

Article 8

Member States shall set up a system of physical and docu-
mentary supervision to ensure that all meat is processed
into the category of product specified on the import
licence concerned.

The system must include physical checks of quantity and
quality at the start of the processing, during the proces-
sing and after the processing operation is completed. To
this end, processors shall at any time be able to demon-
strate the identity and use of the imported meat through
appropriate production records.

Technical verification of the production method by the
competent authority may, to the extent necessary, make
allowance for drip losses and trimmings.

and analysis of those products. The costs of such opera-
tions shall be born by the processor concerned.

Article 9

1.
The security referred to in Article 4(3) shall be
released in proportion to the quantity for which, within
seven months, proof has been furnished to the satisfaction
of the competent authority that all or part of the imported
meat has been processed into the relevant products within
three months following the day of importation in the
designated establishment.

However,

(a)

if processing took place after the abovementioned
three-month time limit, the security shall be released
minus:
— 15 %, and
— 2 % of the remaining amount for each day by

which the time limit has been exceeded;

(b) if proof of processing is established within the above-
mentioned seven-month time limit and is produced
within 18 months following those seven months the
amount forfeited less 15 % of the security amount,
shall be repaid.

The amount of

2.
forfeited and retained as a customs duty.

security not

released shall be

Article 10

In order to verify the quality of the finished product and
recipe
establish its conformity with the processor’s
Member States shall proceed to representative samplings

This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day
following 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, 19 May 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 148, 28. 6. 1968, p. 24.

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ANNEX

AMOUNTS OF SECURITY

Product
(CN code)

0202 20 30

0202 30 10

0202 30 50

0202 30 90

0206 29 91

For manufacture
of A-products

For manufacture
of B-products

(in ECU/1 000 kg net)

1 679

2 625

2 625

3 611

3 611

684

1 071

1 071

1 473

1 473

The conversion rate is the agricultural rate valid on the day of application for the licence.