Commission Regulation (EC) No 2623/98 of 4 December 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 on rules of application for additional import duties on fruit and vegetables and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1556/96
Date: 1998-12-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: CCT duties, customs regulations, free circulation, fruit, import policy, vegetable

5. 12. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 329/17

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2623/98

of 4 December 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 on rules of application for additional
import duties on fruit and vegetables and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1556/96

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of
28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the
amended by
and vegetables (1),
market
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in
particular Articles 31(2) and 33(4) thereof,

in fruit

as

Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 (3)
provides for imports of the products listed in its Annex to
be subject to surveillance; whereas that surveillance is
based on the import licences issued under the arrange-
ments introduced by Commission Regulation (EC) No
1556/96 (4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2306/
98 (5); whereas
introduced
subject to their being replaced by a rapid and computer-
ised procedure for recording imports once the latter could
be legally and practically set up; whereas such a procedure
has been successfully tested;

arrangements were

those

Whereas, therefore, the import surveillance scheme laid
down in Article 308d of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for
the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (6),
as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1677/98 (7),
should be extended to the products listed in the Annex to
Regulation (EC) No 1555/96; whereas in order for the
additional import duties system to operate correctly the
information should be notified to the Commission every
week; whereas, in addition, provisions should be adopted
permitting Member States to obtain the information
necessary for surveillance purposes at the time the prod-
ucts in question are put into free circulation under the
simplified procedures laid down in Regulation (EEC) No
2454/93; whereas as a result of the introduction of the
surveillance system Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 should
be adjusted and Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 should be
repealed with effect from 1 December 1998;

(1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 346, 17. 12. 1997, p. 41.
(3) OJ L 193, 3. 8. 1996, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 193, 3. 8. 1996, p. 5.
(5) OJ L 288, 27. 10. 1998, p. 7.
(6) OJ L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 212, 30. 7. 1998, p. 18.

Whereas Article 5(4) of the Agreement on Agriculture (8)
lays down criteria for determining the volumes which
trigger additional duties; whereas Article 5(6) of
that
Agreement permits
to be set
according to the specific characteristics of perishable and
seasonal products; whereas,
those
criteria, the volumes triggering additional duties should
be set as indicated in the Annex to this Regulation;

the triggering periods

in application of

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
the Management
in accordance with the opinion of
Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 is hereby amended as
follows:

1. Article 1 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 1

1. Additional import duty as referred to in Article
33(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 (*),
termed “additional duty” below, may be applied to the
products and during the periods listed in the Annex
hereto on the conditions set out below.

Trigger levels for the additional duties are listed

2.
in the Annex hereto.

(*) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 1.';

2. Article 2 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 2

1.
For each of the products listed in the Annex
hereto and during the periods indicated Member States
shall notify the Commission of details of the volumes
put into free circulation using the method for the
surveillance of preferential imports set out in Article
308d of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (*).

Such notification shall take place no later than midday
Brussels time each Wednesday for the volumes put
into free circulation during the preceding week.

(8) OJ L 336, 23. 12. 1994, p. 22.

L 329/18

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

5. 12. 98

2. Declarations for release for free circulation of
products covered by the present Regulation which the
customs authorities may accept at
the declarant’s
request without
their containing certain particulars
referred to in Annex 37 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/
93 shall contain, in addition to the particulars referred
to in Article 254 of that Regulation, an indication of
the net mass (kg) of the products concerned.

Where the simplified declaration procedure referred to
in Article 260 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 is used
to put into free circulation products covered by the
present Regulation, the simplified declarations shall
contain, in addition to other requirements, an indica-
tion of the net mass (kg) of the products concerned.

Where the local clearance procedure referred to in
Article 263 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 is used to
put
into free circulation products covered by the
present Regulation, the notification to the customs
authorities referred to in Article 266(1) of that Regula-
tion shall contain all necessary data for the identifica-
tion of the goods, as well as an indication of the net
mass (kg) of the products concerned.

3. Article 3 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 3

1.
If it is found that, for one of the products and one
of the periods listed in the Annex hereto, the quantity
put into free circulation exceeds the corresponding
triggering volume the Commission shall levy an addi-
tional duty.

The additional duty shall be levied on quantities
2.
put into free circulation after the date of application of
the said duty, provided that:

— their tariff classification determined in accordance
with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 3223/94
entails application of the highest specific duties
applicable to imports of the origin in question,
— importation is effected during the period of

application of the additional duty.';

4. the Annex is replaced by the Annex to this Regulation.

Article 2

Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 is hereby repealed.

Article 3

Article 266(2b) shall not apply to imports of the prod-
ucts covered by the present Regulation.

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

(*) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.';

It shall apply with effect from 1 December 1998.

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

Done at Brussels, 4 December 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

5. 12. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 329/19

ANNEX

‘ANNEX

Without prejudice to the rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature, the description of the
products is deemed to be indicative only. The scope of the additional duties for the purposes of this Annex is
determined by the scope of the CN codes as they exist at the time of the adoption of this Regulation. Where
the indication “ex” is placed before the CN code the scope of the additional duties is determined both by the
scope of the CN code and by the corresponding trigger period.

Serial No

CN code

Description

Trigger period

78.0015

78.0020

78.0065

78.0075

78.0085

78.0100

78.0110

78.0120

78.0130

78.0155

78.0160

78.0170

78.0180

78.0190

78.0200

78.0220

78.0235

78.0250

78.0260

78.0270

78.0280

ex 0702 00 00

Tomatoes

ex 0707 00 05

Cucumbers

ex 0709 10 00

Artichokes

0709 90 70

Courgettes

Oranges

ex 0805 10 10
ex 0805 10 30
ex 0805 10 50

ex 0805 20 10

Clementines

ex 0805 20 30
ex 0805 20 50
ex 0805 20 70
ex 0805 20 90

Mandarins,
tangerines,
including
satsumas, wilkings and similar citrus
hybrids

ex 0805 30 10

Lemons

ex 0806 10 10

Table grapes

Apples

ex 0808 10 20
ex 0808 10 50
ex 0808 10 90

ex 0808 20 50

Pears

ex 0809 10 00

Apricots

— 1 October to 31 March

— 1 April to 30 September

— 1 May to 31 October

— 1 November to 30 April

— 1 November to 30 June

— 1 January to 31 December

— 1 December to 31 May

— 1 November to end February

— 1 November to end February

— 1 June to 31 December

— 1 January to 31 May

— 21 July to 20 November

— 1 September to 31 December

— 1 January to 31 March

— 1 April to 31 August

— 1 January to 30 April

— 1 July to 31 December

— 1 June to 31 July

— 21 May to 10 August

ex 0809 20

ex 0809 30

Cherries

Peaches, including nectarines

— 11 June to 30 September

ex 0809 40 05

Plums

— 11 June to 30 September

Trigger level
(tonnes)

164 102

15 622

16 028

3 865

1 180

45 160

465 695

218 217

114 194

285 329

24 448

190 422

395 887

51 279

575 829

155 487

202 569

2 432

108 193

1 166

112 005'