Proposal for a Council Regulation opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products
Date: 2000-06-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: fishery product, supply, suspension of customs duties, tariff quota

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 28.06.2000
COM(2000)404 final

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff
quotas for certain fishery products

(presented by the Commission)

1.

2.

3.

4.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

As part of the annual overall review within the Council concerning the
granting of autonomous preferences for fishery products, the Commission
has drawn up a report on the markets and supply needs of user industries for
2000.

the Commission is proposing a certain number of

Having regard to the requirements of the internal and external policies of the
Community,
tariff
measures, notably tariff quotas,
to ensure continuation of Community
production in accordance with the rules and obligations of the common
organisation of the markets, and to ensure supply of the processing industries
while also taking into account the current and foreseeable situation on the
international market.

In these conditions,
the tariff quotas for the products specified are for
products which meet the conditions laid down as regards the reference prices
fixed, or to be fixed, and which are intended for processing.

Furthermore, according to this proposal, this tariff measure should be opened
from 1 August 2000 for periods extending to 31 December 2000 in order to
allow planning of supply to the industry without destabilising the revenue of
Community producers.

This is the purpose of the following proposal.

2

Proposal for a

COUNCIL REGULATION

opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff
quotas for certain fishery products

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular
Article 26 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

1

Community supplies of certain fishery products currently depend on imports
from third countries; whereas it is in the Community's interest to suspend in
part or in whole the customs duties for the products in question, within
Community tariff quotas of an appropriate volume; whereas, in order not to
jeopardise the development prospects of this production in the Community and
to ensure an adequate supply to satisfy user industries, it is advisable to open
those quotas, applying customs duties varied accordingly to sensitivity of the
different products on the Community market.

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.

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 authorising the Member
States to draw from the quota-volumes the necessary quantities corresponding
to actual imports; whereas, however, this method of administration requires
close co-operation 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.

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 Code1, has codified the management
rules for tariff quotas designed to be used following the chronological order of
dates of customs declarations.

OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1662/99
(OJ L 197, 29.7.1999, p. 25).

3

(5)

(6)

Examination of the situation as regards supplies of tropical shrimps and
prawns to the Community market has shown that, mainly due to the "white
spot syndrome" affecting the species,
the user industries are no longer
receiving sufficient supplies. An autonomous tariff quota for a limited quantity
and of limited duration should therefore be opened.

Having regard to the economic importance of this Regulation for European
industry, it is necessary to invoke the ground of urgency referred to in point
I(3) of the Additional Protocol to the Treaty of Amsterdam on the role of
national parliaments in the European Union.

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.

2.

The import duties on the goods listed in the Annex shall be suspended at the
indicated duty rate for the periods and in the amounts indicated therein.

Imports of the products in question shall not be covered by the quotas
referred to in paragraph 1 unless the free-at-frontier price, which is
determined by the Member States in accordance with Article 22 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 of 17 December 1992 on the common
organisation of the market in fishery and aquaculture products2, is at least
equal to the reference price fixed, or to be fixed, by the Community for the
products under consideration of the categories of the products concerned.

The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission in
accordance with Articles 308a to 308c of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

Article 2

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

Article 3

2

OJ L 388, 31.12.1992, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3318/94
(OJ L 350, 31.12.1994, p. 15).

4

Article 4

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

It shall apply from 1 August 2000.

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

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Order
No

CN code

TARIC
code

09.2990

ex 0306 13 50

20

ANNEX

Description

Shrimps and prawns of
the genus
Penaeus, except the species Penaeus
monodon and Penaeus japonicus;
in
shell, frozen, for processing (a)(b)

Amount
of quota
(in tons)

Quota
duty
(%)

10.000

3,6

Quota
period

01.08 -
31.12.2000

(a)

(b)

Control of the use for this special purpose shall be carried out pursuant to the relevant Community provisions.

This quota is available for products intended to undergo any operation, unless it is solely for one or more of the
following operations:

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

–

cleaning, gutting, tailing, heading,

cutting (excluding filleting or cutting of frozen blocks or splitting of frozen interleaved fillet
blocks),

sampling, sorting,

labelling,

packing,

chilling,

freezing,

deep freezing,

thawing, separation.

The quota is not available for products intended, in addition, to undergo treatment (or operations) which gives quota
entitlement, where such treatment (or operations) is (are) carried out at retail or catering level. The reduction of
customs duties shall apply only to fish intended for human consumption.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.

TITLE OF OPERATION

Proposal
for
administration of Community tariff quotas, for certain fishery products.

for Council Regulation opening

providing

and

the

2.

BUDGET HEADING INVOLVED

Chap. 12 Art. 120 (1210 + 1060)

3.

LEGAL BASIS

Art. 26 of the Treaty

4.

4.1

5.

5.1

DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION

General objective

To ensure an adequate supply for Community user industries.

FINANCIAL IMPACT

Method of calculating total cost of operation (relation between
individual and total costs)

Description

Variation on
quantities
(Tons)

Variation of the
estimate price
€
/unit)

(

Variation on
normal duty
rate
(%)

Variation on
quota duty
(%)

Assessed variation on duty loss
against the preceding quota
period (

€
)

Shrimps
09.2990

+ 10.000
(v. previous: 0)

0
(p. previous:
7.053)

0
(d. previous:
12)

0

+ 5.924.520
(previous loss: 0)

Sum of assessed variation on duty loss against the preceding quota period:
+ 5.924.520

€

6.

FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES

Provisions on the management of these tariff quotas include the measures
necessary for preventing frauds and irregularities and protecting against
them.

7