Proposal for Council Regulation opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain fishery products
Date: 2000-09-06
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: CCT duties, fishery product, import, tariff quota, third country

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 06.09.2000
COM(2000) 503 final

Proposal for

COUNCIL REGULATION

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

(presented by the Commission)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.

2.

3.

As part of the reform of the common organisation of the market in the fishery
and aquaculture products sector, the Council and the Commission made a
commitment to open the autonomous tariff quotas for a number of fishery
products for the period 2001 to 2003, so as to ensure adequate supplies for
user industries. This proposal for a regulation constitutes the implementation
of that commitment.

The tariff quotas to be opened for the products in question are restricted to
products for processing which satisfy the conditions laid down concerning
the reference prices fixed or to be fixed.

In addition, this proposal provides for the opening of these tariff quotas as of
1 January 2001 for periods up to and including 31 December 2003, so as to
ensure that user industries can plan the supplies they need without disrupting
the revenues of Community producers.

These are the aims of the attached proposal for a Regulation.

2

Proposal for

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)

Community supplies of certain fishery products currently depend on imports
from third countries. 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.
to jeopardise the
development prospects of this product in the Community and to ensure an
adequate supply to satisfy user industries, such quotas should be opened,
applying variable customs duties in accordance with the sensitivity of the
product in question on the Community market.

In order not

Equal and uninterrupted access to the said quotas should be ensured for all
Community importers and the rates laid down for the quotas should be applied
without interruption to all imports of the products concerned into all Member
States until the quotas have been used up.

The decision on the opening of autonomous tariff quotas has to be taken by the
Community. However, 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 amount the necessary quantities corresponding to
actual
this method of administration requires close
cooperation 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.

imports. However,

3

(4)

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,1 has codified the management
rules for tariff quotas to be used by following the chronological order of the
dates of acceptance of the declarations of release for free circulation,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.

2.

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

Imports of the products in question shall not be covered by the quotas
referred to in paragraph 1 unless the declared customs value is at least equal
to the reference price fixed, or to be fixed, in accordance with Article 29 of
Council Regulation (EEC) No 104/2000 of 17 December 1999 on the
common organisation of the market in fishery and aquaculture products.2

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 cooperate closely to ensure that this
Regulation is complied with.

Article 3

Article 4

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2001.

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

Done at Brussels,

For the Council
The President

1

2

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).
OJ L 17, 21.1.2000, p. 22.

4

Order
No

CN code

TARIC
code

ANNEX

Description

09.2765

ex 0305 62 00

09.2788

ex 0305 69 10

ex 0302 40 00
ex 0303 50 00
ex 0304 10 97
ex 0304 90 22

09.2790

ex 1604 14 16

09.2792

ex 1604 12 99

20
25
29
10

10
10
20
10

20
95

10

09.2794

ex 1605 20 99

45

Annual
amount of
quota (in
tons)
10.000

Cod (Gadus morhua, Gadus ogac,
Gadus macrocephalus) and fish of the
species Boreogadus saida, salted or in
brine, but not dried or smoked,
for
processing (a)(b)

Herrings (Clupea harengus, Clupea

20.000

pallasii), whole, head included, of a

weight exceeding 140 g per piece or

flaps of a weight exceeding 80 g per

piece ), excluding livers and roes, fresh,

chilled or frozen, for processing (a)(b)

Fillets known as “loins” of

tunas and

skipjack, for processing (a)(b)
Herrings, spiced/vinegar cured, in brine,
preserved in barrels of at least 70 kg
net drained weight,
for processing
(a)(b)
the species
Shrimps and prawns of
Pandalus borealis; cooked and peeled,
for processing (a)(b)

4.000

5.000

5.000

Quota
duty
(%)

Quota
period

0

0

6

6

6

01.01.2001. -
31.12.2003

01.11.2001 -
31.12.2001

01.11.2002 –
31.12.2002

01.11.2003 –
31.12.2003

01.01.2001 -
31.12.2003

01.01.2001 -
31.12.2003

01.01.2001 -
31.12.2003

(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.

5

FINANCIAL STATEMENT

1.

TITLE OF OPERATION

Proposal for Council Regulation opening and providing for the administration of
Community tariff quotas, for certain fishery products.

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)

Order
No

Quantities
(Tons)

Estimated price
€
/tons)

(

Normal duty
rate
(%)

Quota duty
(%)

Duty loss against the annual
quota period (

€
)

09.2765

10.000

09.2788

20.000

09.2790

09.2792

09.2794

4.000

5.000

5.000

2.927

350

3.984

1.160

733

13

15

24

20

20

0

0

6

6

6

Total duty loss against the annual quota period: 9.048.680

€

.

3.805.100

1.050.000

2.868.480

812.000

513.100

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.

6