Commission Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 of 7 May 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 as regards the arrangements for importing bananas into the Community
Date: 2001-05-07
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: CCT duties, GATT, common organisation of markets, import licence, tariff quota, tropical fruit

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 896/2001

of 7 May 2001

laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 as regards the
arrangements for importing bananas into the Community

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13
February 1993 on the common organisation of the market in
bananas (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 216/
2001 (2), and in particular Article 20 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

By Regulation (EC) No 216/2001 the Council amended
the rules for importing bananas introduced by Title IV of
Regulation (EEC) No 404/93. In particular, that Regula-
tion opened an autonomous C tariff quota of 850 000
tonnes at EUR 300/tonne customs duty in addition to
the 2 200 000 tonnes secured under the world Trade
Organisation (WTO)
additional quota of
and the
353 000 tonnes. All the provisions necessary to imple-
ment
including such
transitional measures as are justified by the entry into
force of this Regulation on 1 July 2001, as well as
provisions concerning imports at the Common Customs
Tariff rate.

those rules should be adopted,

Under the last subparagraph of Article 18(1) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 404/93, where there is no agreement with
World Trade Organisation contracting parties with a
substantial interest in the supply of bananas, the tariff
quotas ‘A’ and ‘B’ need not be allocated among supplier
countries.

Article 19 of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 provides that
the tariff quotas may be managed in accordance with the
method based on taking account of traditional trade
flows (‘traditional/newcomers’) and/or other methods. To
implement the new arrangements from the second half
it is advisable to grant access to the tariff
of 2001,
quotas to traditional operators who have undertaken on
their own account the purchase of fresh products from
producers in third countries, or their production, as well
as their dispatch to and unloading in the customs terri-
tory of the Community, during a reference period. For
the purposes of this Regulation, these activities are called
‘primary imports’.

(4)

A single definition of traditional operators should be
adopted for all tariff quotas, and their reference quant-
ities should be determined according to the same rules,

(1) OJ L 47, 25.2.1993, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 31, 2.2.2001, p. 2.

(5)

(6)

(7)

but separately depending on whether these operators
have supplied the Community market with bananas
originating in non-ACP third countries and non-tradi-
tional imports from ACP States or with traditional ACP
bananas during the reference period, within the meaning
of the definitions in Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No
404/93 applicable before the amendment introduced by
Regulation (EC) No 216/2001.

The reference period to be used for defining categories
of operators and determining the reference quantities of
traditional operators should be the three-year period
1994 to 1996. The three-year period 1994 to 1996 is
the most recent for which the Commission has suffi-
ciently reliable data on primary imports. Using that
period can also resolve a dispute which has been going
on for a number of years with certain of the Communi-
ty's trading partners. In the light of the available data
established for the purpose of administering the quotas
opened in 1998,
traditional operators need not be
registered.

A share of the tariff quotas must be reserved for non-
traditional operators. That share must allow operators
who did not carry out any primary imports during the
reference period to continue trading and to adapt to the
new rules and to allow new operators to enter this
import trade, thereby encouraging healthy competition.

of

years

applying

from several

the
Experience
Community banana import arrangements indicates the
need to tighten the criteria for non-traditional operators
and the eligibility criteria for new operators so as to
avoid the registration of purely fictious agents and the
grant of allocations in response to artificial or specula-
tive applications. In particular, it is justifiable to demand
a minimum of experience in importing fresh bananas.
Also, to avoid applications for annual allocations which
bear little relation to operators' actual capacities and
which will not lead to applications for import licences
for
the corresponding quantities, submission of an
application for import licences for the corresponding
quantities, submission of an application for an annual
allocation should be subject to the requirement that a
security in lieu of the import licence security be lodged.
That security should be released without delay in stages
as operators actually use up their annual allocations and
furnish proof that they have dispatched the goods and
unloaded them in the Community and had them

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released for free circulation on their own account. For
the same purpose, the grant of an annual allocation in
subsequent years should be made subject to a minimum
rate of use of the previous annual allocation.

and advance-fixing certificates for agricultural prod-
ucts (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 369/
2001 (4), should apply. Pursuant to Article 9 of that
Regulation, rights resulting from licences may be trans-
ferred by the holder only once per licence or per extract
from a licence during the term of validity thereof.

Operators should be remineded that they may form
mergers or groupings on terms and conditions defined
in national legislation in order to meet their obligations
and exercise the rights arising under this Regulation.

(13)

(8)

(9)

(10)

Rules should be adopted for registering non-traditional
operators and determining their annual allocations and
the verifications and checks to be carried out by the
competent national authorities should be specified, as
should the action to be taken in the event that certain
obligations are not
in particular as regards
registration and declarations made for the purpose of
obtaining allocations under the import arrangements.

fulfilled,

the purposes of

For
implementing the tariff quota
arrangements on 1 July 2001, it is appropriate to main-
tain the administrative rules based on periods as created
by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 of 28
October 1998 laying down detailed rules for the imple-
mentation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93
regarding imports of bananas into the Community (1), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1632/2000 (2), with
adjustments where necessary. Those rules
relate in
particular to fixing the indicative quantities for the first
three quarters, the ceilings for individual applications,
the frequency for the submission of licence applications
and for the issue of licences, and the issue of licences for
the re-use of unused quantities. However, the fact that
tariff quotas A and B on the one hand and C on the
other are managed separately as regards the share allo-
cated to traditional operators means that those operators
may submit licence applications only under the tariff
quota for which they have been granted and notified of
a reference quantity.

(11)

For the purposes of Article 18(6) and (7) of Regulation
(EEC) No 404/93, there is a need to define the items
making up the balance sheet of production, consump-
tion, imports and exports which has to be established
before an increase in the autonomous quota can be
made in the event of an increase in demand or of
exceptional circumstances affecting supplies
to the
Community market.

The rules for transferring licences should be specified in
the light of the definition of operator categories estab-
lished by this Regulation. Transfer restricted to a single
transferee per licence or extract therefrom will allow
trade relations to develop between the various registered
speculation or
operators. However, artificial
disturbance of normal trade should not be encouraged
by permitting transfer from non-traditional operators to
traditional operators.

trade,

(14) All the necessary communications between operators,
Member States and the Commission in pursuance of this
Regulation should be specified,
in particular for the
purpose of establishing operators' reference quantities
and allocations, administering tariff quotas by period
and market monitoring.

(15) Under the transitional measures necessitated by the
application of the new arrangements on 1 July 2001,
derogations should be provided for from administrative
rules on the timetable for registering non-traditional
operators and on the transmission to the competent
national
evidence
relating to their registration.

the documentary

authorities of

(16)

(17)

Further, the quantities which can be imported for the
third quarter of 2001 under the tariff quotas should be
determined and the ceiling for individual licence applica-
tions from operators and a strict
timetable for the
submission of those applications should be fixed.

The changes made by this Regulation to the arrange-
ments for importing bananas into the Community to
define non-traditional operators call for verifications and
checks by the competent national authorities, acting in
cooperation with the Commission. Such operations can,
if need be, lead to corrections of operators' allocations. It
inter alia, that those allocations may not be
follows,
regarded as vested rights, nor be pleaded by operators as
legitimate expectations.

(12)

Except where derogations are explicitly provided for,
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June
2000 laying down common detailed rules for
the
application of the system of import and export licences

(18)

Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 should be repealed.

(1) OJ L 293, 31.10.1998, p. 32.
(2) OJ L 187, 26.7.2000, p. 6.

(3) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 55, 24.2.2001, p. 41.

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(19)

Pursuant to Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No
395/2001 (1), Regulation (EC) No 216/2001 applies
from 1 July 2001.
In order to enable operators to
benefit under that Regualation from that date onwards,
transitional measures should be enacted to allow the
Member States and the Commission to assemble all the
requisite information for ensuring that licences are used
from 1 July 2001 onwards.

(20)

The Management Committee for Bananas has not deliv-
set by its
ered an opinion within the time limit
Chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

TITLE I

INTRODUCTORY PROVISIONS

Article 1

This Regulation lays down detailed rules for applying the
arrangements for importing bananas under the tariff quotas
provided for in Article 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93
and also outside those quotas.

Article 2

The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be made available
as follows:

(a) 83 % to ‘traditional operators’ as defined in Article 3(1);

(b) 17 % to ‘non-traditional operators’ as defined in Article 6.

TITLE II

MANAGEMENT OF TARIFF QUOTAS

Chapter 1

Definition of operators

The minimum quantity referred to in the first subparagraph
shall be 250 tonnes imported in any one year of the refer-
ence period. This minimum quantity shall be 20 tonnes
where marketing or import concerns only bananas with a
length of 10 centimetres or less;

‘third-country bananas’ and/or

‘traditional operators A/B’ means traditional operators who
have carried out the minimum quantity of primary imports
of
‘non-traditional ACP’
bananas in accordance with the definitions in Article 16 of
Regulation (EEC) No 404/93, as amended by Regulation
(EC) No 1637/98 (2);

‘traditional operators C’ means traditional operators who
have carried out the minimum quantity of primary imports
of ‘traditional ACP bananas’ in accordance with the defini-
tons in the abovementioned Article 16, as amended by
Regulation (EC) No 1637/98.

2.

3.

Article 4

1.
The reference quantity for each traditional operator A/B
who submits a written application no later than 11 May 2001
shall be established on the basis of the average of primary
imports of third-country bananas and/or non-traditional ACP
bananas during 1994, 1995 and 1996 taken into account for
1998 for the purposes of administering the tariff quota for
third-country bananas and non-traditional ACP
imports of
bananas, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19(2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 applicable in 1998 to the
category of operators referred to in paragraph 1(a) of that
Article.

The reference quantity for each traditional

2.
importer C
who submits a written application no later than 11 May 2001
shall be established on the basis of the average of primary
imports of traditional ACP bananas during 1994, 1995 and
1996 carried out for 1998 as traditional quantities of ACP
bananas.

Operators resulting from a merger of other traditional
3.
operators, each with their own rights under this Regulation,
shall enjoy the same rights as those former operators.

Section I:

‘ T r a d i t i o n a l o p e r a t o r s ’

Article 5

Article 3

For the purposes of this Regulation:

1.

‘traditional operators’ means economic agents, whether
natural persons or entities having legal pesonality, individual
agents or groups, established in the Community during the
period for determining their reference quantities, who have,
for their own account, purchased a minimum quantity of
bananas originating in third countries from the producers
or, where applicable, produced, consigned and sold such
products in the Community.

Operations as defined in the previous subparagraph shall
hereinafter be called ‘primary imports’.

1.
The Member States shall notify the Commission of the
sum of the reference quantities referred to in Article 4(1) and
(2) no later than 15 May 2001.

2.
Using the information received under paragraph 1, and in
light of the total quantities available under tariff quotas A/B
and C, the Commission shall, where appropriate, set a single
adjustment coefficient to be applied to each operator's refer-
ence quantity.

3. Where paragraph 2 applies, the competent authorities
shall notify each operator of
reference quantity as
adjusted by the adjustment coefficient not later than 7 June
2001.

their

(1) OJ L 58, 27.2.2001, p. 11.

(2) OJ L 210, 28.7.1998, p. 28.

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The competent authorities in each Member State shall be
4.
as listed in the Annex. That list shall be amended by the
Commission at the request of the Member States concerned.

corresponding customs declarations
customs authorities.

stamped by the

Section II:

‘ N o n - t r a d i t i o n a l o p e r a t o r s ’

Article 6

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘non-traditional operators’
means economic agents established in the Community at the
time of their registration who:

(a) have been engaged independently and on their own
account in the commercial activity of importing into the
Community
falling within CN code
0803 00 19 in the two years immediately preceding the
year in respect of which registration is sought;

fresh bananas

(b) by virtue of this activity, have imported produce to a
declared customs value of EUR 1 200 000 or more during
the period referred to in point (a); and

(c) do not have a reference quantity as a traditional operator
under the tariff quota for which they are applying for
registration under Article 7 and who are not a natural
person or entity having legal personality related, within the
meaning of Article 143 of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 2454/93 (1), to a traditional operator.

Applications for registration shall be submitted by 1

3.
October each year.

4.
In order to have their registration renewed, operators
shall provide the competent authorities with proof that they
have actually imported on their own account at least 50 % of
the quantity allocated to them for the current year. For the
purposes of renewing registration for 2002, that percentage
shall be 30 %.

Applications for renewal shall be submitted by 1 October each
year and be accompanied by copies of import licences used,
proof of payment of the customs duties due on the date of the
completion of customs import formalities, and a copy of the
import licence(s) issued for the current quarter.

5.
By 10 October each year, the Member States shall notify
the Commission of the list of operators who have submitted
requests for registration and for renewal of registration, and in
the case of renewals the serial numbers of licences or any
licence extracts, used and issued.

As and when required, the Commission shall forward those
lists to the other Member States with a view to facilitating the
detection or prevention of false claims by operators.

Article 7

The Commission may publish some of the details contained in
the notifications from Member States.

1.
Operators may be registered, in a single Member State of
their choice, as a non-traditonal operator under tariff quota
A/B and/or tariff quota C.

Article 8

Traditional operators under a tariff quota may be registered as
non-traditional operators under the tariff quota for which they
do not have a reference quantity.

1.
At the same time as the operators concerned apply for
registration or renewal of their registration, they shall also
request their annual quota allocation.

However, traditional operators C may be registered as non-
traditional operators under tariff quota A/B only if they can
supply proof that they have imported third-country bananas
and/or non-traditional ACP bananas to the declared customs
value specified in point (b) of Article 6 during the period
indicated.

2.
For the purposes of registration, operators shall send to
the competent authority as listed in the Annex the following
supporting documents:

(a) proof of entry in a commercial register of the Member State
or other alternative proof acceptable to the said authorities;
and

(b) evidence of having imported bananas, by presenting the
import licences used or, in cases where such a licence was
not compulsory, the relevant customs documents; together
with

(c) a copy of an attestation from an independent, professio-
nally registered chartered accountant certifying imports to
the value required in point (b) of Article 6, or a copy of the

To be accepted, such requests:

(a) may not cover a quantity greater than 12,5 % of the total
quantity allocated annually to non-traditional operators;
and

(b) shall be accompanied by proof that a security of EUR 150
per tonne requested has been lodged in accordance with
Title III of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 (2).

The security referred to in paragraph 1(b) shall be
2.
released in stages,
in proportion to the quantities actually
imported, where operators furnish proof of dispatch and
unloading in the customs territory of the Community on their
own account. In cases of force majeure, the security shall not be
forfeited.

Proof of dispatch shall be furnished by producing copies of the
bill of lading and the ship's manifest or, where applicable, the
road or air transport document, drawn up in the name of the
operator, for the quantities actually imported.

(1) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 205, 3.8.1985, p. 5.

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Evidence of actual import shall be furnished by producing a
copy of the import licences used and proof of payment of the
customs duties value.

Regulation. The group shall stand for each of its members in
exercising their rights and fulfilling their obligations.

Article 9

1.
By 10 October at the latest each year, the competent
authorities shall send the Commission a list of the non-tradi-
tional operators registered, indicating for each one the annual
allocation requested.

If the total quantity of allocations applied for under a
2.
given tariff quota A/B or C exceeds the quantity available to
non-traditional operators, the Commission shall
immediately
determine the percentage reduction to be applied to each
application for an allocation.

If the procedure described in the first subparagraph results in
an operator's receiving an annual allocation smaller than the
amount requested, the security provided for in Article 8(1)(b)
shall be released in proportion to the reduction arrived at.

3.
By 15 November at the latest each year, the competent
authorities in the Member States shall determine and notify to
each non-traditional operator the quantity allocated to them
for the following year.

Article 10

The Member States shall be responsible for ensuring

1.
compliance with this section.

In particular, they shall check that the operators concerned are
commercially active for their own account as importers in the
Community in the sector referred to in Article 6 and as inde-
pendent economic units in terms of management, staffing and
operations. Where there are grounds for suspecting that these
conditions are not met, applications for
registration and
requests for annual allocation shall be accepted only subject to
the operator's providing evidence of compliance which is
considered satisfactory by the competent national authorities.

2.
all

The Member States and the Commission shall exchange

information relevant to the application of this Article.

Article 11

The competent national authorities shall register as non-
1.
traditional operators all economic agents who submit an
appropriate application, whether physical persons or legal enti-
ties, and whether individual agents or groups thereof, provided
that they are legally constituted under the national legislation
governing the exercice of the commercial activities in question
and that they satisfy the provisions of this Regulation.

A group of agents may be registered as a non-traditional
operator if its members jointly meet the requirements of this

2.
Operators resulting from a merger of other non-tradi-
tional operators, each with their own rights under this Regula-
tion, shall enjoy the same rights as those former operators.

Article 12

1.
Failure by non-traditional operators to comply with the
obligation to register in only one Member State shall lead to
the rejection of all applications for registration that have been
submitted and the cancellation of any annual allocation already
granted. In addition, such failure shall result in a prohibition on
the submission of any further applications in the year following
detection of the irregularity.

2. Where fraudulent manipulations are undertaken or frau-
dulent documentation is supplied with a view to obtaining an
unwarranted registration or annual allocation, such registration
or allocation shall be cancelled, without prejudice to the
application of any relevant national laws. In such cases, the
security referred to in Article 8(1)(b) shall be forfeit in full.

In addition, in such cases the operator shall be prohibited from
applying for a new registration in any Member State during the
two years following the year in which the irregularity is
detected.

Chapter 2

Rules for issuing import licences

Article 13

1.
For the purposes of administration, the quantities of tariff
quotas A and B provided for in Article 18(1)(a) and (b) of
Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 shall be added together. Applica-
tions under quotas A and B shall be dealt with together.

Tariff quota C, provided for in Article 18(1)(c) of the above
Regulation, shall be administered separately.

Traditional operators A/B may submit licence applica-

2.
tions only under tariff quota A/B.

Traditional operators C may submit licence applications only
under tariff quota C.

Traditional operators as referred to in the first two subpara-
graphs may submit licence applications under the other tariff
quota if they are registered as non-traditional operators for that
quota.

Non-traditional operators may submit

3.
licence
applications under tariff quotas A/B or C, or under both if they
are registered for quotas A/B and C.

import

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Article 14

Article 16

1.
For the first three quarters of the year, an indicative
quantity expressed as the same percentage of available quant-
the tariff quotas may be fixed for the
ities from each of
purposes of issuing import licences.

2.
For the first three quarters of the year, it may be decided
that applications for licences submitted by a given operator
may not in total exceed a set percentage of the reference
quantity fixed under Article 5 of the annual allocation fixed
under Article 9(3).

Article 15

For each quarter, applications for import licences shall be
1.
submitted to the competent authorities of the Member State
listed in the Annex to this Regulation during the first seven
days of the month preceding the quarter for the licences are
being issued.

Applications for import licences shall be submitted to the
competent authorities of the Member State which established
the reference quantity, in the case of traditional operators, and
of the Member in which the operators are registered, in the
case of non-traditional operators.

2.

Licence applications submitted:

(a) by traditional operators A/B shall bear the wording ‘Licence
application traditional operator A/B — Regulation (EC) No
896/2001’;

(b) by traditional operators C shall bear the wording ‘Licence
application traditional operator C — Regulation (EC) No
896/2001’;

(c) by non-traditional operators shall bear the wording ‘Licence
application non-traditional operator A/B — Regulation (EC)
No 896/2001’, or
‘Licence application non-traditional
operator C — Regulation (EC) No 896/2001’, as the case
may be.

Licence applications submitted by an operator shall only

3.
be accepted where:

(a) they bear the wording shown in paragraph 2;

(b) they cover a quantity no greater than that available for the
tariff quota indicated in the application, such quantity
being published periodically before the start of the applica-
tion period;

(c) they cover a total quantity no greater than the quantity
resulting from applying Article 14(2)
the quarter
concerned, or than the remaining balance of that operator's
reference quantity or annual allocation, as the case may be.

for

The competent authorities shall notify the Commission of the
quantities covered by licence applications within two working
days of the end of the application period.

This notification shall present the quantities requested, broken
down for both tariff quota A/B and tariff quota C as between
traditional and non-traditional operators.

Article 17

Where, for a given quarter, the quantities applied for appre-
ciably exceed any indicative quantity fixed under Article 14, or
exceed the quantities available, a percentage reduction to be
applied to the amounts requested shall be fixed.

Article 18

The competent authorities shall issue import licences not
1.
later than the 23rd day of the month in which the application
is made. Where that day is not a working day, the licences shall
be issued on the first following working day at the latest.

2.
Notwithstanding Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No
1291/2000, the term of validity of import licences shall run
from the date on which they are actually issued and shall
expire on the seventh day of the fourth month in which they
are issued. The date of actual issue shall be included in the term
of validity of a licence.

Article 19

1.
Unused quantities covered by a given licence shall be
reallocated to the same operator — whether holder or trans-
feree — upon application, for use in a subsequent quarter but
still within the year of issue of the original licence. This real-
location shall be made for an importation of bananas under the
quota for which the original, fully or partially unused licence
was issued.

The security for the initial licence shall be retained in propor-
tion to the quantities not used up.

Applications for reallocation shall be submitted within
2.
the time limit laid down in Article 15(1) and accompanied by
the original or a certified copy of the unused or partly used
licence(s), as well as proof as the security referred to in Article
24 has been lodged.

reallocation and the reallocation licences
Applications for
themselves shall bear
the following wording in Box 20:
‘Reallocation licence — Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 896/
2001’ and one of the four following entries, as the case may
be:
‘non-
traditional operator A/B’ or ‘non-traditional operator C’.

‘traditional operator A/B’,

‘traditional operator C’,

The words referred to in paragraph 2 shall be entered in

4.
box 20 of the licence.

Applications for reallocation shall not be subject to any

3.
reduction percentage that may be set under Article 17.

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The competent authorities shall notify the Commission of
4.
the quantities covered by any applications for reallocation
licences received, within the time limit laid down in Article 16.

TITLE III

RULES FOR IMPORTING BANANAS OUTSIDE THE TARIFF
QUOTAS

Article 20

Article 22

1.
Rights arising under licences issued in accordance with
this Chapter shall be transferable to a single transferee operator
on the terms and conditions laid down in Article 9 of Regula-
tion (EC) No 1291/2000, without prejudice to paragraph 2 of
this Article.

2.

Rights may be transferred only:

(a) between traditional operators, under a single tariff quota,

either A/B or C, as the case may be;

Import licence applications may be submitted in any

1.
Member States.

2.
Licence applications and the licences themselves shall
bear the following wording in Box 20: ‘Non-quota imports —
Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001’.

3.
Licences shall be issued immediately, in accordance with
Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000. The term of
validity of licences shall be three months.

(b) from traditional operators to non-traditional operators
registered under Article 7, under a single tariff quota, either
A/B or C, as the case may be.

4. Within a month of the end of each quarter, Member
States shall notify the Commission of the quantities covered by
licences issued under this Article.

(c) between non-traditional operators registered under a single

tariff quota, either A/B or C, as the case may be.

Article 21

1.
Operators shall declare without delay to the competent
authorities, before the term of validity of the import licences
concerned expires, all quantities of bananas which have been
released for free circulation and then re-exported out of the
Community. They shall return to the same authorities the
originals of the import licences involved.

the end of each quarter,

2. Within a month of
the
competent authorities shall notify the Commission of all quant-
ities re-exported, specifying in each case the category of opera-
tors
to whom the import
licences were issued and quoting the serial numbers of the
relevant import licences or licence extracts.

(traditional or non-traditional)

3.
One or more import licences shall be issued, up to the
amount of the quantities re-exported, either to the holder or to
the transferee of
licence, during a subsequent
quarter but still within the year in which the original licence(s)
was, or were,

the original

issued.

4.
The competent authorities shall check that the quantities
declared under paragraph 1 have actually been re-exported
from the Community.

The quantities of bananas re-exported shall not be taken
5.
into account in calculating the reference quantities of tradi-
tional operators and the allocations of non-traditional opera-
tors.

The first subparagraph shall also cover re-exports carried out in
1994 from Member States to Austria, Finland or Sweden, and
re-exports
to third ocuntries,
including the Community as constituted on 31 December
1994.

from the

countries

latter

TITLE IV

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 23

For the purposes of Article 18(6) and (7) of Regulation (EEC)
No 404/93, the balance sheet showing Community production,
consumption,

imports and exports shall be based on:

(a) available data on the quantities of bananas marketed in the
Community during the preceding year, broken down by
origin;

(b) forecast production and sales of Community bananas;

(c) forecast imports of bananas from all origins;

(d) forecast consumption on the basis, in particular, of recent
consumption trends and movements in market prices.

Article 24

Import

1.
licence applications shall be accompanied by
proof that a security has been lodged under Title III of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2220/85. This security shall amount to EUR 50
per tonne. However, this requirement shall not apply to licence
applications submitted by non-traditional operators under the
import arrangements provided for in Title II.

2. Where licences are issued for quantities lower than those
applied for, the security shall be released forthwith in respect of
the quantity not allocated.

Article 25

Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply, with the exception
of the fourth indent of Article 5(1) and Article 8(4) and (5)
thereof, account being taken of the derogations contained in
this Regulation.

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Notwithstanding Article 35(4) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/
2000, proof of acceptance of an import declaration for the
quantity concerned shall be furnished within 30 days of expiry
of the validity of an import licence, except in cases of force
majeure.

of the licences and extracts issued with the licences and extracts
used. To that end, they shall verify in particular the authenticity
and conformity of the documents used and that the documents
have been used by operators registered under Title II.

Article 26

1.
The customs offices at which the import declarations are
lodged with a view to the release into free circulation of
third-country bananas under the tariff quota arrangements
shall:

(a) keep a copy of each import licence and extract therefrom
endorsed on acceptance of a declaration of release into free
circulation; and

(b) forward at the end of each fortnight a second copy of each
import licence or extract endorsed to the Member State
authorities listed in the Annex to this Regulation respon-
sible for issuing the licences. Those authorities shall at the
end of each fortnight forward a copy of the licences and
extracts
the
Member States listed in the abovementioned Annex which
issued those documents.

received to the competent authorities of

to the status of

2. Where there is doubt as to the authenticity of the licence,
the extract, or any information in or signatures on the docu-
ments presented, or as
the operators
completing the formalities for relase into free circulation or for
the account of whom those formalities are completed, and
where irregularities are suspected, the customs offices at which
those documents were presented shall immediately inform the
competent authorities of their Member State, as referred to in
paragraph 1, thereof by telecommunication. The latter shall
immediately forward that information by telecommunication
to the competent authorities which issued the documents and
to the Commission, for the purpose of a thorough check.

The Commission shall forward to the Member States' customs
authorities the list of traditional and non-traditional operators
operating under the import arrangements concerned who may
be holders or transferees of an import licence or extract there-
from.

On the basis of the information received under para-
3.
graphs 1 and 2, the Member States' competent authorities
listed in the Annex shall carry out the additional checks needed
to ensure the correct application of the tariff quota arrange-
ments,
the quantities imported
under those arrangements, by means of a precise comparison

in particular verification of

Article 27

The Member States shall
following statistical and economic data:

forward to the Commission the

(a) every Wednesday: wholesale prices for yellow bananas,
broken down by country of origin, as
recorded the
previous week on the representative markets listed in
Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 (1);

(b) details, broken down by origin, of the quantities of bananas
falling within CN code 0803 00 19 released for free circula-
tion in accordance with Article 308d of Regulation (EEC)
No 2454/93 for the purposes of the surveillance of imports
under the tariff quotas and otherwise;

(c) on the 10th day of the month following expiry of the
validity of import licences for each quarter: the quantities
covered by import licences issued, the quantities covered by
licences used and returned to the issuing body, and the
quantities covered by unused licences;

(d) on request: forecasts of production and sales.

TITLE V

TRANSITIONAL ARRANGEMENTS

Article 28

For the second half of 2001, the quantities available shall

1.
be:

— for tariff quotas A/B: 1 137 159 tonnes,
— for tariff quota C: 509 359 tonnes.

2.
For the second half of 2001, the reference quantity for
each traditional operator established in accordance with Article
4 and after the application of Article 5(2) shall be multiplied by
the coefficient 0,4454 in the case of traditional operators A/B
traditional
and by the coefficient 0,5992 in the case of
operators C.

Notwithstanding Article 5(3), the competent authorities shall
notify each operator of their reference quantity as adjusted by
the adjustment coefficient not later than 7 June 2001.

Article 29

1.
Notwithstanding Article 7, non-traditional operators shall
submit their applications for registration for the second half of
2001 in the Member State of their choice by 18 May 2001 at
the latest.

2.
For the second half of 2001, the Member States shall
notify the information on non-traditional operators required
under Article 7(5) by 29 May 2001 at the latest.

(1) OJ L 337, 24.12.1994, p. 66.

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Using the information received under paragraph 2, the
3.
Commission shall determine the quantities for which the allo-
cations for non-traditional operators are granted for the second
half of 2001.

The competent authorities shall notify each non-tradi-
4.
tional operator of their allocation for the second half of 2001
by 7 June at the latest.

Article 30

Notwithstanding Article 15, operators

1.
submit
applications for import licences for the third quarter of 2001
between 11 and 14 June 2001.

shall

To be accepted, applications for licences submitted by a single
operator must not exceed a total quantity greater than:

(a) 54 % of the reference quantity in the case of traditional

operators;

(b) 54 % of
operators.

the allocation in the case of non-traditional

The competent national authorities shall

2.
licences by 30 June 2001 at the latest.

issue import

Import licences shall be issued with a view to release for free
circulation as from 1 July 2001.

Licence applications and the licences themselves shall bear the
following wording in Box 24: ‘Issued with a view to release for
free circulation as from 1 July 2001’.

TITLE VI

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 31

Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 is repealed from 1 July 2001.

It shall, however, continue to apply to import licences issued
for 2001.

Article 32

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

It shall apply from 1 July 2001.

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

Done at Brussels, 7 May 2001.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

The authorities of the Member States competent for compiling the lists of operators and of quantities marketed are as
follows:

Belgium
Bureau d'intervention et de restitution belge/Belgisch Interventie- en Restitutiebureau
Rue de Trèves, 82/Trierstraat 82
B-1040 Bruxelles/Brussel

Denmark
Ministeriet for Fødevarer, Landbrug og Fiskeri
Direktoratet for Fødevareerhverv; Eksportstøttekontoret
Kampmannsgade 3
DK-1780 København V

Germany
Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung
Referat 322
Adickesallee, 40
D-60322 Frankfurt am Main

Greece
Ministry of Agriculture
GEDIDAGEP
Directorate Fruits and Vegetables, Wine and Industrial Products
241, Acharnon Street
GR-10446

Spain
Ministerio de Economía
Secretaría General de Comercio Exterior
Paseo de la Castellana, 162
E-28046 Madrid

France
Office de développement de l'économie agricole des départements d'outre-mer (ODEADOM)
31, Quai de Grenelle
F-75738 Paris Cedex 15

Irland
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
Horticulture Division
Agriculture House (7W)
Kildare Street
Dublin 2
Ireland

Italy
Ministero del Commercio con l'estero
DG Politica commerciale e gestione regime scambi — Div. II
Viale Boston, 25
I-00144 Roma

Luxembourg
Ministère de l'agriculture/Administration des services techniques de l'agriculture
Service de l'horticulture
16, Route d'Esch
Boîte postale 1904
L-1014 Luxembourg

Netherlands
Produktschap Tuinbouw
Louis Pasteurlaan 6
Postbus 280
2700 AG Zoetermeer
Nederland

Austria
Bundesministerium für Land- und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft
Abteilung III 5 — Handelspolitik und Außenhandel
Stubenring 1
A-1012 Wien

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Portugal

Ministério da Economia
Direcção-Geral das Relações Económicas Internacionais
Direcção de Serviços de Licenciamento do Comércio Externo
Avenida da República, 79
P-1069-059 Lisboa

Finland

Registration of operators
Maa- ja Metsätalousministeriö
Hallituskatu 3a, Valtioneuvosto
PL 30
FIN-00023 Helsinki

Licences issued by:
Tullihallitus
Erottajankatu 2
PL 512
FIN-00101 Helsinki

Sweden

Jordbruksverket
Vallgatan 8–10
S-551 82 Jönköping

United Kingdom

Intervention Board
External Trade Division
Lancaster House
Hampshire Court
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE99 1AW
United Kingdom