Commission Regulation (EC) No 638/2003 of 9 April 2003 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 and Council Decision 2001/822/EC as regards the arrangements applicable to imports of rice originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States) and the overseas countries and territories (OCT)
Date: 2003-04-09
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP countries, customs duties, import, import licence, originating product, overseas countries and territories, rice

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 638/2003

of 9 April 2003

laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 and Council Deci-
sion 2001/822/EC as regards the arrangements applicable to imports of rice originating in the
African, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP States) and the overseas countries and territories (OCT)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(3)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3072/95 of 22
December 1995 on the common organisation of the market in
rice (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 411/2002 (2),
and in particular Article 9(2) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 of 10
December 2002 on the arrangements applicable to agricultural
products and goods resulting from the processing of agricul-
tural products originating in the African, Caribbean and Pacific
States (ACP States) and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1706/
98 (3), and in particular Article 5 thereof,

Having regard to Council Decision 2001/822/EC of 27
November 2001 on the association of the overseas countries
and territories with the European Community, hereinafter
called the ‘OCT Decision’ (4), and in particular the seventh
subparagraph of Article 6(5) of Annex III thereto,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 implements the arrange-
ments for imports from the ACP States made as a result
of the ACP-EC Partnership Agreement signed in Cotonou
on 23 June 2000 (5). Article 1(3) of that Regulation
introduces general arrangements for reducing customs
duties on the products listed in Annex I thereto and
specific arrangements for reducing customs duties on
certain products covered by tariff quotas listed in Annex
II
thereto. Provision is made for annual quotas of
125 000 tonnes of rice, in husked rice equivalent, and
20 000 tonnes of broken rice.

Decision 2001/822/EC provides that ACP/OCT cumula-
tion of origin within the meaning of Article 6(1) and (5)
of Annex III thereto is to be allowed for a total annual
quantity of 160 000 tonnes in husked-rice equivalent,
for products falling within CN code 1006. To begin
with, import licences covering 35 000 tonnes from that
total quantity are issued to the OCTs each year, and
import licences for a further 10 000 tonnes are issued
for the least developed OCTs.

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

To ensure that these import arrangements are properly
managed, the detailed rules for issuing import licences
for rice originating in the ACP States and OCTs should
be laid down in a single text. Commission Regulation
(EC) No 2603/97 of 16 December 1997 laying down
the detailed implementing rules for imports of rice origi-
nating in the ACP States or the overseas countries and
territories (OCTs) (6) should therefore be repealed.

For
the purposes of administering the tariff quotas
concerned, the general rules laid down in Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1162/95 of 23 May 1995 laying
down special detailed rules for the application of the
system of import and export licences for cereals and
rice (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2333/
2002 (8), and 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 and advance fixing certificates for agri-
cultural products (9), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 2299/2001 (10), shall apply in cases not covered by
the specific rules in this Regulation.

The issue of import licences is to be staggered over the
year in periods fixed to ensure balanced market manage-
ment. Arrangements are needed for carrying unused
quantities forward from one period to the next.

Duty may be reduced on condition that the exporting
ACP State collects an export charge equivalent to the
duty reduction, as provided for in Annex II to Regulation
(EC) No 2286/2002. Detailed rules should be laid down
to proof that the charge has been paid.

Imports must be covered by import licences issued on
the basis of an export licence issued by bodies authorised
by the ACP States and OCTs.

Licences not used by the least developed OCTs must be
made available to the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba,
without precluding the possibility of carrying quantities
forward to subsequent periods in the year.

(1) OJ L 329, 30.12.1995, p. 18.
(2) OJ L 62, 5.3.2002, p. 27.
(3) OJ L 348, 21.12.2002, p. 5.
(4) OJ L 314, 30.11.2001, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 317, 15.12.2000, p. 3.

(6) OJ L 351, 23.12.1997, p. 22.
(7) OJ L 117, 24.5.1995, p. 2.
(8) OJ L 349, 24.12.2002, p. 24.
(9) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.
(10) OJ L 308, 27.11.2001, p. 19.

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(9)

(10)

(11)

In order to ensure proper administration of the quotas
provided for in Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002 and
Decision 2001/822/EC, importers should be required to
lodge a security when applying for an import licence,
and should be subject to certain other requirements.
Quotas should also be staggered over the year and the
term of validity of licences should be specified.

To allow optimal management of
the tariff quotas
concerned, this Regulation should apply from 1 April
2003.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Cereals,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT

Article 1

This Regulation lays down detailed rules for administering the
import licence arrangements for an overall quota of 160 000
tonnes of rice, in husked-rice equivalent, originating in the ACP
States and overseas countries and territories (OCTs) in accor-
dance with Article 1(3) and Annexes I and II to Regulation (EC)
No 2286/2002 and Article 6(5) of Annex III to Decision 2001/
822/EC, and for an overall quota of 20 000 of broken rice
originating in the ACP States in accordance with Article 1(3)
and Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2286/2002.

CHAPTER II

IMPORTS OF RICE ORIGINATING IN THE ACP STATES

Article 2

1006 10 23,

Imports into the Community of rice falling within CN codes
1006 10 21,
1006 10 27,
1006 10 92, 1006 10 94, 1006 10 96, 1006 10 98, 1006 20
and 1006 30, originating in the ACP States shall benefit from a
reduction in import duties under a quota of 125 000 tonnes of
rice in husked-rice equivalent, on presentation of an import
licence.

1006 10 25,

Article 3

Any quantities of a tranche not covered by licence appli-
2.
cations shall be carried forward to the next tranche in accor-
dance with Article 13.

Article 4

Imports into the Community of broken rice falling within CN
code 1006 40 00 originating in the ACP States shall benefit
from a reduction in import duties under a quota for 20 000
tonnes on presentation of an import licence.

Article 5

Import licences as referred to in Article 4 shall be issued

1.
for the following tranches each year:

— January:

— May:

— September:

— October:

10 000 tonnes,

10 000 tonnes,

0 tonnes,

any quantities remaining.

Any quantities of a tranche not covered by licence appli-

2.
cations shall be carried over to the next tranche.

Article 6

The duty reduction provided for in Annex II to Regulation (EC)
No 2286/2002 shall apply to the amount of customs duty fixed
by the Commission in accordance with the procedure provided
for in Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1503/96 (1).

Article 7

1.
The duty reduction provided for in Annex II to Regula-
tion (EC) No 2286/2002 shall apply only to imports of rice for
which the exporting country has levied an export charge equal
to the difference between the customs duty applicable on
imports of rice from third countries and the amount fixed
under Article 6 of this Regulation.

The customs duty shall be that applying on the day the licence
application is lodged.

2.
Proof that the export charge has been collected shall be
provided by the indication of the amount in national currency
and the insertion by the customs authorities of the exporting
country of one of the statements below, together with the
signature and stamp of the customs office, in section 12 of the
export licence in accordance with the specimen in Annex I,
issued by the exporting country:

— Gravamen percibido a la exportación del arroz

— Særafgift, der opkræves ved eksport af ris

Import licences as referred to in Article 2 shall be issued

1.
for the following tranches each year:

— Bei der Ausfuhr von Reis erhobene Sonderabgabe
— Ειδικός φόρος που εισπράττεται κατά την εξαγωγή του ρυζιού

— January:

— May:

— September:

— October:

41 668 tonnes,

41 666 tonnes,

41 666 tonnes,

— Special charge collected on export of rice

— Taxe spéciale perçue à l'exportation du riz

any quantities remaining.

(1) OJ L 189, 30.7.1996, p. 71.

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— Tassa speciale riscossa all'esportazione del riso

(b) For the least developed OCTs referred to in Annex I B to

— Bij uitvoer van de rijst opgelegde bijzondere heffing

— Direito especial cobrado na exportação do arroz

— Riisin viennin yhteydessä perittävä erityismaksu

— Särskild avgift för risexport.

If the export charge collected by the exporting country is
3.
less than the duty reduction applied under Article 6, the reduc-
tion shall be restricted to the amount collected.

If the export charge collected is in a currency other than
4.
that of the importing Member State, the exchange rate to be
used to calculate the amount of charge actually collected shall
be the rate registered on the most representative currency
exchange or exchanges in that Member State on the date when
the customs duty is fixed in advance.

Article 8

As an exception to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1162/95
and pursuant to Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/
2000, import licences for husked, milled and semi-milled rice
and broken rice shall be valid from their actual day of issue
until the end of the third month following.

However, they shall not be valid beyond 31 December of the
year of issue.

Decision 2001/822/EC:

— January:

3 334 tonnes,

— May:

3 333 tonnes,

— September:

3 333 tonnes,

— October:

any quantities remaining.

2.
Quantities of rice at stages of processing other than
husked rice shall be converted at the rates laid down in Article
1 of Commission Regulation No 467/67/EEC (1).

Article 11

1.
Applications for import licences must be accompanied by
the original of an export licence, drawn up in accordance with
the specimen in Annex I, issued by the bodies responsible for
issuing EUR.1 certificates.

Any quantities of a tranche not covered by licence appli-

2.
cations shall be carried over to the next tranche.

3. With regard to the October tranche, in the event that the
licence applications lodged for imports with an ACP/least devel-
oped OCT cumulation of origin do not cover the full quantity
available,
the remaining quantity may be used to import
products originating in the Netherlands Antilles or Aruba.

CHAPTER III

Article 12

IMPORTS OF RICE WITH ACP/OCT CUMULATION OF ORIGIN

Article 9

Imports into the Community of rice originating in the overseas
countries and territories (OCTs) shall be exempt from customs
duties under a quota of 35 000 tonnes of rice, in husked-rice
equivalent, of which 25 000 tonnes shall be reserved for the
Netherlands Antilles and Aruba and 10 000 for the least devel-
oped OCTs, on presentation of an import licence.

Article 10

1.
Import licences as referred to in Article 9 shall be issued
for the following tranches each year, in husked-rice equivalent:

(a) for the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba:

— January:

8 334 tonnes,

— May:

8 333 tonnes,

— September:

8 333 tonnes,

As an exception to Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1162/95
and pursuant to Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/
2000, import licences for husked, milled and semi-milled rice
and broken rice shall be valid from their actual day of issue
until 31 December of the year of issue.

CHAPTER IV

COMMON DETAILED RULES

Article 13

Applications for a licence to import rice originating in the ACP
States falling within the CN codes listed in Article 2 and rice
originating in the OCTs falling within CN code 1006 may be
lodged for quantities carried over as referred to in Article 3(2).

If the licence applications submitted for imports originating in
the ACP States or with an ACP/OCT cumulation of origin do
the
not cover the full quantities available,
October tranche referred to in Article 3(1) may be used to
import products originating in the OCTs, up to the maximum
of 160 000 tonnes referred to in Article 1.

the balance of

— October:

any quantities remaining.

(1) OJ 204, 24.8.1967, p. 1.

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Article 14

The procedure applicable to import licence applications and
licences shall be that laid down in Regulations (EC) No 1162/
95 and No 1291/2000, except where this Regulation provides
otherwise.

Article 15

Licence applications shall be lodged with the competent
1.
authority in the Member State concerned during the first five
working days in the month corresponding to each tranche.

Licence

applications must be

2.
submitted by natural
in at least one of the three
persons or legal entities who,
calendar years preceding the date of submission of the applica-
tion, have been engaged in importing or exporting rice and
entered in a public register of a Member State.

Proof of commercial importing or exporting shall be furnished
by producing at least two duly endorsed import or export
licences delivered or granted to the applicant, or customs
declarations as applicable.

3.
Applicants may submit only one licence application in
the Member State where they are entered in a public register.
Where several applications are submitted by the same party in
one or more Member States, none of those applications shall
be admissible.

4.
Licence applications may be submitted for no more than
the maximum quantity laid down for each tranche or origin.
However,
the quantity applied for under each tranche and
origin shall not exceed 5 000 tonnes in husked-rice equivalent.

Article 16

1.
The country of provenance and the country of origin
shall be indicated in sections 7 and 8 of import licence applica-
tions and licences, and the entry ‘Yes’ marked with a cross.

In Section 20 of import licence applications, applicants
indicate the tranche for which they are submitting the

2.
shall
application. One of the following entries shall be made:

— ACP (Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 638/2003),

— ACP broken rice (Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 638/

2003),

— OCTs (Article 10(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 638/2003),

— OCTs (Article 10(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 638/2003),

— ACP + OCTs (Article 13 of Regulation (EC) No 638/2003).

Section 24 of licences shall bear one of the following

3.
entries:

(a) for imports originating in the ACP States:

— Derecho de aduana reducido hasta la cantidad indicada
en las casillas 17 y 18 del presente certificado [Regla-
mento (CE) no 638/2003]

— Nedsat told op til den mængde, der er angivet i rubrik
17 og 18 i denne licens (forordning (EF) nr. 638/2003)
— Ermäßigter Zollsatz bis zu der in den Feldern 17 und
18 dieser Lizenz angegebenen Menge (Verordnung (EG)
Nr. 638/2003)

— Μειωµένος δασµός µέχρι την ποσότητα που ορίζεται στα
τετραγωνίδια 17 και 18 του παρόντος πιστοποιητικού
[Κανονισµός (ΕΚ) αριθ. 638/2003]

— Reduced duty up to the quantity indicated in Sections
17 and 18 of this licence (Regulation (EC) No 638/
2003)

— Droit réduit jusqu'à la quantité indiquée dans les cases
17 et 18 du présent certificat [Règlement (CE) no 638/
2003]

— Dazio ridotto limitatamente alla quantità indicata nelle
caselle 17 e 18 del presente titolo [Regolamento (CE)
n. 638/2003]

— Verminderd douanerecht voor ten hoogste de in de
vakken 17 en 18 van dit certificaat vermelde hoeveel-
heid (Verordening (EG) nr. 638/2003)

— Direito reduzido até à quantidade indicada nas casas 17
e 18 do presente certificado [Regulamento (CE) n.o 638/
2003]

— Tulli, joka on alennettu tämän todistuksen kohdissa 17
(asetus (EY) N:o 638/

ja 18 esitettyyn määrään asti
2003)

— Tullsatsen nedsatt upp till den mängd som anges i fält
17 och 18 i denna licens (Förordning (EG) nr 638/
2003)

(b) for imports originating in the OCTs:

— Exención del derecho de aduana hasta la cantidad indi-
cada en las casillas 17 y 18 del presente certificado
[Reglamento (CE) no 638/2003]

— Toldfri op til den mængde, der er angivet i rubrik 17 og

18 i denne licens (forordning (EF) nr. 638/2003)

— Zollfrei bis zu der in den Feldern 17 und 18 dieser
Lizenz angegebenen Menge (Verordnung (EG) Nr. 638/
2003)

— Ατελώς µέχρι την ποσότητα που ορίζεται στα τετραγωνίδια
17 και 18 του παρόντος πιστοποιητικού [Κανονισµός (ΕΚ)
αριθ. 638/2003]

— Exemption from customs duty up to the quantity indi-
cated in Sections 17 and 18 of this licence (Regulation
(EC) No 638/2003)

— Exemption du droit de douane jusqu'à la quantité indi-
quée dans les cases 17 et 18 du présent certificat
[Règlement (CE) no 638/2003]

— Esenzione del dazio doganale limitatamente alla quan-
tità indicata nelle caselle 17 e 18 del presente titolo
[Regolamento (CE) n. 638/2003]

— Vrijgesteld van douanerecht voor ten hoogste de in de
vakken 17 en 18 van dit certificaat vermelde hoeveel-
heid (Verordening (EG) nr. 638/2003)

— Isenção de direito aduaneiro até à quantidade indicada
nas casas 17 e 18 do presente certificado [Regulamento
(CE) n.o 638/2003]

— Tullivapaa tämän todistuksen kohdissa 17 ja 18 esitet-

tyyn määrään asti (asetus (EY) N:o 638/2003)

— Tullfri upp till den mängd som anges i fält 17 och 18 i

denna licens (Förordning (EG) nr 638/2003).

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Article 17

Article 19

1. Within two working days of the closing date for the
submission of licence applications, the Member States shall
notify the Commission, by fax or electronic mail, of the quanti-
ties covered by import licence applications, broken down by
eight-digit CN code per tranche and country of origin, the
number of each licence and the name and address of the appli-
cant.

Notifications shall be made in accordance with the specimen in
Annex II, even where no applications have been lodged in a
Member State.

2. Within 10 days of
referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission shall:

the final date for notification as

(a) decide to what extent applications may be accepted. Where
the quantities applied for exceed those available for the
tranche and origin in question,
it shall set a percentage
reduction to be applied to each application;

(b) fix the quantities available for the next tranche.

3. Where the quantity for which a licence is to be issued is
less than 20 tonnes after application of the percentage reduc-
tion referred to in paragraph 2(a), the licence application may
be withdrawn within two working days following the date of
entry into force of the Regulation fixing that percentage. The
security shall be released immediately.

4. Within three working days following the date of entry
into force of the Regulation adopted under paragraph 2(a),
import licences shall be issued for the quantities covered by
applications or the quantities remaining after application of the
percentage reduction fixed in that Regulation.

As an exception to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000,
rights deriving from import licences shall not be transferable.

Article 35(6) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply.

Article 20

Article 21

The Member States shall notify the following information to
the Commission by fax or electronic mail in accordance with
the specimen in Annex II to this Regulation:

(a) no later than two working days after their issue, the quanti-
ties, broken down by eight-digit CN code and country of
origin, covered by the import licences issued, the date of
issue, the number of the export licence where applicable,
the number of the import licence issued and the name and
address of the holder;

(b) no later than two months after expiry of the period of
validity of each licence, the quantities actually released for
free circulation, broken down by eight-digit CN code and
by country of origin, the date of release for free circulation,
the number of the licence used and the name and address
of the holder.

Such notifications must also be made where no licence has
been issued and no imports have taken place.

CHAPTER V

REPEAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 22

Article 18

Regulation (EC) No 2603/97 is hereby repealed.

As an exception to Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1162/95,
the amount of the security required on submission of import
licence applications shall be EUR 46 per tonne.

Where the quantity for which the import licence is issued is
less than that applied for, the amount of the security shall be
reduced proportionately.

Article 23

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

It shall apply from 1 April 2003.

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

Done at Brussels, 9 April 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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Specimen export licence as referred to in Article 7 and Article 11(1) of Regulation (EC) No 638/2003

ANNEX I

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ANNEX II

RICE — REGULATION (EC) No 638/2003