Commission Regulation (EC) No 958/2003 of 3 June 2003 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Decision 2003/286/EC as regards the concessions in the form of Community tariff quotas on certain cereal products originating in the Republic of Bulgaria and amending Regulation (EC) No 2809/2000
Date: 2003-06-03
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Bulgaria, cereal product, originating product, tariff quota

4.6.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 136/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 958/2003

of 3 June 2003

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Decision 2003/286/EC as regards the
concessions in the form of Community tariff quotas on certain cereal products originating in the
Republic of Bulgaria and amending Regulation (EC) No 2809/2000

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(6)

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Decision 2003/286/EC of 8 April
2003 on the conclusion of a Protocol adjusting the trade
aspects of the Europe Agreement establishing an association
between the European Communities and their Member States,
of the one part, and the Republic of Bulgaria, of the other part,
to take account of the outcome of negotiations between the
parties on new mutual agricultural concessions (1), and in parti-
cular Article 3(2) thereof,

(7)

(8)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

In accordance with Decision 2003/286/EC, the Commu-
nity has undertaken to establish for each marketing year
import tariff quotas at a zero rate of duty for wheat and
meslin, wheat gluten and maize originating in the
Republic of Bulgaria.

To ensure that imports of wheat and maize covered by
these tariff quotas are orderly and not speculative, they
should be made subject to the issue of import licences.
The licences should be issued, within the quantities set,
at the request of the interested parties, subject, where
appropriate, to the fixing of a reduction coefficient in
respect of the quantities applied for.

To ensure the proper management of these quotas, dead-
lines for the lodging of licence applications should be
laid down and the information to be included in the
applications and licences should be specified.

To take account of delivery conditions,
the import
licences should be valid from the day of their issue until
the end of the month following that in which they are
issued.

(5) With a view to the sound management of the quotas,
provision should be made to derogate from 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 agricultural products (2), as last amended
by Regulation (EC) No 325/2003 (3), as regards the
transferable nature of
the licences and the tolerance
relating to the quantities released into free circulation.

(1) OJ L 102, 24.4.2003, p. 60.
(2) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 47, 21.2.2003, p. 21.

To ensure sound management of the quotas, the security
on the import licences should be set at a relatively high
level, by way of derogation from Article 10 of Commis-
sion 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 (4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 498/
2003 (5).

Rapid two-way communication should be established
between the Commission and the Member States
regarding the quantities applied for and imported.

As Council Regulations (EC) No 2290/2000 establishing
certain concessions in the form of Community tariff
quotas for certain agricultural products and providing
for an adjustment, as an autonomous and transitional
measure, of certain agricultural concessions provided for
in the Europe Agreement with Bulgaria (6) has been
repealed by Decision 2003/286/EC, Commission Regula-
tion (EC) No 2809/2000 of 20 December 2000 laying
down detailed rules for the application, for cereals sector
products, of Regulations (EC) No 2290/2000 and (EC)
No 2851/2000 establishing certain concessions in the
form of Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural
products originating in the Republic of Bulgaria and the
Republic of Poland respectively and repealing Regulation
(EC) No 1218/96 (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 573/2003 (8), should be amended.

(9)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.
Imports of wheat and meslin falling within CN code
1001 and wheat gluten falling within CN code 1109 00 00 as
referred to in Annex I originating in the Republic of Bulgaria
and benefiting from a zero rate of import duty, under the tariff
quota bearing the order number 09.4676, in accordance with
Decision 2003/286/EC, shall be subject to an import licence
issued in accordance with this Regulation.

(4) OJ L 117, 24.5.1995, p. 2.
(5) OJ L 74, 20.3.2003, p. 15.
(6) OJ L 262, 17.10.2000, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 326, 22.12.2000, p. 16.
(8) OJ L 82, 29.3.2003, p. 25.

L 136/4

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Official Journal of the European Union

4.6.2003

Imports of maize falling within CN codes 1005 10 90
2.
and 1005 90 00 as referred to in Annex I originating in the
Republic of Bulgaria and benefiting from a zero rate of import
duty, under the tariff quota bearing the order number 09.4677,
in accordance with Decision 2003/286/EC, shall be subject to
an import licence issued in accordance with this Regulation.

3.
The products referred to in paragraphs 1 to 2 shall be
released into free circulation upon presentation of one of the
following documents:

(a) an EUR.1 movement certificate issued by the competent
authorities of the exporting country in accordance with
Protocol 4 of the Europe Agreement concluded with that
country;

(b) an invoice declaration on the invoice provided by the

exporter in accordance with that Protocol.

Article 2

Applications for import licences shall be lodged with the
the Member States no later than

1.
competent authorities of
13.00 Brussels time on the second Monday of each month.

Each licence application shall be for a quantity not exceeding
the quantity available for the import of the relevant product in
the marketing year concerned.

No later than 18.00 Brussels time on the same day, the
2.
fax the
competent authorities of
Commission (number (32-2) 295 25 15),
in accordance with
the model in Annex II, the total quantity resulting from the
sum of the quantities indicated on the import licence applica-
tions.

the Member States shall

That information shall be communicated separately from the
information on other import licence applications for cereals.

If the total of the quantities for each product concerned
3.
since the start of the marketing year and the quantity referred
to in paragraph 2 exceeds the quota for the marketing year
concerned, the Commission shall set, no later than the third
working day after the applications were lodged, a single reduc-
tion coefficient to be applied to the quantities requested.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3, licences shall be issued
on the fifth working day following the day on which the appli-
cation was lodged. No later than 18.00 Brussels time on the
day the licences are issued, the competent authorities of the
Member States shall fax the Commission the total quantity
resulting from the sum of the quantities for which import
licences were issued that same day.

Article 3

With a view to accounting for the quantities imported under
the quotas referred to in Article 1(1), the Commission shall
apply the equivalence coefficients listed in Annex III hereto.
The quantity on each licence application for a given product
shall be multiplied by the coefficient for the product in ques-
tion.

Import licences shall be valid until the end of the month
following the month in which they were issued.

Article 5

The rights resulting from the import licences shall not be trans-
ferable.

Article 6

The quantity released into free circulation may not exceed that
indicated in sections 17 and 18 of the import licence. The
figure '0' shall be entered to that effect in section 19 of the
licence.

Article 7

The import licence application and the import licence shall
contain the following information:

(a) in section 8, the name of the country of origin;

(b) in section 20 one of the following entries:

— Reglamento (CE) no 958/2003
— Forordning (EF) nr. 958/2003
— Verordnung (EG) Nr. 958/2003
— Kανονισµός (EK) αριθ. 958/2003
— Regulation (EC) No 958/2003
— Règlement (CE) no 958/2003
— Regolamento (CE) n. 958/2003
— Verordening (EG) nr. 958/2003
— Regulamento (CE) n.o 958/2003
— Asetus (EY) N:o 958/2003
— Förordning (EG) nr 958/2003

(c) in section 24, the words ‘zero duty’.

Article 8

The security for the import licences provided for in this Regula-
tion shall be EUR 30 per tonne.

Article 9

Regulation (EC) No 2809/2000 is amended as follows:

1. the title is replaced by the following:

‘Commission Regulation (EC) No 2809/2000 of 20
December 2000 laying down detailed rules for the applica-
tion,
for cereals sector products, of Regulation (EC) No
2851/2000 establishing certain concessions in the form of
Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural products
originating in the Republic of Poland and repealing Regula-
tion (EC) No 1218/96’;

2. Article 1 is deleted.

Article 4

Article 10

In accordance with Article 23(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/
2000, the period of validity of the licence shall be calculated
from the actual date of issue.

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

It shall apply from 1 June 2003.

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 136/5

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

Done at Brussels, 3 June 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

L 136/6

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Official Journal of the European Union

4.6.2003

List of products originating in the Republic of Bulgaria referred to in Article 1(1) and (2)

ANNEX I

CN code

Quota order
number

Description

Rate of duty

Quantity from
1.7.2002 to
30.6.2003
(tonnes)

Annual quan-
tity from
1.7.2003 to
30.6.2004 and
following years
(tonnes)

Yearly increase
as from
1.7.2004
(tonnes)

1001

09.4676

Wheat and meslin

Free

126 400

250 000

25 000

1109 00 00

1005 90 00
1005 10 90

Wheat gluten

09.4677

Maize

Free

40 000

80 000

8 000

ANNEX II

Model of the notification referred to in Article 2(2)

Import quotas for wheat and maize from the Republic of Bulgaria opened by Decision 2003/286/EC

Quota

Product

CN code

Quantity applied for
(tonnes)

Wheat

Maize

Wheat and meslin

1001

Wheat gluten

Maize

1109 00 00

1005 90 00
1005 10 90

ANNEX III

Equivalence coefficients for wheat and its derived products from the Republic of Bulgaria referred to in
Article 3

Quota

Product

CN code

Coefficient

Wheat and derived products
(09.4676)

Wheat and meslins

1001

Wheat gluten

1109 00 00

1

5,4