Commission Regulation (EC) No 1110/2003 of 26 June 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 on rules of application (cereal sector import duties) for Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92
Date: 2003-06-26
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: CCT duties, cereals, customs duties, import, stock-exchange listing

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1110/2003

of 26 June 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 on rules of application (cereal sector import duties) for
Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30
June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1104/
2003 (2), and in particular Article 10(4) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

Following discussions of interpretation concerning the
method for the fixation and adjustment of import duties
and relevant costs associated with sea freight, it is neces-
sary to modify the relevant provisions of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 (3), as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 1900/2002 (4), in order to improve
clarity.

In accordance with Decision 2003/254/EC (5) and Deci-
sion 2003/253/EC (6), the Council approved the conclu-
sion of Agreements in the form of an Exchange of
Letters between the European Community and the
United States of America, and the European Community
and Canada, respectively, relating to the modification of
concessions with respect to cereals provided for in Sche-
dule CXL annexed to the GATT. The Agreements amend
the conditions for importing barley and medium and
low quality common wheat by fixing import quotas for
these products from 1 January 2003.

Pursuant to the above Decisions the Council authorised
the Commission to derogate temporarily for
these
products from the system of import duties provided for
in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92,
pending approval of a formal amendment of that Regu-
lation. To allow the Agreements approved by the
Council to be implemented as from 1 January 2003, the
Commission adopted temporary implementing provi-
sions in Regulation (EC) No 2378/2002 (7), as amended
by Regulation (EC) No 611/2003 (8). These temporary
arrangements expire on 30 June 2003.

At this stage, the permanent rules of application of the
Agreements approved by the Council should be adopted.

Consequently, it is appropriate to insert in Regulation
(EC) No 1249/96, on a permanent basis, the provisions
of Regulation (EC) No 2378/2002, since they have oper-
ated satisfactorily during the first semester of 2003.

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) See page 1 of this Official Journal.
(3) OJ L 161, 29.6.1996, p. 125.
(4) OJ L 287, 25.10.2002, p. 15.
(5) OJ L 95, 11.4.2003, p. 40.
(6) OJ L 95, 11.4.2003, p. 36.
(7) OJ L 358, 31.12.2002, p. 101.
(8) OJ L 87, 4.4.2003, p. 4.

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

Taking into consideration that the malting barley deduc-
tion is abolished and the high quality milling wheat
deduction will operate as a premium, specific product
abatements linked to end-use provisions will be applic-
able only to flint maize.
In these conditions, current
arrangements for end-use provisions need to be simpli-
fied and harmonised with general customs legislation.

In cases where certificates of conformity are accepted for
high quality products (high quality common and durum
wheat with Canada and the United States and flint maize
with Argentina), it is important to limit the amount of
the securities to the minimum level possible. The only
security applicable in the case of certification of confor-
mity should be the security linked to the import licence.

Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

The Management Committee for Cereals has not deliv-
ered an opinion within the time limit laid down by its
chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 is amended as follows:

(1) Article 2 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraphs 1 and 2 are replaced by the following:

‘1.
The import duties indicated in Article 10(2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on products of CN codes
1001 10 00, 1001 90 91, ex 1001 90 99 (high quality
common wheat), 1002 00, 1005 10 90, 1005 90 00
and 1007 00 90 shall be calculated daily but fixed on
the 15th day and the last working day of each month
by the Commission for application from the 16th day
of the month and the first day of the following month.
Where the 15th is not a Commission working day the
duties shall be fixed on the working day preceding the
15th of the month in question. However, if during the
period of application of
the duties thus fixed the
average import duty calculated differs by EUR 5 per
the corresponding
tonne or more from that
adjustment shall be made.

fixed,

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The price to be used for the calculation of the
2.
import duty shall be the daily cif representative import
price determined as specified in Article 4. For each
fixing, the import duty considered is the average of
import duties
calculated during the previous 10
working days. For fixing and adjustments, the Commis-
sion shall not take account of daily import duties used
for the previous fixing.

The intervention price to be used for calculation of the
duties shall be that of the month in which the import
duty applies.’

(b) The second subparagraph of paragraph 3 is deleted.

(c) Paragraph 5 is replaced by the following:

Import duties shall be reduced by EUR 24 per
‘5.
tonne on flint maize meeting the specifications laid
down in Annex I. In order to benefit from this reduc-
tion, flint maize must be processed into a product of
CN codes 1904 10 10, 1103 13 or 1104 23 within six
months from the date of entry for free circulation. The
end-use provisions of Article 82 of Council Regulation
(EEC) No 2913/92 (*) and Articles 291 to 300 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2454/93 (**) shall
apply.

Notwithstanding Article 293(1)(e) of Regulation (EC)
No 2454/93, the importer shall lodge with the compe-
tent authority an additional security of EUR 24 per
tonne for flint maize, except when import licence appli-
cations are accompanied by certificates of conformity
issued by the Argentine Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y
Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasa) mentioned in Article
6(1) of the present Regulation. In this case, the import
licence shall contain in box 24 the mention of the type
of certificate of conformity.

If however the duty applicable on the date of the accep-
tance of the customs declaration of release for free
circulation is less than EUR 24 per tonne for maize,
the security shall be equal to the duty amount.

(*) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.
(**) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1.’

(b) the known commercial premiums

and discounts
attached to this quotation in the United States market
on the quotation day and in particular, in the case of
durum wheat, attached to the meal quality;

(c) sea freight and associated costs between the United
States (Gulf of Mexico or Duluth) and the port of
Rotterdam for a vessel of at least 25 000 tonnes.

2.

The Commission shall record each working day:

(a) the component referred to in point (a) of paragraph 1
from the exchanges and using the reference qualities
shown in Annex II;

(b) components referred to in points (b) and (c) of para-

graph 1 from publicly available information.

3. With a view to calculating the component referred to
in point (b) of paragraph 1 or the relevant fob quotation,
the following premiums and discounts apply:

— premium of EUR 14 per

tonne for high quality

common wheat,

— discount of EUR 10 per tonne for medium quality

durum wheat,

— discount of EUR 30 per tonne for low quality durum

wheat.

The representative cif import prices for durum wheat,
4.
high quality common wheat and maize shall be the sum of
the components referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of para-
graph 1. The representative cif import prices for rye and
sorghum shall be calculated using the barley quotations in
the United States, according to the provisions of Annex II.

The representative cif

5.
import prices for common
wheat seed of CN code 1001 90 91 and maize seed of CN
code 1005 10 90 shall be those calculated for high quality
common wheat and maize respectively.

(2) Articles 4 and 5 are replaced by the following:

Article 5

‘Article 4

1.
For common wheat of high quality, durum wheat,
maize and the other feed grains referred to in Article 2(1),
the components determining the representative cif import
prices indicated in Article 10(2) of Regulation (EC) No
1766/92 shall be:

(a) the representative exchange quotation on the market of

the United States of America;

Import licence applications for high quality common

1.
wheat shall be valid only if the applicant:

(a) enters the quality to be imported in box 20 of the

import licence;

(b) gives a written commitment to lodge with the relevant
competent body on the date of acceptance of
the
declaration of release for free circulation a specific
security additional to those required under Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1162/95 (*).

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The additional security referred to in point (b) of the first
subparagraph, shall be EUR 95 per tonne. However,
in
cases where the import licence is to be accompanied by
certificates of conformity issued by the Federal Grain
Inspection Service (FGIS) and by the Canadian Grain
Commission (CGC) as referred to in Article 6, no additional
security is required. In this case, the import licence shall
contain in box 24 the mention of the type of certificate of
conformity.

Import licence applications for durum wheat shall be

2.
valid only if the applicant:

(a) enters the quality to be imported in box 20 of the

import licence;

(b) gives a written commitment to lodge with the relevant
competent body on the day of the acceptance of the
declaration of release for free circulation a specific
security additional to those required under Regulation
if the import duty on the quality
(EC) No 1162/95,
the highest duty for the
shown in box 20 is not
product category in question.

The amount of the additional security referred to in point
(b) of the first subparagraph shall be the difference on the
day of the acceptance of the declaration of release for free
circulation between the highest duty and that applicable to
the quality shown, plus a supplement of EUR 5 per tonne.
However, where the import duty applicable to the different
qualities of durum wheat is zero, the commitment referred
to in point
the first subparagraph shall not be
required.

(b) of

Where the import licence is to be accompanied by certifi-
cates of conformity issued by the Federal Grain Inspection
Service (FGIS) and by the Canadian Grain Commission
(CGC) as referred to in Article 6, no additional security is
required. In this case, the import licence shall contain in
box 24 the mention of the type of certificate of conformity.

(*) OJ L 117, 24.5.1995, p. 2.’

The following certificates of conformity shall be
1a.
officially recognised by the Commission pursuant to
the principles laid down in Articles 63 to 65 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2454/93:

— certificates

issued by the Servicio Nacional de
Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria (Senasa) of
Argentina for flint maize,

— certificates issued by the Federal Grains Inspection
Service (FGIS) of the United States of America for
high quality common wheat and high quality
durum wheat,

— certificates issued by the Canadian Grain Commis-
sion (CGC) of Canada for high quality common
wheat and high quality durum wheat.

A blank specimen of
the certificates of conformity
issued by Senasa is given in Annex IV. Reproduction of
the stamps authorised by the Argentine government
shall be published in the Official Journal of the European
Union.

Blank specimens of the certificates of conformity and
stamps issued by the FGIS are given in Annex IVa.

Blank specimens of
the certificates of conformity,
export grade specifications and stamps issued by the
CGC are given in Annex IVb.

When the analytical parameters entered in the certifi-
cates of conformity issued by the entities referred to in
the first
subparagraph show conformity with the
common wheat, durum wheat and flint maize quality
standards given in Annex I of the present Regulation,
samples shall be taken of at least 3 % of the cargoes
arriving at each entry port during the marketing year.

(3) Article 6 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

The goods shall be classed in the standard quality for
which all the requirements indicated in Annex I are
met.

The customs office of release for free circulation
‘1.
shall take representative samples,
in accordance with
the Annex to Commission Directive 76/371/EEC (*), of
every consignment of durum wheat, high quality
common wheat and of flint maize. However, sampling
shall not take place where the import duty for the
different qualities is the same.

If, however,
the Commission officially recognises a
quality certificate for common wheat, durum wheat or
flint maize issued by the country of origin of
the
cereals, samples shall be taken for verification of the
certified quality only from a sufficiently representative
number of consignments.

(*) OJ L 102, 15.4.1976, p. 1.’

(b) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

If

the

analysis

show the

imported
results
‘3.
common wheat, durum wheat and flint maize to be of
a lower standard quality than entered on the import
licence the importer shall pay the difference between
the import duty applicable to the product shown on
the licence and that on the product actually imported.
In this case, the security for the import licence referred
to in Article 10(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1162/95 and
the additional security referred to in Articles 2(5), 5(1)
and 5(2) to this Regulation shall be released, except for
the EUR 5 supplement provided for in Article 5(2).

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If the difference referred to in the first subparagraph is
not paid within one month the security indicated in
Article 2(5) and Article 5(1) and (2) shall be forfeit.’

(4) The text in Annex I to this Regulation is inserted as Annex

IVa.

Article 2

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

(5) The text in Annex II to this Regulation is inserted as Annex

IVb.

It shall apply from 1 July 2003.

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

Done at Brussels, 26 June 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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BLANK CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY AUTHORISED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR
COMMON WHEAT

ANNEX I

‘ANNEX IVa

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BLANK CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY AUTHORISED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR DURUM
WHEAT

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ANNEX II

‘ANNEX IVb

BLANK CERTIFICATE OF CONFORMITY AUTHORISED BY THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA FOR
COMMON AND DURUM WHEAT AND EXPORT GRADE SPECIFICATIONS

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Export grade specifications for Canadian common and durum wheat

COMMON WHEAT

Canada Western Red Spring
(CWRS)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CWRS

(Min.) 79,0 kg/hL

No 2 CWRS

(Min.) 77,5 kg/hL

No 3 CWRS

(Min.) 76,5 kg/hL

(Max.) 0,4 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 0,75 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,25 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

Canada Western Extra Strong Red Spring
(CWES)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CWES

(Min.) 78,0 kg/hL

No 2 CWES

(Min.) 76,0 kg/hL

(Max.) 0,75 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,5 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

Canada Prairie Spring Red
(CPSR)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CPSR

(Min.) 77,0 kg/hL

No 2 CPSR

(Min.) 75,0 kg/hL

(Max.) 0,75 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,5 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

Canada Prairie Spring White
(CPSW)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CPSW

(Min.) 77,0 kg/hL

No 2 CPSW

(Min.) 75,0 kg/hL

(Max.) 0,75 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,5 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

Canada Western Red Winter
(CWRW)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CWRW

(Min.) 78,0 kg/hL

No 2 CWRW

(Min.) 74,0 kg/hL

(Max.) 1,0 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 2,0 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

Canada Western Soft White Spring
(CWSWS)

Test weight

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

No 1 CWSWS

(Min.) 78,0 kg/hL

No 2 CWSWS

(Min.) 75,5 kg/hL

No 3 CWSWS

(Min.) 75,0 kg/hL

(Max.) 0,75 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,0 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,5 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

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Canada Western Amber Durum
(CWAD)

DURUM

Test weight

No 1 CWAD

(Min.) 80,0 kg/hL

No 2 CWAD

(Min.) 79,5 kg/hL

No 3 CWAD

(Min.) 78,0 kg/hL

No 4 CWAD

(Min.) 75,0 kg/hL

Total foreign material
including other cereal grains

(Max.) 0,5 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 0,8 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 1,0 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

(Max.) 3,0 % including 0,2 % other
seeds

NOTES:
“Other Cereal Grains”:
“Common wheat”:

“Durum wheat”:

In these grades, include only oats, barley, rye and triticale.
For common wheat exports, the Canadian Grain Commission will supply documentation with
the certificate specifying the protein percentage for the cargo in question.
For durum wheat exports, the Canadian Grain Commission will supply documentation with the
certificate attesting to the vitreous kernel percentage and specific weight (kilograms/hectolitre) of
the cargo in question.’