Commission Regulation (EC) No 711/2004 of 16 April 2004 laying down transitional measures as regards import licence applications pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 780/2003 opening and providing for the administration of a tariff subquota for frozen meat of bovine animals covered by CN code 0202 and products covered by CN code 02062991, by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union
Date: 2004-04-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: beef, frozen product, import licence, tariff quota

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 711/2004

of 16 April 2004

laying down transitional measures as regards import licence applications pursuant to Regulation
(EC) No 780/2003 opening and providing for the administration of a tariff subquota for frozen
meat of bovine animals covered by CN code 0202 and products covered by CN code 0206 29 91,
by reason of the accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,
Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia to the European Union

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to the Treaty of Accession of
the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta,
Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia, and in particular Article 2(3)
thereof,

(5)

Having regard to the Act of Accession of the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland,
Slovenia and Slovakia, and in particular the first paragraph of
Article 41 thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Regulation (EC) No 780/2003 (1) provided
for the administration of a tariff subquota for 34 450
tonnes of certain frozen meat of bovine animals, with
the order number 09.4003, for the period from 1 July
2003 to 30 June 2004 (subquota II), divided into two
half-year periods.

(7)

In order to ensure access for operators from the Czech
Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary,
Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia (new Member
States) to benefit from this subquota as from 1 May
2004, the quantities available for the subquota period
running from 1 January to 30 June 2004 were divided
into two tranches on a pro rata temporis basis by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2341/2003 (2). Licence
applications may be lodged during the period 5 to 8
January 2004 and 3 to 7 May 2004.

Articles 8 to 11 of Part III of Regulation (EC) No 780/
2003 lay down specific provisions for the approval of
applicants for import licences as regards subquota II. In
order to ensure access for operators from the new
Member States to import licences as from the date of
accession of those countries to the European Union,
transitional measures should be adopted.

Operators of the new Member States should be allowed
to apply for import licences under subquota II in the
period 3 May to 7 May 2004 without prior approval.
They should prove that they are genuinely involved in
importing or exporting beef from or to third countries.

(1) OJ L 114, 8.5.2003, p. 8.
(2) OJ L 346, 31.12.2003, p. 33. Regulation amended by Regulation

(EC) No 385/2004 (OJ L 64, 2.3.2004, p. 24).

that

Proof of
involvement calls for evidence to be
presented of recent import or export of some signifi-
cance. As regards the requirement on the proof on trade
performance, the applicants in the new Member States
should be allowed to consider not only trade with the
Community but trade with all third countries.

To ensure the proper functioning of the system and due
to the short period of time available for the verification
of applicants, provisions concerning expost audit controls
to be undertaken by the authorities of the new Member
States on the operators applying for import licences in
the new Member States should be adopted.

(6) Where there are obvious reasons to suspect that ficti-
tious operators have applied for import licences, new
Member States should proceed to a more detailed exami-
nation of the applications.

Penalties should be determined where fictitious operators
the new Member States have applied for import
of
licences or the licences were granted on the basis of
forged or
fraudulent documentation. These penalties
should be applicable also to operators of the Community
as constituted on 30 April 2004 where they are related
to fictitious operators of the new Member States or are
involved in the presentation of
forged or fraudulent
documentation by these operators.

(8)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Beef and Veal Products,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.
By way of derogation from Article 11 of Regulation (EC)
No 780/2003, operators established in the Czech Republic,
Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland,
Slovenia and Slovakia (hereinafter new Member States) may
apply for import licences with regard to subquota II in the
period 3 May to 7 May 2004 without prior approval by the
competent authorities of the Member State in which they are
established.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

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By way of derogation from Article 12 of Regulation (EC)
2.
No 780/2003, operators established in the new Member States
may apply for import licences for the quota referred to in para-
graph 1 only in the Member State where the operator is
entered in the VAT register.

Article 2

1.
New Member States shall verify that applicants are not
related to one another within the meaning of Article 143 of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (1), where:

3.
Licence applications shall be admissible only where the
applicant submits a request to the competent authority of a
new Member State accompanied by documentary proof that:

— in the proof of imports or exports referred to in paragraph
3 of Article 1 of this Regulation, two or more applicants
are entered as having the same postal address, or

(a) he/she has been engaged on his/her own account in the
commercial activity of importing from other countries or
exporting to other countries, beef falling within CN codes
0201, 0202 or 0206 29 91 during the years 2002 and
2003;

(b) by virtue of this activity:

— two or more applicants at the time of application are regis-
tered for VAT purposes or similar official register, on the
same postal address, or

— new Member States have grounds to suspect that applicants
are connected in terms of management, staff or operation.

— he/she has imported in the course of the two years
concerned a minimum of 100 tonnes of such beef
expressed in product weight, or

— he/she has exported in the course of the two years
concerned a minimum of 220 tonnes of such beef
expressed in product weight,

2. Where related applicants are consequently identified, all
applications concerned shall be rejected unless the applicants
concerned can provide further evidence to the satisfaction of
the competent authority that they are independent from one
another in terms of management, staff and all operations linked
to their commercial or technical activity.

in, at least, two operations per year.

Operators who at 1 January 2004 have ceased their activities
in the beef and veal sector shall not be eligible for the purpose
of this subquota.

For the purposes of this Article ‘other countries’ means all third
countries, including the Member States of the Community as
constituted on the date previous to the entry into force of the
Treaty of Accession of 2003.

In order to prove the commercial activity of his/her own
4.
account as referred to in paragraph 3(a), the operator shall
present documentary proofs in form of commercial
invoices
and officials accounts as well as any other documents showing
to the satisfaction of the new Member State concerned that the
required commercial activity is related solely to the applicant
concerned.

Proof of import or export shall be provided exclusively
5.
by means of customs documents duly endorsed by the customs
authorities of the new Member States.

New Member States may accept copies of the above documents
duly certified by the competent authorities.

New Member States shall examine and verify the validity

6.
of the documentation presented.

7.
A company formed by a merger of companies each
having rights to apply pursuant to paragraphs 2 to 4 shall
enjoy the same rights as those former companies.

3. Where a new Member State or a Member State of the
Community as constituted on 30 April 2004 has grounds to
suspect that an applicant in a New Member State is connected
in terms of management, staff or operations with an applicant
in another new Member State or in a Member State of the
Community as constituted on 30 April 2004, the Member
States concerned shall mutually verify whether a relationship
exists within the meaning of Article 143 of Regulation (EEC)
No 2454/93.

For this purpose, the competent authorities of the new Member
States shall send to the Commission by 15 May 2004 lists of
operators having applied for import licences under subquota II
in the period 3 May to 7 May 2004. These lists shall contain
the operators concerned. The
the name and address of
Commission shall subsequently distribute to all Member States
authorities the lists received together with the list of operators
approved by the Member States of the Community as consti-
tuted on 30 April 2004.

4.
New Member States shall, by means of controls to be
undertaken for at least one third of the applicants, verify, after
the applicants are not
the period of
related to one another within the meaning of Article 143 of
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

licence issuance,

that

licences
Where related applicants are consequently identified,
granted in respect of the application period 3 May to 7 May
2004 to all the operators concerned shall be withdrawn retro-
spectively, together with any advantage already granted on the
basis of
them, unless these operators can provide further
evidence to the satisfaction of the competent authority that
they are independent from one another in terms of manage-
ment, staff and all operations linked to their commercial or
technical activity.

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

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5. Where it is subsequently established that the admissibility of licences application was decided upon
forged or fraudulent documentation, licences granted in respect of the application period 3 May to 7 May
2004 to all the operators involved in the presentation of such documentation shall be withdrawn retro-
spectively, together with any advantage already granted on the basis of them.

This Regulation shall enter into force subject to and on the date of the entry into force of the Treaty of
Accession of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and
Slovakia.

Article 3

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

Done at Brussels, 16 April 2004.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission