Commission Regulation (EC) No 1480/2004 of 10 August 2004 laying down specific rules concerning goods arriving from the areas not under the effective control of the Government of Cyprus in the areas in which the Government exercises effective control
Date: 2004-08-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, accession to the European Union, customs regulations, free movement of goods, originating product, transport document

20.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 272/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1480/2004

of 10 August 2004

laying down specific rules concerning goods arriving from the areas not under the effective control
of the Government of Cyprus in the areas in which the Government exercises effective control

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 of 29
April 2004 (1), and in particular Article 4(12) thereof,

After consultation of the Line Regulation Committee,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 provides a
special regime for the treatment of goods arriving from
the areas not under effective control of the Government
of the Republic of Cyprus (hereafter called the Areas) to
the areas in which the Government exercises effective
control.

The implementation of the regime established by Regu-
lation (EC) No 866/2004, as regards goods other than
those that are both wholly obtained in the Areas and
compliant with Annex II of that Regulation,
is subject
to the adoption of specific rules by the Commission
It
pursuant
is
rules
however
should apply to all goods within the remit of the Regu-
lation.

to Article 4(12) of
clearly

the Regulation.
specific

intended that

these

It is necessary to provide detailed rules concerning the
form and content of the document to be issued by the
Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce or by another
authorised body and concerning controls with regard to
compliance with the applicable rules.

authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, and the authorities
of
the Eastern Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus with
respect to the nature, the quantities, the destination and
the value of the goods for which certificates are estab-
lished and which cross the line, and also any sanctions
applied or import duties levied.

Plant health, food safety and other safety requirements
need to be guaranteed. The protection against the intro-
duction into the Community and against
the spread
within the Community of organisms harmful to plants
or plant products needs to be ensured and detailed rules
concerning the issuing of documents related to the
checks as referred to in Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC)
No 866/2004 have to be established. Pending the estab-
lishment of
the Areas as
the phytosanitary status of
regards the relevant harmful organisms listed in Annex
to Council Directive 2000/29/EC (2), specific
I or
protective measures or additional checks
should be
imposed.

II

For reasons of safety and in order to avoid from the
outright any abuse certain categories of goods which
are subject to restrictions or measures of commercial
defence should be excluded from the scope of application
of Regulation No 866/2004.

It should be clarified that in the event of the transfer of
goods originating in the Areas to other Member States,
these goods must for VAT purposes then be regarded as
having been imported into the Republic of Cyprus.

It is also necessary to determine the meaning of emer-
gencies in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004,

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Rules of origin

The origin of any product to which this Regulation applies shall
be determined in accordance with the provisions in force in the
Community.

Article 2

Accompanying document

1.
The accompanying document referred to in Article 4(5) of
Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 shall fulfil the following
conditions:

1.

it shall contain all the particulars necessary for identifying
the goods to which it relates, in particular:

(a) a description of the goods;

(4)

It is also necessary to provide detailed rules concerning
obligations of communication for the Turkish Cypriot
Chamber of Commerce or another authorised body, the

(b) the item number, marks and numbers of goods, if any;

(c)

the number and kind of packages;

(1) OJ L 161, 30.4.2004, p. 128.

(2) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.

L 272/4

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.8.2004

(d) the volume and value of the goods;

(e)

the name and the address of the producer of the goods;

(f)

the name and the address of
consignee;

the consignor and the

the goods with the origin criteria.

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus shall inform the
4.
Commission services of cases of reasonable doubt as to the
compliance of
In such
cases, the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus shall allow
the goods to cross the line under the conditions set out in
Article 4(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, subject
to any precautionary measures judged necessary while awaiting
the results of subsequent verification.

2.

for

it shall ensure the compliance with the rules of origin
referred to in Article 1 and certify unambiguously that the
goods to which it relates originate in the areas as defined in
the 2003 Act of
Article 1(1) of Protocol No 10 of
Accession;
such a
that purpose, before
document, the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce or
any other authorised body shall carry out controls as
necessary to ascertain that the specifications given by the
producer and the consignor are accurate. Such controls
shall
the producer's
least one verification at
premises.

include at

issuing

If it is established that the documents have been issued without
the conditions having been properly fulfilled, all duties and
taxes due on the release for free circulation of the goods into
the customs territory of the Community shall be due, at the rate
applicable to third countries in the absence of any preferential
treatment. The provisions concerning the incurrence of a
customs debt and its recovery shall apply mutatis mutandis.

The accompanying document shall be made out on forms
corresponding to the specimen given in Annex I.

Article 3

Phytosanitary inspection and reporting

2.
Operators requesting an accompanying document shall
submit a written application to the issuing bodies referred to
above. This application shall contain the following information:

1. a statement by the producer by which he

(a) declares that the goods concerned originate in the areas
as defined in Article 1(1) of Protocol No 10 of the Act of
Accession 2003;

(b) undertakes to keep available for control purposes for a
time period of at least three years from the date of
application all accounts
concerning the production
(including the purchase of raw materials) and the sale
of the goods and to accept that controls can be made
at any reasonable time by the bodies mentioned in
paragraph 1 or by the Commission services;

phytosanitary

1. Where goods consist of plants, plant products and other
objects covered by Part B of Annex V to Directive 2000/29/EC,
independent
the
Commission and operating in coordination with the Turkish
Cypriot Chamber of Commerce for the implementation of
Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, shall inspect the goods at the
stage of production and again at harvest and at stage of
marketing.

appointed

experts

by

In the case of potatoes, the above experts shall verify that the
potatoes in the consignment were grown directly from seed
potatoes certified in one of the Member States or from seed
potatoes certified in any other country for which the entry into
the Community of potatoes
intended for planting is not
prohibited pursuant to Annex III to Directive 2000/29/EC.

2. a statement by the consignor concerning the destination of

the goods.

In the case of citrus fruits, the above experts shall verify that the
fruits have been found to be free from leaves and peduncles and
bear the appropriate origin mark.

The application form shall be made out on forms corre-
sponding to the specimen given in Annex II.

3.
The bodies mentioned in paragraph 1(2) shall forward to
the Commission, the Government of Cyprus, and the authorities
of the Eastern Sovereign Base Area the names and titles of the
persons entrusted to sign the documents as well as a specimen
of their signature and the stamp used.

If the above experts, to the best of their knowledge and as
2.
far as can be determined, establish that the relevant plants, plant
products or other objects in the consignment comply with the
relevant requirements and checks as set out in Annex II of
Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 as well as with the provisions
paragraph
of

subparagraph

second

third

and

the

of

20.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 272/5

1, they shall report their findings, using the model form of
‘Report of phytosanitary inspection’ under Annex III to this
Regulation. The ‘Report of phytosanitary inspection’ shall be
added as a supplement
to the accompanying document as
referred to in Article 2.

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus and the autho-
2.
rities of the Eastern Sovereign Base Area shall ensure that goods
crossing the line comply with the EC rules on health, safety,
environmental and consumer protection and on the prohibition
on the bringing in of counterfeit and pirated goods.

The experts shall not issue ‘Reports of phytosanitary inspection’
in respect of plants intended for planting, including tubers of
Solanum tuberosum (L.) intended for planting.

3.
They shall consequently seal the lorries or other means of
transport in such a way as to prevent any opening of the
consignment until it crosses the line. No commodities covered
by the provisions of this Article shall be moved across the line
unless the said report form is filled in completely and duly
signed by at least one of the above mentioned phytosanitary
experts.

4.
Upon arrival in the areas in which the Government of the
Republic of Cyprus exercises effective control, the competent
authorities shall examine the consignment. Where applicable,
the ‘Report of phytosanitary inspection’ shall be replaced by a
plant passport,
issued in conformity with the provisions of
Commission Directives 92/105/EEC (1) and 93/51/EEC (2).

5.
If the consignment consists of or contains potato lots, an
appropriate part of these lots shall be examined in respect of
Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al. and Clavibacter
michiganensis ssp. sepedonicus (Spieckermann et Kotthoff) Davis
et al., in accordance with the Community established methods
for the detection and diagnosis of those harmful organisms.

Article 4

Food and product safety, counterfeit and pirated goods

1.
For food safety reasons the movement across the line of
compound feedings stuffs, feed additives, pre-mixtures, or all
feedings stuffs containing products of animal origin and any
product
listed in
Annex IV as well as similar decisions adopted in the future
shall be prohibited. Articles 6, 7 and 18 of Regulation (EC)
the
No 178/2002 of
Council (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

the Commission Decisions

the European Parliament

falling under

and of

(1) OJ L 4, 8.1.1993, p. 22.
(2) OJ L 205, 17.8.1993, p. 24.
(3) OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1.

Article 5

Trade defence measures

to EU trade defence measures,
subject

No accompanying document shall be issued for goods which
are subject
including goods
is
incorporating materials
without prejudice to the application of the Community's anti-
dumping,
trade defence
instruments.

to such measures. This

safeguard or other

anti-subsidy,

Article 6

VAT

In the event of goods originating in the Areas being transferred
to other Member States, their previous entry into the areas
under the effective control of the Government shall be treated
as having been an importation of goods in accordance with
Article 7 of Council Directive 77/388/EEC (4)
for which the
owner of
the goods or any other person designated or
accepted as being liable by the Government of the Republic
of Cyprus shall be liable for the payment of import VAT in
accordance with Article 21(4) of that Directive.

Article 7

Emergencies

Other emergencies in the meaning of Article 11(4) of Regu-
lation (EC) No 866/2004 shall include any situation or circum-
stance which may give rise to or threatens to give rise to serious
and enduring economic damage to a region of the Republic of
Cyprus or any situation or circumstance which is posing or
the Internal
threatens to pose a risk to the functioning of
Market, in particular where such threat arises by the non-appli-
cation in the Areas of import duties equivalent to those estab-
lished under the Common Customs Tariff on raw materials used
in the processing of goods.

Article 8

Communication obligations

1.
The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce or another
body authorised pursuant to Article 4(5) of Regulation (EC) No
866/2004 shall communicate to the Commission on a monthly
basis the type, volume, and value of goods for which it has
issued the documents referred to in Article 2(1), and details of
any irregularities discovered and any sanctions applied.

(4) OJ L 145, 13.6.1977, p. 1.

L 272/6

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.8.2004

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, in accordance
2.
with Article 4(2) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, shall
communicate to the Commission on a monthly basis the type,
volume and the value of goods that have, according to the
declarations contained in the documents referred to in Article
2(1), crossed the line, details of any irregularities discovered and
any sanctions applied, and details of any tariffs or duties levied
on goods subject to export refunds or intervention measures.

The authorities of the Republic of Cyprus shall commu-
3.
nicate to the Commission every three months the type, the
volume, and the value of goods the final destination of which
had not been the Republic of Cyprus according to the

declarations contained in the documents referred to in Article
2(1). Goods having a Member State other than Cyprus as their
final destination shall be separately mentioned.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following
that of
the European
Union.

its publication in the Official

Journal of

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

Done at Brussels, 10 August 2004.

For the Commission

Günter VERHEUGEN
Member of the Commission

20.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 272/7

Specimen of the accompanying document referred to in Article 2(1)

ANNEX I

L 272/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.8.2004

ANNEX II

Specimen of the application form referred to in Article 2(2)

20.8.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 272/9

ANNEX III
Model of the ‘Report of phytosanitary inspection’ referred to in Article 3(2)

L 272/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

20.8.2004

ANNEX IV

List of Commission Decisions referred to in Article 4(1)

— Commission Decision 2002/80/EC, as last amended by Decision 2004/429/EC, imposing special conditions on the
import of figs, hazelnuts and pistachios and certain products derived thereof originating in or consigned from Turkey
— Commission Decision 2002/79/EC, as last amended by 2004/429/EC, imposing special conditions on the import of

peanuts and certain products derived from peanuts originating in or consigned from China

— Commission Decision 2000/49/EC, as last amended by 2004/429/EC, imposing special conditions on the import of

peanuts and certain products derived from peanuts originating in or consigned from Egypt

— Commission Decision 2003/493/EC, as last amended by 2004/428/EC, imposing special conditions on the import of

Brazil nuts in shell originating in or consigned from Brazil

— Commission Decisions 1997/830/EC, as last amended by 2004/429/EC imposing special conditions on the import of

pistachios and certain products derived from pistachios originating in or consigned from Iran

— Commission Decision 2004/92/EC of 21 January 2004 on emergency measures regarding chilli and chilli products