Commission Regulation (EC) No 219/2006 of  8 February 2006  opening and providing for the administration of the tariff quota for bananas falling under CN code  08030019  originating in ACP countries for the period  1 March  to  31 December 2006
Date: 2006-02-08
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: ACP countries, import, import licence, originating product, tariff exemption, tariff quota, tropical fruit

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Official Journal of the European Union

9.2.2006

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 219/2006

of 8 February 2006

opening and providing for the administration of
the tariff quota for bananas falling under
CN code 0803 00 19 originating in ACP countries for the period 1 March to 31 December 2006

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1964/2005 of 29
November 2005 on the tariff rates for bananas (1), and in
particular Article 2 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1964/2005 provides
that each year from 1 January, with effect from 1 January
2006, an autonomous tariff quota of 775 000 tonnes net
weight subject to a zero-duty rate is to be opened for
imports of bananas under CN code 0803 00 19 origi-
nating in ACP countries.

January

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2015/2005 of 9
December 2005 on imports during
and
February 2006 of bananas originating in ACP countries
under the tariff quota opened by Council Regulation (EC)
No 1964/2005 on the tariff rates for bananas (2), adopts
the interim measures needed to ensure Community
market supplies and continuity of trade with the ACP
trade flows
countries and to avoid disruptions of
during those two months. To that end, an overall
amount of 160 000 tonnes has been made available
for the purpose of issuing import licences under that
tariff quota.

The tariff quota provided for by Regulation (EC) No
1964/2005 for 2006 should therefore be opened and
the provisions for its administration laid down for the
period 1 March to 31 December 2006.

As is the case for non-preferential imports, a method of
administering the tariff quota should be adopted so as to
favour international trade and smoother trade flows. The
most appropriate method for this purpose would be that
using the quota by chronological order of acceptance of
the declarations of release for free circulation (the ‘first

(1) OJ L 316, 2.12.2005, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 324, 10.12.2005, p. 5.

first served’ method). Nevertheless,

in order to
come,
trade with ACP countries and,
ensure continuity of
the Community
supplies
satisfactory
therefore,
market while avoiding disturbances in trade flows, part
of the tariff quota should for the time being be reserved
for operators who supplied the Community with ACP
bananas under the import arrangements previously in
force.

for

Provision should therefore be made for a total quantity
of 146 850 tonnes of the tariff quota to be reserved for
the operators who actually imported bananas originating
in ACP countries into the Community during 2005. That
proportion of the tariff quota should be administered by
means of
licences issued to each operator in
proportion to the quantities released for free circulation
during 2005.

import

In view of the quantities available, a ceiling should be set
for the licence application which each operator may
lodge for the period 1 March to 31 December 2006.

Access to the rest of the tariff quota should be open to
all operators established in the Community on a ‘first
first served’ basis in accordance with Articles
come,
308a, 308b and 308c of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for
the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (3).

tariff

import

1964/2005,

As a result of
the common
the entry into force of
customs tariff rate for bananas established by Regulation
quota
the
(EC) No
arrangements established by Title IV of Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 on the
in bananas (4)
common organisation of
ceased applying on 31 December 2005 as provided for
in Article 16(1) of that Regulation. The rules for admin-
istering tariff quotas provided for in Title IV of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 404/93, adopted by Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 896/2001 (5) are therefore null and void.

the market

(5)

(6)

(7)

(8)

(3) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 883/2005 (OJ L 148, 11.6.2005, p. 5).

(4) OJ L 47, 25.2.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by the 2003

Act of Accession.

(5) OJ L 126, 8.5.2001, p. 6. Regulation as last amended by Regulation

(EC) No 838/2004 (OJ L 127, 29.4.2004, p. 52).

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(9)

For reasons of clarity and legal certainty, Regulation (EC)
No 896/2001 should therefore be repealed. Nevertheless,
its provisions should remain in force, parti-
some of
cularly as regards the communication of
information
by the Member States which has been found useful for
the purposes of administering the imports under this
Regulation.

(10)

This Regulation should enter into force immediately in
order to enable licence applications to be lodged in time.

(11)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

CHAPTER II

IMPORTS OF THE QUANTITIES PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE
2(A)

Article 3

Import licences

1.
All imports under the quantity referred to in Article 2(a)
shall be subject to the lodging of an import licence issued in
accordance with the provisions of this Chapter.

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 (1) shall be
2.
applicable, with the exception of Article 8(4) and (5), subject to
the provisions of this Regulation.

Article 4

Lodging licence applications

1.
Economic operators established in the Community who
actually imported bananas originating in ACP countries into the
Community in 2005 shall be entitled to lodge import licence
applications.

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Subject

The zero-duty tariff quota for the import of bananas falling
under CN code 0803 00 19 originating in ACP countries
provided for in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1964/2005
is hereby opened for the period 1 March to 31 December 2006.

Article 2

Available quantities

The quantities available under
615 000 tonnes, of which:

the tariff quota are set at

2.
The quantities applied for by each operator may not
exceed 40 % of the quantities of bananas originating in ACP
circulation in the
countries which he
Community during 2005.

released for

free

Import

3.
licence applications must be lodged by each
operator on 15 and 16 February 2006 with the competent
authorities of the Member State which issued him in 2005
with the import
the quantities referred to in
paragraph 2.

licences for

The competent authorities shall be those listed in the Annex to
Regulation (EC) No 896/2001.

4.
Licence applications shall be accompanied by a copy of
the licence(s) used in 2005 to import bananas originating in
ACP countries, duly endorsed, and the documents proving the
ACP origin of the quantities under those licences, and the proof
lodging of a security in accordance with Title III of
of
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 (2). The security
shall be EUR 150 per tonne.

(a) 146 850 tonnes is to be administered in accordance with

Chapter II and have the serial number 09.4164.

Applications not lodged in accordance with this Article

5.
shall not be admissible.

(b) 468 150 tonnes is to be administered in accordance with
Chapter III and have the serial numbers: 09.1638, 09.1639,
09.1640, 09.1642 and 09.1644.

(1) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 205, 3.8.1985, p. 5.

Box 20 of licence applications and licences shall contain
6.
the entry ‘licence under Chapter II of Regulation (EC) No
219/2006’.

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Article 5

Issuing of licences

CHAPTER III

IMPORTS OF THE QUANTITIES PROVIDED FOR IN ARTICLE
2(B)

1. Member States shall notify the Commission not later than
21 February 2006 of the total quantity for which admissible
licence applications have been lodged.

Article 7

Administration

2.
If the quantities applied for exceed the quantity referred to
in Article 2(a) the Commission shall, not later than 24 February
2006, set a reduction coefficient to be applied to each appli-
cation.

The quantity provided for in Article 2(b) shall be divided

1.
into five tranches, each of 93 630 tonnes, as follows:

Serial number

Quota period

3.
The competent authorities shall issue the import licences
from 27 February 2006, where appropriate applying the
reduction coefficient referred to in paragraph 2.

if a reduction coefficient is applied, a licence is
4. Where,
issued for a quantity less than that applied for, the security
referred to in Article 4(4) shall be released without delay for
the quantity not awarded.

Article 6

Period of validity of licences and Member State notifi-
cations

The import licences issued in accordance with Article 5(3)

1.
shall be valid from 1 March to 31 December 2006.

2.
From April 2006 to January 2007 inclusive, Member
States shall notify the Commission, not later than the 15th of
each month, of the quantities of bananas imported during the
preceding month on the basis of licences issued in accordance
with Article 5(3).

09.1638

09.1639

09.1640

09.1642

09.1644

1 March to 30 April

1 May to 30 June

1 July to 31 August

1 September to 31 October

1 November to 31 December

2.
The tranches provided for in paragraph 1 shall be admi-
nistered in accordance with Articles 308a, 308b and 308c of
Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

CHAPTER IV

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 8

Repeal

Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 is hereby repealed. However,
Articles 21, 26 and 27 of and the annex to that Regulation
shall remain applicable to imports under this Regulation.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publi-
cation in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 8 February 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission