Commission Regulation (EC) No 497/2008 of 4 June 2008 opening and providing for the management of Community tariff quotas for certain fish and fishery products originating in Montenegro
Date: 2008-06-04
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Montenegro, fish product, fishery product, import, originating product, sea fish, tariff quota, tariff reduction

5.6.2008

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 146/3

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 497/2008

of 4 June 2008

opening and providing for the management of Community tariff quotas for certain fish and fishery
products originating in Montenegro

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

(5)

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 140/2008 of
19 November 2007 on certain procedures for applying the
Stabilisation
the
and Association Agreement
European Communities and their Member States, of the one
part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part, and
for applying the Interim Agreement between the European
Community, of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro,
of the other part (1), and in particular Article 2 thereof,

between

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

A Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the
European Communities and their Member States, of the
one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other
part (the Stabilisation and Association Agreement), was
signed in Luxembourg on 15 October 2007. The Stabi-
lisation and Association Agreement is in the process of
ratification.

On 15 October 2007 an Interim Agreement was
concluded on trade and trade-related matters between
the one part, and the
the European Community, of
Republic of Montenegro, of the other part (2)
(Interim
Agreement), which was approved by Council Decision
2007/855/EC of 15 October 2007 (3). The Interim
Agreement provides for the early entry into force of
the trade and trade-related provisions of the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement.
It enters into force on
1 January 2008.

The Interim Agreement and the Stabilisation and Asso-
ciation Agreement provide that certain fish and fishery
products originating in Montenegro may be imported
into the Community, within the limits of Community
tariff quotas, at a reduced or a zero-rate customs duty.

The tariff quotas provided for in the Interim Agreement
and in the Stabilisation and Association Agreement are
annual and have been provided for an indeterminate
period.
is necessary to open the Community tariff
quotas for 2008 and following years and to provide
for a common system for their management.

It

the system, Member States

should ensure
equal

common management
importers have

that all
This
Community
and continuous
access to the tariff quotas and that the rates laid down
for the quotas are applied uninterruptedly to all imports
of the products in question into all Member States until
In order to ensure the
the quotas will be exhausted.
should be
efficiency of
the
authorised to draw from the quota volumes
necessary quantities corresponding to actual
imports.
Close cooperation between the Member States and the
Commission is required and the latter must in particular
be able to monitor the rate at which the quotas are used
up and inform the Member States accordingly. For
communication
reasons
between the Member States
and the Commission
should, as far as possible, take place by electronic trans-
mission.

efficiency,

speed

and

of

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The quotas opened by this Regulation should therefore
system for
be managed in accordance with the
management of
tariff preferences within tariff quotas
designed to be used following the chronological order
of dates of acceptance of customs declarations which is
laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93
of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the imple-
mentation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92
establishing the Community Customs Code (4).

In accordance with the Stabilisation and Association
Agreement and the Interim Agreement, the tariff quotas
volumes for prepared or preserved sardines and for
prepared or preserved anchovies should from 1 January
of the fourth year following the entry into force of the
Interim Agreement, be increased to 250 tonnes provided
that at least 80 % of the total amount of the previous
tariff quota has been used by 31 December of that year.
if implemented, should
The increased quotas volumes,
continue to apply until the parties to the Stabilisation
and Association Agreement and the Interim Agreement
agree other arrangements.

As the Interim Agreement enters into force on 1 January
2008, this Regulation should apply from the same date
and should remain in application after the entry into
force of the Stabilisation and Association Agreement.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Customs Code
Committee,

(1) OJ L 43, 19.2.2008, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 345, 28.12.2007, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 345, 28.12.2007, p. 1.

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

lation (EC) No 214/2007 (OJ L 62, 1.3.2007, p. 6).

L 146/4

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.6.2008

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 3

Article 1

Fish and fishery products originating in Montenegro and listed
into free circulation in the
in the Annex which are put
from a reduced or a zero-rate of
Community shall benefit
customs duty, at
the
annual Community tariff quotas set out in the Annex.

the levels and within the limits of

In order to benefit from these preferential rates, those products
shall be accompanied by a proof of origin as provided for in
Protocol 3 to the Interim Agreement with Montenegro or in
Protocol 3 to the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with
Montenegro.

1.
The tariff quotas for prepared or preserved sardines and
for prepared or preserved anchovies referred to in the Annex
under order numbers 09.1524 and 09.1525 shall be increased
to 250 tonnes from 1 January 2012 for 2012 and the
following years.

2.
The increase referred to in paragraph 1 may be applied
only if at least 80 % of the tariff quotas volumes opened within
the previous year have been used in the fourth year following
the entry into force of the Interim Agreement.

Article 4

Article 2

The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely
to ensure compliance with this Regulation.

1.
The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be managed
by the Commission in accordance with Articles 308a, 308b and
308c of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

2.
Communications referring to the management of tariff
quotas between the Member States and the Commission shall
be effected, as far as possible, by electronic transmission.

Article 5

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2008.

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

Done at Brussels, 4 June 2008.

For the Commission

László KOVÁCS
Member of the Commission

5.6.2008

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 146/5

ANNEX

Notwithstanding the rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature, the wording for the description of the
products is to be considered as having no more than an indicative value, the preferential scheme being determined, within
the context of this Annex, by the coverage of CN codes. Where ex CN codes are indicated, the preferential scheme is to
be determined by application of the CN code and corresponding description taken together.

FISH AND FISHERY PRODUCTS

Order No

CN code

TARIC
subdivision

Description

Annual tariff quota volume
(in tonnes net weight)

Rate of quota duty

aguabonita, Oncorhynchus

Trout (Salmo trutta, Oncorhynchus mykiss, Oncorhynchus
gilae,
clarki, Oncorhynchus
Oncorhynchus apache and Onchorhynchus
chrysogaster):
live; fresh or chilled; frozen; dried, salted or in brine,
smoked; fillets and other fish meat; flours, meals and
pellets, fit for human consumption

20 tonnes

Free

Carp: live; fresh or chilled; frozen; dried, salted or in
brine, smoked; fillets and other fish meat; flours, meals
and pellets, fit for human consumption

10 tonnes

Free

Sea bream (Dentex dentex and Pagellus spp.): live; fresh
or chilled; frozen; dried, salted or in brine, smoked;
fillets and other fish meat; flours, meals and pellets,
fit for human consumption

20 tonnes

Free

09.1516

09.1518

09.1520

0301 91 10
0301 91 90
0302 11 10
0302 11 20
0302 11 80
0303 21 10
0303 21 20
0303 21 80
0304 19 15
0304 19 17
ex 0304 19 19
ex 0304 19 91
0304 29 15
0304 29 17
ex 0304 29 19
ex 0304 99 21
ex 0305 10 00
ex 0305 30 90
0305 49 45
ex 0305 59 80
ex 0305 69 80

0301 93 00
0302 69 11
0303 79 11
ex 0304 19 19
ex 0304 19 91
ex 0304 29 19
ex 0304 99 21
ex 0305 10 00
ex 0305 30 90
ex 0305 49 80
ex 0305 59 80
ex 0305 69 80

ex 0301 99 80
0302 69 61
0303 79 71
ex 0304 19 39
ex 0304 19 99
ex 0304 29 99
ex 0304 99 99
ex 0305 10 00
ex 0305 30 90
ex 0305 49 80
ex 0305 59 80
ex 0305 69 80

30
10

30
11, 12, 20
10
50

61
61

20
20
20
16
20
60
30
63
63

80

80
77
50
20
30
70
40
65
65

L 146/6

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Official Journal of the European Union

5.6.2008

Order No

CN code

TARIC
subdivision

Description

Annual tariff quota volume
(in tonnes net weight)

Rate of quota duty

09.1522

ex 0301 99 80
0302 69 94
ex 0303 77 00
ex 0304 19 39
ex 0304 19 99
ex 0304 29 99
ex 0304 99 99
ex 0305 10 00
ex 0305 30 90
ex 0305 49 80
ex 0305 59 80
ex 0305 69 80

22

10
85
79
60
70
40
80
50
67
67

09.1524

1604 13 11
1604 13 19
ex 1604 20 50

10, 19

09.1525

1604 16 00
1604 20 40

Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax):
fresh or chilled;
frozen; dried, salted or in brine, smoked; fillets and
other
for
human consumption

flours, meals and pellets,

fish meat;

live;

fit

20 tonnes

Free

Prepared or preserved sardines

200 tonnes (1)

6 %

Prepared or preserved anchovies

200 tonnes (1)

12,5 %

(1) From the 1 January 2012 the tariff quota volumes for 2012 and the following years shall be increased to 250 tonnes provided that at least 80 % of the quota of the
previous year has been used by 31 December of that year. The increased quota volume, if implemented, will continue to apply until such time as the parties will agree
other arrangements.