Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION suspending the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on certain agricultural and industrial products and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011
Date: 2013-11-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: CCT duties, EU production, agricultural product, import (EU), industrial product, suspension of customs duties, underproduction













EUR-Lex - 52013PC0776 - EN











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52013PC0776

Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION suspending the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on certain agricultural and industrial products and repealing Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011 /* COM/2013/0776 final - 2013/0384 (NLE) */









EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
1.           CONTEXT OF THE PROPOSAL
The Commission proposes a new base
regulation on autonomous tariff suspensions. This became necessary as Council
Regulation (EU) 1344/2011 of 19 December 2011 has been amended four times and fishery
products are no longer covered by that Regulation. Therefore, in the interests
of transparency, it is proposed to repeal the said Regulation and replace it by
the current proposal. 
The production in the Union of the products
specified in this regulation does not exist or is inadequate and, therefore, by
allowing enterprises to obtain supplies at a lower cost for a certain period,
it would become possible to stimulate economic activity within the Union, to
improve the competitive capacity of these enterprises and, in particular, to
enable the latter to maintain or create employment, modernise their structures,
etc.
In this context, it should be pointed out
that goods imported under the tariff suspension arrangements enjoy freedom of
movement throughout the Union; consequently, once a tarif suspension is
granted, any operator in any Member State is eligible to benefit from it.
Since autonomous tariff suspensions
constitute an exception to the general rule represented by the Common Customs
Tariff, they must, like all derogations, be surveilled and reviewed systematically
on a regular basis (at least every five years). This
should not exclude the termination of certain measures earlier if it is no longer in the Union's interest to maintain suspension of
autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties or because of technical product
developments and economic trends on the market justify it or due to changed
circumstances. Where the Commission considers, on the basis of the review, that
a suspension for a certain product is to be changed or terminated, it will
submit to the Council a proposal to amend the list set out in Annex I
accordingly.
Annex 1 of the attached proposal contains
products for which duties were already suspended by virtue of Council
Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011 as last amended by Regulation (EU) No 626/2013 as
well as a number of agricultural and industrial products which were reviewed since
this last amendment.
It was also considered necessary to provide
that not only the weight in kg or tonnes but also the relevant supplementary
units for the imports of certain products are entered in the declaration for
release for free circulation. Thus, Annex II of the attached proposal contains
the list of product codes with the corresponding supplementary units.
The Commission assisted by the Economic Tariff
Questions Group (ETQG), has reviewed all the new requests for temporary
suspension of autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties presented to it by the
Member States. These new requests for suspension were examined in the light of
the criteria set out in the Communication from the Commission concerning
autonomous tariff suspensions and quotas (see OJ C 363, 13.12.2011, p. 6).
The proposal is in line
with the trade, entreprise, development and external relations policies. Especially
this proposal is not at the expense of countries enjoying a preferential
trading agreement with the EU (e.g. GSP, ACP regime, candidate countries and
potential candidates).
2.           RESULTS OF CONSULTATIONS
WITH THE INTERESTED PARTIES AND IMPACT ASSESSMENTS
The ETQG, in which the competent
authorities of all Member State are represented, was consulted. All listed
suspensions correspond to agreements or compromises reached in the discussions
of the group.
There was no mention of potentially serious
risks with irreversible consequences.
This proposal has been subject to an
inter-service consultation procedure and will be published in the Official
Journal of the European Union after its adoption by the Council.
3.           LEGAL ELEMENTS OF THE
PROPOSAL
The legal basis of this regulation proposal
is Article 31 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.
The proposal falls under the exclusive
competence of the Union.
The proposal complies with the principle of
proportionality as this set of measures is in line with the principles set out
to simplify the procedures for the operators engaged in foreign trade and in
accordance with the Commission communication concerning autonomous tariff
suspensions and quotas (OJ C 363, 13.12.2011, p. 6).
By virtue of Article 31 of the Treaty on
the Functioning of the European Union autonomous tariff suspensions and quotas
are approved by the Council acting by qualified majority on the basis of a
Commission proposal, therefore a regulation is the appropriate instrument. 
4.           BUDGETARY IMPLICATION
Uncollected customs duties of a total
amount of approximately 86 Mio €/year. The effect on the traditional own
resources of the budget is -64,5 Mio €/year (75% x 86 Mio €/year).
2013/0384 (NLE)
Proposal for a
COUNCIL REGULATION
suspending the autonomous Common Customs
Tariff duties on certain agricultural and industrial products and repealing
Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the
Functioning of the European Union, and in particular Article 31 thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the
European Commission,
Whereas:
(1)       The production in the
Union of the agricultural and industrial products set out in Annex I is currently
inadequate or non-existent and thus, the needs of user industries in the Union
cannot be met.
(2)       It is therefore in the
interest of the Union to suspend partially or totally the autonomous Common
Customs Tariff duties for those products.
(3)       Council Regulation (EU) No
1344/2011[1]
has been amended many times. In addition, in the amendment by Council
Regulation (EU) No 1220/2012[2],
fishery products were removed from the scope. In the interest of transparency
it should, therefore, be replaced in its entirety. 
(4)       Regulations suspending the
autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on certain industrial and agricultural
products have largely renewed previous measures. Therefore, in the interests of
rationalising implementation of the measures concerned, it is appropriate not
to limit the period of validity of this Regulation as its scope can be adapted
and products added to or removed from the Annex to this Regulation by means of
a Council regulation. 
(5)       In view of their temporary
nature, the suspensions listed in Annex 1 to this Regulation should be reviewed
systematically, at the latest five years after their application or renewal.
Moreover, closure of certain suspensions should be warranted at any time, as a
result of a proposal of the Commission on the basis of a review carried out on its
own initiative or at the request of one or more Member States if the
suspensions are no longer in the Union's interest to be maintained or due to
technical product developments, to changed circumstances or to economic trends
on the market.
(6)       Statistics for certain
products listed in Annex I to this Regulation are frequently expressed in pieces,
square meters (m2) or measurement units other than weight. However,
there are no such supplementary units in the Combined Nomenclature laid down in
Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87[3]. It is,
therefore, necessary to provide that not only the weight in kg or tonnes but
also the relevant supplementary units for the imports of the products concerned
are entered in the declaration for release for free circulation.
(7)       Since it is necessary that
the suspensions laid down in this Regulation have to take effect on 1 January
2014, this Regulation should apply from that date and should enter into force
immediately upon its publication in the Official Journal of the European
Union.
(8)       In accordance with the
principle of proportionality, it is necessary and appropriate for the
achievement of the basic objectives of improving the competitive capacity of
the Union industry, thereby enabling that industry to maintain or create
employment and modernise its structures, to lay down rules on the suspension of
the Common Customs Tariff duties for the products set out in Annex I. In
accordance with Article 5(4) of the Treaty of the European Union, this Regulation
does not go beyond what is necessary to achieve the objectives pursued,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties
for the agricultural and industrial products listed in Annex I shall be
suspended.
Article 2
1. The Commission may at any time review the
suspensions for the products listed in the Annex in the following cases:
(a) at its own initiative;
(b) at the request of Member States.
2. The Commission shall review the
suspensions in the year set out in Annex I. 
Article 3
Where a declaration for release for free circulation
is presented, in respect of the products falling under the CN codes or TARIC
codes listed in Annex II, the supplementary unit provided in that Annex shall
be entered in the relevant field of that declaration. 
Article 4
Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011 is repealed.
Article 5
This Regulation shall enter into force on
the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2014.
This Regulation shall be binding
in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels,
                                                                       For
the Council
                                                                       The
President
LEGISLATIVE FINANCIAL STATEMENT
FOR PROPOSALS HAVING A BUDGETARY IMPACT EXCLUSIVELY LIMITED TO THE REVENUE SIDE
1.           NAME OF THE PROPOSAL:
Proposal for a Council Regulation suspending
the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on certain agricultural and
industrial products
2.           BUDGET LINES:
Chapter and Article: Chapter 12, Article 120
Amount budgeted for the year 2014: 18.086.400.000
€ (DB 2014)
3.           FINANCIAL IMPACT:
¨      Proposal has no financial implications
X       Proposal has no financial impact on
expenditure but has a financial impact on revenue; the effect is as follows:
 Budget line || Revenue[4] ||   || [Year: 2014 – 2018] 
 Article 120 || Impact on own resources ||   || - 64 500 000 (per year) 
4.           ANTI-FRAUD MEASURES
Checks on the end-use of some of the products
covered by this Council Regulation will be carried out in accordance with
Articles 291 to 300 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down
provisions for the implementation of the Community Customs Code.
5.           OTHER REMARKS 
This Regulation replaces existing Council
Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011. The Annex of the existing Regulation has 1792
product lines and results in estimated amount of uncollected customs duties of a
total amount of 1040 Mio € for the year 2013, based on the actual figures for
2013/S1. This figure is obtained on the basis of Eurostat Comext data
concerning the total value of imports of products falling under autonomous
tariff suspensions in 2013, multiplied by the respective ad valorem duty
rate of the common Customs Tariff for the specific tariff lines. The total
amount above already excludes the uncollected duties for products which will no
longer be suspended after the entry into force of this Regulation and the
abrogation of Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011.
In addition to the aforementiond suspended
products lines, this proposal contains 130 new product lines to be suspended. The
uncollected duties corresponding to these suspensions, calculated on the basis
of requesting Member State projections, amount to 48 Mio €/year. On the
basis of the existing statistics for preceding years, it would appear, however,
necessary to increase this amount by an average factor, estimated at 1,8 to
take account of imports into other Member States using the same suspensions.
This means uncollected duties of some 86 Mio € /year.
Thus, the uncollected duties corresponding to
the suspensions listed in the Annex of this proposal, calculated on the basis
of expected imports into the requesting Member State for 2014 until 2018, are
in total 1 126 Mio €/year.
Estimated cost of this operation
The impact on the loss of revenue in
traditional own resources resulting from this Regulation may be estimated (after
deduction of the collection costs) at 86 x 75% = 64,5 MEUR/year for the
period 01.01.2014 - 31.12.2018.
The loss of revenue in traditional own
resources should be compensated by Member States' contributions based on the
GNI.
[1]               Council Regulation (EU) No 1344/2011 of 19 December
2011 temporarily suspending the autonomous Common Customs Tariff duties on
certain agricultural, fishery and industrial products (OJ L 349, 31.12.2011,
p.1).
[2]               Council Regulation (EU) No 1220/2012 of 3 December
2012 on trade related measures to guarantee the supply of certain fishery
products to Union processors from 2013 to 2015, amending Regulations (EC) No
104/2000 and (EU) No 1344/2011 (OJ L 349, 19.12.2012, p.4).
[3]               Council Regulation (EEC) No
2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the
Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p.1).
[4]               Regarding traditional own resources (agricultural
duties, sugar levies, customs duties) the amounts indicated must be net
amounts, i.e. gross amounts after deduction of 25 % of collection costs