CELEX: 31976R3025
Language: en
Date: 1976-12-13 00:00:00
Title: Council Regulation (EEC) No 3025/76 of 13 December 1976 opening preferential tariffs for developing countries for raw or unmanufactured tobaccos falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II of the Common Customs Tariff

20. 12. 76                            Official Journal of the European Communities                         No L 349/ 105
                                      COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3025/76
                                                   of 13 December 1976
             opening preferential tariffs for developing countries for raw or unmanufactured tobaccos
                     falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II of the Common Customs Tariff
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES ,                        applicable to such goods by virtue of that Regulation,
                                                                 and, in respect of products which are subject to the
                                                                 single customs duty, of a reduction in such duty ;
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the Euro­               whereas preferential imports of the products
pean Economic Community, and in particular                       concerned could be effected without quantitative
Article 43 thereof,                                              restrictions ; whereas, it appears appropriate however,
                                                                 in view of the sensitiveness of the tobacco sector
                                                                 generally and of the need to safeguard the interests
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,               of the associated countries and of the ACP States in
                                                                 this field, to lay down for these raw or unmanufac­
Having regard to the opinion of the European                     tured tobaccos special conditions consisting in a
Parliament ( 1),                                                 reduction of the customs duty applicable to these
                                                                 products within the limits of a Community tariff
                                                                 ceiling;
Whereas in the Joint Declaration of Intent on the
development of trade relations with Sri Lanka, India,            Whereas the offer made by the Community includes
Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore (2), the Community              a clause stating that the Community drew up the
declared its readiness      to seek solutions to the             offer on the assumption that all the main industrial­
problems which may arise in the field of trade for               ized countries which are members of the OECD
the countries referred to as well as for developing              would participate in granting preferences and would
countries situated in the same geographical region ;             make similar efforts in this direction ; whereas, more­
                                                                 over, it is evident from the conclusions worked out in
                                                                 UNCTAD that this offer, while being of a temporary
Whereas, particularly for Indonesia, raw or                      nature, does not constitute a. binding commitment
unmanufactured tobaccos, other than Virginia type,               and, in particular, may be withdrawn wholly or in
falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II, represent an            part at a later date; whereas this possibility may be
important export product ; whereas the generalized               adopted inter alia with a view to remedying any
preferences scheme may constitute a solution for                 unfavourable situations which might arise in the
problems arising in this connection ; whereas these              ACP States following the implementation of the
types of tobaccos should therefore be included in                generalized preference scheme ;
the generalized preferences scheme;
                                                                 Whereas, moreover, the conference of Heads of State
                                                                 or of Government of the Member States and the
Whereas, within the context of UNCTAD, the
                                                                 States acceding to the European Communities held in
European Economic Community offered to grant                     Paris from 19      to  21   October   1972  invited the
tariff preferences on certain processed agricultural             Community institutions and the Member States pro­
products of Chapters 1 to 24 of the Common                       gressively to adopt an overall policy of development
Customs Tariff which originate in developing                     cooperation on a world-wide scale comprising in
countries ; whereas the preferential treatment
                                                                 particular the improvement of generalized preferences
proposed in that offer consists, in respect of certain           with the aim of achieving a steady increase in imports
goods which are subject to the trade arrangements                 of manufactures from the developing countries ;
laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 10 59/69, of a
reduction in the fixed component of the charge
                                                                 Whereas tariff preferences have been applied as from
                                                                 the second half of 1971 ; whereas, however, for cer­
H OJ No C 259, 4. 11 . 1976, p. 27.                               tain types of tobacco the said system of tariff pre­
(2) OJ No L 73, 27. 3 . 1972, p. 195.                            ferences has been made applicable from 1974; where­
 ---pagebreak--- No L 349/ 106                          Official Journal of the European Communities                             20 . 12 . 76
as it is appropriate to extend this system henceforth             concerned are presented for customs clearance under
also for tobaccos falling within ' subheading 24.01 A             cover of declarations that they are intended for home
ex II ;                                                           use and are accompanied by a certificate of origin ;
                                                                  whereas this method of administration must make
                                                                  provision for the re-introduction of customs duties as
Whereas it is expedient, therefore, that the Com­                 soon as the ceiling is reached at Community level ;
munity should open for 1977 for the said raw or
unmanufactured tobaccos, other than Virginia type,
originating in the countries and territories listed in            Whereas such method of administration calls for
the Annex, a Community ceiling of 2 500 metric tons,              very close and particularly rapid cooperation between
at a customs duty rate of 7% with a minimum charge                Member States and the Commission, which must, in
of 33 units of account and a maximum charge of                    particular, be able to observe the extent to which
45 units of account per 100 kilogrammes net weight;               charges are made against the ceiling and inform
                                                                  Member States thereof; whereas such cooperation
                                                                  should be particularly close in view of the need for
Whereas, in accordance with Protocol 23 to the Act                the Commission to be able to take appropriate
of Accession ( 1 ), the generalized tariff preference             measures    to   re-introduce    customs duties    either
scheme became fully applicable in the new Member                  generally or individually, when the ceiling is reached ;
States on 1 January 1974 ;
                                                                  Whereas measures should be provided for which will
Whereas, for the product concerned, this scheme                   enable any serious disruption in any sector of the
would, however, involve the application in the new                economic activity of the Community to be avoided ;
Member States in the first half of 1977 of customs                whereas to this end, the Commission should be
duties higher than or very close to those which will              empowered to re-introduce partially or wholly the
be applied by the new Member States to non-member                 levying of customs duties in order that such
countries in general on the basis of the provisions of            disruption may be avoided,
the abovementioned Act; whereas this situation
would comply neither with the spirit nor with the
very nature of the generalized preference scheme ;
whereas, in order to maintain an equivalent                       HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
preferential margin for these products also, reduced
customs duties should during the said period be
applied to them, in accordance with detailed rules                                         Article 1
based on the principle of maintaining, in the new
Member States, a preference proportional to that
which exists between the duties of the Common                     1 . From 1 January to 31 December 1977, the duties
Customs Tariff and the duties given in Article 1 of               under the Common Customs Tariff relating to raw
this Regulation ; whereas, with a view to granting                or unmanufactured tobacco, other than Virginia type,
the beneficiary developing countries the best possible            falling within subheading 24.01 A ex II shall be
treatment, in accordance with the objectives of the               suspended at 7 % within a minimum charge of 33
preference scheme, the duties given in the abovemen­              units of account per 100 kilogrammes net weight and
                                                                  a maximum charge of 45 units of account per 100
tioned Article 1 should also be applied wherever the
duties calculated according to the abovementioned
                                                                  kilogrammes net weight.
detailed rules prove to be higher than them ; whereas
it is essential to reserve the benefit of this tariff
suspension for products originating in the countries              On importation into Denmark, Ireland and the
and territories under consideration, the concept of               United Kingdom, there shall be applied to the prod­
                                                                  ucts mentioned above the customs duties determined
'originating products' being determined in accordance
with the procedure laid down in Article 14 of Council             by multiplying, by a coefficient equal to the margin
Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 of 27 June 1968 on the                 of preferences existing between the duty given in the
common definition of the concept of the origin of                 first subparagraph and the Common Customs Tariff
goods (2);                                                        duties applicable, the duties obtained by reducing
                                                                  by 80% the difference between the lowest duty
                                                                  applied on 1 January 1972 to the developing
                                                                  countries set out in the Annex and the Common
Whereas the charging of imports against a ceiling                 Customs Tariff.
must be carried out as and when the tobaccos
                                                                  However, the duties given in the first subparagraph
C) OJ No L 73 , 27. 3 . 1972 , p . 14.                            shall be applied from 1 January to 30 June 1977,
(2) OJ No L 148, 28. 6. 1968 , p. 1.                              where the duties resulting from the abovementioned
 ---pagebreak---  20 . 12 . 76                        Official Journal of the European Communities                         No L 349/ 107
calculation are higher than them. From 1 July 1977                                       Article 4
 the duties given in the first subparagraph shall be
 applied.                                                        1 . The Commission, in close cooperation with the
                                                                Member States, shall take all necessary measures to
                                                                ensure that the above provisions are applied.
 2. This tariff suspension shall apply solely to prod­
 ucts originating in the countries and territories listed
 in the Annex. However, those imports which enjoy               2. The Commission shall issue a Regulation to
 exemption from customs duties under other prefer­              re-introduce the levying of customs duties in respect
 ential tariff arrangements granted by the Community            of all the countries and territories referred to in
 may not be charged against the ceiling referred to in          Article 1 (2) in accordance with Article 2.
paragraph 3 .
                                                                                         Article S
 For the purposes of the application of this Regulation
 the concept of ' originating products' shall be                Member       States   shall  inform  the    Commission
 determined in accordance with the procedure laid
 down in Article 14 of Regulation (EEC) No 802/68 .             periodically of imports of the products in question
                                                                charged against the Community ceiling laid down
                                                                in Article 1 ( 3 ). This information shall show both
3 . Subject to Articles 2 and 4 this suspension shall           the value, expressed in units of account, and the
be granted for the tobaccos in question up to a                 quantities expressed in metric tons.
Community ceiling of 2 500 metric tons.
                                                                                         Article 6
                                                                When products benefiting from the treatment pro­
                         Article 2
                                                                vided for in Article 1 are imported into the Com­
                                                                munity at such prices that Community producers of
As soon as the ceiling calculated in accordance with            products similar to or in direct competition with them
the provisions of Article 1 (3 ), which is laid down            suffer or are likely to suffer from serious disadvan­
for Community imports of products originating in all            tage, the levying of customs duties may be re­
of the countries and territories referred to in Article 1       introduced in whole or in part on the products in
(2), is reached at Community level, the levying of              question in respect of the countries or territories
customs duties on imports of the tobaccos from all              which are the cause of the disadvantage. Such
the countries and territories concerned may at any              measures may also be taken in the case of actual
time be re-introduced until the end of the period               or potential serious disadvantage in a single region of
referred to in Article 1(1 ).                                   the Community.
                                                                                         Article 7
                        Article 3
                                                                1 . The Commission may decide, by means of a
                                                                Regulation, to re-introduce the levying of customs
 1 . Imports of the products in question shall be               duties for a specified period, in order to ensure that
                                                                Article 6 is applied.
charged against the Community ceiling as and when
the tobaccos in question are entered for home use,
and provided that they are accompanied by a                     2. In the event of such action being requested by
certificate of origin pursuant to the rules laid down           a Member State, the Commission shall decide within
in Article 1 (2).                                               a period of not more than 10 working days after the
                                                                request has been received and shall inform the
                                                                Member States of this decision .
2. Goods may be charged against the ceiling only if
the certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 1 is
submitted before the date on which the levying of              3 . Any Member State may refer to the Council the
duties is re-introduced.                                       measure taken by the Commission, within a period of
                                                                not more than 10 working days after it has been
                                                               informed thereof. The fact that the matter is referred
3 . The extent to which the ceiling has been used              to the Council shall not cause the measure to be
up shall be determined at Community level on the               suspended. The Council shall meet immediately. It
basis of the imports charged in accordance with                may, by acting on a qualified majority, amend or
paragraphs 1 and 2.                                            rescind the measure in question.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 349/ 108                     Official Journal of the European Communities                         20 . 12 . 76
                      Article 8                              the common commercial policy under Article 113
                                                             of the Treaty.
Articles 6 and 7 shall not prejudice the implemen­                                  Article 9
tation of the safeguard clauses adopted in pursuance
of the common agricultural policy under Article 43           This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
of the Treaty and of those adopted in pursuance of           1977 .
             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
             States .
             Done at Brussels, 13 December 1976 .
                                                                             For the Council
                                                                              The President
                                                                            M. van der STOEL
 ---pagebreak--- 20. 12. 76                          Official Journal of the European Communities                           No L 349/ 109
                                                        ANNEX
                   List of developing countries and territories enjoying generalized tariff preferences
                                               I. INDEPENDENT COUNTRIES
Afghanistan                               Guyana                                    Philippines
Algeria                                   Haiti                                     Qatar
Angola                                    Honduras                                  Romania
Argentina                                 India                                     Rwanda
Bahamas                                   Indonesia                                 Sao Tome and Principe
Bahrain                                   Iran                                      Saudi Arabia
Bangladesh                                I r .u]                                   Senegal
Barbados                                  Ivory Coast                               Seychelles
Bénin                                     Jamaica                                   Sierra Leone
Bhutan                                   Jordan
                                                                                    Singapore
Bolivia                                   Kenya                                     Somalia
Botswana                                  Khmer Republic                            Sri Lanka
Brazil                                    Korea (South)
                                                                                    Sudan
Burma                                     Kuwait
                                                                                    Surinam
Burundi                                   Laos
                                                                                    Swaziland
Cameroon                                  Lebanon
                                                                                    Syria
Cape Verde Islands                        I esotho
                                                                                    Tanzania
Central African Republic                  Liberia
                                                                                    Thailand
Chad                                      Libya
                                                                                    Togo
Chile                                     Malagasy Republic
                                                                                    Tonga
Colombia                                  Malawi
                                                                                    Trinidad and Tobago
Comoros                                   Malaysia
                                                                                    Tunisia
Congo, People's Republic of               Maldive Islands
                                                                                    Uganda
Costa Rica                                Mali
                                                                                    United Arab Emirates :
Cuba                                      Mauritania
                                                                                         Abu Dhabi
Cyprus                                    Mauritius                                      Dubai
Dominican Republic                        Mexico                                         Ras al Khaimah
Ecuador                                   Morocco                                        Fujairah
Egypt, Arab Republic of                   Mozambique                                     Ajman
EI Salvador                                                                              Sharjah
                                          Nauru
                                                                                         Ummal Qaiwain
Equatorial Guinea                         Nepal
                                                                                    Upper Volta
Ethiopia                                 Nicaragua
                                                                                    Uruguay
Fiji                                      Niger                                     Venezuela
Gabon
                                          Nigeria                                   Vietnam
Gambia                                    Oman
Ghana                                                                               Western Samoa
                                         Pakistan
Grenada                                                                             Yemen, People's Democratic
                                         Panama                                     Republic of
Guatemala                                 Papua New Guinea                          Yemen Arab Republic
Guinea
                                         Paraguay                                   Yugoslavia
Guinea Bissau                            Peru                                       Zaire
                                                                                    Zambia
 ---pagebreak--- No L 349/ 110                              Official Journal of the European Communities                                        20 . 12 . 76
                                                  II. COUNTRIES AND TERRITORIES
               dependent or administered, or for whose external relations Member States of the Community
                                           or third countries are wholly or partly responsible
              Afars and Issas (Territory of the)
              Australian Antarctic Territory
              Belize
              Bermuda
              British Antarctic Territory
              British Indian Ocean Territory (Aldabra, Farquhar, Chagos Archipelago, Desroches)
              British Pacific Ocean (*)
              Brunei
              Cayman Islands and Dependencies
              Christmas Island
              Cocos (Keeling) Islands
              Corn Islands and Swan Islands
              Falkland Islands and Dependencies
              French Polynesia
              French Southern and Antarctic Territories
             Gibraltar
             Heard Island and McDonald Islands
             Hong Kong
             Leeward Islands (2)
             Macao
             Mayotte
             Netherlands Antilles
             New Caledonia and Dependencies
             Norfolk Island
             Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America or under United States trusteeship (*)
             Portuguese Timor
             St Helena (including Ascension, Gough Island, and Tristan da Cunha)
             Spanish territories in Africa
             Territories for which New Zealand is responsible (Cook Islands, Niue Island, Tokelau Islands
                  and Ross Dependency)
             Turks and Caicos Islands
             Virgin Islands of the United States (St Croix, St Thomas, St John, etc.)
             Wallis and Futuna Islands
             Windward Islands (4)
             Note: The above lists may be amended subsequently to take account of changes in the inter­
                      national status of countries or territories.
           (*) Gilbert Islands, Tuvalu, British Solomon Islands, New Hebrides Condominium, and Pitcairn Islands.
            (*) Antigua, Montserrat, St Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla, British Virgin Islands.
            (•) The Pacific Islands administered by the United States of America include: Guam, American Samoa (including
                Swain's Island), Midway Islands, Johnston and Sand Islands, Wake Island and the Trust Territory of the Pacific
                Islands (the Caroline, Marianas and Marshall Islands).
           ( 4) Dominica, St Lucia . St Vincent.