CELEX: 31976R2715
Language: en
Date: 1976-10-25 00:00:00
Title: Council Regulation (EEC) No 2715/76 of 25 October 1976 on the opening, allocation and administration of a Community tariff quota for unwrought zinc falling within subheading 79.01 A of the Common Customs Tariff

No L 313/4                            Official Journal of the European Communities                              15.11.76
                                    COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 2715/76
                                                    of 25 October 1976
              on the opening, allocation and administration of a Community tariff quota for
              unwrought zinc falling within subheading 79.01 A of the Common Customs Tariff
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,                          Whereas, in order to take more precise account of
                                                                  future trends in imports of the product in question,
                                                                  the quota of 5 000 metric tons should be divided into
                                                                  two tranches, the first to be allocated among the
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the                      Member States and the second to form a reserve
European Economic Community, and in particular                    intended to cover any subsequent requirements of
Article 28 thereof,                                               Member States which have used up their initial
                                                                  shares ; whereas, in order to ensure a certain degree
                                                                  of security for importers, the first tranche should be
Having regard to the draft Regulation submitted by                set at 4 500 metric tons, the remainder constituting
the Commission,                                                   the reserve ; whereas, on the basis of estimates taking
                                                                  account of market trends in unwrought zinc, the
                                                                  first tranche may be allocated approximately accord­
                                                                  ing to the following percentages :
Whereas under Protocol         15 to the Act of Ac­
cession ('), the Community is required to open each                        Benelux                           25-50
year a nil duty Community tariff quota for
unwrought zinc falling within subheading 79.01 A of                        Denmark                            215
the Common Customs Tariff, fixed at 30 000 metric                          Germany                           4115
tons for 1971 , and decreasing each year, except in
1974, until the quota is abolished on 31 December                          France                             1-28
1977 ; whereas the quota calculated on that basis                          Ireland                            1-42
amounts to 5 000 metric tons for 1977 ; whereas the
Protocol also provides that the new Member States                          Italy                             10-28
shall share in the tariff quota from 1 January 1974 ;                      United Kingdom                    18-22
whereas the duties to be applied by these Member
States within that tariff quota must comply with the
relevant provisions of the Act of Accession ; whereas             Whereas Member States may use up their initial
the tariff quota in question should therefore be                  shares at different rates ; whereas, to provide for this
opened on 1 January 1977 ;                                        eventuality and to avoid disruption of supplies, any
                                                                   Member State which has almost used up its initial
                                                                  share should draw an additional share from the reserve;
                                                                   whereas this should be done by each Member State
Whereas, in view of the minimal interpenetration of               when each of its additional share has been almost
the markets in unwrought zinc, it does not seem                    used up, and so on as many times as the reserve
possible to base the allocation of the Community                   allows ; whereas the initial and additional shares
tariff quota for the metal in question on previous                 should be valid until the end of the quota period ;
data ; whereas the figure of 5 000 metric tons takes               whereas this form of administration, requires close
account of the need not to exceed a reasonable
                                                                   collaboration between Member States and the Com­
 amount, thereby protecting Community production ;                 mission, which latter must, in particular, be able to
 whereas, to this end, only certain Member States'                 keep a record of the extent to which the quota has
estimates of their requirements for specific grades of             been used up and to inform the Member States
 zinc have been taken into account; whereas Member
                                                                   accordingly ;
 States should therefore be at liberty to authorize
 only imports satisfying certain conditions as to grade
 and intended use to be charged against that quota ;               Whereas, if at a given date in the quota period a
                                                                   considerable quantity of a Member State's initial
                                                                   share remains unused, it is essential that that Mem­
                                                                   ber State should return a significant proportion to
 (») OJ No L 73, 27. 3. 1972, p. 172.                              the reserve, so as to avoid a part of the Community
 ---pagebreak---  15 . 11.76                        Official Journal of the European Communities                              No L 313/5
 quota remaining unused in one Member State when               2. The second tranche of 500 metric tons shall
 it could be used in others;                                   constitute the reserve.
 Whereas, since the Kingdom of Belgium, the King­
 dom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of                                          Article 3
 Luxembourg are united within and jointly rep­
 resented by the Benelux Economic Union, any                   1 . If 90% or more of a Member State's initial share
 measure concerning the administration of the shares           as fixed in Article 2 ( 1 ), or of that share minus any
 allocated to that economic union may "be carried out         portion returned to the reserve where Article 5 has
by any one of its members,                                    been applied, has been used up, that Member State
                                                              shall forthwith, by notifying the Commission, draw
                                                              a second share, to the extent that the reserve so
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
                                                              permits, equal to 10% of its initial share, rounded
                                                              up as necessary to the next whole number.
                        Article 1
                                                              2. If, after its initial share has been used up, 90% or
                                                              more of the second share drawn by a Member State
 1 . During the period 1 January to 31 December               has been used up, that Member State shall forthwith,
 1977, a Community tariff quota of 5 000 metric tons          in the manner and to the extent provided in para­
shall be opened in the Community for unwrought                graph 1 , draw a third share equal to 5% of its
zinc falling within subheading 79.01 A of the                 initial share, rounded up as necessary to che next
Common Customs Tariff.                                        whole number.
2. Imports of the product in question may not be              3 . If, after its second share has been used up, 90%
charged against this tariff quota if they are already         or more of the third share drawn by a Member State
free of customs duties under other preferential tariff        has been used up, that Member State shall forthwith,
arrangements.
                                                              in accordance with the same conditions, draw a
                                                              fourth share equal to the third.
3 . Within this tariff quota, the Common Customs              This procedure shall apply until the reserve is
Tariff duty shall be totally suspended .                      exhausted .
4. Within this quota, the new Member States shall             4. By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 , 2 and 3,
apply duties calculated in accordance with the                Member States may draw lesser shares than those
relevant provisions of the Act of Accession.                  specified therein if there are grounds for 'believing
                                                              that those specified may not be used in full. They
                                                              shall inform the Commission of their reasons for
                        Article 2                            applying this paragraph.
1 . A first tranche of 4 500 metric tons of the quota
referred to in Article 1 shall be allocated among the                                   Article 4
Member States. Member States' shares which, subject
to Article 5, shall be valid from 1 January to 31 De­
cember 1977, shall be as follows :                           Additional shares drawn pursuant to Article 3 shall
                                                             be valid until 31 December 1977.
                                         (metric tons)
        Benelux                             1 147
                                                                                       Article 5
        Denmark                                 97
        Germany                             1 852
                                                             Member States shall return to the reserve, not later
        France                                  57           than 1 October 1977, the unused portions of their
        Ireland                                 64           initial shares which, on 15 September 1977, are in
                                              463
                                                             excess of 20% of the initial amounts. They may
        Italy                                                return a greater portion if there are grounds for
        United Kingdom                        820            believing that such portion may not be used in full.
 ---pagebreak--- No L 313/6                       Official Journal of the European Communities                             15.11.76
Member States shall notify the Commission, not later                                Article 8
than 1 October 1977, of the total quantities of the
product in question imported up to and including            1 . Member States shall take all appropriate measures
15 September 1977 charged against the Community             to ensure that additional shares drawn pursuant to
quota and of any portion of their initial shares            Article 3 are opened in such a way that imports may
returned to the reserve.                                    be charged without interruption against their aggre­
                                                            gate shares of the Community quota.
                       Article 6                            2. Member States shall ensure that importers of the
                                                            product in question established in their territory have
Member States may restrict the unwrought zinc               free access to the shares allocated to them.
which may be charged against their quota shares to
unwrought zinc of certain grades or to be used for          3 . The extent to which a Member State has used
certain purposes.                                           up its share shall be determined on the basis of the
                                                            imports of the product in question entered with the
                                                            customs authorities for home use.
                       Article 7
                                                                                    Article 9
The Commission shall keep an account of the shares
opened by the Memiber States pursuant to Articles 2         At the Commission's request, Member States^ shall
and 3 and, as soon as it has been notified, shall           inform it of the imports actually charged against
inform each State of the extent to which the reserve        their shares .
has been used up.
                                                                                    Article 10
It shall inform the Member States, not later than
5 October 1977, of the amount still in reserve after        Member States and the Commission shall cooperate
amounts have been returned thereto pursuant to              closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied
Article 5 .                                                 with.
It shall ensure that the drawing which exhausts the                                 Article 11
reserve does not exceed the balance available and, to
this end, shall notify the amount of that balance to        This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January
the Member State making the last drawing.                   1977.
             This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
             States.
             Done at Luxembourg, 25 October 1976.
                                                                         For the Council
                                                                           The President
                                                                    A.P.L.M.M. van der STEE