Commission Regulation (EC) No 1732/95 of 14 July 1995 establishing administrative procedures for the 1996 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's Republic of China

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1732/95 of 14 July 1995 establishing administrative  procedures for the 1996 quantitative quotas for certain products originating in the People's  Republic of China
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 520/94 of 7 March 1994 establishing a Community  procedure for administering quantitative quotas, and in particular Articles 2 (3) and (4) and  Articles 13 and 24 thereof  (1),
Whereas Council Regulation (EC) No 519/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports from certain  third countries and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 1765/82, (EEC) No 1766/82 and (EEC) No 3420/83   (2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 839/95  (3), introduced annual quantitative quotas for  certain products originating in the People's Republic of China listed in Annex II to that  Regulation; whereas the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 520/94 are applicable to those quotas;
Whereas the Commission accordingly adopted Regulation (EC) No 738/94  (4), as amended by Regulation  (EC) No 1150/95  (5) laying down general rules for the implementation of Regulation (EC) No 520/94;  whereas these provisions apply to the administration of the above quotas subject to the provisions  of this Regulation;
Whereas certain characteristics of China's economy, the seasonal nature of some of the products and  the time needed for transport mean that orders for products subject to quota are generally placed  before the beginning of the quota year; whereas it is therefore important to ensure that  administrative constraints do not impede the realization of the planned imports; whereas in order  not to affect the continuity of trade flows, the arrangements for allocating and administering the  1996 quotas should accordingly be adopted before the start of the quota year;
Whereas after examination of the different administrative methods provided for by Regulation (EC)  No 520/94, the method based on traditional trade flows should be adopted; whereas under this method  the quotas are divided into two portions, one of which is reserved for traditional importers and  the other for other applicants;
Whereas this has proved to be the best way of ensuring the continuity of business for the Community  importers concerned and avoiding any disturbance of trade flows;
Whereas, however, the introduction of a Community system must ensure progressive access by  non-traditional importers; whereas the portion set aside for other applicants must make due  allowance for the disparities in the Member States' previous import arrangements, in accordance  with Article 6 (4) of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas in the light of all these factors a  balance must therefore be sought in determining the portions to be allocated to the two categories  of importers;
Whereas the reference period used for allocating the portion of the quota set aside for traditional  importers in earlier Regulations on the administration of these quotas should be updated to ensure  open access to the quotas; whereas that update should be based on the latest period for which  complete data is available; whereas the years 1992 and 1994 therefore appear to be a suitable  reference period, given that they are the only recent years representative of the normal trend of  trade flows in the products in question; whereas traditional importers must therefore prove that  they have imported products originating in China and covered by the quotas in question in the years  1992 and 1994;
Whereas it is necessary to simply the formalities to be fulfilled by traditional importers who  already hold import licences issued when the 1994 or 1995 Community quotas were allocated; whereas  the competent administrative authorities already possess the requisite evidence of 1992 imports for  all traditional importers; whereas, with regard to 1992 imports, the latter need only enclose a  copy of their previous licences with their new licence applications; whereas, however, use of  simplified formalities should not be authorized in respect of import licence applications for  products falling within CN codes 4203  29  91, 4203  29  99 and 6402  99 in view of the changes to  the structure of the initial quota introduced by Council Regulation (EC) No 538/95  (1);
Whereas it has been found in the past that the method provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC)  No 520/94, which is based on the order in which applications are received, may not be an  appropriate way of allocating that portion of the quota reserved for non-traditional importers;  whereas, consequently, in accordance with Article 2 (4) of Regulation (EC) No 520/94, an  alternative method of apportioning the quota should be determined; whereas, to this end, it is  appropriate to provide for allocation in proportion to the quantities requested, on the basis of a  simultaneous examination of import licence applications actually lodged, in accordance with Article  13 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94;
Wheres in order to ensure that the quotas can be efficiently allocated and used, any speculative  applications should be excluded, and it is furthermore necessary to allocate economically  significant quantities; whereas to this end the amount that any non-traditional importer may  request should be restricted to a set volume or value;
Whereas for the purposes of quota allocation, a time limit must be set for the submission of  licence applications by traditional and other importers;
Whereas with a view to optimum use of quotas, licence applications for imports of footwear under  quotas which refer to several CN codes must specify the quantities required for each code;
Whereas the Member States must inform the Commission of the import licence applications received,  in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 8 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94; whereas the  information about traditional importers' previous imports must be broken down by reference year and  expressed in the same units as the quota in question; whereas if the quota is set in ecus, the  counter-value of the currency in which previous imports are expressed must be calculated in  accordance with Article 18 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing  the Community Customs Code  (2);
Whereas in view of the special nature of transactions concerning products subject to quota, and in  particular the time needed for transport, the import licences should expire on 30 September 1996;  whereas, in the interests of sound administration, the competent national authorities should  nevertheless be authorized to extend, at the request of the importers concerned, until 31 December  1996 the validity of licences that have been used up by at least 60  % by the expiry date of 30  September 1996;
Whereas these measures are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for the administration  of quotas set up under Article 22 of Regulation (EC) No 520/94,