Commission Regulation (EC) No 2012/96 of 21 October 1996 opening and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for grape juice and must as from the 1996/97 marketing year

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2012/96 of 21 October 1996 opening and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for grape juice and must as from the 1996/97 marketing year
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1095/96 of 18 June 1996 on the implementation of the concessions set out in Schedule CXL drawn up in the wake of the conclusion of the GATT XXIV. 6 negotiations (1), and in particular Article 1 (1) thereof,
Whereas, pursuant to the agreement concluded as part of the World Trade Organization multilateral trade negotiations, the Community undertook to open an annual tariff quota for the importation of 14 000 tonnes of grape juice and must; whereas rules should be drawn up for its use;
Whereas the importation of grape juice and must under the tariff quota qualifies, under specific conditions concerning their use, for exemption from the specific duty determined per hectolitre; whereas equal and continuous access to the quota should, in particular, be guaranteed for all Community importers as should the application without interruption and throughout the Member States of the rates envisaged for this quota to all imports of the products in question until the quota is used up; whereas, in order to take account of the reality of the situation as regards imports over recent years and prevent the quota being used up, the quota should be subdivided over several periods, each with a specific quantity corresponding to trade requirements; whereas use of and compliance with that quota should be controlled by means of a system of import licences; whereas detailed rules should therefore be laid down regarding the submission of applications and the issue of licences;
Whereas, moreover, provision should be made for decisions on import licence applications to be notified after a review period; whereas that period must permit the Commission to consider the quantities applied for and, where appropriate, provide for special measures with regard, in particular, to applications pending;
Whereas the period of validity of the import licences under these arrangements should be more clearly specified with reference to their actual date of issue; whereas, in view of the aforementioned review period, Article 3 should be waived of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3388/81 of 27 November 1981 laying down special detailed rules in respect of import and export licences in the wine sector (2), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 257/96 (3), and use should be made of Article 21 (2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 of 16 November 1988 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2137/95 (5);
Whereas, in order to administer the arrangements, the Commission requires accurate information of the licence applications submitted and the use of the licences issued; whereas, in the interests of administrative efficiency, provision should be made for the use of a single model for communications between the Member States and the Commission;
Whereas, in order to ensure compliance with the quota rules on the use of the imported grape juice and must, provision should be made for the lodging of a security with the customs authorities of the Member States which should be immediately released proportionately to the quantities for which proof of use is provided;
Whereas each Member State may provide for checks on use in accordance with a national procedure pursuant to Article 487 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (6), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1676/96 (7), provided that the goods do not leave its territory before their end use; whereas, where the goods are processed in a Member State other than that of release for free circulation, those checks must be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Wine,