Council Regulation (EC) No 1808/95 of 24 July 1995 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural, industrial and fisheries products and establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 1808/95 of 24 July 1995 opening and providing for the  administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural, industrial and  fisheries products and establishing the detailed provisions for adapting these quotas
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 113  thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,
Whereas the Community has undertaken, within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and  Trade (GATT), to open each year, subject to certain conditions, Community tariff quotas at reduced  or zero duty for a certain number of agricultural, industrial and fisheries products;
Whereas the Community has concluded with Canada an Agreement on newsprint (Order No 09.0015) in the  form of an exchange of letters providing for the opening of a tariff quota of 650 000 tonnes, 600  000 tonnes of which is reserved, in accordance with Article XIII of the GATT, until 30 November of  each year for products from Canada alone; whereas that Agreement also provides for a mandatory 5 %  increase in the share of the quota reserved for imports from Canada in the event of that share  being exhausted before the end of a given year;
Whereas, under the Agreement with the United States on the Mediterranean preferences, citrus and  pasta, the community has undertaken to suspend provisionally, within the limits of Community tariff  quotas of appropriate volumes and varying duration, part of the customs duties applicable to  certain fruits and fruit juices;
Whereas eligibility for these tariff quotas is, however, subject to presentation to the Community  customs authorities of a certificate of authenticity issued by the competent authorities of the  country of origin certifying that the products comply with the specifications laid down;
Whereas by its Decision of 9 March 1993 the Commission approved the agreements negotiated between  the Community and the United States of America on the permanent importation, free of custom duties  and agricultural levies, of certain mixtures of malt sprouts and barley screenings, within the  limit of Community tariff quotas;
Whereas, in the context of the Uruguay Round, it has been agreed to maintain the possibility for  exports to the Community market of chemically pure fructose originating in countries not bound by a  preference agreement with the Community;
Whereas the Community has, in the context of its external relations, undertaken to open each year,  from 1 July to 31 December and 1 September to 31 August of the following year respectively, a  Community tariff quota for 5 000 tonnes of frozen hake fillets presented in the form of industrial  blocks with bones ('standard`) at a duty of 10 %, and, after various adjustments, another, at zero  duty, for ECU 1 870 000 of value added for various forms of processing work carried out on textiles  under the outward processing arrangements;
Whereas the Community has declared its readiness to open each year, for certain handmade products,  a zero-duty Community tariff quota for an overall annual amount of ECU 10 540 000, with a maximum  value of ECU 1 200 000 for each group of products covered; whereas eligibility for these Community  tariff quotas is nevertheless subject to presentation to the Community customs authorities of a  certificate issued by the recognized authorities of the country of manufacture certifying that the  goods in question are handmade;
Whereas the Community has declared itself ready to open zero-rated annual Community tariff quotas  for certain fabrics of silk, silk waste or cotton, woven on handlooms, up to an annual value  (customs value) of ECU 2 316 000 for silk fabrics and ECU 2 069 000 for cotton fabrics; whereas  eligibility for these Community tariff quotas is nevertheless subject to the presentation of a  certificate of manufacture recognized by the relevant Community authorities, the presence of a  stamp approved by those authorities at the beginning and end of each piece, and direct transport  from the country of manufacture to the Community;
Whereas it is for the Community, in the performance of its international obligations, to open  Community quotas for the products listed in Annexes I to IV to this Regulation; whereas all  Community importers should be guaranteed equal and continuous access to the said quotas, and the  rates of duty laid down for the quotas should be applied without interruption to all imports of the  products concerned into all Member States until the quotas are exhausted; whereas there is,  however, no reason why the efficiency of the common administration of these quotas should not be  ensured by authorizing the Member States to draw from the quota volumes the requisite quantities  corresponding to actual imports; whereas this method does, however, require close cooperation  between the Member States and the Commission, which must, in particular, be able to monitor the  rate at which quotas are used up and inform the Member States accordingly;
Whereas Council or Commission Decisions amending the combined nomenclature and Taric codes or  adjusting the volume and rate of quotas result in no substantive changes; whereas, in the interests  of simplification, provision should be made to empower the Commission, after consulting the Customs  Code Committee, to make amendments and technical adjustments to the Annexes to this Regulation;
Whereas this Regulation must be applicable in the case of amendment of existing agreements within  the framework of the GATT in so far as the amendments adopted specify the products eligible for  tariff quotas, the volume, rate of duty and duration of quotas, and, where relevant, the respective  terms of access; whereas provision should therefore be made to empower the Commission, after  consulting the Customs Code Committee, to make the relevant amendments to the provisions of this  Regulation, including the Annexes thereto;
Whereas quota volumes may not be carried over from one year to the next;
Whereas, however, the opening by means of a Regulation of tariff quotas for the agricultural  products referred to in Annexes I and II to this Regulation must be restricted to 1995 in order to  take into account the powers delegated to the Commission under Council Regulation (EC) No 3290/94  (1);
Whereas the tariff quotas laid down in these agreements are for an unspecified period; whereas,  moreover, they lay down the conditions for access to tariff benefits under the tariff quotas in  question; whereas certain quotas entail specific conditions, which should be laid down in the  Annexes to this Regulation; whereas, therefore, in the interests of rationalizing the  implementation of these measures, the provisions governing the tariff quotas for the products in  question, which are set out in the different Regulations in force at present, should be gathered  together in a single Regulation applicable to certain products, for an unspecified duration;
Whereas the Council has adopted Regulation (EC) No 3280/94 opening and providing for the  administration of Community tariff quotas bound in GATT for certain agricultural, industrial and  fisheries products (2); whereas this Regulation completes and replaces the said Regulation,