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,
1.  The products listed in Annexes I, II, III, IV and V shall be  eligible for reduced rates of duty under Community tariff quotas during the periods and according  to the provisions set out in the said Regulation and Annexes.
2.  For the calculation in national currencies of amounts expressed in ecus, Article 18 of  Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (3) shall  apply.
1.  Without prejudice to the Community's international obligations, the Member States  may charge against the tariff quotas referred to in Annex I under Order Nos 09.0015 and 09.0017  other types of paper conforming, save as regards the criterion relating to watermarks, to the  definition of newsprint given in Additional Note 1 to Chapter 48 of Part Two of the combined  nomenclature and falling within CN code 4801 00 90.
2.  From 30 November each year, any part of the quota volumes for newsprint referred to in Annex I  not used on 29 November and unlikely to be used by 31 December may be used to cover imports of the  products in question from Canada or another third country.
Where the bound quota of 600 000 tonnes from Canada has been exhausted and no autonomous quota of  more than 30 000 tonnes has been opened for the remainder of the calendar year, an additional  amount equivalent to 5 % of the bound quota shall be opened by 1 December at the latest, in  accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 10.
3.  The variable component until 30 June 1995 and the specific duty as from 1 July 1995 laid down  for chemically pure fructose, originating in a third country not bound by a trade preference  agreement with the Community shall be suspended within the limits of a tariff quota bearing Order  No 09.0091.
For the purposes of applying the tariff quota referred to in Annex III under Order No  09.2501:
(a) 'Processing work` shall mean:
-for points (a) and (c) of the third column of Annex III: bleaching, dyeing, printing, flocking,  impregnating, dressing and other work which changes the appearance or quality of the goods, without  however changing their nature,
- for point (b) of the third column of Annex III: twisting or throwing, cabling and texturing,  whether or not combined with reeling, dyeing or other work which changes the appearance, quality or  finish of the goods, without, however, changing their nature.
(b) 'Value added` shall mean the difference between the customs value, as defined in Community  legislation on the subject, at the time of reimportation and the customs value which would be  established if the products were reimported in the state in which they were exported.
1.  Customs duties on the products referred to in Annex IV, Part A, shall be suspended  within the limits of a tariff quota bearing Order No 09.0105, a customs value determined according  to the provisions of the custom code and representing a volume equivalent to ECU 10 540 000, with a  maximum of ECU 1 200 000 for each six-digit CN code.
2.  Access to this quota shall, however, be restricted to products accompanied by a certificate  recognized by the relevant authorities in the Community conforming to one of the models in Annex  IVc, issued by a recognized authority of the country of manufacture listed in Annex IVd and  certifying by the relevant Community authorities that the goods in question have been handmade.
1.  The customs duties for the products referred to in Annex IV, Part B shall be  suspended within the limits of the tariff quotas laid down in Part B.
2.  For the purposes of applying this Regulation to products listed in Annex IV, Part B:
(a) 'handlooms` shall mean looms for the manufacture of cloth which are moved exclusively by hand  or foot;
(b) 'customs value` shall mean the value as defined in the relevant Community legislation.
3.  Access to these quotas shall, however, be reserved for fabrics, pile and chenille:
(a) which are accompanied by a certificate of manufacture recognized by the relevant Community  authorities and conforming to one of the models in Annex IVe, stamped by one of the recognized  authorities of the country of manufacture listed in Annex IVf;
(b) which bear, at the beginning and end of each piece, a stamp approved by the said authorities  or, by way of derogation, a seal approved by the authorities of the country of manufacture and  affixed to each piece;
(c) which are transported direct to the Community from the country of manufacture.
4.  The following shall be considered to have been transported direct:
(a) goods which have been transported without entering the territory of a country not a Member  State of the Community; calls at ports in countries not members of the Community shall not be held  to breach direct transport, provided the goods are not transhipped in the course of such a call;
(b) goods which have been transported via, or transhipped in, the territory of one or more  non-member countries, provided such transit or transhipment is covered by a single transport  document drawn up in the country of manufacture.
1.  The tariff quotas referred to in Article 1 shall be administered by the Commission,  which may take all appropriate measures to ensure their effective administration.
2.  Where an importer enters a product covered by this Regulation for release for free circulation  in a Member State, applying to take advantage of the tariff quota, and the entry is accepted by the  customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall, by notifying the Commission, draw an amount  corresponding to its needs from the volume of that quota.
Requests for drawings, showing the date on which such entries were accepted, shall be sent to the  Commission without delay.
In so far as the available balance permits, drawings shall be granted by the Commission on the  basis of the date of acceptance of entries for release for free circulation by the customs  authorities of the Member State concerned.
3.  If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn, it shall return them to the relevant quota  volume as soon as possible.
4.  If the quantities requested exceed the available balance of the quota volume, the balance shall  be allocated among applicants in proportion to their requests. The Commission shall keep the Member  States informed of the quantities drawn.
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure compliance with  this Regulation.
Each Member State shall guarantee importers of the products in question equal and  continuous access to the quotas in so far as the balance of the quota volumes permits.
1.  The provisions necessary for the application of this Regulation, namely:
(a) amendments and technical adjustments necessitated by changes in the combined nomenclature and  Taric codes;
(b) adjustments made necessary by:
- the conclusion by the Council of agreements or exchanges of letters within the framework of the  GATT,
or - compliance with the Community's contractual obligations to certain countries within the framework  of the GATT,
shall be adopted according to the procedure provided for in Article 10 (2).
2.  The provisions adopted under paragraph 1 shall not empower the Commission to:
- transfer preferential quantities from one quota period to another,
- change timetables provided for in the agreements or exchanges of letters,
- open and administer quotas under new agreements,
- adopt legislation which affects the administration of quotas subject to import certificates.
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1.  The Commission shall be assisted by the Customs Code Committee set up under  Article 247 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.
2.  The Commission representative shall submit to the Committee a draft of the measures to be  taken. The Committee shall deliver its opinion on the draft within a time limit which the chairman  may lay down according to the urgency of the matter. The opinion shall be delivered by the majority  laid down in Article 148 (2) of the Treaty in the case of Decisions which the Council is required  to adopt on a proposal from the Commission. The votes of the representatives of the Member States  within the Committee shall be weighted in the manner set out in that Article. The chairman shall  not vote.
The Commission shall adopt measures which shall apply immediately. However, if these measures are  not in accordance with the opinion of the Committee, they shall be communicated by the Commission  to the Council forthwith. In that event, the Commission shall defer application of the measures  which it has decided for a period of three months from the date of this communication.
The Council, acting by a qualified majority, may take a different decision within the time limit  referred to in the preceding subparagraph.
3.  The Committee may examine any question concerning the application of this Regulation which is  raised by its chairman, either on his own initiative or at the request of a Member State.
1
Regulation (EC) No 3280/94 is hereby repealed and replaced by this Regulation.
2
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following that of its  publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 January 1995.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all  Member States.