COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1831/96

of 23 September 1996

opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas bound under GATT for certain fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products from 1996

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 list CXL drawn up at the conclusion of negotiations under GATT Article XXIV:6 (1), and in particular Article 1 (1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 of 18 May 1972 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables (2), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1363/95 (3), and in particular Article 25 (1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 426/86 of 24 February 1986 on the common organization of the market in products processed from fruit and vegetables (4), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2314/95 (5), and in particular Article 12 (1) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3093/95 of 22 December 1995 laying down the rates of duty to be applied by the Community resulting from negotiations under GATT Article XXIV:6 consequent upon the accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden to the European Union (6), and in particular Article 5 thereof,

Whereas the Community has undertaken in the context of the World Trade Organization to open on certain terms reduced-duty Community tariff quotas for some fruits and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products;

Whereas under its international obligations it falls to the Community to open Community tariff quotas for the products listed in the Annexes to this Regulation; whereas continuous equal access to these quotas should be afforded to all Community importers and the quota rates specified should apply uninterruptedly to all imports of the products in question into all Member States until the quotas are exhausted; whereas this need not prevent authorization being granted to the Member States, in the interests of efficient common management of the quotas, to draw from them quantities corresponding to actual imports; whereas this way of working requires close cooperation between Member States and the Commission, which must be able to monitor the state of exhaustion of the quotas and inform the Member States accordingly,

Whereas the tariff quotas provided for in the above-mentioned agreements are to be opened from 1996; whereas it is also necessary to lay down certain specific qualifying requirements for the tariff quota benefits specified in the Annexes to this Regulation;

Whereas, by Regulation (EC) No 858/96 (7), the Commission opened part of the Community tariff quotas bound under GATT; whereas, for the sake of clarity and simplification, all the tariff quotas for fruit and vegetables and processed fruit and vegetable products should be grouped together in this Regulation; whereas Regulation (EC) No 858/96 should therefore be repealed;

Whereas the Management Committees for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables and for Products Processed from Fruit and Vegetables have not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by their chairmen,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1.   Tariff reductions on the products listed in the Annexes to this Regulation shall be granted annually by means of Community tariff quotas open for the periods specified in the Annexes.

2.   The following customs duties shall apply to the tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1:

3.   Entry under the tariff quotas specified in Annex II shall require presentation in support of the declaration of entry for free circulation of a certificate of authenticity in accordance with one of the specimens in Annex IIa, issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin as indicated in Annex IIb, stating that the products possess the specific characteristics indicated in Annex II.

However, in the case of concentrated orange juice, presentation of a certificate of authenticity may be replaced by presentation to the Commission before importation of a general attestation from the competent authority of the country of origin stating that concentrated orange juice produced therein contains no blood orange juice. The Commission shall then inform Member States so that they can advise their customs services. This information shall also be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 2

1.   The Commission shall take all administrative action it deems advisable for efficient management of the quotas referred to in Article 1.

2.   When an importer presents in a Member State a declaration of entry for free circulation including an application for the benefit of the tariff quota for a product covered by this Regulation the Member State shall, if the declaration has been accepted by the customs authorities, notify the Commission of its wish to draw the amount it needs from the quota volume.

Applications to draw showing the date of acceptance of declarations shall be sent to the Commission without delay.

Drawings shall be granted by the Commission in order of date of acceptance of declarations of entry for free circulation by the Member States' customs authorities provided that the available balance permits.

3.   If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn it shall return them to the quota balance as soon as possible.

4.   If the quantities applied for are greater than the quota balance, allocation shall be made pro rata to applications. Member States shall be informed of the drawings made.

Article 3

Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is respected.

Article 4

Member States shall ensure that importers have continuous and equal access to the tariff quotas as long as balances permit.

Article 5

Regulation (EC) No 858/96 is hereby repealed.

Article 6

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

It shall apply with effect from 1 January 1996.

(1)  OJ No L 146, 20. 6. 1996, p. 1.

(2)  OJ No L 118, 20. 5. 1972, p. 1.

(3)  OJ No L 132, 16. 6. 1995, p. 8.

(4)  OJ No L 49, 27. 2. 1986, p. 1.

(5)  OJ No L 233, 30. 9. 1995, p. 69.

(6)  OJ No L 334, 30. 12. 1995, p. 1.

(7)  OJ No L 116, 11. 5. 1996, p. 1.