CUSTOMS & FLEGT

Implementation guidance

Public summary

(2020/C 20/01)

Disclaimer This document is provided as a service to interested parties. It is non-binding guidance and does not represent the official view of the European Union, nor should it be taken as legal advice.

Contents

1.

Introduction

2

2.

Import of FLEGT timber – basic principles

2

3.

Recommendations for cooperation between authorities

4

3.1.

Technical assistance for officers and services in charge of verifications of shipments

5

3.2.

Communication between Authorities during controls

6

3.3.

CITES and FLEGT timber

6

3.4.

Commercial and non-commercial goods

6

3.5.

Controls under Simplified Customs Procedures

7

3.6.

Handling licences in split shipments

7

3.7.

Partner Country of export

8

3.8.

Verification of FLEGT licences

8

3.9.

Disposal of detained timber

8

Annex I – Glossary

9

Annex II – Legal framework

12

Annex III – Communication

14

1.   Introduction

Illegal logging is a global problem with significant negative economic, environmental and social impact. Based on the Forest Law Enforcement Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Action Plan (1) the European Union (EU) has adopted subsequent FLEGT legislation (2) that establishes a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber and timber products into the EU. This legal framework establishes a control system for certain timber products exported from countries that have concluded a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) with the EU. Timber products exported from those countries must be covered by a FLEGT licence issued at the Partner Country assuring the legality of the timber (i.e. produced from domestic timber that was legally harvested or from timber that was legally harvested in a third country and imported into the Partner Country in accordance with national laws in the partner country). In order to ensure the effectiveness of the FLEGT licensing scheme, Customs can not release for free circulation timber products subject to this scheme unless a FLEGT licence is presented and accepted by the Competent Authority in the Member State.

The main objective of the Guidelines is to support Customs and FLEGT Competent authorities in effectively carrying out their tasks in accordance with the FLEGT legislation2, setting out the FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber and timber products into the EU and the detailed measures for its implementation. In particular the Guidelines aim at providing a common approach towards harmonising the implementation by:

—	Creating an appropriate, recommended and, where possible, comprehensive approach for Customs and FLEGT Competent Authorities on the implementation of the FLEGT legislation.

—	Establishing recommendations for enhanced cooperation between Customs and Competent Authorities.

Consequently the document is structured as follows:

1.	Introduction, where the document is presented;

2.	Import of FLEGT timber and timber products – basic principles, where the import process is described;

3.	Recommendation for cooperation between authorities, where national agreements are suggested, specific issues are analysed and examples are given;

4.	Annexes I, II and III, where the terminology and legal provisions are included for reference.

These Guidelines have been drafted in due time before the first VPA became operational in order to give the necessary guidance for this new task for customs authorities from the outset. These guidelines are now updated on the basis of the practical experience gained with the implementation of the first FLEGT licensing scheme with Indonesia, which became operational on 15 November 2016.

The Guidelines may be reviewed on the basis of further practical experience following the operation of FLEGT licensing scheme by other Partner countries and any changes in the legal framework. The Guidelines have been drafted in cooperation with the Members States’ experts from Customs and competent authorities and should not be considered mandatory.

2.   Import of FLEGT timber and timber products – basic principles

FLEGT is based on a comprehensive framework that includes the Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) between the EU and Partner Countries on forest law enforcement governance and trade in timber and timber products one one side and the FLEGT Legislation (FLEGT Regulation and FLEGT Implementing Regulation) on the other, that sets out the rules governing the imports into the EU of timber and timber products from Partner countries. In accordance with this framework, imports into the EU of timber products exported from Partner countries will be allowed only if covered by a FLEGT licence issued by the Licensing Authority in the Partner Country attesting their legality. Customs must verify that a shipment of timber and timber products from a Partner country is covered by a valid FLEGT licence when presented for release for free circulation. Following its release, FLEGT timber benefits from presumption of compliance with the EU Timber Regulation (3).

With regards to the product scope, there is a core list of products prescribed in Annex II of the FLEGT Regulation that applies to all VPAs and beyond that, each VPA has included additional products in its scope. Annex III of the FLEGT Regulation includes the Partner countries and their respective product scopes – currently only Indonesia –providing thus sufficient legal clarity on the FLEGT products from each Partner country for which Customs must verify the presence of a FLEGT license. Non-commercial goods, products covered by CITES (4) documents and timber transiting through a Partner Country, are exempted from the presentation of a FLEGT licence.

When bringing goods into the customs territory of the Union, the importer has to lodge a customs declaration and the declarant can choose between different customs procedures which are designed to address specific economic needs. According to the FLEGT legislation, importing is defined as the customs procedure ‘release for free circulation’ and this includes paying the customs duties, excise duties, if applicable, and VAT for the goods. The declarant also has to comply with specific restrictions that may apply to the goods declared, for example the requirement to present a FLEGT licence for timber or timber products. As soon as the duties are charged and evidence is given that all other conditions for the importation of the goods are fulfilled, Customs release the goods. The goods change their status from non-Union goods into Union goods and they can be placed on the internal market without prejudice to any other applicable legislation.

The declaration for release for free circulation does not necessarily have to be lodged at the customs office where the timber arrives in the EU. There are also procedures available that allow for the storage, processing or transport of goods under customs supervision. When goods are transported between Member States within the EU, the customs declaration for release for free circulation can be lodged with the customs authorities at the point of destination. The only customs procedure that requires the presentation of a FLEGT licence is the release for free circulation (5).

When FLEGT timber is declared for release for free circulation in a certain Member State, Customs must ensure that the FLEGT licence has been approved (6) by the Competent Authority in the same Member State. Otherwise Customs can not release the timber. National procedures may define how this is done in practice, whilst the FLEGT legislation provides for the following grounds:

—	Customs can identify FLEGT Timber by the country of dispatch and the Harmonized System code up to 6 digits. This will be reflected in the Annexes I, II and III of the FLEGT Regulation, duly updated, and subsequently integrated in TARIC (7).

—

Products included in Annexes A, B and C of the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation (8) (CITES (9)) are exempted from the FLEGT formalities at import. Other relevant exceptions are non-commercial goods and products that transited the Partner Country under customs supervision. VPAs may include an Annex IB listing products prohibited from being exported from the Partner Country, thus cannot be FLEGT licensed, and therefore may not be imported into the Union.

—

The FLEGT licence has to be presented to the Competent Authority in the same Member State where the customs declaration for release for free circulation will be lodged. The FLEGT licence can be presented in advance but not later than the moment when the customs declaration is lodged. At a later stage, Competent Authorities shall be informed on the customs declaration that corresponds to each FLEGT licence.

—	The Competent Authority verifies the FLEGT licence and informs Customs on its decision to approve it.

—	For verification purposes, the European Commission will provide Customs and Competent Authorities with specimens and other details of the Licensing Authorities.

—	Further verifications of the FLEGT licence and the shipment are possible; Customs and Competent Authorities should closely cooperate and agree on the tasks to be performed by each service.

—	Competent Authorities may request additional information from the Licensing Authority following procedures described in each VPA.

—	Given the nature of timber products, weight or volume at import may deviate up to 10 % from those declared in the FLEGT licence.

—	Costs incurred while verification is completed shall be at the expense of the importer, except where the Member State determines otherwise.

—

In Box 44 of the Single Administrative Document (SAD) on which the customs declaration for release for free circulation is made, reference shall be made to the FLEGT licence. The certificate code number C690 for FLEGT licences has to be selected and the number of the licence covering the shipment has to be declared.

—

FLEGT licences can be paper based or electronic licences, and, when necessary, authorities can request a translation, with the costs borne by the importer. When FLEGT licences are paper based, the FLEGT implementing Regulation and the VPAs foresee a copy for Customs; this copy is conceived as an extra instrument to facilitate communication with or between authorities and needs to be presented to Customs.

—

Customs can suspend the release for free circulation in case they suspect the FLEGT licence may not be valid. Then, the Competent Authority shall act in accordance with national legislation in force when provisions set in the FLEGT legislation are infringed (and the applicable provisions in the VPA, which may require prompt communication to the Partner Country).

—	Records of FLEGT licences and related customs declarations received, and relevant data on non-compliant shipments, have to be kept in order to fulfil reporting obligations. The European Commission is obliged to provide a format for the annual reports.

—	Competent Authorities shall grant the appointed independent auditor (10) access to relevant documents and data, within the limits of relevant national law, to cross check information from the Licensing Authority and to review EU verification procedures.

3.   Recommendations for cooperation between authorities

In those cases where Competent Authorities are different from Customs, the cooperation and communication between authorities is a key element of the implementation process of border controls under the FLEGT legislation.

The legislation foresees different ways of cooperation: communication on approved FLEGT licences (11), delegation of functions to Customs (12), coordination of verifications procedures (13) or data exchange by electronic means (14), inter alia.

In order to ensure proper implementation and a common approach, it is recommended that cooperation between Customs and Competent Authorities, and when they are involved, other authorities with competencies in related fields, is based on formal national agreements.

For the establishment of national agreements and the development of operational procedures, the following steps should be ideally taken:

—	Establishment of contacts between Customs and Competent Authorities (15) – at strategic, management and operational expert level.

—	Finding of an appropriate approach and formal layout to ensure that agreements will be established in a proper way.

—

Determination of the elements of the agreements (national terms of reference) on which further common cooperation between Customs and Competent Authorities will be based. These national terms of reference should be based on the recommendations in these Guidelines, and should take account of the specific provisions in the national legislations and/or administrative structure.

—	Implementation of the agreements into practical operational procedures to be carried out during the control process.

It is recommended to include the following elements into national cooperation agreements:

—

Enhanced cooperation including terms for an efficient and effective long-term cooperation: — regular meetings between Customs and Competent Authorities at appropriate strategic, management and operational level with agreed terms of reference; — early communication between Customs and Competent Authorities concerning upcoming policy and legislative proposals with impact on both authorities; — rapid response cooperation system for dealing with emerging situations, new types of infringements or high risk economic operators; — means for technical assistance for officers and services in charge of verifications.

—

Distributions of tasks: agreed roles, tasks and responsibilities on controls to be undertaken by Customs and/or Competent Authorities, taking account of the national structures and local situations. Tasks that should be agreed upon are at least the following: — additional verifications of the FLEGT licence; — additional verifications of the shipment; — storing and gathering data for recording (16) and reporting (17) obligations.

—

Communication between authorities: — list of contact points of both authorities — Customs and Competent Authority, including a revision clause to ensure regular updates; — means and procedures for communication between Customs and Competent Authorities related to the acceptance of the licence, the control process and the results of any further verifications; — terms for intelligence exchange related to the risk management, including bidirectional feedback and reliable intelligence network; — clear provisions on what information (including nominal data) can be exchanged between Customs and Competent Authorities and under which conditions;

—

Implementation and enforcement: — joint development and distribution of operational procedures with clear instructions for officers, in particular for the control and verification activities; — common interpretation or implementation agreements for particular cases, such as FLEGT shipments that are also CITES, that are imported under simplified procedures, that have a country of origin different from the country of export, that are non-commercial goods, or that show inconsistencies with the licence (see further explanations below); — shared instructions and information to economic operators and declarants; — reciprocal training of responsible officers and common training sessions; — periodical exchange of import data in order to detect discrepancies; — enforcement projects or joint operations, with agreed terms of reference; — clear procedures for disposal of detained goods including the handling of costs arising from storage; — arrangements for handling paper licences and avoiding fraudulent reuse of a licence.

Further recommendations are given in the following pages for the elements in the text above.

3.1.   Technical assistance for officers and services in charge of verifications of shipments

When Customs are tasked with the verification of the shipment it is recommended that the national agreement includes terms for the Competent Authorities to provide technical assistance at different levels:

—	Training and guidance in technical aspects (e.g. measurements and identification of species)

—	Technical input in the development of operational procedures for inspections (instructions, checklists, forms, correlation tables, etc.)

—	Technical assistance on the spot during controls

—	Laboratory services if available, or information on reliable services

—	Providing contact details (names, email addresses, telephone numbers) for technical assistance from the Partner Country

It is advisable to include the exchange of information, training and resources between authorities in a Member State or in different Member States, making available expertise and laboratory services. It is recommended to involve Partner Countries in this process, providing knowledge of their own products, expertise and samples of wood for laboratory analysis.

3.2.   Communication between Authorities during controls

It is necessary that the Member States arrange for adequate communication channels between Competent Authorities and Customs. Those arrangements must ensure that Customs know without delay that the FLEGT licence is approved (or not) by the Competent Authority, but also that other information related to the control process is exchanged. It is recommended that national authorities put in place communication tools and procedures according to their national structure, and that they foresee at least the following:

—

as soon as reasonably possible after the FLEGT licence is approved by the Competent Authority the information must be available for Customs; a negative decision could also be made available to Customs, hence the communication system could include the cases where the Competent Authorities do not approve a FLEGT licence.

—

this information can be accompanied by additional elements according to the distribution of tasks agreed at national level, such as the request to perform further verifications of the licence or the shipment, specific details that Customs should look at, or relevant information for the risk profile;

—	during the customs controls, Customs may need to inform or consult the Competent Authority when they suspect that the FLEGT licence is not valid or does not correspond to the shipment;

—	records on customs declarations related to FLEGT timber, and relevant data on non-compliant shipments, have to be shared in order to fulfil reporting obligations;

—	communication channels should be robust and secured;

—	when communication is based on paper licences, including the possible use of the paper copy for Customs, there should be clear procedures to avoid fraudulent re-use of FLEGT licences.

3.3.   CITES and FLEGT timber

The FLEGT Regulation and the existing VPAs state that timber products subject to the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation (Annexes A, B and C – not Annex D) will not undergo the procedure described for the FLEGT licenced products at the EU border. Nevertheless, existing VPAs apply their FLEGT legality assurance system also to CITES species and therefore it could be the case that in practice some CITES timber shipments are accompanied by either a CITES import permit (annexes A and B) or a CITES import notification (annex C) and a FLEGT licence as well, as in the case of Indonesia.

It is recommended that for those cases where a FLEGT licence is declared for CITES timber, the relevant Competent Authorities are informed. Customs may also report irregularities (such as doubts about compliance with CITES Annotations for timber species, about the origin of the species from the wild/plantations, etc.) regarding CITES requirements in timber from Partner Countries to the Competent Authority, aiming at facilitating the review of the provisions on CITES as indicated in Article 4(3) of the FLEGT Regulation.

If the FLEGT licence is available for Customs or Competent Authorities, irregularities in the FLEGT licence should lead to further verifications pursuing CITES compliance.

3.4.   Commercial and non-commercial goods

Timber products of non-commercial nature do not fall within the scope of the FLEGT Regulation (18) and are thus exempted from the obligation to be covered by a FLEGT license when imported into the EU. The distinction between commercial and non-commercial goods is gaining importance in a context of growing mobility of persons and goods at all levels. Travellers, professionals providing services, persons changing residence or consumers buying via distance commerce that entail direct supply via postal and courier services, are all examples of situations where customs may be confronted with timber products coming from Partner countries.

The FLEGT Regulation makes reference to the definition of non-commercial goods laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (19). Accordingly, non-commercial goods in the FLEGT context are those timber products that fulfil the following conditions:

whose entry for release for free circulation is on an occasional basis

and

whose nature and quantity indicate that they are intended for private, personal or family use of the consignees or persons carrying them

or which are clearly intended as gifts.

It is recommended that Customs inform Competent Authorities in the Member State about criteria applied for assessing the commercial or non-commercial nature of timber products, and inform as well economic operators and other stakeholders in the limits of their means and competences.

As regards in particular packing materials, while they may be covered by VPAs under Combined Nomenclature heading 4415, when they are exclusively used to hold, protect or carry other goods, they do not fall within the scope of the FLEGT Regulation and should not be subject to FLEGT controls at import. This interpretation should be read together with the General rules for the interpretation of the combined nomenclature 5a and 5b (20).

3.5.   Controls under Simplified Customs Procedures

Customs may grant an economic operator – who applies for it and who fulfils certain conditions and criteria – with an authorisation for Simplified Procedures. This economic operator can then benefit from simplified formalities relating to its customs declarations and clearance whenever he imports or exports into/from the EU. The use of Simplified Procedures for importing FLEGT timber should not compromise the effectiveness of the enforcement of the FLEGT legislation. The following recommendation should be taken into account in the authorisation for simplified procedures for timber operators:

—	When Customs receive an application for a Simplified Procedure that may cover FLEGT timber the Competent Authority may provide its opinion before the authorisation is granted.

—

The authorisation should foresee conditions assuring that FLEGT provisions are fully respected and that the necessary controls can be performed, by including clear terms on the following aspects: — Before FLEGT timber falling into the scope of the FLEGT Regulation can be released for free circulation a FLEGT licence must have been approved by the Competent Authority. — Customs must have the possibility to carry out checks before the timber is released. — The release of FLEGT timber before the Competent Authority approves the FLEGT licence represents an infraction of the FLEGT legislation. The case has to be reported to the Competent Authority and they shall act in accordance with national legislation. The authorisation for the Simplified Procedure should be reviewed in order to verify whether the conditions for maintaining the authorisation are still fulfilled.

—	Existing authorisations should be reviewed and aligned to the above recommendations where applicable.

3.6.   Handling licences in split shipments

According to the definition of ‘shipment (21)’ in the FLEGT Implementing Regulation, one single FLEGT licence can only be presented to one customs office in the EU and ideally, in order to facilitate clearance at Customs, to correspond to a single customs declaration.

In order to avoid timber products covered by a single FLEGT licence being split into more than one customs declaration or presented to more than one customs office in the EU, the issuance of the FLEGT licence should be linked to the quantity of timber products sent at the same time and presented for release for free circulation at the same time at a single customs office, as far as it is reasonable to foresee at the moment of issuance. It is recommended that Customs and Competent Authorities raise awareness on this issue among economic operators and other stakeholders in the limits of their means and competences.

In case a shipment covered by a single FLEGT licence is ‘split’, Customs should notify the Competent Authority of the inconsistency between the goods presented to Customs and the FLEGT licence. Customs should not release the goods unless the Competent Authority confirms that a valid FLEGT licence (possibly a corrected duplicate) is presented in relation with the declared goods. Close cooperation between authorities and clear procedures are required. In case the goods are declared in more than one Member State, the competent authorities of the MS where goods are declared should communicate with each other to verify, when the same FLEGT licence is presented, the authenticity and validity of the licence and ensure accuracy of volumes, species, etc.

3.7.   Partner Country of export

Export is defined in the FLEGT legislation as the physical leaving of timber products from the territory of a Partner Country to bring them into de Union; therefore, the Partner Country of export is identified in the customs declaration as the country of dispatch (SAD Box 15). This may or may not be the same as the country of origin (SAD Box 16): for example, if the wood is harvested in Indonesia and processed in Indonesia, the country of origin is Indonesia; if the wood is imported in Indonesia from any country and processed in Indonesia but the manufacturing is not sufficient to confer Indonesian origin to the finished goods, then the country of origin will not be Indonesia.

Timber in transit is excluded from the scope of the FLEGT regulation and requirements of the VPA provisions. In this context, VPAs define timber products in transit as those originating in another third country transiting the Partner Country under customs supervision and leaving it in the same way whilst retaining its origin (22).

Although the exemption for timber products in transit through Partner Countries is not foreseen in the FLEGT Regulation, from the purpose and structure of the VPAs (23) it could be inferred that the transit cases defined above are exempted from the presentation of a FLEGT licence for the release for free circulation in the EU. Transit through the Partner Country must be proven to Customs with valid documentary evidence (24). It is recommended that Customs establish clear procedures for handling this exemption and raise awareness among economic operators and other stakeholders in the limits of their means and competences.

3.8.   Verification of FLEGT licences

Veryfying the validity of a FLEGT licence is the responsibility of the Competent Authority. Customs may be assigned or delegated with verification tasks according to national agreements and procedures.

The validity of a licence is determined by three main aspects:

—	authenticity: the licence was issued by the Licencing Authority in the Partner country;

—	validity: the licence is lodged with the Competent Authority before it expires;

—	accuracy: the licence corresponds to the shipment and other accompanying documents in terms of all the information provided therein e.g. volume, name, HS-heading etc. Customs may be required to support the verification process.

It is recommended that authorities establish clear procedures and criteria for verifying the correspondence between the FLEGT licence and the shipment, establishing which elements in the FLEGT licence are comparable to data in the customs declaration or in other relevant documents. It is also recommended to inform economic operators and other relevant stakeholders on these criteria to facilitate accomplishment.

3.9.   Disposal of detained timber

According to the FLEGT legislation Customs may suspend the release of or detain timber products where they have reason to believe that the licence may not be valid. If Competent Authorities establish that this is the case, they shall act in accordance with national legislation in force.

In case of non-compliance authorities should follow applicable legislation and procedures, including the customs legislation (25) since the goods have a non-Union status. However, it is recommended that, for those aspects that are not described in detail by the applicable legislation or existing procedures, national agreements include clear provisions on the follow-up actions after an infringement, in particular regarding the disposal of the goods.

---

(1)  Communication from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament on an EU Forest Action Plan.

(2)  Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 (OJ L 347, 30.12.2005, p. 1) on the establishment of a FLEGT licensing scheme for imports of timber into the European Community, and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008 (OJ L 277, 18.10.2008, p. 23) laying down detailed measures for the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005.

(3)  European Parliament and Council Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 (OJ L 295, 12.11.2010, p. 23).

(4)  Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It should be noted that in Indonesia, CITES-listed species are also subject to the Indonesian Timber Legality Assurance System (TLAS) and that a valid FLEGT licence is required for exporting such timber.

(5)  Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005.

(6)  The term used in the FLEGT legislation is ‘accept’; however, in this document it is replaced by ‘approve’ to better describe the role of Competent Authorities when verifying the FLEGT licences.

(7)  The online integrated Community Tariff based on the Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).

(8)  Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (OJ L 61, 3.3.1997), amended by Commission Regulation (EU) 2017/160 of 20 January 2017 (OJ L 27, 1.2.2017, p. 1).

(9)  Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

(10)  Third party monitoring as per Article 5(3) of the FLEGT Regulation.

(11)  Article 6(2) of the FLEGT Implementing Regulation — Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008.

(12)  Article 12 of the FLEGT Implementing Regulation — Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008.

(13)  Article 13 of the FLEGT Implementing Regulation — Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008.

(14)  Article 14(2) of the FLEGT Implementing Regulation — Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008.

(15)  List of Competent Authorities: ec.europa.eu/environment/forests/pdf/list_competent_authorities_flegt.pdf

(16)  Article 5(1) of the FLEGT Regulation — Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005.

(17)  Article 8(1) of the FLEGT Regulation — Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005.

(18)  Article 2(9) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005.

(19)  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 (OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1).

(20)  Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).

(21)  Article 2.1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1024/2008 indicates that ‘shipment’ means a quantity of timber products set out in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 covered by a FLEGT licence which is sent from a partner country by a consignor or a shipper and which is presented for release for free circulation at a customs office.

(22)  See for example Article 1(b) of the VPA with Cameroon.

(23)  This applies to partner countries with an operational FLEGT licensing scheme.

(24)  Please see article 43 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2015/2446 of 28 July 2015 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards detailed rules concerning certain provisions of the Union Customs Code (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 1).

(25)  Please see articles 197-200 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council and articles 248-250 of the Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447

Notice for the attention of certain persons subject to the restrictive measures provided for in Council Decision 2011/235/CFSP and in Council Regulation (EU) No 359/2011 concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran

(2020/C 20/02)

The following information is brought to the attention of Mr. ALLAHKARAM Hossein (no. 2), Mr. ARAGHI Abdollah (no. 3), Mr. FAZLI Ali (no. 4), Mr. JAFARI Mohammad-Ali (no. 6), Mr. MOTLAGH Bahram Hosseini (no. 8), Mr. NAQDI Mohammad-Reza (no. 9), Mr. RADAN Ahmad-Reza (no. 10), Mr. RAJABZADEH Azizollah (no. 11), Mr. TAEB Hossein (no. 13), Mr. JAFARI- DOLATABADI Abbas (no. 19), Mr. ZARGAR Ahmad (no. 27), Mr. ESMAILI Gholam-Hossein (no. 30), Maj-Gen Dr FIRUZABADI Seyyed Hasan (no. 38), Mr. HABIBI Mohammad Reza (no. 40), Mr. JAVANI Yadollah (no. 43), Mr. JAZAYERI Massoud (no. 44), Mr. SALARKIA Mahmoud (no. 51), Mr. HAJMOHAM- MADI Aziz (no. 57), Mr. BAGHERI Mohammad- Bagher (no. 58), Mr. BAKHTIARI Seyyed Morteza (no. 59), Mr MOSLEHI Heydar (no. 61), Mr. KAZEMI Toraj (no. 64), Mr. MORTAZAVI Seyyed Solat (no. 69) and Mr. KHORAMABADI, Abdolsamad (no. 87), persons appearing in the Annex to Council Decision 2011/235/CFSP (1) and in Annex I to Council Regulation (EU) 359/2011 (2) concerning restrictive measures directed against certain persons and entities in view of the situation in Iran.

The Council intends to maintain the restrictive measures against the above-mentioned persons with new statements of reasons. Those persons are hereby informed that they may submit a request to the Council to obtain the intended statements of reasons for their designation, before 28 January 2020, to the following address:

Council of the European Union

General Secretariat

RELEX.1.C

Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 175

1048 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Email: sanctions@consilium.europa.eu.

Any observations received before 15 February 2020 will be taken into account for the purpose of the Council’s periodic review, in accordance with Article 3 of Decision 2011/235/CFSP and Article 12(4) of Regulation (EU) No 359/2011.

---

(1)  OJ L 100, 14.4.2011, p. 51.

(2)  OJ L 100, 14.4.2011, p. 1.

Euro exchange rates (1)

20 January 2020

(2020/C 20/03)

1 euro =

	Currency	Exchange rate
USD	US dollar	1,1085
JPY	Japanese yen	122,14
DKK	Danish krone	7,4726
GBP	Pound sterling	0,85275
SEK	Swedish krona	10,5548
CHF	Swiss franc	1,0737
ISK	Iceland króna	137,60
NOK	Norwegian krone	9,8815
BGN	Bulgarian lev	1,9558
CZK	Czech koruna	25,125
HUF	Hungarian forint	336,39
PLN	Polish zloty	4,2433
RON	Romanian leu	4,7794
TRY	Turkish lira	6,5604
AUD	Australian dollar	1,6154
CAD	Canadian dollar	1,4487
HKD	Hong Kong dollar	8,6112
NZD	New Zealand dollar	1,6796
SGD	Singapore dollar	1,4943
KRW	South Korean won	1 286,08
ZAR	South African rand	16,1045
CNY	Chinese yuan renminbi	7,6112
HRK	Croatian kuna	7,4358
IDR	Indonesian rupiah	15 118,30
MYR	Malaysian ringgit	4,5022
PHP	Philippine peso	56,489
RUB	Russian rouble	68,2075
THB	Thai baht	33,647
BRL	Brazilian real	4,6360
MXN	Mexican peso	20,6940
INR	Indian rupee	78,7840

---

(1)  Source: reference exchange rate published by the ECB.

Winding-up proceedings

Decision revoking the licence for EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD to conduct insurance business

(Publication made in accordance with Article 280 of Directive 2009/138/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council on the taking-up and pursuit of the business of Insurance and Reinsurance (Solvency II))

(2020/C 20/04)

Insurance company	EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD Sofia (capital) province, Stolichna municipality Triaditsa district Tsar Asen I Street 17 1000 Sofia BULGARIA
Date, entry into force and nature of decision	Decision No 1309-OZ of 17 December 2019: — revokes the insurance business licence of EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD (unique identification code 124634117) that was issued by Financial Supervision Commission Decision 238-OZ of 27 February 2014, — prohibits (a) the free disposal of the assets of EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD until initiation of winding-up or insolvency proceedings and (b) the conclusion of any new insurance contracts for any type of policy for six months from the date on which this decision is issued, — appoints Stefan Petrov Stefanov as the receiver for EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD pending appointment of a trustee in bankruptcy by the court or registration of a liquidator for the company. The receiver will take up his duties from the date on which this decision is issued. EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD will be represented by the receiver. Any actions taken on behalf of EuroAmerican Insurance Company AD in breach of the receiver’s power of representation are null and void
Competent authorities	Financial Supervision Commission Sofia (capital) province, Stolichna municipality Budapeshta Street 16 1000 Sofia BULGARIA
Supervisory authority	Financial Supervision Commission Sofia (capital) province, Stolichna municipality Budapeshta Street 16 1000 Sofia BULGARIA
Administrator (trustee in bankruptcy) appointed	Stefan Petrov Stefanov stefanoff@yahoo.com Chervena Roza Street 44 1000 Sofia BULGARIA
Applicable law	Article 633(2) in conjunction with Article 587(3)(3) of the Bulgarian Insurance Code Republic of Bulgaria

Notice of initiation of an expiry review of the anti-dumping measures applicable to imports of monosodium glutamate originating in the People’s Republic of China and in Indonesia

(2020/C 20/05)

Following the publication of two Notices of impending expiry (1) of the anti-dumping measures in force on the imports of monosodium glutamate (‘MSG’) originating in the People’s Republic of China (‘the PRC’) and in Indonesia (‘the countries concerned’), the European Commission received requests for a review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2016 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union (2) (‘the basic Regulation’).

1.   Request for review

Both requests were lodged on 21 October 2019 by Ajinomoto Foods Europe S.A.S. (‘the applicant’), representing 100 % of the total Union production of monosodium glutamate.

An open version of the requests and the analysis of the degree of support by Union producers for the requests are available in the file for inspection by interested parties. Section 5.5 of this Notice provides information about access to the file for interested parties.

2.   Product under review

The product subject to these reviews is monosodium glutamate, currently falling under CN code ex 2922 42 00 (TARIC code 2922420010).

3.   Existing measures

The measures currently in force are definitive anti-dumping duties imposed by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/83 (3) and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/84 (4) of 21 January 2015.

4.   Grounds for the review

The requests are based on the grounds that the expiry of the measures would be likely to result in continuation and recurrence of dumping and continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

4.1.    Allegation of likelihood of continuation and recurrence of dumping

4.1.1.   Indonesia

In the absence of reliable data on domestic prices for Indonesia the allegation of likelihood of continuation of dumping is based on a comparison of a constructed normal value (manufacturing costs, selling, general and administrative costs (SG&A) and profit) in Indonesia with the export price (at ex-works level) of the product under review when sold for export to the Union.

Based on that comparison, which shows significant dumping, the applicant alleges that there is a likelihood of continuation of dumping from Indonesia.

4.1.2.   The People’s Republic of China

The applicants claimed that it is not appropriate to use domestic prices and costs in the PRC, due to the existence of significant distortions within the meaning of point (b) of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation.

To substantiate the allegations of significant distortions, the applicant relied on the information contained in the country report produced by the Commission services on 20 December 2017 describing the specific market circumstances in the PRC (5). In particular, the applicant refers to distortions affecting raw materials such as corn (p. 319) and ammonia (p. 411) which are major cost items in the production of MSG and to chapters on general distortions on energy, land and labour. In addition, the applicant relied on publicly available information showing that corn prices in the PRC are significantly distorted through government intervention and that subsidies were granted by the Chinese government to Chinese individual MSG producers.

As a result, in view of Article 2(6a)(a) of the basic Regulation, the allegation of continuation and recurrence of dumping is based on a comparison of a constructed normal value on the basis of costs of production and sale reflecting undistorted prices or benchmarks in an appropriate representative country, with the export price (at ex-works level) of the product under review from the PRC when sold for export to the Union. On this basis the dumping margins calculated are significant for the PRC.

In light of the information available, the Commission considers that there is sufficient evidence pursuant to Article 5(9) of the basic Regulation tending to show that, due to significant distortions affecting prices and costs, the use of domestic prices and costs in the PRC is inappropriate, thus warranting the initiation of an investigation on the basis of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation.

The country report is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website (6).

4.2.    Allegation of likelihood of continuation or recurrence of injury

The applicant has provided sufficient evidence showing likelihood of continuation or recurrence of injury.

The applicant has provided evidence that imports of the product under review from the countries concerned to the Union have remained significant in absolute terms and in terms of market share.

The applicant has also provided evidence that, should measures be allowed to lapse, the current import level of the product under review from the countries concerned to the Union is likely to increase due to the exporting capacity of the exporting producers in the countries concerned and the attractiveness of the Union market. In addition, in the absence of measures, Chinese and Indonesian export prices would be at a level low enough to injure the Union industry. The applicant finally alleges that any substantial increase of imports at dumped prices from the countries concerned would be likely to cause further injury to the Union industry should measures be allowed to lapse.

5.   Procedure

Having determined, after consulting the Committee established by Article 15(1) of the basic Regulation, that sufficient evidence of a likelihood of dumping and injury exists to justify the initiation of an expiry review, the Commission hereby initiates a review in accordance with Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation.

The expiry review will determine whether the expiry of the measures would be likely to lead to a continuation or recurrence of dumping of the product under review originating in the countries concerned and a continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry.

Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council (7), which entered into force on 8 June 2018 (TDI Modernisation package), introduced significant changes to the timetable and deadlines previously applicable in anti-dumping proceedings. The time-limits for interested parties to come forward, in particular at the early stage of investigations, are shortened.

5.1.    Review investigation period and period considered

The investigation of a continuation or recurrence of dumping will cover the period from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2019 (‘the review investigation period’). The examination of trends relevant for the assessment of the likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury will cover the period from 1 January 2016 to the end of the investigation period (‘the period considered’).

5.2.    Comments on the request and the initiation of the investigation

All interested parties are invited to make their views known on the inputs and the Harmonised System (HS) codes provided in the requests (8) within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union (9).

All interested parties wishing to comment on the requests (including matters pertaining to injury and causality) or any aspects regarding the initiation of the investigation (including the degree of support for the requests) must do so within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

Any request for a hearing with regard to the initiation of the investigation must be submitted within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

5.3.    Procedure for the determination of a likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping

In an expiry review, the Commission examines exports that were made to the Union in the review investigation period and, irrespective of exports to the Union, considers whether the situation of the companies producing and selling the product under review in the countries concerned is such that exports at dumped prices to the Union would be likely to continue or recur if measures expire.

Therefore, all producers (10) of the product under review from the countries concerned, irrespective of whether or not they exported the product under review to the Union in the review investigation period, are invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.3.1.   Investigating producers in the countries concerned

In view of the potentially large number of exporting producers in the countries concerned involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit the producers to be investigated to a reasonable number by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary, and if so, to select a sample, all producers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including the ones who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures subject to this review, are hereby requested to provide the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex I to this Notice within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of producers in the countries concerned, the Commission will also contact the authorities of the countries concerned and may contact any known associations of producers in the countries concerned.

If a sample is necessary, the producers will be selected based on the largest representative volume of production, sales or exports which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known producers in the countries concerned, the authorities of the countries concerned and associations of producers in the countries concerned will be notified by the Commission, via the authorities of the countries concerned if appropriate, of the companies selected to be in the sample.

Once the Commission has received the necessary information to select a sample of producers, it will inform the parties concerned of its decision whether they are included in the sample. The sampled producers will have to submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision of their inclusion in the sample, unless otherwise specified.

The Commission will add a note to the file for inspection by interested parties reflecting the sample selection. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

A copy of the questionnaire for producers in the countries concerned is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2433

Without prejudice to the possible application of Article 18 of the basic Regulation, companies that have agreed to their possible inclusion in the sample but are not selected to be in the sample will be considered to be cooperating (‘non-sampled cooperating producers’).

5.3.2.   Additional procedure with regard to the PRC

Subject to the provisions of this Notice, all interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence regarding the application of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation. Unless otherwise specified, this information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

Pursuant to point (e) of Article 2(6a), the Commission will, shortly after initiation, by means of a note to the file for inspection by interested parties, inform parties to the investigation about the relevant sources that it intends to use for the purpose of determining normal value in the PRC pursuant to Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation. This will cover all sources, including the selection of an appropriate representative third country where appropriate. Parties to the investigation shall be given 10 days from the date at which that note is added to that file to submit comments.

According to the information available to the Commission, a possible representative third country for the PRC in this case is Thailand. With the aim of finally selecting the appropriate representative third country, the Commission will examine whether there are countries with a similar level of economic development as the PRC, in which there is production and sales of the product under review and in which relevant data are readily available. Where there is more than one such country, preference will be given, where appropriate, to countries with an adequate level of social and environmental protection.

With regard to the relevant sources, the Commission invites all producers in the PRC to provide the information requested in Annex III to this Notice within 15 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

Furthermore, any submissions of factual information to value costs and prices pursuant to point (a) of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation must be filed within 65 days of the date of publication of this Notice. Such factual information should be taken exclusively from publicly available sources.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation with regard to the alleged significant distortions within the meaning of point (b) of Article 2(6a) of the basic Regulation, the Commission will also send a questionnaire to the Government of the PRC.

5.3.3.   Investigating unrelated importers (11) (12)

Unrelated importers of the product under review from the countries concerned to the Union, including those that did not cooperate in the investigation(s) leading to the measures in force, are invited to participate in this investigation.

In view of the potentially large number of unrelated importers involved in this expiry review and in order to complete the investigation within the statutory time limits, the Commission may limit to a reasonable number the unrelated importers that will be investigated by selecting a sample (this process is also referred to as ‘sampling’). The sampling will be carried out in accordance with Article 17 of the basic Regulation.

In order to enable the Commission to decide whether sampling is necessary and, if so, to select a sample, all unrelated importers, or representatives acting on their behalf, including the ones who did not cooperate in the investigation leading to the measures subject to the present review, are hereby requested to make themselves known to the Commission. These parties must do so within 7 days of the date of publication of this Notice by providing the Commission with the information on their company(ies) requested in Annex II to this Notice.

In order to obtain information it deems necessary for the selection of the sample of unrelated importers, the Commission may also contact any known associations of importers.

If a sample is necessary, the importers may be selected based on the largest representative volume of sales of the product under review from the countries concerned in the Union which can reasonably be investigated within the time available. All known unrelated importers and associations of importers will be notified by the Commission of the companies selected to be in the sample.

The Commission will also add a note to the file for inspection by interested parties reflecting the sample selection. Any comment on the sample selection must be received within 3 days of the date of notification of the sample decision.

In order to obtain the information it deems necessary for its investigation, the Commission will send questionnaires to the sampled unrelated importers. Those parties must submit a completed questionnaire within 30 days from the date of the notification of the sample selection, unless otherwise specified.

A copy of the questionnaire for unrelated importers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2433

5.4.    Procedure for the determination of a likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury

In order to establish whether there is a likelihood of a continuation or recurrence of injury to the Union industry, the Union producer of the product under review is invited to participate in the Commission investigation.

5.4.1.   Investigating Union producers

In order to obtain information that the Commission deems necessary for its investigation with regard to the only known Union producer, Ajinomoto Foods Europe S.A.S., must submit the completed questionnaire within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified.

Other Union producers and representative associations, if any, are invited to contact the Commission, immediately but no later than 7 days after the publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified, in order to make themselves known.

A copy of the questionnaire for Union producers is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2433

5.5.    Procedure for the assessment of Union interest

Should the likelihood of continuation or recurrence of dumping and recurrence of injury be confirmed, a decision will be reached, pursuant to Article 21 of the basic Regulation, as to whether maintaining the anti-dumping measures would not be against the Union interest.

Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations are invited to provide the Commission with information on the Union interest. In order to participate in the investigation, the representative consumer organisations have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Information concerning the assessment of Union interest must be provided within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice, unless otherwise specified. This information may be provided either in a free format or by completing a questionnaire prepared by the Commission.

A copy of the questionnaires, including the questionnaire for users of the product under review, is available in the file for inspection by interested parties and on DG Trade’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2433. In any case, information submitted pursuant to Article 21 will only be taken into account if supported by factual evidence at the time of submission.

5.6.    Interested parties

In order to participate in the investigation, interested parties, such as producers in the countries concerned, Union producers, importers and their representative associations, users and their representative associations, trade unions and representative consumer organisations first have to demonstrate that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Producers in the countries concerned, Union producers, importers and representative associations who made information available in accordance to the procedures described in sections 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 will be considered as interested parties if there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review.

Other parties will only be able to participate in the investigation as interested party from the moment they make themselves known, and provided that there is an objective link between their activities and the product under review. Being considered as an interested party is without prejudice to the application of Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

Access to the file available for inspection for interested parties is made via Tron.tdi at the following address: https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI. Please follow the instructions on that page to get access.

5.7.    Other written submissions

Subject to the provisions of this Notice, all interested parties are hereby invited to make their views known, submit information and provide supporting evidence. Unless otherwise specified, this information and supporting evidence must reach the Commission within 37 days of the date of publication of this Notice.

5.8.    Possibility to be heard by the Commission investigation services

All interested parties may request to be heard by the Commission investigation services. Any request to be heard must be made in writing and must specify the reasons for the request as well as a summary of what the interested party wishes to discuss during the hearing. The hearing will be limited to the issues set out by the interested parties in writing beforehand.

In principle, hearings will not be used to present factual information which is not yet on file. Nevertheless, in the interest of good administration and to enable Commission services to progress with the investigation, interested parties may be directed to provide new factual information after a hearing.

5.9.    Instructions for making written submissions and sending completed questionnaires and correspondence

Information submitted to the Commission for the purpose of trade defence investigations shall be free from copyrights. Interested parties, before submitting to the Commission information and/or data which is subject to third party copyrights, must request specific permission to the copyright holder explicitly allowing the Commission a) to use the information and data for the purpose of this trade defence proceeding and b) to provide the information and/or data to interested parties to this investigation in a form that allows them to exercise their rights of defence.

All written submissions, including the information requested in this Notice, completed questionnaires and correspondence provided by interested parties for which confidential treatment is requested shall be labelled ‘Limited’ (13). Parties submitting information in the course of this investigation are invited to reason their request for confidential treatment.

Interested parties providing ‘Limited’ information are required to furnish non-confidential summaries of it pursuant to Article 19(2) of the basic Regulation, which will be labelled ‘For inspection by interested parties’. These summaries must be sufficiently detailed to permit a reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. If a party providing confidential information fails to show good cause for a confidential treatment request or does not furnish a non-confidential summary of it in the requested format and quality, the Commission may disregard such information unless it can be satisfactorily demonstrated from appropriate sources that the information is correct.

Interested parties are invited to make all submissions and requests via TRON.tdi (https://tron.trade.ec.europa.eu/tron/TDI) including scanned powers of attorney and certification sheets. By using TRON.tdi or email, interested parties express their agreement with the rules applicable to electronic submissions contained in the document ‘CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION IN TRADE DEFENCE CASES’ published on the website of the Directorate-General for Trade: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2011/june/tradoc_148003.pdf. The interested parties must indicate their name, address, telephone and a valid email address and they should ensure that the provided email address is a functioning official business email which is checked on a daily basis. Once contact details are provided, the Commission will communicate with interested parties by TRON.tdi or email only, unless they explicitly request to receive all documents from the Commission by another means of communication or unless the nature of the document to be sent requires the use of a registered mail. For further rules and information concerning correspondence with the Commission including principles that apply to submissions via TRON.tdi and by email, interested parties should consult the communication instructions with interested parties referred to above.

Commission address for correspondence:

European Commission

Directorate-General for Trade

Directorate H

Office: CHAR 04/039

1049 Bruxelles/Brussel

BELGIQUE/BELGIË

Emails:	TRADE-R712-MSG-DUMPING@ec.europa.eu
	TRADE-R712-MSG-INJURY@ec.europa.eu

6.   Schedule of the investigation

The investigation shall normally be concluded within 12 months and in any event no later than 15 months from the date of the publication of this Notice, pursuant to Article 11(5) of the basic Regulation.

7.   Submission of information

As a rule, interested parties may only submit information in the timeframes specified in section 5 of this Notice.

In order to complete the investigation within the mandatory deadlines, the Commission will not accept submissions from interested parties after the deadline to provide comments on the final disclosure or, if applicable, after the deadline to provide comments on the additional final disclosure.

8.   Possibility to comment on other parties’ submissions

In order to guarantee the rights of defence, interested parties should have the possibility to comment on information submitted by other interested parties. When doing so, interested parties may only address issues raised in the other interested parties’ submissions and may not raise new issues.

Comments on the information provided by other interested parties in reaction to the disclosure of the definitive findings should be submitted within 5 days from the deadline to comment on the definitive findings, unless otherwise specified. If there is an additional final disclosure, comments filed by other interested parties in reaction to this further disclosure should be made within 1 day from the deadline to comment on this further disclosure, unless otherwise specified.

The outlined timeframe is without prejudice to the Commission’s right to request additional information from interested parties in duly justified cases.

9.   Extension to time limits specified in this Notice

Extensions to time-limits provided for in this Notice may be granted upon request of interested parties showing due cause.

Extensions to the deadline to reply to questionnaires and to other time-limits as specified in this Notice or otherwise provided in specific communications with interested parties will be limited to a maximum of 3 additional days. Such an extension may be prolonged up to a maximum of 7 days where the requesting party can demonstrates the existence of exceptional circumstances.

10.   Non-cooperation

In cases where any interested party refuses access to or does not provide the necessary information within the time limits, or significantly impedes the investigation, findings, affirmative or negative, may be made on the basis of facts available, in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation.

Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the information may be disregarded and use may be made of facts available.

If an interested party does not cooperate or cooperates only partially and findings are therefore based on facts available in accordance with Article 18 of the basic Regulation, the result may be less favourable to that party than if it had cooperated.

Failure to give a computerised response shall not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, provided that the interested party shows that presenting the response as requested would result in an unreasonable extra burden or unreasonable additional cost. The interested party should immediately contact the Commission.

11.   Hearing Officer

Interested parties may request the intervention of the Hearing Officer for trade proceedings. The Hearing Officer reviews requests for access to the file, disputes regarding the confidentiality of documents, requests for extension of time limits and any other request concerning the rights of defence of interested parties and third parties as may arise during the proceeding.

The Hearing Officer may organise hearings and mediate between the interested party/-ies and Commissions services to ensure that the interested parties’ rights of defence are being fully exercised. A request for a hearing with the Hearing Officer should be made in writing and should specify the reasons for the request. The Hearing Officer will examine the reasons for the requests. These hearings should only take place if the issues have not been settled with the Commission services in due course.

Any request must be submitted in good time and expeditiously so as not to jeopardise the orderly conduct of proceedings. To that effect, interested parties should request the intervention of the Hearing Officer at the earliest possible time following the occurrence of the event justifying such intervention. Where hearing requests are submitted outside the relevant timeframes, the Hearing Officer will also examine the reasons for such late requests, the nature of the issues raised and the impact of those issues on the rights of defence, having due regard to the interests of good administration and the timely completion of the investigation.

For further information and contact details interested parties may consult the Hearing Officer’s web pages on DG Trade’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/trade-policy-and-you/contacts/hearing-officer/

12.   Possibility to request a review under Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation

As this expiry review is initiated in accordance with the provisions of Article 11(2) of the basic Regulation, the findings thereof will not lead to the existing measures being amended but will lead to those measures being repealed or maintained in accordance with Article 11(6) of the basic Regulation.

If any interested party considers that a review of the measures is warranted so as to allow for the possibility to amend the measures, that party may request a review pursuant to Article 11(3) of the basic Regulation.

Parties wishing to request such a review, which would be carried out independently of the expiry review mentioned in this Notice, may contact the Commission at the address given above.

13.   Processing of personal data

Any personal data collected in this investigation will be treated in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council (14).

A data protection notice that informs all individuals of the processing of personal data in the framework of Commission’s trade defence activities is available on DG Trade’s website: http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/accessing-markets/trade-defence/

---

(1)  Notices of the impending expiry of certain anti-dumping measures (OJ C 165, 14.5.2019, p. 4 and p. 5).

(2)  OJ L 176, 30.6.2016, p. 21.

(3)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/83 of 21 January 2015 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty on imports of monosodium glutamate originating in the People’s Republic of China following an expiry review pursuant to Article 11(2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1225/2009 (OJ L 15, 22.1.2015, p. 31).

(4)  Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/84 of 21 January 2015 imposing a definitive anti-dumping duty and collecting definitively the provisional duty imposed on imports of monosodium glutamate originating in Indonesia (OJ L 15, 22.1.2015, p. 54).

(5)  Commission Staff Working Document, on Significant Distortions in the Economy of the People’s Republic of China for the Purposes of Trade Defence Investigations, 20.12.2017, SWD (2017) 483 final/2.

(6)  Documents cited in the country report may also be obtained upon a duly reasoned request.

(7)  Regulation (EU) 2018/825 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Regulation (EU) 2016/1036 on protection against dumped imports from countries not members of the European Union and Regulation (EU) 2016/1037 on protection against subsidised imports from countries not members of the European Union (OJ L 143, 7.6.2018, p. 1).

(8)  Information on HS codes is also provided in the executive summary of the review requests, which is available on DG Trade’s website: http://trade.ec.europa.eu/tdi/case_details.cfm?id=2433

(9)  All references to the publication of this Notice will be references to publication of this Notice in the Official Journal of the European Union, unless otherwise specified.

(10)  A producer is any company in the countries concerned which produces the product under review,including any of its related companies involved in the production, domestic sales or exports of the product under review.

(11)  Only importers not related to producers in the countries concerned can be sampled. Importers that are related to producers have to fill in Annex I to the questionnaire for these exporting producers. In accordance with Article 127 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447 of 24 November 2015 laying down detailed rules for implementing certain provisions of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, two persons shall be deemed to be related if: (a) they are officers or directors of the other person’s business; (b) they are legally recognised partners in business; (c) they are employer and employee; (d) a third party directly or indirectly owns, controls or holds 5 % or more of the outstanding voting stock or shares of both of them; (e) one of them directly or indirectly controls the other; (f) both of them are directly or indirectly controlled by a third person; (g) together they control a third person directly or indirectly; or (h) they are members of the same family (OJ L 343, 29.12.2015, p. 558). Persons shall be deemed to be members of the same family only if they stand in any of the following relationships to one another: (i) husband and wife, (ii) parent and child, (iii) brother and sister (whether by whole or half blood), (iv) grandparent and grandchild, (v) uncle or aunt and nephew or niece, (vi) parent-in-law and son-in-law or daughter-in-law, (vii) brother-in-law and sister-in-law. In accordance with Article 5(4) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code, ‘person’ means a natural person, a legal person, and any association of persons which is not a legal person but which is recognised under Union or national law as having the capacity to perform legal acts (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(12)  The data provided by unrelated importers may also be used in relation to aspects of this investigation other than the determination of dumping.

(13)  A ‘Limited’ document is a document which is considered confidential pursuant to Article 19 of the basic Regulation and Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of the GATT 1994 (Anti-Dumping Agreement). It is also a document protected pursuant to Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council (OJ L 145, 31.5.2001, p. 43).

(14)  Regulation (EU) 2018/1725 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2018 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data by the Union institutions, bodies, offices and agencies and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 45/2001 and Decision No 1247/2002/EC (OJ L 295, 21.11.2018, p. 39).

Prior notification of a concentration

(Case M.9641 — SNAM/FSI/OLT)

(Text with EEA relevance)

(2020/C 20/06)

---

(1)  OJ L 24, 29 January 2004, p. 1 (the ‘Merger Regulation’).