31997R2631

COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2631/97 of 18 December 1997 amending Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 opening and providing for the administration of autonomous Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 28 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas, by virtue of Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 (1), the Council opened Community tariff quotas for certain agricultural and industrial products; whereas Community demand for the products in question should be met under the most favourable conditions; whereas Community tariff quotas should therefore be opened at reduced or zero rates of duty for appropriate volumes, and increased or extended in the case of certain existing tariff quotas, avoiding any disturbance to the markets for these products;

Whereas it is no longer in the Community's interest to maintain a Community tariff quota on some of the products covered by the above Regulation, and those products should therefore be removed from the table in Annex I;

Whereas in order to take account of amendments to the combined nomenclature, some of the Taric codes need to be changed;

Whereas in view of the large number of amendments coming into effect on 1 January 1998 and in order to clarify matters for the user, these amendments should be made by replacing the table in Annex I to the above Regulation by the table in the Annex to this Regulation;

Whereas Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 should therefore be amended,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. For the quota period from 1 January to 31 December 1997, Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 is hereby amended as follows:

- order number 09.2711: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 850 000 tonnes,

- order number 09.2867: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 225 tonnes,

- order number 09.2943: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 50 000 000 units,

- order number 09.2944: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 44 000 000 units,

- order number 09.2948: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 28 000 000 units.

2. For the quota period from 1 July to 31 December 1997, Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 is hereby amended as follows:

- order number 09.2956: the amount of the tariff quota shall be altered to 67 000 units.

Article 2

The table in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 2505/96 shall be replaced by the table annexed to this Regulation.

Article 3

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

Article 1 (1) shall apply with effect from 1 January 1997, Article 1 (2) with effect from 1 July 1997 and Article 2 with effect from 1 January 1998.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 18 December 1997.

For the Council

The President

F. BODEN

(1) OJ L 345, 31. 12. 1996, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1291/97 (OJ L 176, 4. 7. 1997, p. 17).

ANNEX

'ANNEX I

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