24. 7. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 196/31 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1427/97 of 23 July 1997 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code ("), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 82/57 of the European Parliament and of the Council (%), and in particular Article 249 thereof, Whereas application of the measures referred to in Article 20 (3) (d), (e} and (f) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Code’), may be restricted to a certain volume of imports by reason of the existence of tariff quotas or tariff ceilings; Whereas, since 1988, the Council has systematically del- egated to the Commission the responsibility for managing tariff quotas on a first-come first-served basis and for the surveillance of imports within the framework of preferen- tial tariff measures; whereas the general principles and rules of this management should be codified in the in- terests of stability and transparency, and with a view to greater efficiency in their operation; whereas the avail- ability of those tariff quotas is limited to goods declared for release for free circulation between the opening date and the closing date of the relevant tariff quota; Whereas the management rules for these tariff quotas must ensure the uniform and fair treatment of all import- ers throughout the Community; whereas, accordingly, all Community importers should be ensured equal and continuous access to those tariff quotas until exhaustion thereof, and allocations should be made once per working day, except where technical conditions make that imposs- ible; Whereas the lodging of security for the import duties potentially not payable as a result of a drawing on a tariff quota, in cases where there is no reason to suppose that the tariff quota will be very shortly exhausted, creates an unnecessary burden for economic operators; whereas in the interests of uniform treatment, Member States may refrain from taking secuirty for import duties in cases where it is determined that a particular tariff quota will not very shortly be exhausted; () OJ No L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1. () O] No L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. L. Whereas the details of individual commercial transactions should be protected by rules of confidentiality; Whereas the management of tariff quotas and preferential surveillance requires a high degree of administrative cooperation between the Commisison and the customs authorities of the Member States; Whereas provision should be made for invalidating the declaration of release for free circulation for mail order goods returned by a customer to a third country; Whereas it is convenient and useful to allow the applica- tion, by means of a stamp, of the pictogram identifying consignments transported by rail under the Community transit procedure; Whereas the existence of the Single Market implies making appropriate use of the special facilities required for the loading and unloading of large containers; Whereas in order to allow for a more coherent publica- tion of the list of free zones in existence and in operation within the Community, it is appropriate to make such publication in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities, Whereas Article 859 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (°), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 89/97 (*), contains a restrictive list of cases having no significant effect, in which no customs debt in incurred even if one of the situations referred to in Article 204 (1) (a) or {b) of the Code pertains; whereas the following cases should be added to that list: goods re-imported after outward processing and placed in temporary storage or under a suspensive customs procedure before being released for free circulation and goods which have under- gone an inward processing operation where the renewal of the authorization was not requested in time; Whereas it is appropriate, in order to facilitate trade ac- tivities, in certain limited cases, not to require re-export of goods for which a repayment or a remission of import duties is granted and to permit their placing under the customs warehousing arrangements, or in a free zone or free warehouse; () OJ No L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1. () O No L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. 28.