L 168/12 Official Journal of the European Communities 23.6.2001 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1234/2001 of 22 June 2001 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 822/1999 and providing for the partial reimbursement of import duties levied on a quota of barley for malting THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 822/2001 of 24 April 2001 opening a Community tariff quota for barley for malting falling within CN code 1003 00 ('), and in particular Article 2 thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 176692 of 30 June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in cereals (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1666/ 2000 (%), and in particular Article 10(4) thereof, Whereas: (1)  The way imports of cereals into the Community are to be treated is laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 of 28 June 1996 on rules of application (cereal sector import duties) for Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2235/2000 (). Article 2(5) of that Regulation provides for a flat-rate reduction of EUR 8 per tonne in the import duty on malting barley under certain condi- tions. (2)  Under Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 822/2001, a tariff quota has been opened for 2001 and 2002 for 50 000 tonnes of high-grade barley falling within CN code 1003 00 for the production of malt to be used in the manufacture of a type of beer aged in vats containing beechwood. The rate of duty applicable to such imports is 50 % of the full rate of duty in force on the day of import, without the flat-rate reduction of EUR 8 per tonne in the import duty provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1249/96. As a consequence, the duties applied under Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 for up to 50 000 tonnes of malting barley covered by import licence applications submitted between 1 January 2001 and the date of entry into force of this Regulation should be adjusted by reducing the rate of duty in force on the day of release for free circulation of the imported product by 50 %, the amount thereby obtained being increased by EUR 8 per tonne to take account of the flat-rate reduction in the import duty applied on release for free circulation. The import duty on quantities covered by import licence applications submitted between the date of entry into force of this Regulation and 31 December 2001, within () O L 120, 28.4.2001, p. 1. () O] L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21. () O] L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 1. () O] L 161, 29.6.1996, p. 125. () O] L 256, 10.10.2000, p. 13. the limit of the remaining balance of the annual quota of 50 000 tonnes, must be reduced by 50 %. (3)  The tariff quota opened by Regulation (EC) No 822/ 2001 covers the periods 1 January to 31 December 2001 and 1 January to 31 December 2002. Notwith- standing Article 2 of that Regulation, no provisions applying retroactively can be laid down to guarantee the quality of barley already imported or to recognise docu- ments guaranteeing that that quality of barley has been imported. (40 The implementation of this international commitment should be ensured by providing that operators who have imported barley of a particular quality for malting during the period concerned may qualify, on applica- tion, for the reduction in the import duty, less any flat-rate reductions. The Member States must accordingly be authorised to reimburse duties levied in excess to operators who can prove that the import duties they paid were reduced by EUR 8 per tonne as laid down for barley of brewery quality for the production of malt from 1 January 2001 to the date of entry into force of this Regulation. Since the time limit laid down by Regu- lation (EC) No 1249/96 for processing barley into malt is six months from the date of release for free circula- tion, and since 150 days is quite sufficient to manufac- ture the type of beer provided for under this quota, it is appropriate, in the interests of simplification, to main- tain these time limits in the rules governing the quota. (5)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 1. Under Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 822/2001, 50 % of the import duty in force for each consignment concerned on the date of release for free circulation, less EUR 8 per tonne, shall be reimbursed on quantities of malting barley to be used for the manufacture of beer aged in vats containing beechwood which qualified for a flat-rate reduction of EUR 8 per tonne under Article 2(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1249/96 and which were covered by import licence applications submitted between 1 January 2001 and the date of entry into force of this Regula- tion, up to a limit of 50 000 tonnes, on application by impor- ters or their authorised agents.