L 176/12 Official Journal of the European Union 30.6.2006 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 965/2006 of 29 June 2006 amending Regulation (EC) No 327/98 opening and providing for the administration of certain tariff quotas for imports of rice and broken rice THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in rice (), and in particular Articles 10(2) and 11(4) thereof, Whereas: (1)  The Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Community and the Kingdom of Thailand pursuant to Article XXIV:6 and Article XXVIII of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) 1994 relating to the modification of concessions in the schedules of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic in the course of their accession to the European Union (?), approved by Council Decision 2006/324/EC (}), provides for an increase in the current annual global tariff quota at zero duty for wholly milled and semi-milled rice covered by CN code 1006 30 of 25 516 tonnes for all origins and of 1 200 tonnes for Thailand. It also provides for the opening of a new zero-duty tariff quota of 31788 tonnes of broken rice covered by CN code 1006 40 for all origins. (2)  The above Decision also provides for new quotas at 15 % duty valid for all origins of 7 tonnes of paddy rice covered by CN code 1006 10 and 1634 tonnes of husked rice covered by CN code 1006 20. (3)  For the sake of simplification and given the small volume of the paddy rice quota provided for in Decision () OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 96. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 797/2006 (O] L 144, 31.5.2006, p. 1). ® O] L 120, 5.5.2006, p. 19. () O] L 120, 5.5.2006, p. 17. 2006/324/EC, that quota should be managed in accordance with 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 (4). (4)  The quota of 20 000 tonnes of husked rice covered by CN code 100620 at a duty of EUR 88 per tonne provided for in Article 1 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 327/98 (°) has become obsolete as a result of the amendment of the duty applicable to husked rice laid down in Article 11a of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003. That quota should therefore be abolished. (5)  In order not to disturb the normal marketing of rice produced in the Community the quotas should be opened in such a way that the imports can be better absorbed by the Community market. In particular, where the application of a reduction percentage would give rise to the allocation of licences for quantities of less than 20 tonnes and Member States organise that allo- cation by drawing lots, provision should be made for the redistribution by the competent national authorities of the remaining quantities with a view to utilising the quota to the maximum possible extent and avoiding the allocation of very small quantities. For the same reasons, provision should also be made for redistribution in cases where the application of a reduction percentage fails to result in the constitution of a lot of 20 tonnes. (6) To ensure the proper management of the quotas, provision should be made for the compulsory presen- tation of a certificate of origin when the quota is opened for a specific country and an export licence issued by that country is not required. (7)  Regulation (EC) No 327/98 should be amended accordingly. (8)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals, () OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu- lation (EC) No 402/2006 (O] L 70, 9.3.2006, p. 35). () OJ L 37, 11.2.1998, p. 5. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2152/2005 (OJ L 342, 24.12.2005, p. 30).