Commission Regulation (EC) No 2623/98 of 4 December 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 on rules of application for additional import duties on fruit and vegetables and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1556/96
5. 12. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 329/17 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2623/98 of 4 December 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 on rules of application for additional import duties on fruit and vegetables and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 of 28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the amended by and vegetables (1), market Commission Regulation (EC) No 2520/97 (2), and in particular Articles 31(2) and 33(4) thereof, in fruit as Whereas Commission Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 (3) provides for imports of the products listed in its Annex to be subject to surveillance; whereas that surveillance is based on the import licences issued under the arrange- ments introduced by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 (4), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2306/ 98 (5); whereas introduced subject to their being replaced by a rapid and computer- ised procedure for recording imports once the latter could be legally and practically set up; whereas such a procedure has been successfully tested; arrangements were those Whereas, therefore, the import surveillance scheme laid down in Article 308d of 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 (6), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1677/98 (7), should be extended to the products listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1555/96; whereas in order for the additional import duties system to operate correctly the information should be notified to the Commission every week; whereas, in addition, provisions should be adopted permitting Member States to obtain the information necessary for surveillance purposes at the time the prod- ucts in question are put into free circulation under the simplified procedures laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93; whereas as a result of the introduction of the surveillance system Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 should be adjusted and Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 should be repealed with effect from 1 December 1998; (1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1. (2) OJ L 346, 17. 12. 1997, p. 41. (3) OJ L 193, 3. 8. 1996, p. 1. (4) OJ L 193, 3. 8. 1996, p. 5. (5) OJ L 288, 27. 10. 1998, p. 7. (6) OJ L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1. (7) OJ L 212, 30. 7. 1998, p. 18. Whereas Article 5(4) of the Agreement on Agriculture (8) lays down criteria for determining the volumes which trigger additional duties; whereas Article 5(6) of that Agreement permits to be set according to the specific characteristics of perishable and seasonal products; whereas, those criteria, the volumes triggering additional duties should be set as indicated in the Annex to this Regulation; the triggering periods in application of Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are the Management in accordance with the opinion of Committee for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 Regulation (EC) No 1555/96 is hereby amended as follows: 1. Article 1 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 1 1. Additional import duty as referred to in Article 33(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 2200/96 (*), termed “additional duty” below, may be applied to the products and during the periods listed in the Annex hereto on the conditions set out below. Trigger levels for the additional duties are listed 2. in the Annex hereto. (*) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 1. '; 2. Article 2 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 2 1. For each of the products listed in the Annex hereto and during the periods indicated Member States shall notify the Commission of details of the volumes put into free circulation using the method for the surveillance of preferential imports set out in Article 308d of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 (*). Such notification shall take place no later than midday Brussels time each Wednesday for the volumes put into free circulation during the preceding week. (8) OJ L 336, 23. 12. 1994, p. 22. L 329/18 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 5. 12. 98 2. Declarations for release for free circulation of products covered by the present Regulation which the customs authorities may accept at the declarant’s request without their containing certain particulars referred to in Annex 37 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/ 93 shall contain, in addition to the particulars referred to in Article 254 of that Regulation, an indication of the net mass (kg) of the products concerned. Where the simplified declaration procedure referred to in Article 260 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 is used to put into free circulation products covered by the present Regulation, the simplified declarations shall contain, in addition to other requirements, an indica- tion of the net mass (kg) of the products concerned. Where the local clearance procedure referred to in Article 263 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 is used to put into free circulation products covered by the present Regulation, the notification to the customs authorities referred to in Article 266(1) of that Regula- tion shall contain all necessary data for the identifica- tion of the goods, as well as an indication of the net mass (kg) of the products concerned. 3. Article 3 is replaced by the following: ‘Article 3 1. If it is found that, for one of the products and one of the periods listed in the Annex hereto, the quantity put into free circulation exceeds the corresponding triggering volume the Commission shall levy an addi- tional duty. The additional duty shall be levied on quantities 2. put into free circulation after the date of application of the said duty, provided that: — their tariff classification determined in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 3223/94 entails application of the highest specific duties applicable to imports of the origin in question, — importation is effected during the period of application of the additional duty. '; 4. the Annex is replaced by the Annex to this Regulation. Article 2 Regulation (EC) No 1556/96 is hereby repealed. Article 3 Article 266(2b) shall not apply to imports of the prod- ucts covered by the present Regulation. This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities. (*) OJ L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1. '; It shall apply with effect from 1 December 1998. This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. Done at Brussels, 4 December 1998. For the Commission Franz FISCHLER Member of the Commission 5. 12. 98 EN Official Journal of the European Communities L 329/19 ANNEX ‘ANNEX Without prejudice to the rules for the interpretation of the Combined Nomenclature, the description of the products is deemed to be indicative only. The scope of the additional duties for the purposes of this Annex is determined by the scope of the CN codes as they exist at the time of the adoption of this Regulation. Where the indication “ex” is placed before the CN code the scope of the additional duties is determined both by the scope of the CN code and by the corresponding trigger period. Serial No CN code Description Trigger period 78. 0015 78. 0020 78. 0065 78. 0075 78. 0085 78. 0100 78. 0110 78. 0120 78. 0130 78. 0155 78. 0160 78. 0170 78. 0180 78. 0190 78. 0200 78. 0220 78. 0235 78. 0250 78. 0260 78. 0270 78. 0280 ex 0702 00 00 Tomatoes ex 0707 00 05 Cucumbers ex 0709 10 00 Artichokes 0709 90 70 Courgettes Oranges ex 0805 10 10 ex 0805 10 30 ex 0805 10 50 ex 0805 20 10 Clementines ex 0805 20 30 ex 0805 20 50 ex 0805 20 70 ex 0805 20 90 Mandarins, tangerines, including satsumas, wilkings and similar citrus hybrids ex 0805 30 10 Lemons ex 0806 10 10 Table grapes Apples ex 0808 10 20 ex 0808 10 50 ex 0808 10 90 ex 0808 20 50 Pears ex 0809 10 00 Apricots — 1 October to 31 March — 1 April to 30 September — 1 May to 31 October — 1 November to 30 April — 1 November to 30 June — 1 January to 31 December — 1 December to 31 May — 1 November to end February — 1 November to end February — 1 June to 31 December — 1 January to 31 May — 21 July to 20 November — 1 September to 31 December — 1 January to 31 March — 1 April to 31 August — 1 January to 30 April — 1 July to 31 December — 1 June to 31 July — 21 May to 10 August ex 0809 20 ex 0809 30 Cherries Peaches, including nectarines — 11 June to 30 September ex 0809 40 05 Plums — 11 June to 30 September Trigger level (tonnes) 164 102 15 622 16 028 3 865 1 180 45 160 465 695 218 217 114 194 285 329 24 448 190 422 395 887 51 279 575 829 155 487 202 569 2 432 108 193 1 166 112 005'