Commission Regulation (EC) No 1831/96Show full title

Article 1

1. Tariff reductions on the products listed in the Annexes to this Regulation shall be granted annually by means of Community tariff quotas open for the periods specified in the Annexes.

2. The following customs duties shall apply to the tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1:

• for the products listed in Annexes I and II: the customs duties indicated in those Annexes,

• for the products listed in Annex III: the ad valorem duties indicated in that Annex, as well as, where applicable, the specific duties provided for in the Common Customs Tariff of the European Communities.

3. Entry under the tariff quotas specified in Annex II shall require presentation in support of the declaration of entry for free circulation of a certificate of authenticity in accordance with one of the specimens in Annex IIa, issued by the competent authorities of the country of origin as indicated in Annex IIb, stating that the products possess the specific characteristics indicated in Annex II.

However, in the case of concentrated orange juice, presentation of a certificate of authenticity may be replaced by presentation to the Commission before importation of a general attestation from the competent authority of the country of origin stating that concentrated orange juice produced therein contains no blood orange juice. The Commission shall then inform Member States so that they can advise their customs services. This information shall also be published in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 2

1. The Commission shall take all administrative action it deems advisable for efficient management of the quotas referred to in Article 1.

2. When an importer presents in a Member State a declaration of entry for free circulation including an application for the benefit of the tariff quota for a product covered by this Regulation the Member State shall, if the declaration has been accepted by the customs authorities, notify the Commission of its wish to draw the amount it needs from the quota volume.

Applications to draw showing the date of acceptance of declarations shall be sent to the Commission without delay.

Drawings shall be granted by the Commission in order of date of acceptance of declarations of entry for free circulation by the Member States' customs authorities provided that the available balance permits.

3. If a Member State does not use the quantities drawn it shall return them to the quota balance as soon as possible.

4. If the quantities applied for are greater than the quota balance, allocation shall be made pro rata to applications. Member States shall be informed of the drawings made.

Article 3

Member States and the Commission shall cooperate closely to ensure that this Regulation is respected.

Article 4

Member States shall ensure that importers have continuous and equal access to the tariff quotas as long as balances permit.

Article 5

Regulation (EC) No 858/96 is hereby repealed.

Article 6

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

It shall apply with effect from 1 January 1996.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 September 1996.

For the Commission

Franz Fischler

Member of the Commission