Article 4
1
The competent national authorities listed in Annex II may, from 10 o’clock a.m. on 9 January 2012, notify the Commission of the amounts covered by requests for import authorisations.
The time fixed in the first subparagraph shall be understood as Brussels time.
2
The competent national authorities shall issue authorisations only after being notified by the Commission pursuant to Article 17(2) of Regulation (EC) No 517/94 that quantities are available for importation.
They shall issue authorisations only if an operator:
a
proves the existence of a contract relating to the provision of the goods; and
b
certifies in writing that, in respect of the categories and countries concerned:
- (i)
the operator has not already been allocated an authorisation under this Regulation; or
- (ii)
the operator has been allocated an authorisation under this Regulation but has used up at least 50 percent of it.
3
Import authorisations shall be valid for 9 months from the date of issue, but until 31 December 2012 at the latest.
The competent national authorities may, however, at the importer’s request, grant a three-month extension for authorisations which are at least 50 percent used up at the time of the request. Such extension shall in no circumstances expire later than 31 March 2013.