31 . 12 . 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 380 / 27
COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 4118 / 86
of 22 December 1986
opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for
prepared or preserved sardines falling within subheading 16.04 D of the Common Customs
Tariff and originating in Tunisia ( 1987 )
THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES , principles , the Community nature of the quota can be
respected by allocating the Community tariff quota among
the Member States ; whereas , in order to reflect as
accurately as possible the true trend of the market in the
products in question , such allocation should be in
proportion to the requirements of the Member States ,
calculated , on the one hand , by reference to the statistics
for imports from Tunisia over a representative reference
period and , on the other hand , by reference to the
economic outlook for the quota period in question ;
Whereas , during the last three years for which statistics are
available , the corresponding imports into each of the
Member States represent the following percentages of
imports into the Community from Tunisia of the products
concerned :
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Economic Community , and in particular Article 113
thereof,
Having regard to the proposal from the Commission ,
Whereas the Cooperation Agreement between the
Community and Tunisia (*), completed by Council
Regulation (EEC) No 1080 / 83 of 18 April 1983 laying
down the arrangements applicable to trade between Greece
and Tunisia ( 2 ), provides that prepared and preserved
sardines , falling within subheading 16.04 D of the
Common Customs Tariff and originating in Tunisia , may
be imported into the Community free of duty ; whereas the
detailed arrangements must be fixed by an exchange of
letters between the Community and Tunisia ; whereas , since
this exchange of letters has not yet taken place , it is
advisable to renew until 31 December 1987 the
Community arrangements which were applied in 1986 ;
whereas it is advisable to open a Community tariff quota
for the importation into the Community of the products in
question of 100 tonnes free of duty ; whereas this tariff
quota is to apply from 1 January 1987 until either
the conclusion of the exchange of letters provided for in
Article 18 of the Cooperation Agreement between the
European Economic Community and the Republic of
Tunisia or until such time as Community arrangements for
imports of the products in question are applied , but until
31 December 1987 at the latest ;
Member State 1983 1984 1985
Benelux _ l
Denmark — — —
Germany — — —
Greece — —
France — — 100
I ( = 6 t )
Ireland — — —
Italy — _ —
United Kingdom — — —
Whereas these data cannot be considered as representative
and cannot serve as a basis for allocation of the quota
among the Member States ; whereas it is difficult to forecast
the Member States' imports for 1987 because of their
situation in previous years ; whereas , in order that the
quota may be allocated fairly , the initial quota shares may
be fixed approximately at the following percentages :
Whereas , since a Protocol as provided for in Articles 179
and 366 of the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal does
not exist , the Community must adopt the measures referred
to in Articles 180 and 367 of that Act ; whereas the tariff
measure concerned will , therefore , apply to the
Community of Ten ;
Whereas it is in particular necessary to ensure for all
Community importers equal and uninterrupted access to
the abovementioned quota and uninterrupted application
of the rate laid down for that quota to all imports of the
products concerned into all Member States until the quota
has been used up ; whereas , having regard to the above
Benelux 8
Denmark 4
Germany 16
Greece 2
France 50
Ireland 2
Italy 2
United Kingdom 16
Whereas , in order to take into account import trends for
the products concerned in the various Member States , each
of the quota amounts should be divided into two
instalments , the first being shared among the Member
States and the second constituting a reserve to cover at a
(>) OJ No L 265 , 27 . 9 . 1978 , p . 1 .
( 2 ) OJ No L 120 , 6 . 5 . 1983 , p . 1 .
No L 380 / 28 Official Journal of the European Communities 31 . 12 . 86
prevent a part of any tariff quota from remaining unused in
one Member State when it could be used in others ;
Whereas , since the Kingdom of Belgium , the Kingdom of
the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are
united within and jointly represented by the Benelux
Economic Union , any operation relating to the
administration of the quota shares allocated to that
economic union may be carried out by any of its
members ,
later date the requirements of the Member States which
have used up their initial quota shares ; whereas , in order to
give importers in each Member State a certain degree of
security , the first instalment of the Community quota
should , under the circumstances , be fixed at 50 % of the
quota volume ;
Whereas the Member States' initial shares may be used up
at different times ; whereas , in order to take this fact into
account and avoid any break in continuity , any Member
State which has almost used up its initial quota share
should draw an additional share from the reserve ; whereas
this must be done by each Member State as and when each
of its additional shares is almost used up , and repeated as
many times as the reserve allows ; whereas the initial and
additional shares must be valid until the end of the quota
period ; whereas this method of administration requires
close cooperation between the Member States and the
Commission , and the latter must be in a position to
monitor the extent to which the quota volume has been
used up and to inform the Member States thereof;
Whereas , if, at a given date in the quota period , a
substantial quantity of an initial share remains unused in
any Member State , it is essential that that Member State
should return a significant proportion to the reserve to
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION :
Article 1
From 1 January 1987 until the conclusion or the exchange
of letters referred to in Article 18 of the Cooperation
Agreement between the European Economic Community
and the Republic of Tunisia or until such time as
Community import arrangements are applied or until
31 December 1987 , whichever shall be the earliest , the
customs duty applicable , on import into the Community of
Ten , for the following products shall be suspended at the
level and within the limits of a Community tariff quota as
follows :
Order
No
CCT
heading
No
Description
Quota volume
( in tonnes )
Quota
duty
( % )
09.1201 16.04 D Prepared or preserved sardines , originating in Tunisia 100 free
Article 2
1 . The tariff quota referred to in Article 1 shall be divided
into two instalments .
2 . A first instalment , amounting to 50 tonnes of the
Community tariff quota referred to in Article 1 , shall be
allocated among the Member States ; the shares , which
subject to Article 5 shall be valid until the end of the period
specified in Article 1 , shall be as follows :
Article 3
1 . If 90 % or more of a Member State's initial share as
specified in Article 2 ( 2 ), or 90 % of that share minus the
portion returned to the reserve where Article 5 has been
applied , has been used up , then , to the extent permitted by
the amount of the reserve , that Member State shall
forthwith , by notifying the Commission , draw a second
share equal to 15 % of its initial share , rounded up where
necessary to the next unit .
2 . If, after one of its initial shares has been used up , 90 %
or more of the second share drawn by a Member State has
been used up , then , to the extent permitted by the amount
of the reserve , that Member State shall , in accordance with
the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 , draw a third
share equal to 7,5 % of its initial share , rounded up where
necessary to the next unit .
3 . If , after one of its second shares has been used up ,
90 % or more of the third share drawn by a Member State
has been used up , that Member State shall , in accordance
with the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 , draw a
fourth share equal to the third .
(tonnes)
4
2
8
1
25
1
1
8
Benelux
Denmark
Germany
Greece
France
Ireland
Italy
United Kingdom
3 . The second instalment of 50 tonnes shall constitute the
reserve .
31 . 12 . 86 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 380 / 29
It shall ensure that the drawing which exhausts any reserve
does not exceed the balance available and , to this end ,
notify the amount of that balance to the Member State
making the last drawing .
Article 7
1 . The Member States shall take all measures necessary to
ensure that additional shares drawn pursuant to Article 3
are opened in such a way that imports may be charged
without interruption against their accummulated shares of
the tariff quota .
2 . The Member States shall ensure that importers of the
products in question have free access to the shares allocated
to them .
3 . The extent to which a Member State has used up its
shares shall be determined on the basis of the imports of
the products in question originating in Tunisia and entered
with customs authorities for free circulation .
This process shall continue until the reserve is used up .
4 . By way of derogation from paragraphs 1 , 2 and 3 , a
Member State may draw shares smaller than those fixed in
those paragraphs if there is reason to believe that they
might not be used up . It shall inform the Commission of its
reasons for applying this paragraph .
Article 4
The additional shares drawn pursuant to Article 3 shall be
valid until the end of the period specified in Article 1 .
Article 5
The Member States shall return to the reserve , not later
than 1 October 1987 , such unused portion of their initial
share as , on 15 September 1987 , is in excess of 20 % of the
initial volume . They may return a larger quantity if there
are grounds for believing that this quantity may not be
used .
The Member States shall notify the Commission , not later
than 1 October 1987 of the total quantities of the products
in question imported up to 15 September 1987 and charged
against the tariff quota and of any quantity of the initial
shares returned to the reserve .
Article 6
The Commission shall keep an account of the shares
opened by the Member States pursuant to Articles 2 and 3
and , as soon as it is notified , shall inform each Member
State of the extent to which the reserve has been used up .
It shall inform the Member States , not later than 5 October
1987 , of the amount in the reserve after quantities have
been returned thereto pursuant to Article 5 .
Article 8
At the Commission's request , the Member States shall
inform it of imports of the products concerned actually
charged against their shares .
Article 9
The Member States and the Commission shall cooperate
closely to ensure that this Regulation is complied with .
Article 10
This Regulation shall enter into force on 1 January 1987 .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States .
Done at Brussels , 22 December 1986 .
For the Council
The President
G. HOWE
Full & Egal Universal Law Academy