Council Regulation (EC) No 2266/2004

of 20 December 2004

on trade in certain steel products between the Community and Ukraine

THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 133 thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission,

Whereas:

(1) Partnership and Cooperation Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, and Ukraine [1], provides that trade in some steel products are to be subject to a specific Agreement on quantitative arrangements.

(2) The previous bilateral Agreement between the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the Government of Ukraine on trade in certain steel products expired on 31 December 2001.

(3) The Community has taken over the international obligations of the ECSC since the expiry of the ECSC Treaty, and measures relating to trade in steel products with third countries now fall under the competence of the Community in the field of trade policy.

(4) Preliminary discussions between the Parties indicate that both of them intend to conclude a new Agreement for 2005 and subsequent years.

(5) Pending the signature and entry into force of the new Agreement, quantitative limits for the year 2005 should be established.

(6) Given that the conditions that led to the fixing of the quantitative limits for 2004 remain in place, it is appropriate to set the quantitative limits for 2005 at the same level as for 2004, albeit by taking fully into account the EU enlargement.

(7) It is necessary to provide the means to administer this regime within the Community in such a way as to facilitate the implementation of the new Agreement by envisaging as far as possible similar provisions.

(8) It is necessary to ensure that the origin of the products in question is checked and appropriate methods of administrative cooperation are set up to this end.

(9) Products placed in a free zone or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system) should not be counted against the limits established for the products in question.

(10) The effective application of this Regulation calls for the introduction of a requirement for a Community import licence for the entry into free circulation in the Community of the products in question.

(11) In order to ensure that these quantitative limits are not exceeded, it is necessary to establish a management procedure whereby the competent authorities of the Member States do not issue import licences before obtaining confirmation from the Commission that appropriate amounts remain available within the quantitative limit in question,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. This Regulation shall apply from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2005 to imports into the Community of steel products listed in Annex I originating in Ukraine.

2. The steel products shall be classified in product groups as set out in Annex I.

3. The classification of products listed in Annex I shall be based on the combined nomenclature (CN) established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff [2].

4. The origin of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined in accordance with the rules in force in the Community.

Article 2

1. The importation into the Community of the steel products listed in Annex I originating in Ukraine shall be subject to the quantitative limits laid down in Annex V. The release for free circulation in the Community of the products set out in Annex I originating in Ukraine shall be subject to the presentation of a certificate of origin set out in Annex II, and of an import licence issued by the Member States' authorities in accordance with the provisions of Article 4.

2. In order to ensure that quantities for which import licences are issued do not exceed at any moment the total quantitative limits for each product group, the competent authorities listed in Annex IV shall issue import licences only upon confirmation by the Commission that there are still quantities available within the quantitative limits for the relevant product group of steel products in respect of the supplier country, for which an importer or importers have submitted applications to the said authorities.

3. The authorised imports shall be counted against the quantitative limits laid down for the year in which the products are shipped in the exporting country. Shipment of products shall be considered as having taken place on the date on which they were loaded onto the exporting means of transport.

Article 3

1. The quantitative limits referred to in Annex V shall not apply to products placed in a free zone or free warehouse or imported under the arrangements governing customs warehouses, temporary importation or inward processing (suspension system).

2. Where the products referred to in paragraph 1 are subsequently released for free circulation, either in the unaltered state or after working or processing, Article 2(2) shall apply and the products so released shall be counted against the relevant quantitative limit set out in Annex V.

Article 4

1. For the purpose of applying Article 2(2), before issuing import licences, the competent authorities of the Member States listed in Annex IV shall notify the Commission of the amounts of the requests for import licences, supported by original export licences, which they have received. By return, the Commission shall notify whether the requested amount(s) of quantities are available for importation in the chronological order in which the notifications of the Member States are received ("first come, first served basis").

2. The requests included in the notifications to the Commission shall be valid if they establish clearly in each case the exporting country, the product code concerned, the amounts to be imported, the number of the export licence, the quota year and the Member State in which the products are intended to be put into free circulation.

3. As far as possible, the Commission shall confirm to the authorities the full amount indicated in the requests notified for each group of products.

4. The competent authorities shall notify the Commission immediately after being informed of any quantity that is not used during the duration of validity of the import licence. Such unused quantities shall automatically be transferred into the remaining quantities of the total Community quantitative limit for each product group.

5. The notifications referred to in paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be communicated electronically within the integrated network set up for this purpose, unless for imperative technical reasons it is necessary to use other means of communication temporarily.

6. The import licences or equivalent documents shall be issued in accordance with Articles 12 to 16.

7. The competent authorities of the Member States shall notify the Commission of any cancellation of import licences or equivalent documents already issued in cases where the corresponding export licences have been withdrawn or cancelled by the competent Ukrainian authorities. However, if the Commission or the competent authorities of a Member State have been informed by the competent Ukrainian authorities of the withdrawal or cancellation of an export licence after the related products have been imported into the Community, the quantities in question shall be set off against the quantitative limit for the year during which the shipment of products took place.

Article 5

1. Where the Commission has indications that products listed in Annex I originating in Ukraine have been transhipped, rerouted or otherwise imported into the Community through circumvention of the quantitative limits referred to in Article 2 and that there is a need for the necessary adjustments to be made, it shall request that consultations be opened so that agreement may be reached on the necessary adjustment of the corresponding quantitative limits to be made.

2. Pending the outcome of the consultations referred to in paragraph 1, the Commission may ask Ukraine to take the necessary precautionary steps to ensure that adjustments to the quantitative limits agreed upon following such consultations may be carried out.

3. Should the Community and Ukraine fail to reach a satisfactory solution and should the Commission note that there is clear evidence of circumvention, the Commission shall deduct from the quantitative limits an equivalent volume of products originating in Ukraine.

Article 6

1. An export licence (to be issued by the competent Ukrainian authorities) shall be required in respect of any consignment of steel products subject to the quantitative limits laid down in Annex V up to the level of the said limits.

2. The original of the export licence shall be presented by the importer for the purposes of the issue of the import licence referred to in Article 12.

Article 7

1. The export licence for quantitative limits shall conform to the specimen set out in Annex II and shall certify, inter alia, that the quantity of goods in question has been set off against the quantitative limit established for the product group concerned.

2. Each export licence shall cover only one of the product groups listed in Annex I.

Article 8

Exports shall be set off against the quantitative limits established for the year in which the products covered by the export licence have been shipped within the meaning of Article 2(3).

Article 9

1. The export licence referred to in Article 6 may include additional copies duly indicated as such. The export licence and the copies thereof as well as the certificate of origin and the copies thereof shall be drawn up in English.

2. If the documents referred to in paragraph 1 are completed by hand, entries must be in ink and in block letters.

3. The export licences or equivalent documents shall measure 210 × 297 mm. The paper shall be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 25 g/m2. Each part shall have a printed guilloche pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye.

4. Only the original shall be accepted by the competent authorities in the Community as being valid for import purposes in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.

5. Each export licence or equivalent document shall bear a standardized serial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified.

6. This number shall be composed of the following elements:

- two letters identifying the exporting country as follows:

UAUkraine

- two letters identifying the Member State of intended destination as follows:

BEBelgiumCZCzech RepublicDKDenmarkDEGermanyEEEstoniaELGreeceESSpainFRFranceIEIrelandITItalyCYCyprusLVLatviaLTLithuaniaLULuxembourgHUHungaryMTMaltaNLNetherlandsATAustriaPLPolandPTPortugalSISloveniaSKSlovakiaFIFinlandSESwedenGBUnited Kingdom,

- a one-digit number identifying the quota year corresponding to the last figure in the year in question, e.g. "4" for 2004;

- a two-digit number identifying the issuing office in the exporting country;

- a five-digit number running consecutively from 00001 to 99999 allocated to the specific Member State of destination.

Article 10

The export licence may be issued after the shipment of the products to which it relates. In such cases it shall bear the endorsement "issued retrospectively".

Article 11

In the event of the theft, loss or destruction of an export licence, the exporter may apply to the competent authority which issued the document for a duplicate to be made out on the basis of the export documents in his possession. The duplicate licence issued in this way shall bear the endorsement "duplicate".

The duplicate shall bear the date of the original licence.

Article 12

1. To the extent that the Commission, pursuant to Article 4, has confirmed that the amount requested is available within the quantitative limit in question, the competent authorities of the Member States shall issue an import licence within a maximum of five working days of the presentation by the importer of the original of the corresponding export licence. This presentation must be effected not later than 31 March of the year following that in which the goods covered by the licence have been shipped. Import licences shall be issued by the competent authorities of any Member State irrespective of the Member State indicated on the export licence, to the extent that the Commission, pursuant to Article 4, has confirmed that the amount requested is available within the quantitative limit in question.

2. The import licences shall be valid for four months from the date of their issue. Upon duly motivated request by an importer, the competent authorities of a Member State may extend the duration of validity for a further period not exceeding four months.

3. Import licences shall be drawn up in the form set out in Annex III and shall be valid throughout the customs territory of the Community.

4. The declaration or request made by the importer in order to obtain the import licence shall contain:

(a) the full name and address of the exporter;

(b) the full name and address of the importer;

(c) the exact description of the goods and the TARIC code(s);

(d) the country of origin of the goods;

(e) the country of consignment;

(f) the appropriate product group and the quantity for the products in question;

(g) the net weight by TARIC heading;

(h) the cif value of the products at Community frontier by TARIC heading;

(i) whether the products concerned are seconds or of substandard quality;

(j) where appropriate, dates of payment and delivery and a copy of the bill of lading and of the purchase contract;

(k) date and number of the export licence;

(l) any internal code used for administrative purposes;

(m) date and signature of importer.

5. Importers shall not be obliged to import the total quantity covered by an import licence in a single consignment.

Article 13

The validity of import licences issued by the authorities of the Member States shall be subject to the validity of export licences and the quantities indicated in the export licences issued by the competent Ukrainian authorities on the basis of which the import licences have been issued.

Article 14

Import licences or equivalent documents shall be issued by the competent authorities of the Member States in accordance with Article 2(2) and without discrimination to any importer in the Community wherever the place of his establishment may be in the Community, without prejudice to compliance with other conditions required under the current rules.

Article 15

1. If the Commission finds that the total quantities covered by export licences issued by Ukraine for a particular product group exceed the quantitative limit established for that product group, the competent licence authorities in the Member States shall be informed immediately in order to suspend the further issue of import licences. In this event, consultations shall be initiated forthwith by the Commission.

2. The competent authorities of a Member State shall refuse to issue import licences for products originating in Ukraine which are not covered by export licenses issued in accordance with the provisions of Articles 6 to 11.

Article 16

1. The forms to be used by the competent authorities of the Member States for issuing the import licences referred to in Article 12 shall conform to the specimen of the import licence set out in Annex III.

2. Import licence forms and extracts thereof shall be drawn up in duplicate, one copy, marked "Holder's copy" and bearing the number 1 to be issued to the applicant, and the other, marked "Copy for the issuing authority" and bearing the number 2, to be kept by the authority issuing the licence. For administrative purposes, the competent authorities may add additional copies to form 2.

3. Forms shall be printed on white paper free of mechanical pulp, dressed for writing and weighing between 55 and 65 g/m2. Their size shall be 210 × 297 mm; the type space between the lines shall be 4,24 mm (one sixth of an inch); the layout of the forms shall be followed precisely. Both sides of copy No 1, which is the licence itself, shall in addition have a red printed guilloche pattern background so as to reveal any falsification by mechanical or chemical means.

4. Member States shall be responsible for having the forms printed. The forms may also be printed by printers appointed by the Member State in which they are established. In the latter case, reference to the appointment by the Member State must appear on each form. Each form shall bear an identification of the printer's name and address or a mark enabling the printer to be identified.

5. At the time of their issue the import licences or extracts shall be given an issue number determined by the competent authorities of the Member State. The import licence number shall be notified to the Commission electronically within the integrated network set up under Article 4.

6. Licences and extracts shall be completed in the official language, or one of the official languages, of the Member State of issue.

7. In box 10 the competent authorities shall indicate the appropriate steel product group.

8. The marks of the issuing agencies and debiting authorities shall be applied by means of a stamp. However, an embossing press combined with letters or figures obtained by means of perforation, or printing on the licence may be substituted for the issuing authority's stamp. The issuing authorities shall use any tamper-proof method to record the quantity allocated in such a way as to make it impossible to insert figures or references.

9. The reverse of copy No 1 and copy No 2 shall bear a box in which quantities may be entered, either by the customs authorities when import formalities are completed, or by the competent administrative authorities when an extract is issued. If the space set aside for debits on a licence or extract thereof is insufficient, the competent authorities may attach one or more extension pages bearing boxes matching those on the reverse of copy No 1 and copy No 2 of the licence or extract. The debiting authorities shall so place their stamp that one half is on the licence or extract thereof and the other half is on the extension page. If there is more than one extension page, a further stamp shall be placed in like manner across each page and the preceding page.

10. Import licences and extracts issued, and entries and endorsements made, by the authorities of one Member State shall have the same legal effect in each of the other Member States as documents issued, and entries and endorsements made, by the authorities of such Member States.

11. The competent authorities of the Member States concerned may, where indispensable, require the contents of licences or extracts to be translated into the official language or one of the official languages of that Member State.

Article 17

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

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

Done at Brussels, 20 December 2004.

For the Council

The President

P. van Geel

--------------------------------------------------

[1] OJ L 49, 19.2.1998, p. 3.

[2] OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1989/2004 (OJ L 344, 20.11.2004, p. 5).

--------------------------------------------------

+++++ ANNEX 1 +++++
+++++ ANNEX 2 +++++
+++++ ANNEX 3 +++++
+++++ ANNEX 4 +++++
+++++ ANNEX 5 +++++