COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1713/97 of 3 September 1997 derogating from Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 in respect of the definition of the concept of originating products used for the purposes of the scheme of generalized preferences to take account of the special situation of Laos regarding certain exports of textiles to the Community

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12 October 1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 82/97 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2), and in particular Article 249 thereof,

Having regard to Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 of 2 July 1993 (3), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1427/97 (4), laying down provisions for the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code, and in particular Article 76 thereof,

Whereas, by Council Regulation (EC) No 3281/94 of 19 December 1994 applying a four-year scheme of generalized tariff preferences (1995 to 1998) in respect of certain industrial products originating in developing countries (5), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 998/97 (6) the Community gave such preferences to Laos;

Whereas Articles 67 et seq. of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 establish the definition of the concept of originating products to be used for the purposes of generalized tariff preferences; whereas Article 76 of the Regulation provides however, for derogations to those provisions in favour of least-developed GSP beneficiary countries which submit an appropriate request to that effect to the Community;

Whereas the Government of Laos has applied for such a derogation in respect of certain textile products; whereas at the Community's request Laos has provided the requisite additional economic information;

Whereas the request submitted by Laos satisfies the requirements of Article 76; whereas in particular the introduction of quantitative conditions (on annual basis) reflecting the Community market's capacity to absorb the Lao products, Laos's export capacity and actual recorded trade flows is such as to prevent injury to the corresponding branches of Community industry;

Whereas in order to encourage regional cooperation among beneficiary countries it is desirable to provide that the raw materials to be used in Laos in the context of this derogation should originate in countries belonging to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) (except Myanmar), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) or the Lomé Convention;

Whereas any demand to extend application of the derogation beyond the quantities provided for must be considered in consultation with the Lao authorities;

Whereas the derogation may not in any case apply beyond 31 December 1998, when the current scheme of generalized tariff preferences for industrial products expires;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation is in conformity with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee (Origin Section),

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. By way of derogation from Articles 67 et seq. of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93, products listed in the annex to this Regulation which are manufactured in Laos from woven fabric (woven items) or yarn (knitted items) imported into that country and originating in a country belonging to the Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) (except Myanmar), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) or the Lomé Convention shall be regarded as originating in Laos in accordance with the arrangements set out below.

2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, products shall be considered as originating in Asean or SAARC when they are obtained in these countries according to the rules of origin provided in Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93, or as originating in the beneficiary countries of the Lomé Convention when they are obtained in these countries according to the rules of origin provided in Protocol No 1 to the Fourth ACP-EEC Convention (7).

3. The competent authorities of Laos shall undertake to take all of the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the provisions of paragraph 2.

Article 2

The derogation provided for in Article 1 shall apply to products, imported into the Community from Laos during the period from 1 August 1997 to 31 December 1998, up to the annual quantities listed in the Annex against each product.

Article 3

The quantities referred to in Article 2 shall be managed by the Commission, which may take any appropriate administrative measures to ensure that they are managed efficiently.

Where an importer presents a declaration for release for free circulation in a Member State, applying to take advantage of the provisions of this Regulation, and the declaration is accepted by the customs authorities, the Member State concerned shall notify the Commission and draw an amount corresponding to its requirements.

Requests for drawings, indicating the date on which the declarations were accepted, shall be sent to the Commission without delay.

Drawings shall be granted by the Commission by reference to the date on which the customs authorities of the Member State concerned accepted the declaration for release for free circulation, to the extent that the available balance so permits.

If a Member State does not use the amount drawn it shall return it as soon as possible to the corresponding quantity.

If the amounts requested are greater than the available balance of the quantity in question, the balance shall be allocated among applicants pro rata. The Commission shall inform the Member States of the drawings made.

Each Member State shall ensure that importers of the products in question have equal and continuous access to the quantities for as long as the balance of the relevant quantity so permits.

Article 4

When drawings under Article 3 account for 80 % of the quantities shown in the Annex, the Commission, in consultation with the Lao authorities, shall consider whether it is necessary to extend application of the derogation beyond those quantities.

Article 5

The following shall be entered in box 4 of certificates of origin Form A issued under this Regulation:

'Derogation - Regulation (EC) No 1713/97`

Article 6

In case of doubt, the Member States may demand a copy of the document certifying the origin of the materials used in Laos under this derogation. Such a demand may be made at the time of entry into free circulation of the goods benefiting from the provisions of this Regulation, or within the framework of the administrative cooperation for which provision is made in Article 94 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93.

Article 7

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

It shall apply from 1 August 1997.

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

Done at Brussels, 3 September 1997.

For the Commission

Mario MONTI

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.

(2) OJ L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. 1.

(3) OJ L 253, 11. 10. 1993, p. 1.

(4) OJ L 196, 24. 7. 1997, p. 31.

(5) OJ L 348, 31. 12. 1994, p. 1.

(6) OJ L 144, 4. 6. 1997, p. 13.

(7) OJ L 229, 17. 8. 1991, p. 1.

ANNEX

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