Opening and management of tariff quotas
1. Tariff quotas for the import of processed agricultural products and of agricultural products referred to in the second paragraph of Article 1, for their release into free circulation in the Union, resulting from international agreements concluded or provisionally applied by the Union in accordance with the TFEU shall be opened and managed by the Commission in accordance with Articles 15 and 16.
2. The tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1 shall be managed in a manner which avoids any discrimination between operators and which gives due weight to the supply requirements of the Union market and the need to preserve the equilibrium of that market.
3. The tariff quotas referred to in paragraph 1 shall be managed by applying one of the following methods, another appropriate method, or a combination of any of them:
(a)
a method of allocation based on the chronological order of the submission of applications (‘first come, first served principle’);
(b)
a method of allocation of quotas in proportion to the quantities requested in the applications (‘simultaneous examination method’);
(c)
a method of allocation based on traditional trade patterns (‘traditional/newcomers method’).
Delegated powers
1. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 42, concerning:
(a)
the conditions and eligibility requirements that an operator is required to fulfil in order to submit an application within the tariff quota set out in an international agreement, as referred to in Article 14(1);
(b)
the rules on the transfer of rights between operators and, where necessary, the limitations on that transfer within the management of the tariff quota, set out in an international agreement, as referred to in Article 14(1);
(c)
the provisions making the participation in the tariff quota set out in an international agreement, as referred to in Article 14(1), subject to the presentation of an import licence and to the lodging of a security;
(d)
the specific characteristics, the requirements or the restrictions applicable to the tariff quota set out in the international agreement, as referred to in Article 14(1).
2. The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts, in accordance with Article 42, requiring the competent authorities of Member States, on request and after carrying out appropriate checks, to issue a document certifying that a product fulfils the conditions for benefitting from special treatment on importation into a third country.
Implementing powers
1. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts, laying down:
(a)
the annual tariff quotas, which shall, if necessary, be suitably phased in over the year, and the method of administration to be used;
(b)
procedures for the application of the specific provisions laid down in the international agreement or legal act adopting the import or export regime, in particular those concerning:
(i)
guarantees covering the nature, provenance and origin of the product;
(ii)
the recognition of any document used to verify the guarantees referred to in point (i);
(iii)
the presentation of a document issued by the exporting country;
(iv)
the destination and use of the products;
(c)
the period of validity of the import licences to be presented in accordance with Article 15(1)(c);
(d)
the procedure for lodging a security in accordance with Article 15(1)(c), and its amount;
(e)
the use of import licences to be presented in accordance with Article 15(1)(c) and where necessary, specific measures relating, in particular, to the conditions under which applications for importation shall be submitted and authorisation granted within the tariff quota;
(f)
documentary requirements;
(g)
necessary measures concerning the content, form, issuing and use of the document referred to in Article 15(2).
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 44(2).
2. The Commission shall adopt implementing acts, without applying the procedure referred to in Article 44(2) or (3):
(a)
managing the process guaranteeing that the quantities available within the tariff quota are not exceeded, in particular by fixing an allocation coefficient to each application when the available quantities are reached, rejecting pending applications and, where necessary, suspending the submission of applications;
(b)
reallocating unused quantities of the tariff quota.
