WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/LIC/N/3/EEC/3/Add.25
14 December 2000
(00-5446)
Committee on Import Licensing Original:  English
REPLIES TO THE QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES1
Notification under Article 7.3 of the Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures
EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
Addendum
Import Licensing Procedures for WTO Tariff Quota for Bananas
Outline of systems
1. The object of the import licensing system is to ensure a sound administration of the EC’s
WTO tariff rate quota for 2,200,000 tonnes (net weight) of fresh bananas, other than plantains of tariff
heading 0803 00 12.  The relevant legislation related to the import licensing system for this WTO
tariff quota is mentioned in reply 5.  As regards the requirements for applicants for import licences seereply 6.
Purpose and coverage of licensing
2. See reply 1.3. The system applies in the European Community to the above-mentioned product originating
in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Colombia, Panama, and other third countries; the quota also includes banana
imports from ACP countries in excess of their traditional quantities.
4. See reply 1. As referred to in reply 1, the licensing system covers the relevant WTO tariff
quota.  The EC considers the method adopted to be the most appropriate to administer this tariff ratequota.
Imports under the tariff quota are subject to the preferential duty rate of 75 euro/t.
5. The relevant legislation for the administration of import licences for the WTO tariff quotas
mentioned in reply 1 is:
Council Regulation (EEC) No 404/93 of 13 February 1993 (OJ L 47) as last amended by
Council Regulation (EC) 1257/99 (OJ L 160) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 of
28 0ctober 1998 (OJ L 293) as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 756/99 (OJ L 98).
The licensing is statutorily required.  The legislation does not leave designation of products to
be subjected to licensing to administrative discretion.  The system cannot be abolished without
legislative approval.
                                                     
1 See G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire.G/LIC/N/3/EEC/3/Add.25
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Procedures
6. Answer to questions 6.I to VIII and to 6. XI.  Questions 6.IX and X are not relevant.
The information related to the allocation of the quotas, the formalities for licence application,
the amount of goods allocated to each country is published in the Official Journal of the European
Communities (see reply 5).  There is no derogation from the licensing requirement.
The tariff quotas are annual tariff quotas, opened on a quarterly basis.The tariff quota is distributed for an amount of 92% to traditional importers and 8% to
newcomers.  As regards traditional importers, the tariff quota is allocated on the basis of imports
made during a reference period.  The registration of traditional operators and the determination of
their reference quantity is conducted on the basis of a written application submitted by operators in
any one Member State.  The competent authority in each Member State determines a single
provisional reference quantity for each traditional operator, on the basis of the average quantities ofbananas actually imported by them during the reference period.   The competent authorities then
notify to the Commission the list of traditional operators they have registered and the total provisional
quantity determined.  The Commission may publish any of the details contained in the notifications
from Member States.  In the light of the informatio n received in the notifications received about the
quantities requested for imports, the Commission, where appropriate, sets a single adjustmentcoefficient to be applied to each operator’s provisional reference quantity.  The competent authority
has then to determine the reference quantity for each operator, applying if need be, the adjustment
coefficient calculated by the Commission and notifies each operator of the reference quantity
allocated to him.
To be registered as a newcomer in the Member States of their choice, operators must be
entered in a commercial register of the Member State and submit evidence that they have been
engaged in the commercial activity of importing fresh fruit and vegetables of HS Chapters 7 and 8 or
products under Chapter 9 thereof  if they have also imported products falling within Chapters 7 and 8
in one of the three years immediately preceding the year in respect of which registration is sought and
by virtue of his activity have undertaken imports to a declared customs value of ECU 400,000 or more
during the period referred to above.
Newcomers may submit only one application for registration in only one Member State of
their choice.  In order to have their registration renewed, operators have to provide the competent
authorities with proof that they have actually imported on their own account at least 50% of the
quantity allocated to them in the current year.  The competent authorities in the Member States haveto notify the Commission of the list of operators who have submitted request for registration and for
renewal of registration.  The Commission may publish any of the details contained in the notification
from Member States.  At the same time as operators concerned apply for registration or renewal of
their registration, they have also to request their annual quota allocation.  To be accepted, such
requests: must cover a quantity greater than 10% of the total quantity allocated annually tonewcomers.  The competent authorities have to send to the Commission a list of the newcomer
operators registered, indicating for each one the annual allocation requested.  The allocation requests
received by the Commission are ranked in ascending order of quantities and an annual allocation is
then determined for each newcomer operator up to a maximum of the individual quantity requested,
arrived at by a process of allocating to all operators the smallest requested quantity remaining in eachround.  The competent authorities in the Member States then notifies each operator of the annual
quantity allocated to him.G/LIC/N/3/EEC/3/Add.25
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The tariff quota is an annual tariff quota, opened on a quarterly basis.  For each quarter of the
year, applications for import licences have to be submitted to the competent authorities in the Member
States in which the operators are registered during the first seven days of the month preceding the
quarter in respect of which the licences are being issued.
Within two working days following the closin g date for the submission of import licence
applications the competent authorities in the Member States have to notify the Commission of the
quantities covered by licence applications.  Where, for a given quarter the quantities applied for
exceed any indicative quantity fixed for the first three quarters of the quota year or exceed the
quantities available a percentage reduction to be applied to the amounts requested is fixed.  The
Commission has to determine the quantities for which licences can be issued for each of the origins
concerned.  The competent authorities in the Member States issue the import licences for thefollowing quarter not later than the 23
rd day of the last month of each quarter.  Unused quantities are
reallocated to the same operator - whether holder or transferee - upon application, for use in a
subsequent quarter but still within the year of is sue of the original licence.  The applicant for an
import licence must approach only one administrative organ.
7. Question 7 related to no quantitative limits is not relevant in the present case.
8. The application for an import licence can only be refused if the relevant criteria are not
fulfilled.  Applicants can appeal to courts in the Me mber States according to the legislation in force in
the respective Member States.
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
9. See reply 6. Applicants must be entered in a VAT register and there is no registration fee.
Documentational and other requirements for application for licence
10. A specimen of the import licence is included  in the EC Regulations set out in answer to
question 10 of the main notification for 2000. Regarding the information required, see the import
licence and Commission Regulation (EC) No 2362/98 of 28 0ctober 1998 (OJ L 293) as last amended
by Commission Regulation (EC) No 756/99 (OJ L 98).
11. The import licence.
12. No.13. The issuance of import licence is subject to a security (18 €/per tonne) in order to guarantee
that the undertaking to import will be fulfilled during the period of validity of the licence.  The
security is released when the obligation to import has been fulfilled and the right to import under the
licence has been exercised, namely on the day the import declaration is accepted and the product
concerned put into free circulation.
Conditions of licensing
14. The term of validity of import licences runs from the date on which they are actually issued
and expires on the seventh day of the fourth month following the month in which they are issued.  The
period of validity cannot be extended.
15. In case of non-utilisation of an import licence, the security is not released.  In the case of
partial use of the import licence, the security is partially released.G/LIC/N/3/EEC/3/Add.25
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16. Import licences are transferable to a single transferee operator on the terms and conditions
laid down in Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No. 1291/2000 and Article 21 of Regulation (EC)
No. 2362/98.
17. The importer must lodge with the competent customs authority and at the time of release into
free circulation a security equal to the specific duty for which exemption is granted under this quota.
This security shall be released on presentation by the importer of proof that the goods have been used
in the manner indicated on the licence.
Other procedural requirements
18. No.19. Not relevant.
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