(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 196/97 (3) of 31 January 1997 lays down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EC) No 2184/96 concerning imports into the Community of rice originating in and coming from Egypt. Since its entry into force, horizontal or sectoral implementing regulations, that is, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products (4), Commission Regulation (EC) No 1342/2003 of 28 July 2003 laying down special detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences for cereals and rice (5), and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006 of 31 August 2006 laying down common rules for the administration of import tariff quotas for agricultural products managed by a system of import licences (6), have been adopted or amended, and must be taken into account in respect of the quota opened by Regulation (EC) No 196/97.

(2)

Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006 lays down in particular detailed rules for applications for import licences, the status of applicants and the issue of licences. It applies without prejudice to additional conditions or derogations laid down by the sectoral regulations. For the sake of clarity, therefore, the administration of the Community tariff quotas for imports of rice originating in Egypt should be adapted by adopting a new regulation and repealing Regulation (EC) No 196/97.

(3)

Article 1 of Regulation (EC) No 2184/96 opens an overall tariff quota of 32 000 tonnes of rice falling within CN code 1006 originating in Egypt per marketing year. The customs duty is that provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003, in accordance with Articles 11, 11a, 11b, 11c and 11d thereof, reduced by an amount equal to 25 % of the value of that duty. Taking into account the potential application of different customs duties, the conditions for the application of the 25 % reduction should be laid down.

(4)

In the interests of sound administration of the quota, it is necessary to allow operators to submit more than one licence application per quota period and therefore to derogate from Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006. For the same reason, the specific rules which apply to the drawing up of licence applications, their issue, their period of validity and the notification of information to the Commission should be laid down, as should suitable administrative measures in order to ensure that the volume of the quota fixed is not exceeded. In any event, under Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006 licences are valid only up to and including the last day of the tariff quota period. Moreover, in order to improve controls on this quota and to simplify its administration, provision should be made for import licence applications to be submitted on a weekly basis, and the security should be fixed at a level appropriate to the risks involved.

(5)

The rules applicable to the transport document and the proof of preferential origin on release for free circulation of the product are set out in Protocol 4 to Council Decision 2004/635/EC of 21 April 2004 on the conclusion of a Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Arab Republic of Egypt, of the other part (7). Detailed rules for implementing those provisions should be laid down for the quota in question.

(6)

These measures should apply from the start of the next marketing year, that is, 1 September 2007.

(7)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals,

(a)

no later than the first working day following the final day for the submission of licence applications, by 18.00 (Brussels time), the information on the import licence applications referred to in Article 11(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006, with a breakdown by eight-digit CN code of the total quantities covered by those applications;

(b)

no later than the second working day following the issue of the import licences, information on the licences issued, as referred to in Article 11(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1301/2006, with a breakdown by eight-digit CN code of the total quantities for which import licences have been issued and the quantities for which licence applications have been withdrawn in accordance with the third paragraph of Article 3(3);

(c)

no later than the last day of each month, the total quantities actually released for free circulation under this quota during the previous month but one, broken down by eight-digit CN code. If no quantities have been released for free circulation during one of these months, a ‘nil’ notification shall be sent. However, this notification shall no longer be required in the third month following the final day of validity of the licences.