Introductory text

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 of 29 April 2004^f1, and in particular Article 4(12) thereof,

After consultation of the Line Regulation Committee,

Whereas:

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 provides a special regime for the treatment of goods arriving from the areas not under effective control of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus (hereafter called the Areas) to the areas in which the Government exercises effective control.

The implementation of the regime established by Regulation (EC) No 866/2004, as regards goods other than those that are both wholly obtained in the Areas and compliant with Annex II of that Regulation, is subject to the adoption of specific rules by the Commission pursuant to Article 4(12) of the Regulation. It is however clearly intended that these specific rules should apply to all goods within the remit of the Regulation.

It is necessary to provide detailed rules concerning the form and content of the document to be issued by the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce or by another authorised body and concerning controls with regard to compliance with the applicable rules.

It is also necessary to provide detailed rules concerning obligations of communication for the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce or another authorised body, the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, and the authorities of the Eastern Sovereign Base Area in Cyprus with respect to the nature, the quantities, the destination and the value of the goods for which certificates are established and which cross the line, and also any sanctions applied or import duties levied.

Plant health, food safety and other safety requirements need to be guaranteed. The protection against the introduction into the Community and against the spread within the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products needs to be ensured and detailed rules concerning the issuing of documents related to the checks as referred to in Article 4(4) of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004 have to be established. Pending the establishment of the phytosanitary status of the Areas as regards the relevant harmful organisms listed in Annex I or II to Council Directive 2000/29/EC^f2, specific protective measures or additional checks should be imposed.

For reasons of safety and in order to avoid from the outright any abuse certain categories of goods which are subject to restrictions or measures of commercial defence should be excluded from the scope of application of Regulation No 866/2004.

It should be clarified that in the event of the transfer of goods originating in the Areas to other Member States, these goods must for VAT purposes then be regarded as having been imported into the Republic of Cyprus.

It is also necessary to determine the meaning of emergencies in Article 11(4) of Regulation (EC) No 866/2004,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: