
Article 1 
For the purposes of this Regulation:

((a)) ‘Community of Fifteen’ means the Community as constituted on 30 April 2004;
((b)) ‘new Member States’ means the Czech Republic, Estonia, Cyprus, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovenia and Slovakia;
((c)) ‘the enlarged Community’ means the Community as constituted on 1 May 2004;
((d)) ‘primary import’ means the economic operation defined in the first subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 with a view to sale in one or more new Member States;
((e)) ‘minimum quantity’ means the minimum quantity defined in the third subparagraph of Article 3(1) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 established on the basis of all primary imports carried out with a view to supplying the markets of the new Member States;
((f)) ‘competent authorities’ means the competent authorities listed in the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 896/2001.
Article 2 
This Regulation adopts, for 2005, the transitional measures needed to facilitate the transition from the arrangements in force in the new Member States prior to their accession to the Community of Fifteen to the tariff quota import arrangements introduced by Regulations (EEC) No 404/93 and (EC) No 896/2001.
Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall apply subject to this Regulation.
Article 3 

1. A quantity of 460 000 tonnes, net weight, shall be available for imports of bananas into the new Member States in 2005.This quantity shall be available for imports of products from the origins referred to in Article 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 404/93.Imports covered by that quantity shall be subject to the duties fixed in Article 18(2) of the above Regulation.
2. The quantity fixed in paragraph 1 may be increased if a growth in demand is observed in the new Member States.
Article 4 

1. Access to the additional quantity fixed in Article 3 shall be open to traditional operators and non-traditional operators established in the enlarged Community who meet the requirements of Article 5 or Article 6, as the case may be.
2. Quantities of 381 800 tonnes shall be available to traditional operators and 78 200 tonnes to non-traditional operators.
Article 5 

1. Without prejudice to paragraph 4, for 2005 the specific reference quantity of each traditional operator referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 838/2004 and registered in 2004 in accordance with that Regulation, shall be determined, on written application submitted by the operator no later than 12 November 2004, on the basis of the average of primary imports of bananas carried out in the three-year period 2000-2002 established on the basis of the supporting documents provided for in Article 6(2) and the first subparagraph of Article 6(4) of Regulation (EC) No 414/2004.
2. Non-registered operators in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 838/2004 meeting the requirements laid down in Article 6(1) thereof shall send the competent authorities of the Member State of their choice a written application for allocation of a specific reference quantity for 2005. This application, submitted no later than 12 November 2004, shall indicate:
(a) for 2000, 2001 and 2002, the quantities of primary imports of bananas carried out and followed by release for free circulation in the new Member States; and
(b) the respective quantities released for free circulation in the various new Member States for each of the years concerned.To be accepted, this application shall be accompanied by the supporting documents referred to in Article 6(2) and (4), first subparagraph, of Regulation (EC) No 414/2004.The competent authorities shall give a specific reference quantity based on the average of primary imports carried out during the above period.
3. The Member States shall notify the Commission no later than 26 November 2004 of the sum of the specific reference quantities for traditional operators established in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2.
4. In the light of the notifications under paragraph 3 and the available quantity fixed in Article 4(2), the Commission shall, if necessary, set an adjustment coefficient to be applied to the specific reference quantity of each traditional operator.
5. The competent authorities shall inform each operator of its reference quantity, as adjusted where necessary by the adjustment coefficient referred to in paragraph 4, no later than 10 December 2004.
Article 6 

1. Operators meeting the requirements laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 who have been engaged in the commercial activity of importing fresh bananas falling within CN code 0803 00 19 into one or more of the new Member States with a declared customs value of EUR 1 200 000 or more during either 2002, 2003 or 2004 may submit an application for registration in the Member State of their choice with a view to the issue of import licences under the additional quantity.The application for registration shall be accompanied by the supporting documents referred to in Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001.
2. In order to have their registration renewed, non-traditional operators registered in 2004 in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 838/2004 shall provide the competent authorities of the Member State of registration with proof that they have actually imported on their own account at least 50 % of the quantity allocated to them for the period 1 May to 31 December 2004.To be accepted, applications for renewal of the registration shall be accompanied by copies of import licences used and proof of payment of the customs duties due on the date of the completion of customs import formalities.
3. Operators shall address their application for registration or application for renewal of a registration to the competent authorities of the Member State of their choice.To be accepted, applications for registration or for renewal of the registration shall be accompanied by an application for a specific allocation, as well as proof that the security referred to in Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 has been lodged.To be accepted, applications for a specific allocation may not cover a quantity greater than 12,5 % of the total quantity allocated to non-traditional operators fixed in Article 4(2).Applications shall be submitted no later than 12 November 2004.
4. By 26 November 2004, the Member States shall notify the Commission of:
— the total quantity covered by applications for specific allocations submitted by non-traditional operators,
— the list of operators who have submitted requests for registration and for renewal of registration, and in the case of renewals the serial numbers of licences or any licence extracts, used and issued.
5. In the light of the Member States' notifications under paragraph 4 and the quantity fixed in Article 4(2), the Commission shall, if necessary, set an adjustment coefficient to be applied to the application for a specific allocation made by each non-traditional operator.
6. The competent authorities shall inform each non-traditional operator of its specific allocation no later than 10 December 2004.
Article 7 

1. Import licences, hereinafter referred to as ‘accession licences’, shall be issued only for the release for free circulation in a new Member State.
2. Licence applications shall bear the words: ‘accession licence’, ‘traditional operator’ or ‘non-traditional operator’, as the case may be, and ‘Regulation (EC) No 1892/2004. Licence only valid in a new Member State’.These entries shall appear in Box 20 of the licence.
Article 8 

1. Notwithstanding Article 15 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001, for the first quarter of 2005 licence applications shall be submitted no later than 17 December 2004.
2. To be accepted, applications for licences submitted by a single operator must not exceed a total quantity greater than:
(a) 27 % of the specific reference quantity notified in accordance with Article 5(5), in the case of traditional operators;
(b) 27 % of the specific allocation notified in accordance with Article 6(6), in the case of non-traditional operators.The competent national authorities shall issue import licences immediately.
3. Import licences issued under this Article shall be valid from the day of issue and shall expire on 7 April 2005.
Article 9 

1. Securities against the import licences of traditional operators as provided for in Article 24 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall be released in proportion to the quantities released for free circulation in a new Member State.
2. Securities against the allocations of non-traditional operators as provided for in Article 8(2) of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001 shall be released in proportion to the quantities actually released for free circulation in a new Member State on the terms laid down in that Article.
Article 10 
Notwithstanding Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No 896/2001:

1.. Unused quantities covered by an accession licence may be reallocated to the same operator — whether holder or transferee — upon application, for use in a subsequent period. Such reallocation shall apply to bananas imported under the additional quantity.
2.. Reallocation licence applications and licences shall bear the following words in Box 20: ‘Reallocation licence’, ‘traditional operator’ or ‘non-traditional operator’, as the case may be, and ‘Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 1892/2004. Licence only valid in a new Member State’.
Article 11 
Rights arising under accession licences covered by the additional quantity shall be transferable to a single transferee operator.
Rights may be transferred only:

— between traditional operators as referred to in Article 5,
— from a traditional operator as referred to in Article 5 to a non-traditional operator as referred to in Article 6, or
— between non-traditional operators as referred to in Article 6.
Article 12 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 29 October 2004.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission