1. This Order may be cited as the Agricultural Levy Reliefs (Frozen Beef and Veal) Order 1988 and shall come into force on 11th March 1988.

2. In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires-

"the Board" means the Intervention Board for Agricultural Produce established under section 6 of the European Communities Act 1972;

"entered for home use" means entered for home use within the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(4) or regulation 13 of the Customs Warehousing Regulations 1979(5);

"international organisations established in the Economic Community" means the following:-

• Delegation of the Commission of European Communities;

• International Coffee Organisation;

• International Labour Organisation;

• International Sugar Council;

• International Wheat Council;

• United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund;

• United Nations Information Centre;

• United Nations High Commission for Refugees;

• Western European Union;

• Commonwealth Secretariat;

"intervention agency" means the Board or any other agency appointed by a Member State of the Economic Community in pursuance of Article 6 of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68(6) on the common organisation of the market in beef and veal;

"licence" means an import licence issued by the Board under the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 805/68, Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 3183/80(7) laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products, and Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/80(8) on special detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences in the beef and veal sector;

"local authorities" means-

"the Minister" means the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;

"the quota" means the Community quota for the levy-free importation of frozen beef and veal provided for by Council Regulation (EEC) No. 234/88(9) opening, allocating and providing for the administration of a Community tariff quota for frozen beef and veal falling within heading 0202 of the combined nomenclature (1988) and for products falling within subheading 0206 29 91 thereof;

"the reference period" means the period from 1st October 1985 to 30th September 1987;

"the Second Lomé Convention" means the second ACP-EEC Convention signed at Lomé on 31st October 1979 between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States of the one part and the Economic Community and its Member States of the other part as set out in Council Regulation (EEC) No. 3225/80(10) and extended by Council Regulations (EEC) Nos. 485/85(11) and 690/86(12);

"the Third Lomé Convention" means the third ACP-EEC Convention signed at Lomé on 8th December 1984 between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States of the one part and the Economic Community and its Member States of the other part as set out in Council and Commission Decision 86/125/EEC/ECSC(13);

3.-(1) The Minister shall determine the allocation of the United Kingdom's share of the quota.

(2) The determination mentioned in paragraph (1) of this article shall be made by the Minister by allocating an amount not exceeding one third of the United Kingdom's share to local authorities and government departments (including Northern Ireland departments) and allocating the remainder to persons established within the United Kingdom as follows:-

(a)as to 70% thereof to importers of frozen beef and veal by reference to the amounts of frozen beef and veal which such importers have imported from outside the Economic Community and entered for home use during the reference period, other than amounts imported free of duty pursuant to the Second Lomé Convention or the Third Lomé Convention;

(b)as to 20% thereof to exporters of fresh, chilled or frozen beef and veal by reference to the amounts of fresh, chilled or frozen beef and veal which such exporters have exported during the reference period from the United Kingdom to countries outside the Economic Community or to one of the following destinations:-

(i)seagoing vessels, or aircraft serving on international routes, including routes between Member States of the Economic Community;

(ii)international organisations established in the Economic Community;

(iii)armed forces stationed in the territory of a Member State but not serving under its flag;

(iv)drilling or extraction platforms, including workpoints providing support services for such operations, situated within the area of the European continental shelf, or within the area of the continental shelf of the non-European part of the Community, but beyond a three mile zone starting from the base line used to determine the width of the territorial sea of a Member State of the Economic Community; and

(c)as to the remaining 10% thereof to purchasers of frozen beef and veal from an intervention agency by reference to the amounts of frozen beef and veal which they have purchased from that intervention agency during the reference period, other than frozen beef and veal sold by that intervention agency on condition that it should be exported from the Economic Community.

(3) For the purposes of this article, the amounts of beef and veal imported, exported or purchased by a person during the reference period shall include any amounts so imported, exported or purchased during that period by any other person whose business relating to such import, export or purchase has been transferred to the first mentioned person.

(4) An allocation under this article shall be made subject to such conditions as appear to the Minister to be expedient to secure the object or prevent abuse of the relief.

4. Any entitlement to relief under the United Kingdom's share of the quota shall be subject to-

(a)the production of the licence in respect of the goods on which relief is sought appropriately endorsed by the Board with a statement that the amount of frozen beef or veal appearing in the licence may be imported free of levy under the quota; and

(b)the observance by the importer of any conditions subject to which the allocation was made.

5. A licence endorsed with the statement referred to in article 4(a) of this Order shall not be issued to an importer unless the Board is satisfied, after taking into account any levy-free imports of beef or veal authorised under previous licences issued to that importer, that the amount of levy-free beef or veal allocated to him in pursuance of this Order will not be exceeded by the import of beef or veal under that licence.

6. Goods shall be treated as forming part of the quota when they are entered for home use under the authority of a licence endorsed with the statement referred to in article 4(a) of this Order.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order, which applies throughout the United Kingdom, requires the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to allocate to persons established within the United Kingdom its share of a quota for the levy-free import of frozen beef and veal under the provisions of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 234/88 (OJ No. L24, 29.1.88, p. 4).

This Order provides that not more than one third of the United Kingdom's share of the quota shall be allocated to local authorities and government departments including Northern Ireland departments (article 3(2)), and that the remainder shall be allocated-

(a)as to 70% thereof, to importers of frozen beef and veal by reference to the amounts of frozen beef and veal which they have imported from outside the European Economic Community into the United Kingdom during the reference period other than amounts imported free of duty pursuant to the Second Lomé Convention, as extended, or to the Third Lomé Convention (article 3(2)(a));

(b)as to 20% thereof, to exporters of fresh, chilled or frozen beef or veal by reference to the amounts of fresh, chilled or frozen beef or veal which they have exported during the reference period to destinations outside the European Economic Community and other similar destinations (article 3(2)(b)); and

(c)as to 10% thereof, to purchasers of frozen beef or veal from an intervention agency by reference to the amounts of frozen beef and veal which they have purchased from that intervention agency during the reference period other than frozen beef and veal sold by that intervention agency on condition that it should be exported from the European Economic Community (article 3(2)(c)).

For the purposes of (a), (b) and (c) above the reference period is the period from 1st October 1985 to 30th September 1987 (article 2) and an allocation to any person is to take account of amounts of beef and veal imported, exported or purchased by a business transferred to that person (article 3(3)).

The Order comes into force on 11th March 1988.