1. Where a quota authorisation remains unused after 6 months of its issuing, the importer shall either notify the Licence Office of its intention to use it within the remainder of the quota period or return the quota authorisation to the relevant Licence Office. Should the importer be unable to retrieve the unused quota authorisation from the authorities of the Russian Federation, it can present instead a corresponding sworn declaration to the Licence Office in the form set out in Annex IV stating its inability to reclaim the unused quota authorisation despite its best efforts. In any case, by the end of quota period n at the latest, the importer shall return any unused quota authorisation or present, if applicable, the corresponding sworn declaration(s) using the form set out in Annex IV. Where a quota authorisation has been issued before the beginning of the quota period in accordance with Article 4 of the Protocol, the 6-month time limit shall be counted as from 1 January of the year corresponding to the quota period.
2. The Licence Offices shall immediately notify the Commission of any quota authorisation or any sworn declaration returned by importers in accordance with paragraph 1. The balance of traditional importers' ceilings available for the product group concerned shall be modified for the corresponding amount.]