During the first part of the quota period, each traditional importer shall only be entitled to request quota authorisations for a specific share of the quota for traditional importers for each product group (hereinafter referred to as ‘ceiling’), calculated in accordance with paragraph 2. All the quota authorisations granted to a traditional importer during the first part of the quota period shall be counted against such importer’s ceilings.

The ceiling for each product group of a traditional importer applicable in a quota period (hereinafter referred to as ‘quota period n+1’) shall be calculated in accordance with the average of such importer’s actual imports of covered products during the two quota periods preceding the year of calculation of such ceiling, on the basis of the following formula:

C_i = T * (Ī_i/ΣĪ_i)

where:

• ‘C_i’ represents the ceiling for the product group concerned (spruce or pine) for importer i during quota period n+1;

• ‘T’ represents the quota for traditional importers available for the product group concerned during the year of calculation of the ceiling (hereinafter referred to as ‘quota period n’);

• ‘Ī_i’ represents the average of the actual imports by the traditional importer i of the product group concerned, in the two quota periods preceding the calculation (hereinafter referred to as ‘quota period n–2’ and ‘quota period n–1’, respectively), as follows:

  [(actual imports of importer i in quota period n–2) + (actual imports of importer i in quota period n–1)]/2

• ‘ΣĪ_i’ represents the sum of all traditional importers’ average imports Ī_i for the product group concerned.