Article 176 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 provides that the import for release for free circulation or the export of one or more products of the sectors laid down in that Article may be made subject to the presentation of a licence. The list of the products of those sectors subject to the presentation of an import or export licence should be laid down.

Monitoring trade flows by means of licences should be addressed in a flexible way. When defining the cases where a licence is required, account should be taken of other possible sources of information, such as the customs surveillance system, and the need for licences or the time needed to gather information by means of licences. The specific cases where a licence is not required should be defined.

It is necessary to provide that the licences are to be issued subject to the lodging of a security, so as to guarantee that the products will be imported or exported during the period of validity of the licence. It is also necessary to lay down when the obligation to import or export is fulfilled.

An import or export licence confers the right to import or export and, therefore, in order to make this right effective a licence should be presented at the time when the import or export declaration is submitted.

Since the person using a licence may not be the titular holder or transferee, it should be specified, in the interests of legal certainty and administrative efficiency, which persons are authorised to use the licence, including a customs representative acting on behalf of the titular holder or transferee.

In view of international trade practice in respect of the agricultural products concerned, certain tolerances should be allowed with regard to the quantity of products imported or exported as compared with the quantity indicated on the licence.

Where an import licence is also used to administer a tariff quota to which preferential arrangements apply, such preferential arrangements are to apply to importers by virtue of the licence which must, in some cases, be accompanied by a document from a third country. To avoid any overrun in the quota, the preferential arrangement is to apply up to the quantity for which the licence was issued. In such cases a tolerance should be permitted, provided that the part of the quantity exceeding the quantity shown on the licence but within the tolerance does not benefit from the preferential arrangement and the conventional customs duty is payable.

It is appropriate to lay down specific rules as regards the transferability of a licence.

Provisions should be laid down on the release and forfeiture of the security lodged for import and export licences.

Due to the specificity of the sector, it is necessary to lay down some additional conditions for import licences for hemp and for garlic.

For the sake of clarity it is appropriate to lay down the rules concerning the import and export licences issued for products for which the import or export licence obligation is abolished or affected by this Regulation and which are still valid on the date of application of this Regulation.

The transition from the arrangements provided for in the deleted provisions and repealed Regulations to those provided for in this Regulation might have some practical consequences. Therefore, it is appropriate to defer the application of this Regulation,