By Decision (EU) 2016/1623 of 1 June 2016, the Council authorised the signing and the provisional application of the Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the SADC EPA States, of the other part (‘the Agreement’).

The Agreement stipulates that customs duties on imports into the Union of goods originating in the SADC EPA States are to be reduced or eliminated in accordance with the tariff elimination schedule in Annex I to the Agreement. Annex I provides that for certain goods originating in South Africa the reduction or elimination of customs duties is granted within tariff quotas.

Part 1, Section B, of Annex I to the Agreement stipulates that the Union is to manage those tariff quotas on a first-come, first-served basis. The Commission shall manage those tariff quotas in accordance with the rules on the management of tariff quotas laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.

Protocol 4 to the Agreement stipulates that, in the case of provisional application of this Agreement by the EU and ratification by South Africa, the application of the Articles of the Trade, Development and Cooperation Agreement with South Africa which are laid down in Title II on trade and Title III on trade-related issues and its corresponding annexes and Protocols, with the exception of its Article 31 on maritime transport, shall be suspended. Therefore, Council Regulation (EC) No 2793/1999 should be suspended as of the date of provisional application of the Agreement.

In order to ensure the effective application and management of the tariff quotas granted under the Agreement which the Commission shall manage on a first-come first-served basis, this Regulation should apply from 1 November 2016.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Customs Code Committee,