or other commercial document relating to the products to the effect that the products in question originate in Macao within the meaning of the relevant rules in force in the Community. 4. The certificate of origin referred to in paragraph 1 shall not be required for import of goods covered by a certificate of origin Form A or form APR completed in accordance with the relevant Community rules in order to qualify for generalized tariff preferences. Article 3 The certificate of origin shall be issued only on application having been made in writing by the exporter or, under the exporter's responsibility, by his authorized representative. The competent governmental authorities of Macao shall ensure that the certificate of origin is properly completed and for this purpose they shall call for any necessary documentary evidence or carry out any check which they consider appropriate. Article 4 Where different criteria for determining origin are laid down for products falling within the same category, certificates or declarations of origin shall contain a sufficiently detailed description of the goods to enable the criterion to be determined on the basis of which the certificate was issued or the declaration drawn up. Article 5 The discovery of slight discrepancies between the statements made in the certificate of origin and those made in the documents produced to the customs office for the purpose of carrying out the formalities for importing the product shall not ipso facto cast doubt upon the statements in the certificate. TITLE III DOUBLE-CHECKING SYSTEM FOR CATEGORIES OF PRODUCTS WITH QUANTITATIVE LIMITS Section I Exportation Article 6 The competent authorities of Macao shall issue an export licence in respect of all consignments from Macao of textile products referred to in Annex II, up to the relevant quantitative limits as may be modified by Articles 6,13 and 14 of the Agreement and of textile products subject to any definitive or provisional quantitative limits established as a result of the application of Articles 7 and 8 of the Agreement. Article 7 1. The export licence shall conform to the model annexed to this Protocol. It must certify inter alia that the quantity of the product in question has been set off against the quantitative limit prescribed for the category of the product in question. 2. Each export licence shall only cover one of the categories of products listed in Annex II of this Agreement. It may be used for one or more consignments of the products in question. Article 8 The competent Community authorities must be notified forthwith of the withdrawal or alteration of any export licence already issued. Article 9 1. Exports shall be set off against the quantitative limits established for the year in which shipment of the goods has been effected, even if the export certificate is issued after such shipment. 2. For the purposes of applying paragraph 1, shipment of the goods is considered to have taken place on the date of their loading on to the exporting aircraft, vehicle or vessel. Article 10 The presentation of an export licence, in application of Article 12 below, shall be effected not later than 31 March of the year following that in which the goods covered by the licence have been shipped. Section II Importation Article 11 Importation into the Community of textile products subject to quantitative limits shall be subject to the presentation of an import authorization or document. Article 12 1. The competent Community authorities shall issue such import authorization or document automatically within five working days of the presentation by the importer of the original of the corresponding export licence. The import authorization or document shall be valid for six months. The competent Community authorities shall cancel the already issued import authorization or document if the corresponding export licence has been withdrawn. However, if the competent Community authorities have not been notified about the withdrawal or cancellation of the export licence until after the product has been imported into the Community, the quantities involved shall be set off against the quantitative limit for the category and the quota year in question. Article 13 1. If the competent Community authorities find that the total quantities covered by export certificates issued by Macao for a particular category in any Agreement year exceed the quantitative limit established in Annex II for that category, as may be modified by Articles 6,13 and 14 of the Agreement, or any definitive or provisional limit established under Article 7 or 8 of the Agreement, the said authorities may suspend the further issue of import authorizations or documents. In this event, the competent Community authorities shall immediately inform the authorities of Macao and the special consultation procedure set out in Article 16 (1) of the Agreement shall be initiated forthwith. 2. Exports of Macao origin not covered by export licences issued in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol may be refused the issue of import authorizations or documents by the competent Community authorities. However, if the import of such products are allowed into the Community by the competent Community authorities, the quantities involved shall not be set off against the appropriate quantitative limits set out in Annex II or established as a result of the application of Articles 7 or 8 of the Agreement, without the express Agreement of Macao authorities save as provided for in Article 11 of the
year in question. Article 131. If the competent Community authorities find that the total quantities covered by export certificates issued by Macao for a particular category in any Agreement year exceed the quantitative limit established in Annex II for that category, as may be modified by Articles 6,13 and 14 of the Agreement, or any definitive or provisional limit established under Article 7 or 8 of the Agreement, the said authorities may suspend the further issue of import authorizations or documents. In this event, the competent Community authorities shall immediately inform the authorities of Macao and the special consultation procedure set out in Article 16 (1) of the Agreement shall be initiated forthwith. 2. Exports of Macao origin not covered by export licences issued in accordance with the provisions of this Protocol may be refused the issue of import authorizations or documents by the competent Community authorities. However, if the import of such products are allowed into the Community by the competent Community authorities, the quantities involved shall not be set off against the appropriate quantitative limits set out in Annex II or established as a result of the application of Articles 7 or 8 of the Agreement, without the express Agreement of Macao authorities save as provided for in Article 11 of the Agreement. TITLE IV FORM AND PRODUCTION OF EXPORT CERTIFICATES AND CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN, AND COMMON PROVISIONS Article 14 1. The export licence and the certificate of origin may comprise additional copies duly indicated as such. They shall be made out in English or French. If they are completed by hand, entries must be in ink and in printscript. These documents shall measures 210 × 297 mm. The paper used must be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 25 g/m2. Each part shall have a printed guilloche-pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye. If the documents have several copies only the top copy which is the original shall be printed with the guilloche-pattern background. This copy shall be clearly maked as "original" and the other copies as "copy". Only the original shall be accepted by the competent authorities in the Community as being valid for the purposes of exports to the Community in accordance with the arrangements established by this Agreement. 2. Each document shall bear a standardized serial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified. This number shall be composed of the following elements: - two letters identifying Macao as follows : MO, - two letters identifying country of destination as follows: >PIC FILE= "T0036595"> - a single-digit number identifying quota year, corresponding to the last figure in year e.g. 3 for 1983, - a two-digit number running consecutively from 01 to 99 identifying the issuing office, - a five-digit number running consecutively from 00001 to 99999 allocated to the country of destination. Article 15 The export licence and certificate or origin may be issued after the shipment of the products to which they relate. In such cases they shall bear either the endorsement "delivrée a posteriori" or the endorsement "issued retrospectively". Article 16 1. In the event of theft, loss or destruction of an export licence or a certificate of origin, the exporter may apply to the competent governmental authority which issued the document for a duplicate to be made out on the basis of the export documents in his possession. The duplicate of any such certificate or licence so issued shall bear the endorsement "duplicata". 2. The duplicate must bear the date of the original export licence or certificate of origin. TITLE V ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION Article 17 The Community and Macao shall cooperate closely to implement the provisions of this Agreement. To this end, contacts and exchanges of views (including on technical matters) shall be facilitated by both parties. Article 18 In order to ensure the proper application of this Agreement, the Community and Macao shall assist each other in checking the authenticity and accuracy of export licences and certificates of origin issued or declaration made under this Protocol. Article 19 Macao shall send the Commission of the European Communities the names and addresses of the govermental authorities competent for the issue and verification of export licences and certificates of origin together with specimens of the stamps used by these authorities. Macao shall also notify the Commission of any change in this information. Article 20 1. Subsequent verification of certificates of origin or export licences shall be carried out at random, or whenever the competent Community authorities have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the certificate or licence or as to the accuracy of the information regarding the products in question. 2. % of the quantitative limit set out in Annex II for that category in the Community as a whole of in any region or regions of the Community concerned. 7. Any limit modified in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 or 4 may in no case be lower than the level of imports of products in that category originating in Macao in 1980. 8. The provisions of the Article also apply where the level referred to in paragraph 1 is exceeded in any of the Community's regions. In such a case, the compensation referred to in paragraphs 1 and 4 will concern the region or regions of the Community indicated in the Community's request for consultations. 9. With a view to limiting recourse to paragraph 1 of this Article, Macao undertakes to inform the Community of any sharp and substantial increases in the issue of export licences for any category which is likely to lead to the fulfilment of the conditions required for the application of the present Article. SECTION II Administration of the Agreement Article 9 1. Macao undertakes to supply the Community with precise statistical information on all export licences issued by the Macao authorities for all categories of textile products subject to the quantitative limits established under this Agreement. The Community shall likewise transmit to the Macao authorities precise statistical information on import authorizations or documents issued by the Community authorities in respect of export licences and certificates issued by Macao. 2. The information referred to in paragraph 1 shall, for all categories of products, be transmitted before the end of the second month following the quarter to which the statistics relate. 3. Macao also undertakes to supply the Community with available statistical information on all textile exports by country of destination. The Community shall transmit to Macao import statistics for all products covered by the system of administrative control referred to in Article 8 (2) and for products covered by Article 6 (1). 4. The information referred to in paragraph 3 shall, for all categories of products, be transmitted before the end of the third month following the quarter to which the statistics relate. 5. Should it be found on analysis of the information exchanged that there are significant discrepancies between the returns for exports and those for imports, consultations may be initiated in accordance with the procedure specified in Article 16 of this Agreement. 6. For the purpose of applying the provisions of Article 7 and Article 8, the Community undertakes to provide the Macao authorities before 15 April of each year with the preceding year's statistics on imports of all textile products covered by this Agreement, broken down by supplying country and Community Member State. Article 10 1. In case of divergent opinions between Macao and the competent Community authorities at the point of entry into the Community on the classification of products covered by the present Agreement, classification shall provisionally be based on indications provided by the Community, pending consultations in accordance with Article 16 with a view to reaching agreement on definitive classification of the product concerned. 2. If the above provisional classification results in provisional debit against a quantitative limit for a category of products other than the category indicated on the export documents issued by the competent Macao authorities, the Community shall inform Macao of such provisional debit within 30 days. 3. The authorities of Macao shall be informed of any amendment to the Common Customs Tariff or NIMEXE or any decision, made in accordance with the procedures in force in the Community, relating to the classification of products covered by this Agreement. Any amendment to the Common Customs Tariff or NIMEXE of any decision which results in a modification of the classification of products covered by this Agreement shall not have the effect of reducing any quantitative limit established under this Agreement. The procedures for the application of this paragraph are set out in Protocol A. Article 11 1. Macao and the Community agree to cooperate fully in preventing the circumvention of the present Agreement by transhipment, re-routeing or whatever other means. 2. Where information available to the Community as a result of the investigations carried out in accordance with the procedures set out in Protocol A constitutes evidence that products of Macao origin subject to quantitative limits established under this Agreement have been transhipped, re-routed or otherwise imported into the Community in circumvention of this Agreement, the Community may request the opening of consultations in accordance with the procedures described in Article 16 (1) of this Agreement, with a view to reaching agreement on an equivalent adjustment of the corresponding quantitative limits established under the Agreement. 3. Pending the result of the consultations referred to in paragraph 2, Macao shall as a precautionary measure, if so requested by the Community, make the necessary arrangements to ensure that adjustments of quantitative limits liable to be agreed following the consultations referred to in paragraph 2, may be carried out for the quota year in which the request to open consultations in accordance with paragraph 2 was made, for the following year if the quota for the current year is exhausted, where clear evidence of circumvention is provided. 4. Should the parties be unable in the course of consultations to reach a satisfactory solution products are allowed into the Community by the competent Community authorities, the quantities involved shall not be set off against the appropriate quantitative limits set out in Annex II or established as a result of the application of Articles 7 or 8 of the Agreement, without the express Agreement of Macao authorities save as provided for in Article 11 of the Agreement. TITLE IV FORM AND PRODUCTION OF EXPORT CERTIFICATES AND CERTIFICATES OF ORIGIN, AND COMMON PROVISIONS Article 14 1. The export licence and the certificate of origin may comprise additional copies duly indicated as such. They shall be made out in English or French. If they are completed by hand, entries must be in ink and in printscript. These documents shall measures 210 × 297 mm. The paper used must be white writing paper, sized, not containing mechanical pulp and weighing not less than 25 g/m2. Each part shall have a printed guilloche-pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent to the eye. If the documents have several copies only the top copy which is the original shall be printed with the guilloche-pattern background. This copy shall be clearly maked as "original" and the other copies as "copy". Only the original shall be accepted by the competent authorities in the Community as being valid for the purposes of exports to the Community in accordance with the arrangements established by this Agreement. 2. Each document shall bear a standardized serial number, whether or not printed, by which it can be identified. This number shall be composed of the following elements: - two letters identifying Macao as follows : MO, - two letters identifying country of destination as follows: >PIC FILE= "T0036595"> - a single-digit number identifying quota year, corresponding to the last figure in year e.g. 3 for 1983, - a two-digit number running consecutively from 01 to 99 identifying the issuing office, - a five-digit number running consecutively from 00001 to 99999 allocated to the country of destination. Article 15 The export licence and certificate or origin may be issued after the shipment of the products to which they relate. In such cases they shall bear either the endorsement "delivrée a posteriori" or the endorsement "issued retrospectively". Article 16 1. In the event of theft, loss or destruction of an export licence or a certificate of origin, the exporter may apply to the competent governmental authority which issued the document for a duplicate to be made out on the basis of the export documents in his possession. The duplicate of any such certificate or licence so issued shall bear the endorsement "duplicata". 2. The duplicate must bear the date of the original export licence or certificate of origin. TITLE V ADMINISTRATIVE COOPERATION Article 17 The Community and Macao shall cooperate closely to implement the provisions of this Agreement. To this end, contacts and exchanges of views (including on technical matters) shall be facilitated by both parties. Article 18 In order to ensure the proper application of this Agreement, the Community and Macao shall assist each other in checking the authenticity and accuracy of export licences and certificates of origin issued or declaration made under this Protocol. Article 19 Macao shall send the Commission of the European Communities the names and addresses of the govermental authorities competent for the issue and verification of export licences and certificates of origin together with specimens of the stamps used by these authorities. Macao shall also notify the Commission of any change in this information. Article 20 1. Subsequent verification of certificates of origin or export licences shall be carried out at random, or whenever the competent Community authorities have reasonable doubt as to the authenticity of the certificate or licence or as to the accuracy of the information regarding the products in question. 2. In such cases the competent authorities in the Community shall return the certificate of origin or export licence or a copy thereof to the competent governmental authority in Macao giving, where appropriate, the reasons of form or substance for an inquiry. If the invoice has been submitted, such invoice or a copy thereof shall be attached to the certificate or licence or its copy. The authorities shall also forward any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the said certificate or licence are inaccurate. 3. The provisions of paragraph 1 above shall be applicable to subsequent verifications of the declarations of origin referred to in Article 2 of this Protocol. 4. The results of the subsequent verifications carried out in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2 above shall be communicated to the competent authorities of the Community within three months at the latest. The information communicated shall indicate whether the disputed certificate or licence or declaration applies to the goods Avis juridique important|21986A1016(05)Acordo entre a Comunidade Económica Europeia e Macau sobre o Comércio de Produtos Têxteis Jornal Oficial nº L 293 de 16/10/1986 p. 0186