31.12. 91 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 373/9 COUNCIL REGULATION (EEC) No 3923/91 of 23 December 1991 opening and providing for the administration of Community tariff quotas and ceilings and establishing Community surveillance for certain fish and fishery products originating in the Faroe Islands (1992) THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, and in particular Article 113 thereof, Having regard to Council Decision 91/668/EEC of 2 December 1991 concerning the conclusion of the Agreement between the European Economic Community, the Government of Denmark and the Home Government of Faroe Islands (1), Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas Articles 3 and 8 of the abovementioned Decision provide that customs duties applicable to imports into the Community of Ten of certain fish and fishery products listed in Protocol 1 attached to the said Decision will be abolished on 1 January 1992; whereas the abolition is subject to Community tariff quotas and ceilings and, for some of these products, Community statistical surveillance; whereas the said Community tariff quotas and ceilings in respect of products originating in the Faroe Islands should therefore be opened from 1 January 1992 for the volumes indicated respectively in Annexes I and II and Community statistical surveillance should be established in respect of the products listed in Annex III; : Whereas, in the context of these tariff measures, the Kingdom of Spain and the Portuguese Republic will apply customs duties calculated in accordance with Articles 173 {1) and (2) and 360 (1) (b) and (2) respectively of the Act of Accession; Whereas the preferential rates of duty indicated in Annexes I, I and III apply only where the free-at-frontier price determined by the Member States in accordance with Article 21 of Regulation (EEC) No 3796/81 of 29 December 1981 on the common organization of the market in fishery products(?) is at least equal to the (1) OJ No L 371, 31. 12. 1991, p. 1. (2) OF No L 379, 31. 12. 1981, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3468/88 (O] No L 30§, 10. 11. 1988, p. 1). reference price set, or to be set, by the Community for the products or categories of products concerned; Whereas equal and continuous access to the quotas in. respect of the products listed in Annex I should be ensured for all Community importers and the rates of duty laid down for the quotas should be applied consistently to all imports of the products in question in all Member States until the quotas are exhausted; whereas the necessary steps should be taken to ensure that the tariff quotas are administered efficiently at Community level, enabling the Member States to draw from the quotas the quantities required, corresponding to the actual imports recorded; whereas this method of administering the quotas calls for close cooperation between the Member States and the Commission; Whereas the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg are joined in, and represented by, the Benelux economic union; whereas any operation concerning the administration of the quotas may therefore be carried out by ome of its members; Whereas, in respect of products listed in Annex II and subject to Community tariff ceilings, Community surveillance may be effected by charging imports of these products against the ceilings. at Community level as and when the products are presented at customs and declared for free circulation; whereas this method of administering the ceilings should enable customs duties to be restored as soon as the ceilings in question are reached at Community level; Whereas, this method of administering the ceilings calls for close and speedy cooperation between the Member States and the Commission, which must be able to monitor the level reached by imports charged against the ceilings and inform the Member States accordingly; whereas this cooperation should be close enough to allow the Commission to take the appropriate steps to restore customs duties as soon as one of the ceilings is reached; Whereas, for the products listed in Annex III, it would seem appropriate to have recourse to the system of