30.12.2003 Official Journal of the European Union L 342/13 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2308/2003 of 29 December 2003 laying down rules for the management and distribution of textile quotas established for the year 2004 under Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, (7)  To achieve optimum use of the quantities, an operator Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 of 7 March 1994 on common rules for imports of textile products from certain third countries not covered by bilateral agree- ments, protocols or other arrangements, or by other specific Community import rules ('), and in particular Article 17(3) and (6) and Article 21(2) thereof, Whereas: (1) Regulation (EC) No 517/94 established quantitative restrictions on imports of certain textile products origin- ating in certain third countries to be allocated on a ‘first come, first served’ basis. (2)  Under that Regulation it is possible, in certain circum- stances, to use other allocation methods, to divide quotas into tranches or to reserve a proportion of a specific quantitative limit exclusively for applications which are supported by evidence of the results of past import performance. (3)  Rules for management of the quotas established for 2004 should be adopted before the quota year begins so that the continuity of trade flows is not affected unduly. (4)  The measures adopted in previous years, such as those in Commission Regulation (EC) No 2357/2002 estab- lishing rules for the management and distribution of textile quotas established for the year 2003 under Council Regulation (EC) No 517/94 (3, proved to be satisfactory and it is therefore appropriate to adopt similar rules for 2004. (5)  In order to satisfy the greatest possible number of opera- tors it is appropriate to make the first come, first served’ allocation method more flexible by placing a ceiling on the quantities which can be allocated to each operator by that method. (6)  To guarantee a degree of continuity in trade and efficient quota administration, operators should be allowed to make their initial import authorisation application for 2004 equivalent to the quantity which they imported in 2003. (") OJ L 67, 10.3.1994, p. 1; Regulation as last amended by Commis- sion Regulation (EC) No 1484/2003 (O] L 212, 22.8.2003, p. 46). () OJL 351, 28.12.2002, p. 45. who has used up at least one half of the amount already authorised should be permitted to apply for a further amount, provided that quantities are available in the quotas. (8)  For the sake of sound administration, import authorisa- tions should be valid for nine months from the date of issue but only until the end of the year at the latest. Member States should issue licences only after being notified by the Commission that quantities are available and only if an operator can prove the existence of a contract and can certify, in the absence of a specific provision to the contrary that he/she has not already been allocated a Community import authorisation under this Regulation for the categories and countries concerned. The competent national authorities should, however, be authorised, in response to importers' appli- cations, to extend by three months and up to 31 March 2005 licences of which at least one half has been used by the application date. (99  Given that on 1 May 2004 the European Union will be enlarged, the allocation amongst importers of the 2004 quota should be divided into two tranches, corre- sponding to the Union's current and future membership respectively. Acceding States should be permitted to issue import authorisations only for goods to be imported on or after 1 May. (10)  The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Textile Committee established by Article 25 of Regulation (EC) No 517/94, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Atrticle 1 The purpose of this Regulation is to lay down rules on the management of quantitative quotas for imports of certain textile products set out in Annexes IIB and IV to Regulation (EC) No 517/94 for the year 2004. The 2004 quotas shall be allocated in two separate tranches, of which the second shall become available from 1 May 2004 for the acceding States. The quantitative limits for the tranches shall be as listed in Annex L.