Judgment_paragraph 2 · Antillean Rice Mills NV, European Rice Brokers AVV and Guyana Investments AVV v Commission of the European Communities (C-390/95 P)

2As regards the legal background to the applications before it, the Court of First Instance found:1 The Netherlands Antilles form part of the overseas countries and territories (“OCTs”) associated with the European Economic Community. The association of the OCTs with the Community is governed by Part Four of the EEC Treaty and by Council Decision 91/482/EEC of 25 July 1991 (OJ 1991 L 263, p. 1, “the OCT Decision”), which was adopted pursuant to the second paragraph of Article 136 of the Treaty.2 Article 133(1) of the Treaty provides that customs duties on imports into the Member States of goods originating in the OCTs are to be completely abolished in conformity with the progressive abolition of customs duties between Member States in accordance with the provisions of the Treaty. Article 101(1) of the OCT Decision provides that products originating in the OCTs are to be imported into the Community free of customs duties and charges having equivalent effect. Article 101(2) stipulates, further, that products not originating in the OCTs but which are in free circulation in an OCT and are reexported as such to the Community are to be accepted for import into the Community free of customs duties and taxes having an equivalent effect providing that they have paid, in the OCT concerned, customs duties or taxes having equivalent effect of a level equal to, or higher than, the customs duties applicable in the Community on import of those same products originating in third countries eligible for the most-favourednation clause, that they have not been the subject of an exemption from, or a refund of, in whole or in part, customs duties or taxes having an equivalent effect, and that they are accompanied by an export certificate.3 The first indent of Article 108(1) of the OCT Decision refers to Annex II to that decision for the definition of the concept of originating products and the methods of administrative cooperation relating thereto.4 Under Article 1 of that Annex II, a product is to be considered as originating in an OCT, in the Community or in an African, Caribbean or Pacific (“ACP”) State if it has been either wholly obtained or sufficiently worked or processed there.5 Under Article 2(1 )(b) of Annex II, “vegetable products harvested” in an OCTs, the Community or an ACP State are deemed to be wholly obtained there.6 According to Article 3(1) of Annex II, non-originating materials are considered to be sufficiently worked or processed when the product obtained is classified in a tariff heading which is different from those in which all the non-originating materials used in its manufacture are classified.7 Finally, Article 6(2) of Annex II provides that when products wholly obtained in the Community or in the ACP States undergo working or processing in the OCTs, they are to be considered to have been wholly obtained in the OCTs.8 Since 1967, there has been a common organisation of the market in rice, currently governed by Council Regulation (EEC) No 1418/76 of 21 June 1976 on thecommon organisation of the market in rice (OJ 1976 L 166, p. 1), which includes intervention prices for paddy rice, export refunds and import levies. Those levies vary according to the country of origin. As regards the ACP States, a reduced levy rate is charged up to a tariff quota of 125000 tonnes of husked rice and 20000 tonnes of broken rice.9 In addition, Council Regulation (EEC) No 3878/87 of 18 December 1987 on the production aid for certain varieties of rice (OJ 1987 L 365, p. 3) encourages the cultivation of Indica rice by Community producers. Council Regulation (EEC) No 3763/91 of 16 December 1991 introducing specific measures in respect of certain agricultural products for the French overseas departments (OJ 1991 L 356, p. 1) was adopted with the aim of promoting the cultivation of rice in French Guiana and supporting the disposal and marketing of that rice in Guadeloupe and Martinique, all three being French overseas departments. In that regard, it must be borne in mind that, under Article 227(2) of the Treaty, the rules relating to the free movement of goods and to the common agricultural policy, with the exception of Article 40(4) are applicable to the French overseas departments which — for those purposes — form an integral part of the Community.’