Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the market for cereals

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June 1992 on the common organization of the market in cereals⁽¹⁾, as last amended by the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden, and by Regulation (EC) No 3290/94⁽²⁾, and in particular Articles 13 (11) and 16 (2) thereof,

1. Whereas the export refunds, corrective amounts and export taxes on products covered by the common organization of the market in cereals must be fixed, as a special measure in the event of a disturbance on the market, in accordance with certain criteria enabling the difference between the quotations and prices for such products in the Community and those on the world market to be covered;

2. Whereas, given the disparity in the prices at which cereals are offered by the different exporting countries on the world market, account should be taken in particular of the different internal forwarding costs and the refund should be fixed bearing in mind the difference between the representative prices in the Community and the most favourable quotations and prices applying on the world market;

3. Whereas, in order to make it possible to export flour, groats, meal and malt, the factors to be taken into account when fixing the refund are, on the one hand, the prices of the basic cereals, the quantities needed to manufacture the products concerned and the value of the by-products and, on the other hand, the opportunities and conditions for the sale of the products on the world market;

4. Whereas it is a requirement of the system of corrective amounts provided for in the second subparagraph of Article 13 (8) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 that they be capable of differentiation according to the destination of the products to be exported;

5. Whereas, with a view to the efficient administration of Community funds and to take account of the export possibilities for those products, provision should be made for the export refunds and taxes on the products listed in Article 1 (a) and (b) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 to be fixed by invitation to tender covering a given quantity;

6. Whereas, in order to ensure equal treatment for all interested parties within the Community, invitations to tender must be organized in accordance with uniform principles; whereas, to that end, decisions opening invitations to tender should be published together with a notice of invitation to tender in the Official Journal of the European Communities;

7. Whereas tenders must contain the data needed to assess them and must be accompanied by certain formal undertakings;

8. Whereas a maximum export refund or minimum export tax should be fixed; whereas that procedure ensures that all the quantities concerned are allocated;

9. Whereas situations may arise on the market in which the economic aspects of the exports contemplated result in no further action being taken in respect of tenders received rather than in the fixing of an export refund or tax;

10. Whereas a tendering security should ensure that the quantities exported are so exported pursuant to the licence issued under the invitation to tender; whereas that obligation can be met only if tenders submitted are maintained; whereas the security must accordingly be forfeited where tenders are withdrawn;

11. Whereas detailed rules must be laid down to ensure that tenderers are notified of the outcome of the invitation to tender and that the necessary licences are issued for the export of the quantities allocated;

12. Whereas, for the purposes of fixing export refunds on the products listed in Article 1 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 and in order to avoid the need to introduce checks to detect the slightest variations in quantities of the basic materials and without any noticeable effect on the quality of the product, a standard method of assessment should be adopted; whereas the analysis of the ash content of products manufactured has proved the most effective technical means of assessing the quantity of basic cereals used; whereas the analysis should be carried out following the same procedure throughout the Community;

13. Whereas granting export refunds on cereals imported from third countries and re-exported to third countries does not appear justified; whereas refunds should accordingly be granted on Community products only;

14. Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 of 27 November 1987 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products⁽³⁾, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1384/95⁽⁴⁾, requires that, where refunds vary according to destination, payment of the refund be made conditional in particular on presentation of proof that the product has been imported in its unaltered state into the third country or into one of the third countries for which the refund applies; whereas, as regards cereals, the only refund lower than that applicable to exports to third countries as a whole is that on exports to Switzerland and Liechtenstein; whereas, in order to avoid obstructing most Community exports by requiring proof of arrival at destination, other means must be found to ensure that products on which a refund applying to all third countries has been paid are not exported to the abovementioned countries; whereas, to that end, the need to present proof of arrival should be waived in all cases where export is effected by sea; whereas certificates drawn up by the competent authorities of the Member States stating that the products have left the customs territory of the Community on board a vessel suitable for sea transport are considered to provide a sufficient guarantee;

15. Whereas Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 provides that appropriate measures may be taken when the quotations or prices on the world market for one or more of the products referred to in Article 1 of that Regulation reach the level of Community prices, and when that situation is likely to continue or deteriorate, thereby disturbing or threatening to disturb the Community market; whereas to that end sufficient supplies of cereals must be ensured; whereas for that purpose export taxes may be levied and the issuing of export licences totally or partly suspended;

16. Whereas, since the situation envisaged in Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 may arise at relatively short notice, the Commission must be able to suspend the issue of export licences at any time;

17. Whereas this Regulation incorporates, while adjusting them to current market conditions, the provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1533/93⁽⁵⁾, as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3304/94⁽⁶⁾; whereas that Regulation should therefore be repealed;

18. Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: