Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/735 of 30 January 2023 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 with regard to the requirement to submit invoices to establish the reference quantity and clarifying some issues concerning the Licence Operator Registration and Identification (LORI) electronic system

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations (EEC) No 922/72, (EEC) No 234/79, (EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/2007⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 186 thereof,

Whereas:

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760⁽²⁾ supplements Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 as regards the rules for the administration of import and export tariff quotas for agricultural products subject to licences.
In accordance with Article 10(2) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760, operators are to submit an invoice to the licence issuing authority for establishing the reference quantity. So far the reference quantity was established based on the transitional provision laid down in Article 26, first paragraph, of that Delegated Regulation, thus the provision in question was unused. As other features concerning the management of tariff rate quotas introduced by that Delegated Regulation have proven to be efficient and in order to reduce an administrative burden for the operators and for the licence issuing authorities, it is advisable to abolish the obligation of the operators to submit an invoice to the licence issuing authority for establishing the reference quantity.
Pursuant to Article 13(12) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760, operators notify the competent licence issuing authority of any changes affecting their Licence Operator Registration and Identification (LORI) record within 10 calendar days from the date of effectiveness of such changes. That deadline should be prolonged due to the length of the implementation of such changes and the difficulties for the operators to notify them on time.
Furthermore, the discrepancy existing in Articles 3(5) and 13(13) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 between the obligation and the option as regards the prior registration of operators in case of suspension of reference quantity requirement in accordance with Article 9(9) of that Delegated Regulation should be clarified.
Article 14 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 lays down rules as regards complaints for undue registration of an operator. The roles of the licence issuing authorities of the Member State where the controlled operator is established and registered for VAT purposes, and of the Member State that received a complaint should be clarified in such a way that the control is to be conducted by the Member State where the controlled operator is established.
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 should therefore be amended accordingly,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 Amendments to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/760 is amended as follows:

Article 10 is amended as follows:
1. paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:
  ‘2.
  The operator shall ensure that a certified print out of the customs declaration for free circulation in the Union that it uses to establish the reference quantity contains the number of the invoice referred to in Article 145 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/2447.’
  ;
2. paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:
  ‘3.
  Licence issuing authorities shall compare the information on import licences and customs declarations. The documents shall not contain discrepancies as regards the importer’s or declarant’s identity and product description. The verifications of those documents shall be made based on Member States’ risk analysis.’
  ;
3. paragraph 4 is deleted;
Article 13 is amended as follows:
1. in paragraph 12, the first sentence is replaced by the following:
  ‘The operator shall notify the competent licence issuing authority of any changes affecting its LORI record within 30 calendar days from the date of effectiveness of such changes.’;
2. in paragraph 13, the first subparagraph is replaced by the following:
  ‘The Commission shall suspend the requirement of prior registration of operators in the LORI electronic system where the reference quantity requirement has been suspended pursuant to Article 9(9).’;
Article 14(2) is replaced by the following:
‘2.
If the licence issuing authority of the Member State where the complainant is established finds the complaint to be founded, it shall follow it up with the controls that it deems appropriate. Where the controlled operator is established and registered for VAT purposes in another Member State than the licence issuing authority that received the complaint, then that licence issuing authority shall provide the necessary assistance to the licence issuing authority of the Member State in which the operator is established and registered for VAT purposes and which is conducting the control in a timely manner. The result of the control shall be recorded by the licence issuing authority of the Member State where the operator concerned is established and registered for VAT purposes, in the LORI electronic system, as part of its LORI record.’
.

Article 2 Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 30 January 2023.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula von der Leyen