L_2005172EN.01002401.xml
| 5.7.2005 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | L 172/24 |
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1043/2005
of 30 June 2005
implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 as regards the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 of 6 December 1993 laying down the trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products (1), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article 8(3) thereof,
Whereas:
| (1) | Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3615/92 of 15 December 1992 on the determination of the quantities of agricultural products to be taken into account for the calculation of refunds payable in the case of the export of goods referred to in Council Regulation (EEC) No 3035/80 (2), Commission Regulation (EC) No 3223/93 of 25 November 1993 on statistical information relating to the payment of export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods covered by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3035/80 (3) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 of 13 July 2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amounts of such refunds (4), all relate to the export of certain agricultural products in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty. Most of those regulations have been substantially amended several times. It is necessary to amend all of those regulations, and in the interests of clarity, simplification and administrative efficiency it is appropriate that they be replaced by a single regulation. |
| (2) | Council Regulations (EEC) No 2771/75 (5) and (EC) Nos 1255/1999 (6), 1260/2001 (7), 1784/2003 (8) and 1785/2003 (9) on the common organisation of the markets in eggs, milk and milk products, sugar, cereals and rice provide that, to the extent required to allow the agricultural products in question to be exported in the form of certain processed goods not listed in Annex I to the Treaty on the basis of world market quotations or prices for such products, the difference between such quotations or prices and prices in the Community may be covered by an export refund. The granting of refunds on all those agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty should be subject to common rules. |
| (3) | Export refunds should be paid for goods which are obtained directly from basic products, from products obtained from the processing of basic products and from products assimilated to either of these categories. The method for determining the amount of the export refund in each of those cases should be established. |
| (4) | To ensure correct application of the provisions of Regulations on the common organisation of markets relating to the granting of export refunds, such refunds should not be granted on goods from third countries used in the manufacture of goods which are exported after having been in free circulation in the Community. |
| (5) | Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 (10) laid down common rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products. However, the manner in which those rules are to be applied to goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty needs to be clarified. |
| (6) | Respect of the international commitments entered into by the Community implies that refunds granted on exports of agricultural products incorporated in goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty may not exceed the refunds that would be payable on those products when exported in the unaltered state. Account should be taken of this when rates of refund are fixed and assimilation rules drawn up. |
| (7) | Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2825/93 of 15 October 1993 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 as regards the fixing and granting of adjusted refunds in respect of cereals exported in the form of certain spirit drinks (11) provides that the rate of the export refund is to be that applicable on the day on which the cereals are placed under control for the manufacture of spirit drinks. Therefore, the placing of cereals under customs control for the production of the spirit drinks referred to in Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 2825/93 should be deemed equivalent to export for the purpose of granting of export refunds. |
| (8) | Spirit drinks are considered less sensitive than other goods to the price of the agricultural products used in their manufacture. However, Protocol 19 of the Act of Accession of the United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark provides that the necessary measures must be decided to facilitate the use of Community cereals in the manufacture of spirit drinks obtained from cereals. |
| (9) | Potato starch should be assimilated to maize starch for the purposes of determining export refunds. However, it should be possible to fix a specific refund rate for potato starch in market situations where its price is significantly lower than that of maize starch. |
| (10) | In order to qualify for a refund the agricultural products used and in particular the goods manufactured from such products must be exported. Any exception to that rule should be interpreted restrictively. However, during the process of manufacturing the goods, producers may incur losses of raw materials for which Community prices have nevertheless been paid while the losses incurred by producers established outside the Community are limited to world market prices. In addition, in the process of manufacturing certain goods by-products are obtained which differ markedly in value from the principal products. In some instances these by-products can be used only as animal feed. Therefore, it is necessary to lay down common rules for determining the concept of the quantity of products actually used in the process of manufacturing the exported goods. |
| (11) | Many goods manufactured by an undertaking under clearly defined technical conditions and having constant characteristics and quality follow a regular export pattern. To ease export formalities, a simplified procedure should be adopted for such goods whereby the manufacturer communicates to the competent authorities such information as the latter consider necessary concerning the conditions of manufacture of the goods. Where the quantities of agricultural products actually used in the manufacture of the exported goods are registered with the competent authorities, provision should be made for annual confirmation of such registration in order to reduce the risks associated with failure to communicate changes in those quantities. |
| (12) | Many agricultural products are subject to natural and seasonal variability. The agricultural product content of exported goods may consequently vary. The amount of the refund should therefore be determined on the basis of the quantities of agricultural products actually used in the manufacture of the exported goods. However, for certain goods of a simple and relatively constant composition, the amount of the refund should, for ease of administration, be determined on the basis of fixed quantities of agricultural products. |
| (13) | When fixing the rate of refund for basic products or assimilated products, account should be taken of production refunds, aids or other measures having similar effect which are applicable, in accordance with the relevant regulation on the common organisation of the market in the product. |
| (14) | Certain goods having similar characteristics may have been obtained by various techniques from different base materials. Exporters should be required to identify the nature of the base materials and to make certain declarations in respect of the manufacturing process where such information is necessary to determine entitlement to a refund or the appropriate refund rate to apply. |
| (15) | It is appropriate when calculating the quantities of agricultural products actually used to have regard to the dry matter content in the case of starches, and certain glucose and maltodextrin syrups. |
| (16) | Where the world trade situation, the specific requirements of certain markets or international trade agreements so require, it should be possible to differentiate the refund on certain goods according to destination. |
| (17) | Management of the amounts of refunds which may be granted during a budget year on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty may result in a need to fix different rates for exports with or without advance fixing of the rate of refund on the basis of developments on Community and world markets. |
| (18) | The amount of refunds that may be granted in any budget year is limited in accordance with the international commitments entered into by the Community. It should be made possible to export goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty under conditions which are known in advance. In particular, it should be possible to obtain an assurance that such exports are eligible for a refund compatible with the Community's commitments. Where that is no longer the case, exporters should be informed sufficiently in advance. The issue of refund certificates makes it possible to follow up on refund applications and guarantee to their holders that they will be able to benefit from a refund up to the amount for which the |
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