Commission regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms

• Coming into Force: 20 August 2000,01 August 2000
• End of Effective Date: 31 July 2008
• Celex Number: 32000R1623
• ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2000/1623/oj
• Published date: 31 July 2000
• Date: 25 July 2000
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 194, 31 July 2000

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32000R1623

Commission regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 of 25 July 2000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms

Official Journal L 194 , 31/07/2000 P. 0045 - 0099

Commission regulation (EC) No 1623/2000

of 25 July 2000

laying down detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine(1), and in particular Articles 24, 25, 26, 33, 34, 35, 36 and 80 thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Title III of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 lays down general rules on market mechanisms and refers for the rest to detailed implementing rules to be adopted by the Commission.

(2) Until now, those rules have been contained in a large number of Community regulations. In the interests of both economic operators in the Community and the authorities responsible for applying Community rules, all these provisions should be brought together in a single Regulation.

(3) This Regulation must include the current rules and adapt them to the new requirements of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999. They must also be simplified and made more coherent and certain gaps must be filled in to ensure that the Community rules in this area are complete. In addition, some rules should be made more specific to ensure greater legal certainty when they are applied.

(4) Article 35(1)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 introduces an aid scheme for the use of grape must and concentrated grape must made from grapes produced in the Community for the purpose of manufacturing grape juice or other comestible products made with this juice.

(5) Such other comestible products should be specified.

(6) The economic aim of the aid scheme is to encourage the use of raw materials of Community origin rather than imported raw materials in the manufacture of grape juice or other comestible products made with this juice. The aid should accordingly be granted to the users of the raw materials, i.e. the processors.

(7) It should be stipulated that the aid is granted only for raw materials with the quality characteristics required for processing into grape juice. It should accordingly be specified in particular that the grapes and grape must covered by a statement must have a density at 20 °C of between 1.055 and 1.100 grams per cubic centimetre.

(8) Application of the aid scheme calls for an administrative system to monitor both the origin of products eligible for the aid and their intended use.

(9) To ensure that the aid scheme and the checks operate properly, the processors concerned should be required to submit a written statement containing the information needed to enable the operations to be monitored.

(10) However, to avoid excessive administration for both the processors and the authorities concerned, no prior written statement should be required from processors using only a small quantity of grapes or grape must each wine year. That quantity should be fixed. The processors concerned must nevertheless inform the competent authorities of their Member State at the beginning of each wine year of their intention to process a certain quantity of grapes or grape must.

(11) When the processor is not the user of the product concerned, particularly where the inspecting authority concerned is in a different Member State than the processor, it is not always easy for that authority to know whether a statement relates to grape must which has not received aid under this Regulation or to grape juice for which an aid application has already been submitted. The transport document accompanying the product concerned should therefore indicate whether an aid application has been submitted.

(12) In order for the aid scheme to significantly increase the use of Community raw materials, it should be stipulated that aid applications must be submitted for a fixed minimum quantity for each product.

(13) Under Article 35(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, part of the aid is to be used to organise campaigns to promote the consumption of grape juice. The percentage of the aid earmarked for this purpose should be sufficient to generate adequate funds to finance effective promotion campaigns.

(14) Processing is carried out by both occasional processors and undertakings working continuously. The detailed rules for applying the aid scheme must take account of that difference in structures.

(15) In order to allow the competent authorities of the Member States to conduct the necessary checks, the obligations of processors as regards stock accounts should be specified.

(16) In order to avoid unwarranted expenditure and facilitate checks, a maximum ratio should be specified between the raw materials used and the grape juice obtained, based on normal processing techniques.

(17) For commercial reasons, some operators store the grape juice obtained for a long time before putting it up for consumption. This being the case, a system of advances should be introduced so that the aid can be paid in advance to operators against a suitable security to protect the competent authorities against the risk of undue payment. The time limit for the payment of advances should therefore be specified, together with detailed rules for the release of securities.

(18) To qualify for the aid, the parties concerned must submit an application together with certain supporting documents. To ensure that the system operates in the same way in all the Member States, time limits should be laid down for the submission of applications and for payment of the aid to processors.

(19) Under Article 44(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, grape juice may not be turned into wine or added to wine. In order to ensure compliance with that provision, the obligations and special checks devolving on processors and bottlers of grape juice should be specified.

(20) Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 introduces an aid scheme for concentrated must and rectified concentrated must produced in the Community and used to increase the alcoholic strength of wines.

(21) Under Article 36 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, detailed rules may be laid down, in particular to stipulate the conditions for granting the aid. On that basis, rules should be laid down for applying the measure in the case of small producers. It should also be stipulated that only producers who have fulfilled their Community obligations during a specified period are to be eligible under this measure.

(22) The competent authorities must be informed of enrichment operations involving the addition of concentrated grape must and rectified concentrated grape must and of the quantities of those products which are held. Since the quantities of those products which are or have been used for enrichment must be recorded in the registers provided for in Article 70(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999, there is no need to require additional documents to be presented in order for the aid to be received.

(23) To ensure uniform application of the aid scheme concerned, the method for establishing the potential alcoholic strength of musts should be harmonised at Community level.

(24) The cost price of grape must used to produce concentrated grape must and rectified concentrated grape must depends on its potential natural alcoholic strength. To take account of this fact and to avoid disrupting the existing pattern of trade, the aid should be differentiated so that a higher amount can be granted for concentrated grape must and rectified concentrated grape must from the southernmost regions of the Community, which traditionally produce must with the highest potential natural alcoholic strength.

(25) Article 35(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 introduces an aid scheme for the use of grape musts and concentrated grape musts produced in wine-growing zones C III (a) and C III (b) to prepare certain products falling within CN code 220600 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and for the use of concentrated grape musts produced in the Community to manufacture certain products marketed in the United Kingdom and in Ireland with instructions for using them to obtain a beverage in imitation of wine.

(26) Products falling within CN code 220600 as referred to in Article 35(1)(c) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 are currently produced exclusively from concentrated grape must. At this stage, therefore, aid should be fixed for the use of concentrated grape must alone.

(27) Application of the aid scheme calls for an administrative system to monitor both the origin of products eligible for the aid and their intended use.

(28) To ensure that the aid scheme and the checks operate properly, the operators concerned should be required to submit written applications giving the information needed to identify the product and enable the operations to be checked.

(29) In order for the aid scheme to significantly increase the use of Community products, it should be stipulated that applications must be submitted for a fixed minimum quantity.

(30) Aid is to be granted only for products having the minimum quality characteristics required for use for the purposes referred to in Article 35(1)(b) and (c) of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999.

(31) In order to enable the competent authorities of the Member States to conduct the necessary checks, the obligations of processors as regards stock accounts should be specified.

(32) Entitlement to aid is acquired when the processing operations are completed. To allow for technical losses, the quantity actually used should be allowed to be up to 10 % less than the quantity stated in the application.

(33) For technical...