Commission Regulation (EC) No 2190/96 of 14 November 1996 on detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 as regards export refunds on fruit and vegetables

• Published date: 15 November 1996
• Subject Matter: Fruit and vegetables
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Communities, L 292, 15 November 1996

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31996R2190

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2190/96 of 14 November 1996 on detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 as regards export refunds on fruit and vegetables

Official Journal L 292 , 15/11/1996 P. 0012 - 0022

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2190/96 of 14 November 1996 on detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 as regards export refunds on fruit and vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 of 18 May 1972 on the common organization of the market in fruit and vegetables (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1363/95 (2), and in particular Article 26 (11) thereof,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 of 22 December 1994 on the adjustments and transitional arrangements required in the agriculture sector in order to implement the agreements concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations (3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1193/96 (4), and in particular Article 4 thereof,

Whereas various aspects of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/95 of 28 June 1995 on implementing rules for export refunds on fruit and vegetables (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2702/95 (6), should be amended in order to improve the system of export refunds on fruit and vegetables, and to ensure its transparency; whereas, in the interests of clarity and rationalization, it is appropriate to use the new amendments as an opportunity to recast the text and repeal the aforesaid Regulation (EC) No 1488/95;

Whereas Article 26 (6) of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 requires the presentation of an export licence for the grant of any refund;

Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 (7), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2137/95 (8), sets out detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products;

Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3846/87 (9), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2123/96 (10), establishes an agricultural product nomenclature for export refunds;

Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 (11), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1384/95 (12), lays down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products; whereas these detailed rules must be supplemented by specific rules relating to fruit and vegetables;

Whereas, pursuant to Article 26 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72, refunds are to be set with due regard to the limits resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 228 of the Treaty;

Whereas the Commission is required to fix the refund rates and the maximum quantities eligible for refunds; whereas those amounts and quantities must be fixed per period of allocation of export licences; whereas they may be revised in the light of economic circumstances;

Whereas, to ensure that quantities for export are administered in a proper manner, time should be allowed for consideration before licences are issued;

Whereas the Member States should designate the authorities responsible for issuing licences;

Whereas, in the interests of a proper implementation of the scheme, provision should be made for a variety of systems for the grant of refunds;

Whereas the issue of licences with advance fixing of the refund should be subject also to the lodging of a security;

Whereas, to ensure the smooth operation of the system and to exclude speculators, licences should be non-transferable;

Whereas Article 26 (4) of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 provides, inter alia, for refunds to be fixed in accordance with the economic aspect of proposed exports; whereas, to that end, provision should be made for new arrangements for the issue of licences with advance fixing of the refund; whereas, before such licences are issued, the Commission should gather information by asking exporters to indicate the minimum rate they require in order to be able to export; whereas the Commission can use this information to make an informed decision on economically viable refund rates;

Whereas, since Article 26 (7) of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 stipulates that the rate of refund is that applicable on the date of application for the licence where the refund is fixed in advance, provision should be made for a procedure whereby licence applications must be submitted during a period fixed in advance for that purpose on the basis of an indicative refund rate, after which the Commission will fix, on the basis of the information transmitted by the Member States, an actual date for licence applications and a definitive refund rate applicable on that day;

Whereas the Commission must be entitled to reject all applications for special licences with advance fixing of the refund where necessary;

Whereas the meaning of the date of issue of licences should be defined by reference to Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88;

Whereas, in order to maintain the flexibility which is characteristic of exports of fruit and vegetables, being perishable products, provision should be made for certain transactions to be eligible for a refund without advance fixing provided that a licence application is submitted a posteriori;

Whereas, in order not to discriminate between Community exporters when licences are being issued without advance fixing of the refund, account should be taken of the date on which the export declaration is accepted rather than the date of application for the licence;

Whereas, in order to prevent significant overruns of indicative quantities in the case of licences without advance fixing of the refund, the Commission should be able to reject licence applications relating to a date subsequent to a given export date;

Whereas the destination or group of destinations should be made compulsory;

Whereas the Member States should regularly forward certain information on licence applications to the Commission;

Whereas steps should be taken to ensure that exported products on which refunds are granted meet the relevant common quality standards and any national rules on the quality of fruit and vegetables exported to third countries;

Whereas, in the case of supplies for ships and aircraft treated as exports from the Community and thus qualifying for export refunds, systematic checking of each consignment would impose an administrative burden disproportionate to the small quantities of fruit and vegetables normally involved; whereas the checking of such deliveries should be dispensed with therefore in certain conditions;

Whereas, in line with Article 4 (3) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2251/92 of 29 July 1992 on quality inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables (13), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3184/94 (14), the above derogation will be acceptable only for quantities of 500 kilograms of a product or less;

Whereas an exported quantity conferring entitlement to a refund may not, subject to the tolerance limits, exceed the quantity applied for in the licence application;

Whereas the Management Committee for Fruit and Vegetables has not delivered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Arrangements for the grant of refunds

1. The export refunds referred to in Article 26 of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72 shall be granted on the basis of export licences which may be issued under three systems:

- the standard system with advance fixing of the refund, hereinafter called 'system A1`,

- the special system with advance fixing of the refund, hereinafter called 'system A2`,

- the system without advance fixing of the refund, hereinafter called 'system B`.

2. The rates of refund for systems A1 and A2 shall be set by the Commission in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 33 of Regulation (EEC) No 1035/72, as shall the quantities for which licences may be issued and the terms of validity of those licences. However, the rates and quantities set in the case of system A2 shall have a purely indicative value.

The rates and quantities shall be set for each licence application period.

3. In the case of system B, the Commission, acting in accordance with the...