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            COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 460/2005

of 21 March 2005         

opening a standing invitation to tender for the export of common wheat held by the Hungarian intervention agency

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29 September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in cereals (1), and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Subject to this Regulation, the Hungarian intervention agency shall issue a standing invitation to tender in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 for the export of common wheat held by it.

Article 2

1.   The invitation to tender shall cover a maximum of 320 000 tonnes of common wheat for export to third countries with the exception of Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro (3) and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Liechtenstein, Romania and Switzerland.

2.   The regions in which the 320 000 tonnes of common wheat are stored are set out in Annex I.

Article 3

1.   As an exception to the third paragraph of Article 16 of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the price to be paid for the export shall be that quoted in the tender, without monthly increase.

2.   No export refund or tax or monthly increase shall be granted on exports carried out under this Regulation.

3.   Article 8(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 shall not apply.

4.   In application of Article 7(2a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the successful tenderer shall be reimbursed for the lowest costs between the place of storage and the actual place of exit.

Article 4

1.   Export licences shall be valid from their date of issue within the meaning of Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 until the end of the fourth month thereafter.

2.   Tenders submitted in response to this invitation to tender may not be accompanied by export licence applications submitted under Article 49 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 (4).

Article 5

1.   As an exception to Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the time limit for submission of tenders under the first partial invitation to tender shall be 9.00 (Brussels time) on 31 March 2005.

2.   The time limit for submission of tenders under subsequent partial invitations to tender shall be 9.00 (Brussels time) each Thursday hereafter, with the exception of 5 May 2005.

3.   The last partial invitation to tender shall expire at 9.00 (Brussels time) on 23 June 2005.

4.   Tenders must be lodged with the Hungarian intervention agency:

Article 6

1.   The intervention agency, the storer and a successful tenderer shall, at the request of the latter and by common agreement, either before or at the time of removal from storage as the tenderer chooses, take reference samples for counter-analysis at the rate of at least one sample for every 500 tonnes and shall analyse the samples. The intervention agency may be represented by a proxy, provided this is not the storer.

In the event of a dispute, the analysis results shall be forwarded to the Commission.

Reference samples for counter-analysis shall be taken and analysed within seven working days of the date of the successful tenderer's request or within three working days if the samples are taken on removal from storage. Where the final result of sample analyses indicates a quality:

2.   However, if the common wheat is removed before the results of the analyses are known, all risks shall be borne by the successful tenderer from the time the lot is removed, without prejudice to any means of redress against the storer.

3.   If, as a result of successive replacements, the successful tenderer has not received a replacement lot of the quality laid down within one month of the date of the request for a replacement, the successful tenderer shall be discharged of all obligations and the securities shall be released, provided the Commission and the intervention agency have been immediately informed in accordance with Annex II.

4.   Except where the final results of analyses indicate a quality below the minimum characteristics laid down for intervention, the costs of taking the samples and conducting the analyses provided for in paragraph 1 but not of inter-bin transfers shall be borne by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) for up to one analysis per 500 tonnes. The costs of inter-bin transfers and any additional analyses requested by a successful tenderer shall be borne by that tenderer.

Article 7

As an exception to Article 12 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92 (6), the documents relating to the sale of common wheat under this Regulation, and in particular the export licence, the removal order referred to in Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92, the export declaration and, where applicable, the T5 copy shall carry the entry:

Article 8

1.   The security lodged under Article 13(4) of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 shall be released once the export licences have been issued to the successful tenderers.

2.   Notwithstanding Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the obligation to export shall be covered by a security equal to the difference between the intervention price applying on the day of the award and the price awarded but not less than EUR 25 per tonne. Half of the security shall be lodged when the licence is issued and the balance shall be lodged before the cereals are removed.

Article 9

Within two hours of the expiry of the time limit for the submission of tenders, the Hungarian intervention agency shall notify the Commission of tenders received. Such notification shall be made using the model set out in Annex III and the fax numbers set out in Annex IV.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day 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, 21 March 2005.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL            

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 78.

(2)OJ L 191, 31.7.1993, p. 76. Regulation as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2045/2004 (OJ L 354, 30.11.2004, p. 17).

(3)  Including Kosovo, as defined in UN Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999.

(4)OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.

(5)OJ L 100, 20.4.2000, p. 31.

(6)OJ L 301, 17.10.1992, p. 17.

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ANNEX I

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ANNEX II

Communication of refusal of lots under the standing invitation to tender for the export of common wheat held by the Hungarian intervention agency

(Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 460/2005)

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ANNEX III

Standing invitation to tender for the export of common wheat held by the Hungarian intervention agency

(Regulation (EC) No 460/2005)

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(1)  This price includes the increases and reductions relating to the lot covered by the tender.

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ANNEX IV

The following numbers only for the Agriculture DG (D.2) in Brussels are to be used:

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