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            COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 827/2005

of 30 May 2005         

laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 as regards the granting of private storage aid for certain cheeses in the 2005/2006 storage period

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in milk and milk products (1), and in particular Article 10 thereof,

Whereas:

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Purpose

This Regulation lays down the detailed rules for granting Community aid for private storage of certain cheeses (hereinafter referred to as aid) pursuant to Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 during the 2005/06 storage year.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purpose of this Regulation:

Article 3

Cheeses eligible for aid

1.   Aid shall be granted in respect of certain long-keeping cheeses, Pecorino Romano, Kefalotyri and Kasseri cheese under the terms laid down in the Annex.

2.   The cheeses must have been manufactured in the Community and satisfy the following conditions:

Article 4

Storage contract

1.   Contracts relating to the private storage of cheese shall be concluded between the intervention agency of the Member State on whose territory the cheese is stored and natural or legal persons, hereinafter called ‘contractors’.

2.   Storage contracts shall be drawn up in writing on the basis of an application to draw up a contract.

Applications must reach intervention agencies within no more than 30 days of the date of entry into storage and may relate only to lots of cheese which have been fully taken into storage. The intervention agencies shall register the date on which each application is received.

If the application reaches the intervention agency within 10 working days following the deadline, the storage contract may still be concluded but the aid shall be reduced by 30 %.

3.   Storage contracts shall be concluded for one or more storage lots and shall include, in particular, provisions concerning:

4.   Storage contracts shall be concluded within no more than 30 days of the date of registration of the application to draw up a contract.

5.   Inspection measures, particularly those referred to in Article 7, shall be the subject of specifications drawn up by the intervention agency. The storage contract shall refer to those specifications.

Article 5

Entry into and removal from storage

1.   The periods of entry into and removal from storage shall be as laid down in the Annex.

2.   Removal from storage shall be in whole storage lots.

3.   Where, at the end of the first 60 days of contractual storage, the deterioration in the quality of the cheese is greater than is normal in store, contractors may be authorised, once per storage lot, to replace the defective quantity, at their own expense.

If checks during storage or on removal from storage reveal defective quantities, no aid may be paid for those quantities. In addition, the part of the lot which is still eligible for aid may not be less than two tonnes.

The second subparagraph shall apply where part of a lot is removed before the start of the period of removal from storage referred to in paragraph 1 or before expiry of the minimum storage period referred to in Article 8(2).

4.   For the purpose of calculating the aid in the case referred to in the first subparagraph of paragraph 3, the first day of contractual storage shall be the day of commencement of contractual storage.

Article 6

Storage conditions

1.   The Member State shall ensure that all the conditions granting entitlement to payment of the aid are fulfilled.

2.   The contractor or, at the request of the Member State or with its authorisation, the person responsible for the storage depot shall make available to the competent authority responsible for inspection any documentation permitting verification of the following particulars of products placed in private storage:

3.   The contractor or, where applicable, the person responsible for the storage depot shall keep stock records available at the depot for each contract, covering:

4.   Products stored must be easily identifiable, easily accessible and identified individually by contract. A special mark shall be affixed to stored cheeses.

Article 7

Checks

1.   On entry into storage the competent agency shall conduct checks, in particular to ensure that products stored are eligible for the aid and to prevent any possibility of substitution of products during storage under contract.

2.   The competent agency shall make an unannounced check, by sampling, to ensure that the products are present in the storage depot. The sample concerned must be representative and must correspond to at least 10 % of the overall quantity under contract for a private storage aid measure.

Such checks must include, in addition to an examination of the accounts referred to in Article 6(3), a physical check of the weight and type of products and their identification. Such physical checks must relate to at least 5 % of the quantity subjected to the unannounced check.

3.   At the end of the contractual storage period, the competent agency shall check to see that the products are present. However, where the products are still in storage after expiry of the maximum contractual storage period, this check may be made when the products are removed from storage.

For the purposes of the check referred to in the first subparagraph, the contractor shall notify the competent authority, indicating the storage lots concerned, at least five working days before the expiry of the contractual storage period or the start of the removal operations, where these take place during or after the contractual storage period.

The Member State may accept a shorter time-limit than the five working days specified in the second subparagraph.

4.   A report shall be drawn up on the checks carried out pursuant to paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, specifying:

The report must be signed by the inspector responsible and countersigned by the contractor or, as the case may be, the person responsible for the storage depot, and must be included in the payment dossier.

5.   In the case of irregularities affecting at least 5 % of the quantities of products checked, the check shall be extended to a larger sample to be determined by the competent authority.

The Member States shall notify such cases to the Commission within four weeks.

6.   Member States may provide that the costs of checks are to be fully or in part charged to the contractor.

Article 8

Storage aid

1.   The aid shall be as follows:

2.   No aid shall be granted in respect of storage under contract for less than 60 days. The maximum aid payable shall not exceed an amount corresponding to 180 days’ storage under contract.

Where the contractor fails to comply with the time-limit referred to in the second or, as the case may be, third subparagraph of Article 7(3), the aid shall be reduced by 15 % and shall be paid only in respect of the period for which the contractor supplies satisfactory proof to the competent agency that the cheeses have remained in contractual storage.

3.   The aid shall be paid on application by the contractor, at the end of the contractual storage period, within 120 days of receipt of the application, provided that the checks referred to in Article 7(3) have been carried out and that the conditions for entitlement to the aid have been met.

However, if it has been necessary to commence an administrative inquiry into entitlement to the aid, payment shall not be made until entitlement has been recognised.

Article 9

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 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 May 2005.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL            

Member of the Commission

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(1)OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 48. Regulation last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 186/2004 (OJ L 29, 3.2.2004, p. 6).

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ANNEX

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