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COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 618/90
of 14 March 1990
laying down rules for drawing up the annual inventory of agricultural products in public storage
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3247/81 of 9 November 1981 on the financing by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund, Gurarantee Section, of certain intervention measures, particularly those involving the buying-in, storage and sale of agricultural products by intervention agencies (1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3757/89 (2), and in particular Article 2 (1a) thereof,
Whereas Article 2 of Regulation (EEC) No 3247/81 provides that the intervention agencies are to draw up inventories of products in public intervention storage and that the Commission is to lay down detailed rules for their application;
Whereas an inventory must give an accurate indication of stocks and may therefore be based on records kept throughout the year and detailed inspection at a given moment;
Whereas sound administrative practice requires that the inventory of products in public storage be based on stock inventories kept and checked for each store by its storekeepers;
Whereas the date to appear in the monthly and annual inventories should be specified and also any special requirements for particularly products; whereas the checks and inspections falling to intervention agencies and the procedures to be followed if discrepancies are found should also be specified;
Whereas the measures laid down in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the EAGGF Committee,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
Each intervention agency shall, for the end of the financial year, draw up a full inventory stored agricultural products bought in pursuant to Article 4 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1883/78 (3). The inventory shall be based on the monthly accounting inventories drawn up by the storekeepers in accordance with Article 2 and the inventory inspection reports drawn up at least once annually for each warehouse by an official of the intervention agency.
Article 2
The monthly accounting inventory shall be drawn up by the storekeeper for each warehouse in which products in public storage are kept. The inventory shall be sent to the intervention agency before the tenth day of the following month.
It shall include at least the following information: - stock carried over from the previous month, - entries and removals, by batch, and - the balance of stocks at the end of the month. A model for the inventory is given in Annex I.
Article 3
The accounting inventory shall be verified by the storekeeper during the last two months of the financial year.
This verification shall entail verification of the physical presence of the goods in accordance with a form, a model for which is given in Annex II.
The verification shall be carried out in the presence of an official of the intervention agency.
If, however, the official of the intervention agency is not present, he shall carry out the verification on his next visit, taking account of stock movements occurring in the interval.
Article 4
On the basis of the accounting inventories, the official of the intervention agency shall check on the spot:
- the procedure used by the storekeeper to draw up the inventories
- the accounting data of the warehouse (entries, removals, balance of stocks) and the outcome of the storekeeper's annual inventory.
The official shall compare the abovementioned accounting data with the quantitative data in his own accounts and with the monthly accounting inventories.
Where there is agreement between the accounts, he shall make a physical inspection of at least 5 % of the quantities stored in accordance with the methods set out in Annex III for each product.
Where accounts differ or where the physical inspection reveals a discrepancy not clearly justified, an additional percentage of the quantities in intervention storage must be checked in accordance with the same method. This check must be continued by adding an additional 5 % each time to the quantities involved until the differences or discrepancies are explained.
The intervention agency may be represented by an auditor or controller approved by a Member State.
The inspection shall by carried out by a person independent of the storekeeper.
Article 5
1. The intervention agency or its representative within the meaning of Article 4 shall draw up, at the time of the inspection, a report which shall contain at least:
(a) the name of the storekeeper and the address of the warehouse inspected;
(b) the date and time of commencement and completion of the inventory operation;
(c) the place where the inspection is carried out and a description of the storage conditions;
(d) full particulars of the person or persons carrying out the inspection, their occupational status and their mandate;
(e) for each batch stored in the warehouse, the quantity shown in the records of the intervention agency, the quantity shown in the records of the warehouse and any discrepancies found between those records. For each batch inspected physically, the report shall include the same data and the quantity established on the spot and any discrepancies;
(f) declarations made by the storekeeper where there are discrepancies or lack of agreement;
(g) the date and place of the report and the signatures of the person who draws it up and the storekeeper or his representative.
The report shall be sent to the intervention agency immediately.
2. The accounts of the intervention agency shall be corrected to reflect the discrepancies and lack of agreement established immediately upon receipt of the report, and declared to the EAGGF in accordance with Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 3247/81.
3. The reports shall be kept at the headquarters of the intervention agency and shall be available to Commission officials.
Article 6
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 October 1990.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 14 March 1990.