Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2014:2432
Date: 2014-12-11
Language of the case: Portuguese
Court formation: Fifth Chamber
Subject matter: Agriculture and Fisheries;Monetary measures in the field of agriculture
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Portugal

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber), 11 December 2014 1. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Conditions for granting — Products of sound and fair marketable quality — Obligation of control by the Member States — Scope (Council regulation No 822/87; Commission Regulation No 3665/87, as amended by Regulation No 1829/94, Art. 13 and No 2238/93) 2. Agriculture — Common organisation of the markets — Export refunds — Advance payment — Release of the guarantee furnished to ensure the repayment of the advance — Conditions (Commission Regulation No 2220/85, as amended by Regulations No 3403/93, Art. 19(1)(a), and No 3665/87, as amended by Regulation No 1829/94, Art. 13] 1. As regards export refunds, the condition relating to sound and fair marketable quality of the product exported, referred to in Article 13 of Regulation No 3665/87 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products, as amended by Regulation No 1829/94, is a material condition required for the payment of refunds. In that regard, it follows from Article 13 that the Member States are to check that the products exported to third countries are of sound and fair marketable quality. However, where the exporter has not fulfilled the obligation to keep registers in accordance with Regulation No 822/87 on the common organisation of the market in wine and Regulation No 2238/93 on the accompanying documents for the carriage of wine products and the relevant records to be kept, which is to be determined by the referring court, the Member States are deprived of the possibility of checking whether the products exported to third countries are of sound and fair marketable quality under Article 13 of Regulation No 3665/87 and, consequently, of ensuring that the conditions connected with the system of advanced payment of export refunds are satisfied. (see paras 35, 36, 40) 2. Article 19(1)(a) of Regulation No 2220/85 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of securities for agricultural products, as amended by Regulation No 3403/93, must be interpreted as meaning that the guarantee furnished by an exporter to ensure the repayment of the advance received by way of export refund must not be considered to be extinguished even where it is established that the exporter submitted the acceptance of the export declaration, proof that the goods left the customs territory of the European Union within a maximum period of 60 days after that acceptance, and the proof of clearance of those products through customs in the importing third country, if the other conditions for the grant of the refund, in particular the condition of sound and fair marketable quality of the products exported, provided for in Article 13 of Regulation No 3665/87 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products, as amended by Regulation No 1829/94, are not satisfied. (see para. 42, operative part)