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1This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3472/85
of 10 December 1985
on the buying-in and storage of olive oil by intervention agencies
(OJ No L 333, 11. 12. 1985, p. 5)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 584/86 of 28 February 1986 L 57 33 1. 3. 1986
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3635/86 of 28 November 1986 L 336 39 29. 11. 1986Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3236/87 of 29 October 1987 L 308 12 30. 10. 1987Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1859/88 of 30 June 1988 L 166 13 1. 7. 1988Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3502/88 of 9 November 1988 L 306 40 11. 11. 1988Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1524/91 of 5 June 1991 L 142 24 6. 6. 1991Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1686/92 of 29 June 1992 L 176 34 30. 6. 1992Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2310/92 of 31 July 1992 L 222 23 7. 8. 1992Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1382/93 of 4 June 1993 L 136 23 5. 6. 1993Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1767/93 of 30 June 1993 L 162 6 3. 7. 1993Commission Regulation (EC) No 1509/94 of 29 June 1994 L 162 31 30. 6. 1994
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ICOMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3472/85
of 10 December 1985
on the buying-in and storage of olive oil by intervention agencies
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the T reaty establishing the EuropeanEconomic Community.
Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of
22 September 1966 on the establishment of a common or-
ganization of the market in oils and fats (
1), as last
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 231/85 (2), and in par-
ticular Article 12 (4) thereof,
Whereas the purpose of the intervention price is to guar-
antee olive oil producers a price which is as close as poss-
ible to the market target price; whereas this objective can
be achieved by providing for an intervention system for
those olive oils which constitute the greater part of theirproduction and which can be stored; whereas those oils for
which marketing is difficult should be excluded from this
guarantee;
Whereas, when the minimum quantity which the interven-
tion agency will accept is being fixed, account must be
taken, firstly, of the proportions of the various qualities
represented in total virgin olive oil production and of the
production structure and, secondly, of trade practices at
the wholesale stage, where the intervention price is fixed;
Whereas measures should be laid down enabling the origin
of the product offered for intervention to be ascertained;
Whereas, since intervention is confined to the olive oils
specified in points 1 and 4 of the Annex to Regulation
136/66/EEC, in order to ensure that the intervention sys-
tem operates correctly, the method of analysis to be used
to guarantee that products offered for intervention corre-
spond to the definitions of the abovementioned oils should
be specified;
Whereas, in view of the normal practice in the trade, it is
appropriate to fix the maximum water and impurities con-
tent and the threshold levels for applying weight deduc-
tions;
(1) OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66.
(2) OJ No L 26, 31. 1. 1985, p. 12.
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IIWhereas the price increases and reductions used to adjust
the buying-in price must be fixed according to the value of
the various qualities of oils which may be offered for inter-
vention, taking account of the relative values on the Com-
munity market; whereas, to ensure that these differentiated
increases and reductions are correctly applied, it is necess-
ary to ascertain that these oils do actually possess the
requisite characteristics, in particular by means of a system
of approved specialized institutions and laboratories;
Whereas Article 12 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC provides
that intervention agencies must take into account any
changes in costs to the seller resulting from the delivery of
the oil to a place other than that indicated by him; where-
as the conditions under which these provisions apply must
be laid down;
Whereas olive oil can deteriorate while in storage; whereas
it is necessary to keep such deterioration to a minimum;whereas certain minimum standards for the storage of oils
bought in should therefore be laid down;
Whereas, for the purposes of good management of inter-
vention stocks and for control purposes, each warehouse
where olive oil is stored should be obliged to keep daily
stock records; whereas, to the same end, it is necessary to
specify certain checks and stasks (SIC! tasks) to be per-
formed by the Member States;
Whereas, in the interests of clarity Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 2942/80 (
1) should be repealed and replaced by
this Regulation;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of the Management Com-
mittee for Oils and Fats,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
(1) OJ No L 305, 14. 11. 1980, p. 23.
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1Article 1
Intervention under Article 12 (1) of Regulation No
136/66/EEC shall be restricted to olive oil as defined at
point 1 of the Annex to that Regulation. The water and
impurity content of such oil may not be more than 1 %.
I nt h ec a s eo fl a m p a n t ev i r g i no l i v eo i lt h ef r e ef a t t ya c i d
content expressed as oleic acid may not be more than 6 %.
Article 2
1. The olive oil originating in the Community referred
to in Article 1 may be offered to the intervention agency
by:
— any natural or legal person proving he is the first
owner of the oil produced, and
— producers’ organizations and associations thereof rec-
ognized under Regulation No 136/66/EEC acting on
behalf of the measures of those organizations.
The offer shall only be accepted when the party concerned
proves that the oil in question has been produced in the
Community.
2. Oil mills’ stock records as specified in Article 9 (2)of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3061/84 (
1)s h a l l
constitute evidence of ownership of oil and of its Com-
munity origin .
3. The quantity offered must be at least 20 tonnes.
For the 1991/92, 1992/93 and 1993/94 marketing years,
however, the minimum quantity offered in Greece and
Portugal must be:
— 500 kg if the oil offered is of one of the qualities
defined in 1 (a) or (b) of the Annex to Regulation
No 136/66/EEC,
— 1000 kg if the oil offered is of the quality defined in
1 (c) of that Annex,
— 2000 kg if the oil offered is of the quality defined in
1(d) of that Annex, or if the quantity offered is di-
vided into two or more different parts each of a qual-
ity defined in 1 of that Annex.
4. Subject to the provisions of Article 1, the offer shall
not be accepted until the intervention agency:
(1) OJ No L 288, 1. 11. 1984, p. 52.1859/88
1509/941509/94
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2(a) in the case of virgin oils other than lampante, has
checked by means of the methods set out in Annexes
II, III, IV , VIII, IX, XA and B and XI to Regulation
(EEC) No 2568/91 that the relevant physical and
chemical characteristics of the oil offered conform
with those given for one of the categories of virgin oil
other than lampante in Annex I to the said Regula-
tion;
(b) in the case of lampante virgin oil, has checked by
means of the methods set out in Annexes II, IV , V ,
VI, VII, VIII and X A point 6 to Regulation (EEC)
No 2568/91 that the relevant physical and chemical
characteristics of the oil offered conform with those
given for this category of virgin olive oil in the Annex
to the said Regulation;
(c) has checked that the oil offered does not exceed the
maximum permitted levels of radioactivity laid downby Community legislation. The levels applicable to
products of Community origin contaminated as a re-
sult of the accident at the Chernobyl power station
shall be those laid down in Article 3 of Council Re-
gulation (EEC) No 3955/87 (
1). Checks on the level
of radioactive contamination of the product shall only
be carried out if the situation so requires and for the
period necessary. Where appropriate, the duration
and extent of control measures shall be determined
according to the procedure provided for in Article 38
of Regulation (EEC) No 136/66/EEC.
The provisions of the previous subparagraph shall not
apply, except when there is doubt as to the nature of the
oil offered, to lots not exceeding 1 tonne.
The tests within the meaning of this paragraph and of the
second subparagraph of article 3 (2) must be performed by
laboratories approved by the Member States concerned
that are independent of its intervention agency and, in
cases where the intervention agency entrusts intervention
to storage agencies, are independent of these agencies.
(1) OJ No L 371, 30. 12. 1987, p. 14.1686/92
1509/94
1524/91 - - - deleted
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35. In the case of virgin olive oil other than lampante,
the offer may not be accepted until the intervention
agency has checked that the organoleptic characteristics
correspond to those defined in the Annex to Regulation
No 136/66/EEC. This check must be carried out by an in-
stitute approved by the Member State concerned that is
independent of its intervention agency and, in cases where
the intervention agency entrusts intervention to storage
agencies, is independent of these agencies.
In the event of a Member State failing to approve such an
institute, the Commission may, by decision, suspend the
price increases for virgin olive oil in the Member State
concerned.
6. Where the intervention agency finds that oil offered
for intervention is not of the quality specified, the offer to
purchase may be withdrawn.
In such cases, any costs of entry into store, storage and
withdrawal of the oil so offered shall be borne by the per-
son offering such oil.
Article 3
1. The buying-in price in ecus shall be that valid on
the day of lodging of the offer, if necessary adjusted inaccordance with Article 5 in the case of goods delivered to
warehouse but not unloaded, allowance being made for the
price increases and reductions provided for in this Regula-
tion.
The agricultural conversion rate to be applied shall be that
valid on the day of taking-over.
2. The buying-in price shall be adjusted by applying tothe intervention price the increases and reductions speci-
fied in the Annex.
The adjustments specified for virgin oils other than lam-
pante may only be granted for oils whose characteristics
have been shown to correspond to those specified at (a) in
Article 2 (4).
In the case of virgin oil other than lampante, examination
of the organoleptic characteristics shall be carried out by
the method given in Annex XII to Regulation (EEC) No
2568/91. This analysis shall precede those provided for in
Article 2 (4).
3. Payment shall be effected for the quantity of oil de-livered, after deduction of the weight of water and impu-
rities in excess of 0,2 % for virgin oil
.3472/85
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1686/92
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44. Payment for oil bought by the intervention agency
shall be made within a period commencing on the 31st day
after the oil is taken over by the intervention agency and
ending on the 40th day after such date.
However, the time limit for payment shall end on
the 80th day in the case of offers for virgin olive oil other
than lampante.
Article 4
1. Any offer of sale of an intervention agency must be
made in writing to the intervention agency of the Member
S t a t ei nw h i c ht h eo i li sl o c a t e d .
2. The intervention agency shall accept the offer with
delay and specify all necessary conditions for the taking-
over.
3 . T h ed a t eo ft a k i n g - o v e ri st h ed a t eu p o nw h i c hd e -livery commences. The delivery of quantities offered for
intervention must be completed prior to the 46th day fol-
l o w i n gt h ed a t eo nw h i c ht h eo f f e ro fs a l ea p p l i c a t i o nr e -
ferred to in paragraph 1 was lodged.
Article 5
1. In his offer the person offering the oil shall specify
the intervention centre to which he wishes to deliver the
oil and the place in which the oil is in storage when the
offer i made.
2. The intervention agency shall decide on the place at
which the oil is to be taken over. If, at the request of the
intervention agency, the oil is delivered:
— to a centre other than the centre named in the offer,
any resulting increase in transport costs to the seller
shall be taken into account when payment is being
effected,
— to a place other than an intervention centre, any re-
sulting increase or decrease in transport costs to the
seller shall be taken into account when payment is
being effected.
3. The intervention agency shall designate a place of
delivery other than the centre indicated by the person
offering the oil if, at the time of the transaction, that
centre does not have sufficient storage capacity for the
product in question or there is doubt as to whether the oil
could be kept in good condition there.1767/93
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5The place of delivery to be designated by the intervention
agency shall, of all those with sufficient storage capacity
and facilities for keeping the oil in good condition, be that
affording the lowest storage and additional transport costs.
Article 6
For the purposes of this Regulation:
— a ‘warehouse’ shall mean premises that are arranged
for the reception and storage of one or more lots of
olive oil and constitute an operational unit of an in-
tervention centre,
— a ‘lot’ shall mean a quantity of olive oil all of the
same quality offered for intervention by a single natu-
ral or legal person and contained in a single con-
tainer,
— a ‘storage lot’ shall mean a quantity of olive oil con-
sisting of one or more lots of the same quality stored
together for the purposes of sale.
Article 7
1. All warehouses in which intervention olive oil is
kept must have a structure, a capacity and equipment
which make it possible for the oil to be received, bought
in, stored, handled and sold in good conditions.
All basic storage units must have a lining which ensures
that the oil will be kept in good condition; they must be
protected from direct sunlight.
2. No oils and fats other than olive oil shall be placed
in stores in olive oil intervention warehouses.
Intervention olive oil shall be stored separately from other
olive oil. The storage of intervention olive oil is prohibited
within the boundaries of an olive oil refinery or olive oil
residue extraction plant.
3. The intervention or storage agency shall keep daily
stock records of each olive oil intervention warehouse
comprising at least the following information and docu-
mentation:
(a) the quantity, quality, location and owner, lot by lot, of
olive oil offered for intervention, together with a copy
of the delivery note or receipt;
(b) for each lot bought in the purchase invoice, as soon
as available, and a copy of the analysis certificate;3472/85
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6(c) for each storage lot formed or in the process of
formation, quality, quantity and location with a refer-
ence to the original lots as mentioned in (b) and a
mention of any downgrading of the lot;
(d) the movements of oil and residues within the ware-
house;
(e) for each lot withdrawn, also a copy of the withdrawal
note and, as soon as available, the sales invoice, and
where appropriate a copy of the analysis certificate
referred to in Article 11 of Commission Regulation
(EEC) No 2960/77 (1);
(f) quantity and location of each lot of oil-bearing resi-
dues formed.
If an intervention warehouse also stores olive oil other
than intervention oil it shall keep separate stock records
therefor.
Article 8
1. Storage lots shall be formed from the lots bought in.
These must, especially in the case of directly edible oils, be
formed in such a way as to guarantee that the principal
characteristics of the original lots are retained.
Lots not exceeding 1 tonne bought in Greece and Portugal
during the 1991/92, 1992/93 and 1993/94 marketing years
must form separate storage lots from those formed from
lots which have undergone the analyses provided for in Ar-
ticle 2.
2. The quantity of each storage lot must exceed 20tonnes, except in cases of a shortage of oil.
3. As soon as a storage lot is formed, three 250-gramrepresentative samples of the lot shall be sealed and
lodged with the intervention agency so that the oil from
each lot can be identified.
4. T o ensure that the oil is kept in good condition,
each storage lot must be decanted or, in the case of non-
edible oils drawn off, at least three times during the first
six months of storage.
5. The lots of intervention olive oil must be kept in
the warehouse in which they were taken over. They may
be placed in another warehouse only for serious reasons
and after authorization by the intervention agency.
(1) OJ No L 348, 30. 12. 1977, p. 46.3472/85
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1524/91
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7Article 9
1. The Member States concerned shall periodically
check at each intervention centre and warehouse:
— the operations relating to the buying-in, storage and
sale of oils,
— the stock position,
— the way in which the stock records are kept,
— the quality of each storage lot.
2. In cases where the intervention agency entrusts in-
tervention to storage agencies it shall check on a random
basis that the oil stored corresponds to the samples speci-
fied in Article 8 (3).
3. The Member States concerned shall at the start of
each marketing year analyse all the lots of edible oil. The
results of this analysis shall be sent to the Commission not
later than 31 January of each marketing year.
The Commission, after examining these results, shall,
where appropriate, downgrade the oils which no longer
have the characteristics assigned to them in the interven-
tion stocks records and shall inform the Member States
concerned of the downgrading.
4. Member States shall take all measures necessary,
apart from those referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3, to
ensure that olive oil bought in is kept in good condition.
Article 10
Without prejudice to Council Regulation (EEC) No
729/70 (1), in order to coordinate certain activities and to
improve the management of intervention stocks, Commis-
sion officials may participate in the work:
— of the agencies and laboratories responsible for the
analyses and examinations provided for in Articles 2
and 3,
— of checking on storage operations, as specified in Ar-
ticle 9.
Article 11
Member States shall inform the Commission of the
measures taken in implementation of this Regulation.
Article 12
Regulation (EEC) No 2942/80 is hereby repealed.
(1) OJ No L 94, 28. 4. 1970, p. 13.3472/85
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8Article 13
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Commu-
nities.
However, the second subparagraph of Article 7 (1) and the
third subparagraph of Article 2 (4) shall apply from 1 No-
vember 1986.3472/85
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9ANNEX
(ECU/100 kg )
Description and qualiy (SIC! quality)
as defined in the Annex to Regulation
No 136/66/EEC (the degree of acidity
represents the free fatty -acid content
expressed as oleic acid/100 g of oil)Price increase Price reduction
Extra virgin olive oil 10,00 —
Virgin olive oil 4,00 —
Semi -fine virgin olive oil — —
Lampante virgin olive oil, 1 ˚ — 9
Other lampante virgin olive oils
—More than 1 ˚to up to 6 ˚
acidityReduction increased byECU 0,32 for eachadditional 10th of a
degree of acidity1509/94