1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
aB COMMISSIONREGULATION(EEC)No2131/93
of28July1993
layingdowntheprocedureandconditionsforthesaleofcerealsheldbyinterventionagencies
(OJ L 191, 31.7.1993, p. 76)
Amended by:
OfficialJournal
No page date
aM1 Commission Regulation (EC) No 120/94 of 25 January 1994 L 21 1 26.1.1994
aM2 Commission Regulation (EC) No 2193/96 of 15 November 1996 L 293 1 16.11.1996
aM3 Commission Regulation (EC) No 39/1999 of 8 January 1999 L 5 64 9.1.1999
Corrected by:
aC1 Corrigendum, OJ L 14, 20.1.1995, p. 14 (2131/93/EEC)
NB: This consolidated version contains references to the European unit of account and/or the ecu, which from 1 January
1999 should be understood as references to the euro — Council Regulation (EEC) No 3308/80 (OJ L 345, 20.12.1980,p. 1) and CouncilRegul ation (EC) No 1103/97 (OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1).
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 2
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EEC)No2131/93
of28July1993
laying down the procedure and conditions for the sale of cereals
heldbyinterventionagencies
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic
Community,
Having regard to CouncilRegul ation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30 June
1992 on the common organization of the market in cereals (1), and in
particular Article 5 thereof,
Whereas cereals may be bought in by intervention agencies either
under compulsory intervention measures as provided for in Article 4
of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 or under special intervention mea-
sures as referred to in Article 6 of that Regulation;
Whereas cereals held by the intervention agencies must be sold with-
out any discrimination between Community purchasers; whereas inprinciple invitations to tender permit that objective to be achieved;
whereas, however, in certain cases it must be possible to use other
methods of sale;
Whereas, to ensure that all interested parties in the Community are
treated equally, notices of invitation to tender must be published intheOfficial Journal of the European Communities and a reasonable
time must elapse between the date of such publication and the first
closing date for the submission of tenders; whereas, however, such
publicity is necessary for quantities of less than 2 000 tonnes;
Whereas sale on the internal market must take place at prices which
do not disturb the market; whereas that aim can be achieved if theselling price is equal to the local market price, account being taken ofthe quality put up for sale by tender, without being below a given
level in relation to the intervention price; whereas in certain cases
observing such a price level may not be in the interests of sound man-agement of the market or of the intervention arrangements and mayresult in disturbance in the way the market organization functions;whereas provision should therefore be made for the possibility of dis-
posing of intervention stocks and specialprices in such cases;
Whereas, in addition, the purchase on the market of cereals particu-
larly suited to certain uses may be especially difficult; whereas provi-sion should therefore be made for the possibility of facilitating thesupply of that market from intervention stocks; whereas, however, thatpossibility must be restricted to exceptional cases;
Whereas the sale of cereals for export must take place at prices to be
determined in each case in the light of market trends and require-ments; whereas such sales must not however, lead to distortions to thedetriment of exports from the open market; whereas a minimum sell-ing price should therefore be fixed by the Commission on the basis oftenders submitted;
Whereas the minimum selling price is to be established by the Com-
mission in the light of all the relevant data available on the day onwhich tenders are submitted; whereas, in order to prevent speculationand ensure identicalconditions for al lconcerned in the invitation totender, tenders must be accompanied by an application for advance
fixing of the export refund;
Whereas tenders for different lots are comparable one with another
only where they relate to cereals in identical situations; whereas cer-eals put up for tender are stored in different places; whereas compar-ability may be better ensured by reimbursing to the successful tendererthe lowest costs of transport from the place where the cereals in ques-
(1) OJ No L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 21.
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 3
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tion are stored and the place of exit; whereas, however, for budgetary
reasons, such reimbursement can only be made in respect of the placeof exit which can be reached at the lowest cost; whereas that place
must be determined by reference to its facilities for exporting cereals;
Whereas invitations to tender can take place properly only if those
concerned submit genuine tenders; whereas that objective can beachieved by requiring that a security be paid, to be released on pay-ment of the selling price within the time limit laid down;
Whereas, in the case of invitations to tender for export, steps must be
taken to ensure that the cereals are not put back on the Communitymarket; whereas that risk exists if the selling price is less than the
minimum price to be observed in the case of resale on the internal
market; whereas provision should accordingly be made in such casesfor the lodging of a second security, which must be equal to the dif-ference between the selling price and that minimum price; whereas, asa consequence, that security can be released only if the successful ten-
derer intending to export the cereals provides the proof referred to in
Article 18 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 of 27November 1987 laying down common detailed rules for the applica-tion of the system of export refunds on agricultural products (
1), as last
amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1708/93 (2);
Whereas, in order to ensure that intervention stocks are disposed of
rapidly and as far as possible in line with commercial practice, a cer-
tain time limit should be laid down in respect of the rights and obliga-
tions deriving from the award;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1836/82 of 7 July 1982
laying down the procedure and conditions for the disposal of cerealsheld by intervention agencies (
3), as last amended by Regulation
(EEC) No 966/93 (4), has been amended on numerous occasions;
whereas, for the sake of clarity, it should be replaced;
Whereas it is necessary for all sales effected during the 1993/94 mar-
keting year to be treated in the same manner;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accor-
dance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Cereals bought in by the intervention agencies in accordance
with Article 4 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 shall be put up for
sale by invitation to tender or, in the case of resale on the Communitymarket, by public auction.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘invitation to tender’means
competition between interested parties in response to a call for ten-ders, the contract being awarded to the person submitting the most
favourable bid in accordance with this Regulation.
TITLE I
SaleontheCommunitymarket
Article 2
1. Decisions issuing invitations to tender shall be taken in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of Regulation (EEC)No 1766/92. Such decisions shall lay down in particular:
(a) the quantities to be put up for tender;
(1) OJ No L 351, 14. 12. 1987, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 159, 1. 7. 1993, p. 77.
(3) OJ No L 202, 9. 7. 1982, p. 23.
(4) OJ No L 98, 24. 4. 1993, p. 25.
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 4
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(b) the closing date for the submission of tenders in the case of speci-
fic invitations to tender and the first and finalcl osing dates forthe submission of tenders in the case of standing invitations to
tender.
The decisions referred to in the first subparagraph shall be brought to
the notice of all interested parties by their publication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities .
A period of at least eight days must elapse between the date of such
publication and the first closing date for the submission of tenders.
2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to invitations to tender covering
quantities of less than 2 000 tonnes.
Article 3
1. The intervention agencies shall draw up notices of invitations to
tender in accordance with Article 12 and shall publicize them, in par-
ticular by displaying them at their head offices. In the case of standing
invitations to tender, they shall specify therein the closing dates forthe submission of tenders for each partialinvitation to tender.
2. Notices of invitation to tender shall specify the minimum quanti-
ties which tenders must cover.
Article 4
Invitations to tender as provided for in Article 2 may be restricted to
specified uses and/or destinations.
Article 5
1. For resale other than as referred to in paragraph 3, successful
tenders must quote a price at least equal to the price recorded for anequivalent quality and for a representative quantity on the market at
the place of storage or, failing that, on the nearest market, account
being taken of transport costs. Bids may in no circumstances be lowerthan the intervention price applicable on the closing date for the sub-mission of tenders.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, the intervention prices to be
taken into account during the 12th month of the marketing year shall
be those applicable for the 11th month, plus one monthly increase.
3. In the case of resale of maize and grain sorghum during the first
three months of the marketing year and of common wheat, durumwheat, rye and barley during the first two months on the marketingyear, successfultenders must quote a price at l east equalto the inter-
vention price applicable for the 11th month of the preceding market-
ing year, plus one monthly increase fixed for that year.
4. If, during a marketing year, the operation of the market organi-
zation is disturbed on account in particular of difficulty in selling cer-eals at prices which comply with paragraph 1, special price conditionsmay be laid down in accordance with the procedure provided for in
Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92.
Article 6
In the second month following that of the closure of the invitation to
tender, the Member States concerned shall inform the Commission ofthe outcome of the tendering procedure, indicating in particular theaverage selling prices of the various lots and the quantities sold.
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 5
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TITLE II
Saleforexport
Article 7
1. Decisions issuing invitations to tender shall be taken in accor-
dance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of Regulation (EEC)No 1766/92. Such decisions shall lay down in particular:
(a) the quantities to be put up for tender;
(b) the regions where the quantities are stored;
(c) the closing date for the submission of tenders in the case of speci-
fic invitations to tender and the first and finalcl osing date for thesubmission of tenders in the case of standing invitations to tender.
The decisions referred to in the first subparagraph shall be brought to
the notice of all interested parties by their republication in the Official
Journal of the European Communities .
A period of at least eight days must elapse between the date of such
publication and the first closing date for the submission of tenders.
2. In the notices of invitation to tender provided for in Article 12,
the intervention agencies shall specify for each lot the port or place ofexit which may be reached at the lowest transport costs and which hasadequate technical facilities for exporting the cereals put up for ten-der.
The lowest transport costs between the place of storage and the place
of loading at the port or place of exit referred to in the first subpara-graph shall be reimbursed to the successful tenderer by the interven-
tion agency in respect of the quantities exported. In particular cases a
decision may be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to inparagraph 1 for carriage to be undertaken by the intervention agencyunder the same conditions.
2a. However, where Member States have no sea ports, provision
may be made to derogate from the preceding paragraph and to pro-
vide, in the case of export from a sea port, for the financing of thelowest transport costs between the place of storage and the actualplace of exit, within the maximum amounts indicated in the call fortenders. For the purposes of this paragraph, the Slovenian port ofKoper may be regarded as a place of exit.
3. In the case of standing invitations to tender, the invervention
agency shall set the closing dates for the submission of tenders foreach partialinvitation to tender.
Article 8
1. Tenders:
(a) may be rejected if they relate to lots of less than 500 tonnes;
(b) may stipulate that they are valid only for specified quantities;
(c) shall be considered as relating to a cereal delivered to, but not
unloaded at, the ports or places of exist referred to in Article 7(2).
2. Without prejudice to Article 13 (2), tenders shall be valid only if
they are accompanied by an application for an export licence togetherwith an application for advance fixing of the export refund or levy forthe relevant destination. All countries for which the same rate ofexport refund or levy applies shall be considered as one destination.bM3
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1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 6
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Article 9
Notwithstanding Article 21 (1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
3719/88 (1), export licences issued pursuant to this Regulation shall be
considered, for the purposes of determining their term of validity, ashaving been issued on the closing date for the submission of tenders.
Article 10
When each period for the submission of tenders has expired, the
Member State concerned shall forward to the Commission a list of thetenders, without names, in each case showing in particular the quan-tity, the price and the price increases and reductions applying thereto.
In accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 23 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1766/92, the Commission shall fix the minimum sell-ing price or shall decide to take no action in respect of the tendersreceived.
The minimum price shall be fixed at a level which does not prejudice
other export operations.
Article 11
Where the export licence application submitted by the successful ten-
derer pursuant to Article 8 (2) is based on Article 44 of Regulation
(EEC) No 3719/88, the intervention agency shall cancel the contractin respect of the quantities for which the licence is not issued inaccordance with that Article.
TITLE III
Generalandfinalprovisions
Article 12
At least eight days before the first closing date for the submission of
tenders, the intervention agencies shall publish a notice of invitationto tender setting out:
— supplementary terms and conditions of sale compatible with this
Regulation,
— the main physicaland technicalcharacteristics of the various l ots
ascertained at the time of buying in by the intervention agency orduring checks conducted thereafter,
— the places of storage and the names and addresses of the storers.
The notice and any amendments thereto shall be forwarded to the
Commission before the first closing date for the submission of ten-ders.
Article 13
1. In the case of sales on the Community market, tenders shall be
drawn up by reference to the standard quality defined in Council Reg-ulation (EEC) No 2731/75 (
2).
Where the quality of the cereal differs from the standard quality, the
successful tender price shall be adjusted by applying the priceincreases or reductions determined pursuant to Articles 4 and 5 ofRegulation (EEC) No 1766/92.
2. In the case of sales for export, tenders shall be drawn up by
reference to the actual quality of the lot to which the tender relates.
3. In the case of sales for export, provision may be made for ten-
ders submitted pursuant to Article 44 of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 not to be admissible.
4. Once submitted, tenders may not be amended or withdrawn.
(1) OJ No L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(2) OJ No L 281, 1. 11. 1975, p. 22.
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 7
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Tenders shall be valid only if they are accompanied by proof that the
tenderer has lodged a security of:
— ECU 5 per tonne in the case of a sale for export,
— ECU 5 to 10 per tonne, to be fixed by Member State concerned,
in the case of a sale on the Community market.
Article 14
Intervention agencies shall take all measures necessary to enable inter-
ested parties to assess the quality of cereals put up for sale before sub-mitting their tenders.
Article 15
Intervention agencies shall immediately inform all tenderers of the
outcome of their tender. They shall forward statements of award ofcontract to the successfultenderers within three working days of thesaid notification, by registered letter or written telecommunication.
Article 16
Successful tenderers shall pay for the cereals before they are removed
and at the latest within one month of the date on which the statementreferred to in Article 15 was forwarded. They shall bear all risks and
storage costs in respect of cereals not removed within the period
allowed for payment.
Cereals covered by contracts awarded and not removed within the per-
iod allowed for payment shall be deemed to all effects to have been
removed on expiry of that term. In that case, where sales on the inter-
nalmarket are concerned, the price tendered shal lbe adjusted byreference to the quality characteristics described in the notice of invi-tation to tender.
In the case of sales for export, the price to be paid shall be that
quoted in the tender, plus a monthly increase where removal takesplace in the month following that of award of the contract.
Where the successfultenderer has not paid for the cereal s within the
period laid down in the first paragraph, the contract shall be cancelled
by the intervention agency in respect of the quantities not paid for.
Article 17
1. The securities referred to in this Regulation shall be lodged in
accordance with Title II of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 (
1).
2. The security provided for in Article 13 (4) shall be released
where it covers quantities for which:
— no contract has been awarded,
— the selling price has been paid within the period laid down, and in
the case of sales for export and where the price paid is less thanthe minimum price for resale on the Community market, in accor-dance with Article 5 (1), (2) and (3), a security covering the differ-ence between those two prices has been lodged.
3. The security provided for in the second indent of paragraph 2
shall be released where it covers quantities in respect of which:
— proof has been furnished that the goods have become unfit for
human or animalconsumption,
— the proof referred to in Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3665/
87 has been provided. However, the security shall be releasedwhere the operator provides proof that a quantity of at least 1 500
(1) OJ No L 205, 3. 8. 1985, p. 5.bC1
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1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 8
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tonnes of cereals products has left the customs territory of the
Community on a vessel suitable for sea transport. Such proof shallbe provided by the following indication, certified by the competent
authority, on the control copy referred to in Article 6 of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 3665/87, on the single administrative document oron the nationaldocument proving that the goods have l eft the cus-toms territory of the Community:
Exportacih’MSIn de cereales por vh’MIPa marh’MIPtima; arth’MIPculo 17 del Regla-
mento (CEE) n
o2131/93
Eksport af korn ad søvejen — Artikel17 i forordning (EØF) nr.
2131/93
Getreideausfuhr auf dem Seeweg — Verordnung (EWG) Nr. 2131/
93 Artikel17
Ejagvg/C211 sithr/C214n di/C209 ual/C209sshß —/C220ruro 17 toy kanonismo/C215
(EOK) ariu. 2131 /93
Export of cereals by sea — Article 17 of Regulation (EEC) No
2131/93
Exportation de ch’MHUrh’MHUales par voie maritime — Rh’HFFglement (CEE) no
2131/93, article 17Esportazione di cereali per via marittima — articolo 17 del regola-
mento (CEE) n. 2131/93
Uitvoer van graan over zee — (EEG) nr. 2131/93, artikel17
Exportah’MIH¼o de cereais por via marh’MIPtima — artigo 17.
odo Regula-
mento (CEE) n.o2131/93,
— the licence has not been issued in accordance with Article 44 of
Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88,
— the contract has been cancelled in accordance with the fourth para-
graph of Article 16.
4. The security provided for in Article 13 (4) shall be forfeited in
respect of quantities for which:
— the security referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 44
(6) of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 has been forfeited,
— except in cases of force majeure , payment has not been made
within the period laid down in Article 16.
5. Except in cases of force majeure , the security provided for in
the second indent of paragraph 2 shall be forfeited in respect of quan-tities for which the proof referred to in the second indent of paragraph3 has been provided within the period laid down in Article 47 of Reg-
ulation (EEC) No 3665/87.
Article 17a
Notwithstanding Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 and
where:
— the refund applicable on the day of submission of tenders for Swit-
zerland or Liechtenstein is different from that for other third coun-tries,
— the successfultenderer has fixed in advance the l owest standard
refund other than that applying to Switzerland or Liechtenstein;
proof of completion of customs formalities for release for consump-
tion shall not be required for payment of the refund provided theoperator furnishes proof that at least 1 500 tonnes of cereal productshas left the customs territory of the Community on a sea-going vessel.
Such proof shall be furnished by the following endorsement, certified
by the competent authority, on the controlcopy referred to in Articl e6 of Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87, the single administrative docu-ment or the nationaldocument proving that the goods have l eft thecustoms territory of the Community:b
B
bM2
1993R2131 — EN — 12.01.1999 — 003.001 — 9
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Exportacih’MSIn de cereales por vh’MIPa marh’MIPtima; arth’MIPculo 17 bisdelRegl a-
mento (CEE) no2131/93
Eksport af korn ad søvejen — Artikel17a i forordning (EØF) nr.
2131/93
Ausfuhr von Getreide auf dem Seeweg — Verordnung (EWG) Nr.
2131/93 Artikel17a
H ejagvg/C211 tvn sithr/C214n di/C209 ualass/C212aß odo/C215 —Kanonism/C213ß
(EOK) ariu. 2131 /93,/C209ruro 17 a
Export of cereals by sea — Article 17a of Regulation (EEC) No
2131/93
Exportation de ch’MHUrh’MHUales par voie maritime — Rh’HFFglement (CEE) no
2131/93, article 17 bis
Esportazione di cereali per via marittima — Regolamento (CEE) n.
2131/93, articolo 17 bis
Uitvoer van graan over zee — Verordening (EEG) nr. 2131/93, artikel
17 bis
Exportah’MIH¼o de cereais por via marh’MIPtima — Artigo 17.oA, Regulamento
(CEE) n.o2131/93
Viljan vienti meriteitse — Asetus (ETY) N:o 2131/93 17a artikla
Export av spanmh’MMklsjh’MSUvh’MMzgen — artikel17a i fh’MSUrordning (EEG) nr
2131/93.
Article 18
Regulation (EEC) No 1836/82 is repealed.References to that Regulation shall be construed as references to this
Regulation.
Article 19
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publication in
theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.b
B