EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/14
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 539/2000
of 13 March 2000
on the issuing of a standing invitation to tender for the sale of common wheat of breadmaking
quality held by the German intervention agency for export to certain ACP countries in the
1999/2000 marketing year
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the EuropeanCommunity,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30
June 1992 on the common organisation of the market incereals(
1),aslastamendedbyCommissionRegulation(EC)No
1253/1999(2).
Whereas:
(1)Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93(3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 39/1999(4), lays down
the procedure and conditions for the disposal of cerealsheld by intervention agencies.
(2)WithaviewtosupplyingthemarketsoftheACPcoun-tries, favoured partners of the Community, significantquantitiesofcommonwheatarerequired;whereasthesemarkets are usually supplied on the basis of regularcontracts to ensure stable prices for the ACP countriesover a certain period. It is therefore necessary to issue aspecificinvitationtotendertoensurethatusersinthesecountrieshaveaccesstocommonwheatofbreadmakingquality under conditions appropriate to the highlycompetitive situation on the world market.
(3)The German intervention agency holds stocks ofcommon wheat of breadmaking quality. Part of thewheat coming from the intervention stocks held by theaforementionedagencyshouldthereforeberesoldtotheACP countries to meet their quantitative and qualitativeneeds. The common wheat successfully tendered formust be exported to the countries of destination by 31August 2000 at the latest.
(4)The specific nature of the operation and the accountingposition of the common wheat in question requiregreater flexibility in the mechanisms and obligationsgoverning the resale of intervention stocks and alsorequireexclusionofanyrefund,taxormonthlyincrease.Specialproceduresmustbelaiddowntoensurethattheoperations and their monitoring are properly effected.To that end provision should be made for a securitylodgment scheme which ensures that the aims are metwhile avoiding excessive costs for the operators. Dero-gations should accordingly be made to certain rules, inparticular those laid down in Regulation (EEC) No
2131/93.
(5)In addition to the conditions laid down in Article 30 ofCommission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88(
5), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1127/1999(6), provi-
sion should be made for the release for consumption inthe ACP State(s) laid down in the Regulation.
(6)Where removal of the wheat is delayed by more thanfivedays,orthereleaseofoneofthesecuritiesrequiredis delayed, for reasons imputable to the interventionagency the Member State concerned will have to paycompensation.
(7)The measures provided for in this Regulation are inaccordance with the opinion of the ManagementCommittee for Cereals,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. A standing invitation to tender is hereby issued for the
export of 150024 tonnes of common wheat of breadmakingquality, held by the German intervention agency.
2. The common wheat must be exported to an ACP State or
to several States within one of the groups of ACP States listedin Annex I.
3. The regions in which the 150024 tonnes of German
common wheat of breadmaking quality are stored are listed inAnnex II.
4. The intervention agency concerned shall prepare a notice
of invitation to tender indicating for each lot or, where appro-priate, each part lot:
— the location,
— and at least the following features:
— specific weight,
— moisture content,— Hagberg falling number,— impurity contents and sprouted grains,— protein content.
(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 18.
(3) OJ L 191, 31.7.1993, p. 76. (5) OJ L 331, 2.12.1988, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 5, 9.1.1999, p. 64. (6) OJ L 135, 29.5.1999, p. 48.
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/15
5. It shall publish the notice of invitation to tender at least
two days before the date set for the first partial invitation totender.
Article 2
Subject to the provisions of this Regulation, the sales of
commonwheatofbreadmakingqualityreferredtoinArticle1shall take place in accordance with the procedure and condi-tions laid down by Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93.
Article 3
1. The time limit for submitting tenders for the first partial
invitationtotendershallbe9a.m.(Brusselstime)onThursday16 March 2000.
2. Thetimelimitforsubmittingtendersforthesecondpartial
invitation to tender shall be 9 a.m. (Brussels time) on thefollowing Thursday.
The time limit for the last partial invitation to tender shall be
25 May 2000.
3. Tenders must be submitted to the German intervention
agency.
Article 4
1. Tenders shall only be admissible if:
— thetendererprovideswrittenprooffromanofficialbodyin
the ACP country of destination or a company having itsoverseas subsidiary in the said country, that he hasconcludedforthequantityinquestionacommercialsupplycontract for common wheat for export to an ACP State orto several States within one of the groups of ACP Stateslisted in Annex I. That contract may cover only thosedeliveries to be made during the period April to August2000 for quantities traditionally supplied; such proof shallbe lodged with the competent authorities at least twoworking days before the date of the partial invitation totender against which the tender is to be submitted,
— they are accompanied by an application for an export
licence for the destination in question.
Theproofprovidedforinthefirstindentshallalsoindicatethe
quality provided for in the contract, the time limit for deliveryand the price terms.
The Member State shall send the Commission a copy of the
said proof forthwith, for information.
2. Tenders may not exceed the quantity laid down in the
commercial contract submitted.
Article 5
1. No export refund or export tax or monthly increase shall
be applied for exports carried out pursuant to this Regulation.
2. The validity of the export licences issued in accordance
with this Regulation shall expire on 31 August 2000.3. ThelicenceobligestheoperatortoexporttotheACPState
or States for which the licence application was submitted.However, up to a limit of 30% of the quantity for which thelicence was issued. The operator may effect his contract atanother destination on condition that it belongs to the samegroup of countries listed in Annex I.
4. The export licences shall be issued as soon as the
successful tenderers have been selected.
5. Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 notwith-
standing,therightsderivingfromthelicencereferredtointhisArticle shall not be transferable.
Article 6
1. The intervention agency, the storer and the successful
tenderer, if he so wishes, shall, by common agreement, eitherbefore or at the moment of removal from storage, as thesuccessful tenderer chooses, take reference samples at the rateof at least one sample for every 500 tonnes, and shall analysethe samples. The intervention agency may be represented by aproxy, provided this is not the storer.
The Commission must be informed of the findings of the
analyses in the event of a dispute.
Reference samples shall be taken and analysed within seven
workingdaysofthedateofthesuccessfultenderer'srequestorwithin three working days if the samples were taken onremovalfromstorage.Ifthefinalresultofthesampleanalysesindicates a quality:
(a) greater than that specified in the notice of invitation to
tender,thesuccessfultenderermustacceptthelotasestab-lished;
(b) greaterthantheminimumcharacteristicsrequiredforinter-
vention but below the quality described in the notice ofinvitationtotender,withthedifferenceremainingwithinalimit of up to:
— 2 kg/hl for the specific weight, which must not,
however, be less than 72 kg/hl,
— one percentage point for the mositure content,— 20 percentage points for the Hagberg falling index,— one percentage point for the protein content,— halfapercentagepointfortheimpuritiesreferredtoin
B.2 and B.4 of the Annex to Commission Regulation(EEC) No 689/92(
1),
and
— halfapercentagepointfortheimpuritiesreferredtoin
pointB.5oftheAnnextoRegulation(EEC)No689/92,thepercentagesadmissiblefornoxiousgrainsandergot,however, remaining unchanged,
the successful tenderer must accept the lot as established;
(c) greaterthantheminimumcharacteristicsrequiredforinter-
vention but below the quality described in the notice ofinvitationtotenderwiththedifferencesurpassingthelimitreferred to in point (b), the successful tenderer may:
(1) OJ L 74, 20.3.1992, p. 18.
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/16
— either accept the lot as established,
— orrefusetotakeoverthelotinquestion.Thesuccessful
tenderer shall be released from all his obligationsrelating to the lot in question, including the securities,only once he has informed the Commission and theintervention agency forthwith, in accordance withAnnex V; however, if he requests the interventionagency to supply him with another lot of interventionbreadmaking wheat of the quality laid down, and thatwithout additional charges, the security shall not bereleased. The lot must be replaced within a maximumof three days from the date of the successful tenderer'srequest. The successful tenderer shall immediatelyinform the Commission thereof in accordance withAnnex V;
(d) below the minimum characteristics required for inter-
vention, the successful tenderer may not remove the lot inquestion. He shall be released from all his obligationsrelatingtothelotinquestion,includingthesecurities,onlyoncehehasinformedtheCommissionandtheinterventionagency forthwith, in accordance with Annex V; however,hemayrequesttheinterventionagencytosupplyhimwithanother lot of intervention breadmaking wheat of thequality laid down, without additional charges. In this case,thesecurityshallnotbereleased.Thelotmustbereplacedwithin a maximum of three days from the date of thesuccessful tenderer's request. The successful tenderer shallimmediatelyinformtheCommissionthereofinaccordancewith Annex V.
2. However, if the breadmaking wheat is removed before the
resultsoftheanalysisareknown,allrisksshallbebornebythesuccessful tenderer from the time of removal of the lot,without prejudice to the forms of recourse the successfultenderer may have against the storer.
3. If, after successive replacements, the successful tenderer
has not received a replacement lot of the quality laid downwithin one month of the date of his request for replacement,he shall be released from all his obligations, including thesecuritiesoncehehasinformedtheCommissionandtheinter-vention agency forthwith in accordance with Annex V.
4. The costs of the taking of samples and the analyses
referred to in paragraph 1, except those where the final resultof the analyses produces a quality inferior to the minimumcharacteristics required for intervention, shall be borne by theEAGGFuptoamaximumofoneanalysisper500tonneswiththe exception of the transsilage costs.
Thecostoftranssilageandofanyadditionalanalysesrequested
by the successful tenderer shall be borne by him.
Article 7
Thesuccessfultenderershallpayforthecommonwheatbefore
removing it at the price indicated in the tender. The final datefor removal is 31 August 2000. The payment due for each of
the lots to be removed shall be indivisible.
Article 8
1. The security lodged pursuant to Article 13(4) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2131/93 must be released once the exportlicences have been issued to the successful tenderers.
2. The obligation to export and import into one of the
countriesofdestinationlistedinAnnexIshallbecoveredbyasecurity amounting to EUR 50 per tonne of which EUR 15pertonneshallbelodgeduponissueoftheexportlicence,withthe balance of EUR 35 being lodged before removal of thecereals.
Article 15(2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92(
1)
notwithstanding:
— the amount of EUR 15 per tonne must be released within
20 working days of the date on which the successfultenderersuppliesproofthatthewheatremovedhasleftthecustoms territory of the Community,
— the amount of EUR 35 per tonne must be released within
15 working days of the date on which the successfultenderer supplies proof of entry for consumption into theACP State or States referred to in Article 5(3). This proofshall be supplied in accordance with Articles 18 and 47 ofCommission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87(
2).
3. Exceptindulysubstantiatedexceptionalcases,inparticular
the opening of an administrative enquiry, any release of thesecuritiesprovidedforinthisArticleafterthelimitsspecifiedinthis same Article shall confer an entitlement to compensationfrom the Member State amounting to EUR 0,015/10 tonnesfor each day's delay.
This compensation shall not be charged to the EAGGF.
Article 9
Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92 notwithstanding,
thedocumentsrelatingtothesaleofcommonwheatinaccord-ance with this Regulation and in particular the export licence,the removal order referred to in Article 3(1)(b) of Regulation(EEC) No 3002/92, the export declaration and, where appro-priate, the T5 control copy must bear the words:
— Trigo blando panificable de intervención sin aplicación de
restitución ni gravamen, destinado a (nombre del Estado ode los Estados ACP), Reglamento (CE) n
o539/2000
— Bageegnet blød hvede fra intervention uden restitutions-
ydelseeller-afgiftbestemtfor(navnetpådetellerdepågæl-dende AVS-lande), forordning (EF) nr. 539/2000
(1) OJ L 301, 17.10.1992, p. 17.
(2) OJ L 351, 14.12.1987, p. 1.
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/17
— Interventions-Brotweichweizen ohne Anwendung von
Ausfuhrerstattungen oder Ausfuhrabgaben, Bestimmung(Name des AKP-Staates oder der AKP-Staaten), Verordnung(EG) Nr. 539/2000
—Μαλακός αρτοποιήσιµος σίτος παρέµβασης ,χωρίς εφαρµογή
επιστροφής ή φόρου προοριζόµενος για (όνοµα της χώρας ΑΚΕ
ή των χωρών ΑΚΕ ),κανονισµός(ΕΚ)αριθ. 539/2000
— Intervention common wheat of breadmaking quality
without application of refund or tax, bound for (name ofthe ACP State or States), Regulation (EC) No 539/2000
— Blé tendre d'intervention panifiable ne donnant pas lieu à
restitution ni à taxe, destiné à (nom de l'État ACP ou desÉtats ACP), règlement (CE) n
o539/2000
— Frumento tenero d'intervento panificabile senza applica-
zionedirestituzioneoditassa,destinatoal(nomedelpaeseo dei paesi ACP), regolamento (CE) n. 539/2000
— Zachte tarwe van bakkwaliteit uit interventie, zonder
toepassing van restitutie of belasting, bestemd voor (naamvan de ACS-Staat of de ACS-Staten), Verordening (EG) nr.539/2000
— Trigo mole panificável de intervenção sem aplicação de
umarestituição,ouimposiçãodestinadoa(nomedoEstadoou dos Estados ACP), Regulamento (CE) n.
o539/2000— Interventioleipävehnää, jolle ei makseta vientitukea eikä
vientimaksuajajonkamääräpaikkaon(AKT-maannimitaiAKT-maiden nimet), asetus (EY) N:o 539/2000
— Interventionsvete av brödkvalitet, ej utan bidrag eller avgift
avsett för (AVS-statens eller AVS-staternas namn),förordning (EG) nr 539/2000.
Article 10
1. TheGermaninterventionagencyshallinformtheCommis-
sionofthetendersreceivedwithinthreehoursoftheexpiryofthetimelimitforsubmittingtenders.Theinformationmustbesent in the form laid down in Annex III to one of the telex orfax numbers listed in Annex IV.
2. It shall inform the Commission on a monthly basis of the
quantitiesofcommonwheatremovedpursuanttothisRegula-tion.
Article 11
ThisRegulationshallenterintoforceonthedayofitspublica-
tion in theOfficial Journal of the European Communities .
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 13 March 2000.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/18
GroupI GroupII GroupIIIANNEX I
Groups of ACP States signatories to the Lomé Convention
MauritaniaMaliNigerSenegalGambiaGuinea-BissauGuineaCapeVerdeSierraLeoneLiberiaCôted'IvoireGhanaTogoChadCentralAfricanRepublicBeninCameroonEquatorialGuineaSãoToméandPríncipeGabonCongoDemocraticRepublicofCongoRwandaBurundiBurkinaFasoSeychellesComorosMadagascarMauritiusAngolaZambiaMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaBotswanaZimbabweLesothoSwazilandDjiboutiEthiopiaEritrea
ANNEX II
(tonnes)
Regionofstorage Quantities
Schleswig-Holstein/Hamburg/Niedersachsen/Bremen/Nordrhein-Westfalen
53149
Hessen/Rheinland-Pfalz/Baden-Württemberg/Saarland/Bayern
16307
Berlin/Brandenburg/Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 20396
Sachsen/Sachsen-Anhalt/Thüringen 60172
EN OfficialJournaloftheEuropeanCommunities 14.3.2000 L65/19
ANNEX III
Standing invitation to tender for the export of 150 024 tonnes of common wheat of breadmaking quality held
by the German intervention agency
(Regulation (EC) No 539/2000)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Registration
number of
the tenderetLot
numberQuantity
in tonnesOffer price
(EUR/tonne)
(1)Increases (+)
Reductions (–)
(EUR/tonne)
p.m.Commercial
costs
(EUR/tonne)Destination
1
2
3
etc.
(1) This price includes, the increases and reductions relating to the lot for which the tender is submitted.
ANNEX IV
The only telex and fax numbers in Brussels to be used are: DG AGRI/C/1:—telex: 22037AGRECB,
22070AGRECB(Greekcharacters),
—fax: 2964956,
2952515.
ANNEX V
Communication of refusal of lots under the standing invitation to tender for the export of 150 024 tonnes of
breadmaking common wheat held by the German intervention agency
(Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 539/2000)
— Name of successful tenderer:— Date of award of contract:— Date of refusal of lot by successful tenderer:
Lot
NoQuantity
in tonnesAddress
of siloReason for refusal to take over
— Specific weight (kg/hl)
— % sprouted grains
— % miscellaneous impurities (Schwarzbesatz)
— % of matter which is not wheat of unimpaired
quality
— Other