EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 9. 98 L 258/4
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2004/98
of 21 September 1998
opening an invitation to tender for the refund or the tax for the export of
common wheat to certain ACP States
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 themarket in cereals (
1), as last amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 923/96 (2),
Having regard to Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/
95 of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules forthe application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92on the granting of export refunds on cereals and themeasures to be taken in the event of disturbance on themarket for cereals (
3), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 2052/97 (4), and in particular Article 4 thereof,
Whereas, with a view to supplying the markets of the
ACP countries, favoured partners of the Community,significant quantities of common wheat are required forthe 1998/99 marketing year; whereas these markets areusually supplied on the basis of regular contracts toensure stable prices for the ACP countries over a certainperiod; whereas it is therefore necessary to issue a specificinvitation to tender to ensure that users in certain ACPStates have access to common wheat under conditionsappropriate to the highly competitive situation on theworld market;
Whereas the detailed procedural rules governing invita-
tions to tender are as regards the fixing of the exportrefund, or export tax in Regulation (EC) No 1501/95;whereas the commitments on the part of the tendererinclude an obligation to lodge an application for anexport licence; whereas compliance with this obligationmay be ensured by requiring tenderers to lodge atendering security of ECU 12 per tonne when theysubmit their tenders;
Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the
export tendering procedure it is appropriate to prescribe aminimum quantity to be tendered for and a time limitand form for the communication of tenders submitted tothe competent authorities;
Whereas provision should be made for a security lodg-
ment scheme which ensures that the aims are met whileavoiding excessive costs for the operators;Whereas, in addition to the conditions laid down in
Article 30 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 (
5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1044/98 (6),
provision should be made for the release for consumptionin the ACP State(s) laid down in this Regulation;
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of the ManagementCommittee for Cereals,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Tenders shall be invited for the export refund and/or
export tax concerning common wheat, as provided for inArticle 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95.
2. The common wheat must be exported to an ACP
State or to several States within one of the groups of ACPStates listed in Annex I.
3. The invitation shall remain open until 25 February
1999. During this period weekly awards shall be made, forwhich the quantities and the time limits for the submis-sion of tenders shall be as prescribed in the notice ofinvitation to tender.
Article 2
A tender shall be valid only if it relates to an amount of
not less than 1 000 tonnes for the ACP States listed inAnnex I.
Article 3
The security referred to in Article 5(3a) of Regulation (EC)
No 1501/95 shall be ECU 12 per tonne.
Article 4
1. Tenders shall only be admissible if:
¾the tenderer provides written proof from an official
body in the ACP country of destination or a companyhaving its overseas subsidiary in the said country, thathe has concluded for the quantity in question acommercial supply contract for common wheat forexport to an ACP State or to several States within one
(1) OJ L 181, 1. 7. 1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 126, 24. 5. 1996, p. 37.
(3) OJ L 147, 30. 6. 1995, p. 7. (5) OJ L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 287, 21. 10. 1997, p. 14. (6) OJ L 149, 20. 5. 1998, p. 11.
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 9. 98 L 258/5
of the groups of ACP states listed in Annex I. That
contract may cover only those deliveries to be madeduring 1998/99 marketing year for quantities tradi-tionally supplied; such proof shall be lodged with thecompetent authorities at least two working days beforethe date of the partial invitation to tender againstwhich the tender is to be submitted,
¾they are accompanied by an application for an export
licence for the destination in question.
The proof provided for in the first indent shall also in-
dicate the quality provided for in the contract, the timelimit for delivery and 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. The tenderers maynot submit simultaneously several bids on the basis of thesame contract.
When transmitting the tenders submitted, the Member
States shall inform the Commission of the above,mentioning if necessary the names of the tenderersinvolved.
Article 5
1. The licence obliges the operator to export to the
ACP State or States for which the licence application wassubmitted. However, for ACP States and up to a limit of30 % of the quantity for which the licence was issued, theoperator may effect his contract at another destination oncondition that it belongs to the same group of countrieslisted in Annex I.
2. The export licences shall be issued as soon as the
successful tenderers have been selected.
3. Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 notwith-
standing, the rights deriving from the licence referred toin this Article shall not be transferable.
Article 6
The obligation to export and import into one of the
countries of destination listed in Annex I shall be coveredby a security amounting to ECU 20 per tonne, lodgedupon issue of the export licence.
The amount of ECU 20 per tonne must be released
within 15 working days of the date on which thesuccessful tenderer supplies proof of entry for consump-tion into the ACP State or States referred to in Article1(2). This proof shall be supplied in accordance withArticles 18 and 47 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No3665/87 (
1).
Article 7
1. Notwithstanding Article 21(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 3719/88, export licences issued under Article 8(1) ofRegulation (EC) No 1501/95 shall, for the purpose ofdetermining their period of validity, be deemed to havebeen issued on the day on which the tender was
submitted.
2. Subject to the provisions of Article 1 of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1521/94 (
2) export licences issued in
connection with the invitations to tender pursuant to thisRegulation shall be valid from their date of issue, asdefined in paragraph 1, until the end of the sixth monthfollowing that of issue.
Article 8
1. The Commission shall decide, pursuant to the pro-
cedures laid down in Article 23 of Regulation (EEC) No1766/92:
¾to fix a maximum export refund, taking account in
particular of the criteria laid down in Article 1 ofRegulation (EC) No 1501/95, or
¾to fix a minimum export tax, taking into account in
particular the criteria laid down in Article 1 of Regula-tion (EC) No 1501/95, or
¾to make no award.
2. Where a maximum export refund is fixed, the
contract shall be awarded to the tenderer or tendererswhose bids are equal to or lower than the maximumrefund, as well as to the tenderer or tenderers whose bidrelates to an export tax.
3. Where a minimum export tax is fixed, a contract
shall be awarded to any tenderer whose tender indicates arate of tax equal to or more than such minimum exporttax.
Article 9
Tenders submitted must reach the Commission through
the intermediary Member States, at the latest one and ahalf hours after expiry of the period for the weeklysubmission of tenders as specified in the notice of invita-tion to tender. They must be communicated in the formindicated in Annex II, to the telex or fax numbers inAnnex III.
If no tenders are received, Member States shall inform the
Commission of this within the time limit indicated in thepreceding paragraph.
Article 10
The time limits fixed for the submission of tenders shall
correspond to Belgian time.
Article 11
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities .
(1) OJ L 351, 14. 12. 1987, p. 1. (2) OJ L 162, 30. 6. 1994, p. 47.
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 9. 98 L 258/6
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.
Done at Brussels, 21 September 1998.
For the Commission
Franz FISCHLER
Member of the Commission
ANNEX I
Groups of ACP States signatories to the Lomé Convention
Group I Group II Group III
Mauritania
MaliNigerSenegalGambiaGuinea-BissauGuineaCape VerdeSierra LeoneLiberiaCôte-d’IvoireGhanaTogoChadCentral African RepublicBeninCameroonEquatorial GuineaSão Tomé and PríncipeGabonCongoDemocratic Republic of CongoRwandaBurundiBurkina FasoSeychellesComorosMadagascarMauritiusAngolaZambiaMalawiMozambiqueNamibiaBotswanaZimbabweLesothoSwazilandDjiboutiEthiopiaEritrea
EN Official Journal of the European Communities 22. 9. 98 L 258/7
ANNEX II
Weekly tender for the refund or the tax for the export of common wheat to certain ACP-States
(Regulation (EC) No 2004/98)
Closing date for the submission of tenders (date/time)
1 2 3
A B
Number
of tendererQuantity
in tonnesAmount
of export tax
in ECU per tonneAmount
of export refund
in ECU per tonne
1
2
3
etc.
ANNEX III
The only numbers to use to call Brussels (DG VI-C-1) are:
¾fax: 295 25 15,
296 49 56,
¾telex: 22037 AGREC B,
22070 AGREC B (Greek characters).