Commission Regulation (EC) No 1574/98 of 22 July 1998 relating to a standing invitation to tender to determine levies and/or refunds on exports of white sugar
Date: 1998-07-22
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: award of contract, export levy, export refund, white sugar

23. 7. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 206/7

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1574/98

of 22 July 1998

relating to a standing invitation to tender to determine levies and/or refunds on
exports of white sugar

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81
of 30 June 1981 on the common organisation of the
markets in the sugar sector (1), as last amended by Regula-
tion (EC) No 1148/98 (2), and in particular Articles 13(2),
17(5) and (15), 20(3) and the second paragraph of Article
39 thereof,

invitation to tender and there should be a derogation
from Regulation (EC) No 1464/95; whereas, however, the
provisions of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88
of 16 November 1988 laying down common detailed
rules for the application of the system of import and
export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricul-
tural products (8), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No
1044/98 (9), and those of Commission Regulation (EEC)
No 120/89 of 19 January 1989 laying down common
detailed rules for the application of the export levies and
charges on agricultural products (10), as last amended by
Regulation (EC) No 2194/96 (11), should remain applic-
able;

Whereas, in conformity with Article 20 of Commission
Regulation (EEC) No 1068/93 of 30 April 1993 on
detailed rules for determining and applying the agricul-
tural conversion rates (3), as last amended by Regulation
(EC) No 961/98 (4), the amounts of tenders submitted
within the framework of an invitation to tender organised
by virtue of a measure relating to the common agricul-
tural policy will be expressed in ecus; whereas Article 3(3)
of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1464/95 of 27 June
1995 on special detailed rules for the application of the
system of
in the sugar
sector (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1148/98,
provides that the amounts of the successful tenders shall
be expressed in ecus on the licences and other documents
certifying those amounts; whereas the value of the ecu
shall be determined in accordance with Articles 2 and 3
of Council Regulation (EEC) No 3813/92 (6), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 150/95 (7);

import and export

licences

Whereas in view of the situation on the Community and
world sugar markets, a standing invitation to tender
should be issued as soon as possible for the export of
white sugar in respect of the 1998/99 marketing year
which, having regard to possible fluctuations in world
prices for sugar, must provide for the determination of
export levies and/or export refunds;

Whereas, the general rules governing invitations to tender
for the purpose of determining export refunds for sugar
were established by Article 17a of Regulation (EEC) No
1785/81;

Whereas, in view of the specific nature of the operation,
appropriate provisions should be laid down with regard to
export licences issued in connection with the standing

(1) OJ L 177, 1. 7. 1981, p. 4.
(2) OJ L 159, 3. 6. 1998, p. 38.
(3) OJ L 108, 1. 5. 1993, p. 106.
(4) OJ L 135, 8. 5. 1998, p. 5.
(5) OJ L 144, 28. 6. 1995, p. 14.
(6) OJ L 387, 31. 12. 1992, p. 1.
(7) OJ L 22, 31. 1. 1995, p. 1.

Whereas Article 13(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1068/93
provides that where agricultural conversion rates are fixed
in advance, on application by the party concerned, on the
terms referred to in the second subparagraph of Article
6(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3813/92, such application
must be lodged at the same time as the submission of the
tender as part of a tendering procedure; whereas,
for
reasons specific to the sugar market, when an operator
intends to take up the option of an advance fixing of an
agricultural conversion rate, his decision shall be made
only when the application for the export certificate in
question is lodged; whereas in practice he may only apply
for advance fixing of the agricultural conversion rate in
question after having been declared successful tenderer in
respect of the levy or refund for the quantity of sugar
indicated in his tender; whereas in the case of the present
tendering procedure, a derogation must be made from the
said provisions,
the option of
leaving the tenderer
applying for advance fixing of the agricultural conversion
rate at the time when the application for the export
certificate in question is lodged;

Whereas the standing invitation to tender for the 1997/98
marketing year established by Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1408/97 (12), remains open until a date to be
determined subsequently; whereas that invitation should
therefore be closed;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are
in accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Sugar,

(8) OJ L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1.
(9) OJ L 149, 20. 5. 1998, p. 11.
(10) OJ L 16, 20. 1. 1989, p. 19.
(11) OJ L 293, 16. 11. 1996, p. 3.
(12) OJ L 194, 23. 7. 1997, p. 16.

L 206/8

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23. 7. 98

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

1. A standing invitation to tender shall be issued in
order to determine export levies and/or export refunds on
white sugar covered by CN code 1701 99 10 and, during
the period of validity of this standing invitation, partial
invitations to tender shall be issued.

The standing invitation to tender shall remain open

2.
until a date to be determined later.

Article 2

The standing invitation to tender and the partial invita-
tion shall be conducted in accordance with Article 17a of
Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81 and with the following
provisions.

4. Notwithstanding paragraph 2, no partial invitations
to tender will be issued on Wednesday 23 and 30
December 1998 or 31 March 1999.

The time limits laid down in this Regulation are

5.
expressed in Belgian time.

Article 5

1. Offers in connection with this tender must be in
writing, and must be either delivered by hand, against a
receipt, to the competent authority in a Member State, or
addressed to that authority by registered letter, telex, tele-
gram or fax.

2. An offer must indicate:

(a)

the reference number of the invitation to tender to
which the offer relates;

Article 3

(b) the name and address of the tenderer;

1.
The Member States shall establish a notice of invita-
tion to tender. The notice of invitation to tender shall be
published in the Official Journal of
the European
Communities. Member States may also publish the notice,
or have it published, elsewhere.

The notice shall indicate, in particular, the terms of

2.
the invitation to tender.

3.
The notice may be amended during the period of
validity of the standing invitation to tender. It shall be so
amended if the terms of the invitation to tender are
modified during that period.

Article 4

The period during which tenders may be submitted

1.
in response to the first partial invitation to tender:

(a) shall begin on 30 July 1998;

(b) shall end on 5 August 1998 at 10.30 a.m.

2.
The periods during which tenders may be submitted
in response to the second and subsequent partial invita-
tions:

(a) shall begin on the first working day following the end

of the preceding period;

(b) shall end at 10.30 a.m. on the Wednesday of the

following week.

3. Notwithstanding paragraph 2(b), the period for the
submission of tenders which was to end on:

(cid:190) Wednesday 11 November 1998, shall end on Tuesday

10 November 1998 at 10.30 a.m.,

(cid:190) Wednesday 14 July 1999, shall end on Tuesday 13

July 1999 at 10.30 a.m.

(c) the quantity of white sugar to be exported;

(d) the amount of the export levy or, where applicable, of
the export refund, per 100 kilograms of white sugar,
expressed in ecus to three decimal places;

(e) the minimum amount of the security to be lodged
covering the quantity of
indicated in (c),
expressed in the currency of the Member State in
which the tender is submitted.

sugar

3. An offer shall be valid only if:

(a)

the quantity to be exported is not less than 250 tonnes
of white sugar;

(b) proof is furnished before expiry of the time limit for
the submission of tenders that the tenderer has lodged
the security indicated in the tender;

(c)

it includes a declaration by the tenderer that if this
tender is successful he will, within the period laid
down in Article 12(b), apply for an export licence or
licences in respect of the quantities of white sugar to
be exported;

(d) it includes a declaration by the tenderer that if his

tender is successful he will:

(cid:190) where the obligation to export resulting from the
export licence referred to in Article 12(b) is not
fulfilled, supplement the security by payment of
the amount referred to in Article 13(4), and

(cid:190) within 30 days following the expiry of the export
licence in question, notify the agency which
issued the licence of the quantity or quantities in
respect of which the licence was not used;

(e)

it contains all the information required under para-
graph 2.

23. 7. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 206/9

4. A tender may stipulate that it is to be regarded as
having been submitted only if:

(a)

the minimum export levy or, where applicable, the
maximum export refund is fixed on the day of the
expiry of the period for the submission of the tenders
in question;

(b) the tender, if successful, related to all or a specified

part of the tendered quantity.

(c) to successful tenderers for the quantity for which they
have fulfilled, within the meaning of Articles 29(b)
and 30(1)(b)(i) of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88, the
export obligation resulting from the licence referred
to under Article 12(b) in accordance with the terms of
Article 33 of that Regulation.

The part of the security or the security which is not
released shall be forfeit in respect of the quantity of sugar
for which the corresponding obligations have not been
fulfilled.

5. A tender which is not submitted in accordance with
the provisions of this Regulation, or which contains terms
other than those indicated in the present invitation to
tender, shall not be considered.

4.
In case of force majeure, the competent authority of
the Member State concerned shall take such action as it
considers necessary having regard to the circumstances
invoked by the party concerned.

6. Once submitted, a tender may not be withdrawn.

Article 7

Article 6

1. A security of ECU 11 per 100 kilograms of white
sugar to be exported under this invitation to tender must
be lodged by each tenderer. Without prejudice to Article
13(4), this security shall in the case of successful tenderers
and at the time of the application referred to in Article
12(b), become the security for the export licence.

The security may be lodged at the tenderer’s choice,
2.
either in cash or in the form of a guarantee given by an
establishment complying with criteria laid down by the
Member State in which the tender is submitted.

Except in cases of force majeure, the security referred

3.
to in paragraph 1 will be released:

(a)

to unsuccessful tenderers in respect of the quantity for
which no award has been made;

(b) to successful tenderers who have not applied for the
relevant export licence within the period referred to in
Article 12(b), to the extent of ECU 10 per 100 kilo-
grams of white sugar.

However, this part of the releasable security shall be
reduced by the amount representing the difference
existing, as applicable:

(cid:190) between the maximum amount of

the export
refund fixed for the partial invitation concerned
and the maximum amount of the export refund
fixed for the following partial invitation when the
latter amount is higher than the former, or

(cid:190) between the minimum amount of the export levy
fixed for the partial invitation concerned and the
minimum amount of the export levy fixed for the
following partial invitation when the latter amount
is lower than the former;

Tenders

1.
shall be examined in private by the
competent authority concerned. The persons present at
the examination shall be under an obligation not
to
disclose any particulars relating thereto.

2.
Tenders shall be communicated to the Commission
forthwith and in such manner that the tenders remain
anonymous.

Article 8

1. After the tenders received have been examined, a
maximum quantity may be fixed for the partial invitation
concerned.

2. A decision may be taken to make no award under a
specific partial invitation to tender.

Article 9

In the light of

the current state and foreseeable
1.
development of the Community and world sugar markets,
there shall be fixed either:

(cid:190) a minimum export levy, or
(cid:190) a maximum export refund.

2.
Subject to Article 10, where a minimum export levy
is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to every tenderer
whose tender quotes a rate of levy equal to or greater than
such minimum levy.

Subject

3.
to Article 10, where a maximum export
refund is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to every
tenderer whose tender quotes a rate of refund equal to or
less than such maximum refund and to every tenderer
who has tendered for an export levy.

Article 10

1. Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a
partial invitation to tender:

L 206/10

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23. 7. 98

(cid:190) if a minimum levy is fixed, a contract shall be
awarded to the tenderer whose tender quotes the
highest levy; if the maximum quantity is not fully
covered by that award, awards shall be made to other
tenderers in descending order of levies quoted until
the entire maximum quantity has been accounted for,

(cid:190) if a maximum refund is fixed, contracts shall be
awarded in accordance with the first indent; if after
such awards a quantity is still outstanding, or if there
are no tenders quoting an export levy, awards shall be
made to tenderers quoting a refund in ascending order
or refunds quoted until the entire maximum quantity
has been accounted for.

2. However, where an award to a particular tenderer in
accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 would
result in the maximum quantity being exceeded, that
award shall be limited to such quantity as is still available.
Where two or more tenderers quote the same levy or the
same refund and awards to all of them would result in the
maximum quantity being exceeded, then the quantity
available shall be awarded as follows:

(cid:190) by being divided among the tenderers concerned in
proportion to the total quantities in each of their
tenders, or

(cid:190) by being apportioned among the tenderers concerned
by reference to a maximum tonnage to be fixed for
each of them, or

(cid:190) by the drawing of lots.

Article 11

The competent authority of

1.
the Member State
the
concerned shall
result of their participation in the invitation to tender. In
addition, that authority shall send successful tenderers a
statement of award.

immediately notify applicants of

2.

(a)

The statement of award shall indicate at least:

the reference number of the invitation to which the
tender relates;

(b) the quantity of white sugar to be exported;

(c) the amount expressed in ecus of the export levy to be
charged, or where applicable of the export refund to
be granted per 100 kilograms of white sugar of the
quantity referred to in (b).

Article 12

(b) the obligation to lodge, in accordance with the rele-
vant provisions of Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88, an
application for an export licence in respect of that
quantity,
the application not being revocable and
Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 120/89 not
applying in such a case. The application shall be
lodged in accordance with the relevant provisions of
Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88, not later than:

(cid:190) the last working day preceding the date of the
to be held the

invitation to tender

partial
following week, or

(cid:190) if no partial invitation to tender is due to be held
that week, the last working day of the following
week;

(c) the obligation to export the tendered quantity and, if
this obligation is not fulfilled, to pay, where necessary,
the amount referred to in Article 13(4).

This right and these obligations are not transferable.

Article 13

1.
The first paragraph of Article 9 of Regulation (EC)
No 1464/95 shall not apply to the white sugar to be
exported in accordance with this Regulation.

2.
Export licences issued in connection with a partial
invitation to tender shall be valid from the day of issue
until the end of the fifth calendar month following that
in which the partial invitation was issued.

However, export licences issued in respect of the partial
invitations held from 1 May 1999 will be valid only until
30 September 1999.

that

The competent authorities in the Member State which
issued the export licence may, at the written request of
the holder of
licence, extend its validity to 15
October 1999 at the latest where technical difficulties
arise which prevent export being carried out by the expiry
date laid down in paragraph 2, provided that export is not
subject to the rules laid down in Article 4 or 5 of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 (1).

3.
The export licences issued in respect of the partial
invitations held between 5 August and 30 September
1998 will be usable only from 1 October 1998.

Every successful tenderer shall have:

(a)

the right to receive in the circumstances referred to
under (b),
the quantity awarded, an
export licence indicating as appropriate, the export
levy or the export refund quoted in his tender;

in respect of

4.
Except in cases of force majeure, if the obligation to
export resulting from the export licence referred to under
Article 12(b) has not been fulfilled and if the security
referred to in Article 6 is less than:

(1) OJ L 62, 7. 3. 1980, p. 5.

23. 7. 98

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

L 206/11

(a)

the export levy indicated on the licence reduced by
the levy referred to in the second subparagraph of
Article 20(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81 in force
on the last day of validity of the said licence; or

tion price for white sugar applicable with effect from
1 July 1999 and the intervention price for that sugar
in force on 30 June 1999;

(b) the sum of the export levy indicated on the licence
and the refund referred to in Article 17a(2) of Regula-
tion (EEC) No 1785/81 in force on the last day of
validity of the said licence; or

(c) the export refund referred to in Article 17a(2) of Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1785/81 in force on the last day of
validity of the licence reduced by the refund indicated
on the said licence,

then, for the quantity in respect of which the said obliga-
tion was not fulfilled, the licence holder shall be charged
an amount equal to the difference between the result of
the valuation made under (a), (b) or (c), as the case may be,
and the security referred to in Article 6(1).

Article 14

If the tenderer intends to apply for advance fixing of the
agricultural conversion rate under this standing invitation
to tender, the provisions of the second indent of Article
13(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1068/93 shall not apply.

Article 15

1. Notwithstanding Article 7 of Commission Regula-
tion (EC) No 2135/95 (1), if the intervention prices fixed
in ecus pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 1785/81 or the
storage levies fixed in ecus pursuant to that Regulation are
amended during the interval between the day of expiry of
tenders and the day of
the period for submission of
export, the amounts of the export refunds and the export
levies fixed under the terms of this invitation to tender
before 1 July 1999, for the sugar exported from that date,
shall be adjusted.

2.

For the adjustment referred to in paragraph 1:

(a)

in the event of the fixing of an intervention price for
white sugar applicable with effect from 1 July 1999
which is greater than that in force on 30 June 1999
the export refund and the export levy shall be adjusted
by an amount equal to the difference expressed in
ecus per 100 kilograms existing between the interven-

(b) in the event of the fixing of an intervention price for
white sugar applicable with effect from 1 July 1999
which is lower than that in force on 30 June 1999, the
export refund and the export levy shall be adjusted by
an amount equal to the difference expressed in ecus
per 100 kilograms existing between the intervention
price for white sugar in force on 30 June 1999 and
the intervention price for that sugar applicable with
effect from 1 July 1999.

3.
For the calculation of the differences referred to in
paragraph 2, the intervention prices in question shall be
increased by the corresponding storage levy referred to in
the second subparagraph of Article 8(2) of Regulation
(EEC) No 1785/81.

4. Where only the amount of the storage levy varies
from one marketing year to the next, the refund shall be
adjusted by applying the provisions of paragraph 2(a) or
2(b), as appropriate.

5.
For the purposes of this Article, the Member State
issuing the relevant export licence shall, at the time of
issue, complete the ‘special particulars' section by adding
the following:

‘to be adjusted in accordance with tender Regulation
(EC) No 1574/98 for exports which take place after 30
June 1999.'

The adjustment shall be made when the export

6.
refund in question is paid.

7. Member States shall
inform the Commission as
quickly as possible of the quantities of sugar for which an
adjustment under this Article has been made.

Article 16

The standing invitation to tender referred to in Regula-
tion (EC) No 1408/97 shall be closed on 30 July 1998.

Article 17

(1) OJ L 214, 8. 9. 1995, p. 16.

This Regulation shall enter into force on 30 July 1998.

L 206/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

23. 7. 98

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member
States.

Done at Brussels, 22 July 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission