Commission Regulation (EC) No 1590/98 of 23 July 1998 amending Regulation (EC) No 504/97 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the system of production aid for products processed from fruit and vegetables
Date: 1998-07-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agro-industry, fruit product, preparation for market, production aid, vegetable product

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 208/11

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1590/98

of 23 July 1998

amending Regulation (EC) No 504/97 laying down detailed rules for the applica-
tion of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the system of production
aid for products processed from fruit and vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of
28 October 1996 on the common organisation of the
markets in processed fruit and vegetable products (1), as
last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2199/97 (2), and in
particular Article 4(9) thereof,

Whereas Article 1(2) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
504/97 (3), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 1491/97 (4),
defines the products eligible for production aid and some
related terms; whereas experience shows some of these
definitions to be unsuitable from the point of view of
checking entitlement to the aid where eligible products
are used in the same processing unit to make mixed fruit
or prepared sauces; whereas the necessary clarification
should be made by adding to the existing definitions and
defining mixed fruit and prepared sauces made using the
products in question;

Whereas the abovementioned amendment of definitions
requires as a concomitant, for the purposes of monitoring
and checking the production and utilisation of aided
products used to make mixed fruit and prepared sauces,
additional detail in the provisions of Regulation (EC) No
504/97 on information notified by processors, aid applica-
tions, checks, penalties and notifications to the Commis-
sion;

Whereas the marketing year commencement date set in
Article 2(1)(b) of that Regulation should be altered to 1
August in line with the actual marketing period for dried
figs;

Whereas Article 7(3) of that Regulation sets a maximum
percentage of the original quantity that may be added to
contracts; whereas this should be raised to 30 % for all
products to make the scheme more flexible;

(1) OJ L 297, 21. 11. 1996, p. 29.
(2) OJ L 303, 6. 11. 1997, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 78, 20. 3. 1997, p. 14.
(4) OJ L 202, 30. 7. 1997, p. 27.

Whereas in the case of certain tomato juices the market
demands a product with small quantities of skin and pips;
whereas to meet this demand the definition of tomato
juice should be altered; whereas changes should be made
in the definition of tomato flakes in order to differentiate
them from dried tomatoes;

Whereas experience acquired in managing the processed
products sector indicates a need to strengthen the provi-
sions applying to production aid applications by making
payment of
the minimum price compulsory before
submission;

Whereas the measures provided for this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Products Processed from Fruit and Veget-
ables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 504/97 is amended as follows:

1. Article 1(2) is amended as follows:

(a)

‘Products to be used for making the product
indicated at point (q) shall be packed in appro-
priate containers' is added to point (a);

(b)

‘Products to be used in making the product indic-
ated at point (q) shall be packed in appropriate
containers' is added to point (b);

(c)

‘Products to be used in making the product indic-
ated at point (r) shall be packed in appropriate
containers' is added to point (i);

(d) point (j) is replaced by:

‘(j) tomato flakes means

flakes obtained by
drying tomatoes cut into slivers or small cubes,
packed in appropriate containers and covered
by CN code ex 07 12 90 30';

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(e)

‘Juices with a dry matter content of at least 7 %
may however contain skin and pips constituting
up to 4 % by weight of the product' is added to
point (k);

the composition of the products to be made, speci-
fying the net weight of each component. This
composition may not be altered after the beginning
of the marketing year.

(f) point (q) is added as follows:

fruit

‘(q) mixed fruit means mixtures of fruit, whole or
in pieces having undergone a heat treatment,
with a covering liquid of sugar syrup or
natural
juice, packed in hermetically
sealed containers in which the total drained
net weight of the products indicated at (a) and
(b) accounts for at least 60 % of the total net
drained weight, and made during the period
indicated in Article 2(2) in the same establish-
ment as the products indicated at (a) and (b)
used;'

(g) point (r) is added as follows:

‘(r) prepared sauces means tomato-based prepara-
tions obtained by mixing non-whole peeled
preserved tomatoes as indicated at point (i) or
tomato concentrate as indicated at point (l)
with other products of plant or animal origin
except
fresh tomatoes, having undergone a
heat treatment, packed in hermetically sealed
containers in which the net weight of the
products indicated at points (i) and (l) accounts
for at least 60 % of the total net weight, and
of which the tomato component is covered by
CN codes ex 2002 10 10, ex 2002 90 31 or ex
2002 90 39. These products must be made
during the period indicated in Article 2(2) in
the same establishment as the products indi-
cated at points (i) and (l) used;'

2. in Article 2(1) point (b) is replaced by the following:

For the 1998/99 marketing year however this infor-
mation shall be notified to the competent authorities
within one month of entry into force of this Regula-
tion.';

4. in Article 5(1) a sentence is added as follows:

‘These notifications shall state separately the quant-
ities of the products indicated at points (a), (b), (i) and
(l) of Article 1(2) used to make the products indicated
at points (q) and (r) of Article 1(2); notifications under
(a)(ii) shall state separately the quantities obtained of
the products indicated at points (q) and (r) of Article
1(2), broken down according to the products indic-
ated at points (a), (b), (i) and (l) of Article 1(2) used.';

5. Article 6(6) is added as follows:

‘6. Member States shall notify the Commission by
15 April before the beginning of the marketing year
of the quantities covered by preliminary contracts,
broken down by product group.';

6. in Article 7(3) the last subparagraph is replaced by:

‘The quantities originally stipulated in contracts may
not be increased by more than 30 %.';

7. Article 7(6) is added as follows:

‘6.
In the case of tomatoes Member States shall
notify the Commission within 60 days of the dead-
line for
the quantities
signature of contracts of
contracted, broken down by product group.';

‘(b) from 1 August to 30 July for dried figs covered

by CN code ex 0804 20 90;'

8. the following sentence is added to Article 12(1)(c):

3. in Article 3 ‘1.'

is inserted at the beginning and

paragraph 2 is added as follows:

‘2.
Processors wishing to use the products eligible
for production aid indicated at points (a), (b), (i) and (l)
of Article 1(2) to prepare mixed fruit or prepared
sauces as indicated at points (q) and (r) of Article 1(2)
shall notify the competent authorities of the Member
State, before the beginning of the marketing year, of

‘The quantities of raw materials and of the products
indicated at points (a), (b), (i) and (l) of Article 1(2)
used to make the products indicated at points (q) and
(r) of Article 1(2) shall be stated separately.';

9. in Article 12(2) a subparagraph is added as follows:

shall be unacceptable

the
‘Aid applications
minimum price has not been paid in full for all the
raw materials used in the finished product covered by
the aid application.';

if

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10. in Article 12(3) a subparagraph is added as follows:

12. in Article 15(2) a subparagraph is added as follows:

‘In the case of tomato-based processed products if the
requirement of the previous subparagraph is not met
the quantities eligible for aid shall be determined by
applying it to each of the finished products obtained
by the processor
for which the other eligibility
requirements for the aid are met.';

11. Article 14(2a) is added as follows:

‘2a.
In the case of the raw materials and quantities
of the products indicated at points (a), (b), (i) and (l) in
Article 1(2) used for the mixed fruit and prepared
sauces indicated at points (q) and (r) of Article 1(2) the
processor shall keep a special register containing at
least the information specified at points (a) to (d) of
paragraph 1, and showing:

(a) the quantities of mixed fruit and prepared sauces
obtained each day, broken down by product
composition as referred to in Article 3(2);

(b) the quantities and prices of the mixed fruit and
prepared sauces leaving the processing establish-
ment, by consignment, with details of
the
consignee. This information may be replaced by
references
to supporting documents provided
these contain the necessary information;

‘If the products indicated at points (q) and (r) of
Article 1(2) are made, in addition to the other checks
required under this Article the competent authorities
shall make frequent unannounced checks on the spot
scaled to the quantities of the products used to make
them on which aid is liable to be payable; checks
shall be at
least monthly during the processing
period.';

13. Article 16(7) is added as follows:

‘7. Without prejudice to Article 11(5),
if aid
applications are submitted after the deadline specified
in that Article, aid shall be reduced by 20 % per
month or part thereof. No aid shall be granted if the
application is more than two months late.';

14. in Article 17(2):

(cid:190) point (e)(vii) is added as follows:

‘(vii) the average soluble dry weight content of the
tomatoes used to make tomato concentrate.',

(cid:190) points (f) and (g) are added as follows:

‘(f) the information required under points (a) to (e)
must include the quantities of the products
indicated at (a), (b), (i) and (l) of Article 1(2)
used to make products as indicated at points
(q) and (r) of Article 1(2);

(g) the total quantity made of each of the prod-
ucts indicated at points (q) and (r) of Article
1(2), broken down according to the products
indicated at (a), (b), (i) and (l) of Article 1(2)
used to make them.'

(c) the consignments of

the products indicated at
points (a), (b), (i) and (l) of Article 1(2) purchased
and entering the establishment each day with
details of the seller.';

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day
following its publication in the Official Journal of the
European Communities.

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

Done at Brussels, 23 July 1998.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission