Commission Regulation (EC) No 2655/1999 of 16 December 1999 amending Regulation (EC) No 2221/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 as regards physical checks carried out at the time of export of agricultural products qualifying for refunds and amending Regulation (EC) No 3122/94 laying down criteria for risk analysis as regards agricultural products receiving refunds
Date: 1999-12-16
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, customs inspection, export, export refund

L 325/12

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

17. 12. 1999

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2655/1999

of 16 December 1999

amending Regulation (EC) No 2221/95 laying down detailed rules for the application of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 as regards physical checks carried out at the time of export of
agricultural products qualifying for refunds and amending Regulation (EC) No 3122/94 laying down
criteria for risk analysis as regards agricultural products receiving refunds

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

basis of
product from the same exporter;

repeated satisfactory results on the same

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

(5)

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 of 12
February 1990 on the monitoring carried out at the time of
export of agricultural products receiving refunds or other
amounts (1), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 163/94 (2), and
in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2221/95 (3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1167/97 (4) lays down
rules for the application of Regulation (EEC) No 386/90;
whereas in the light of experience and the recommenda-
tions of the Court of Auditors on the matter amend-
ments to these rules are necessary to improve the effec-
tiveness of the controls;

(2) With regard to the total amount of refunds, the share
allocated to products not covered by Annex I of the
Treaty is of little importance. On the other hand, the
proportion of physical checks carried out on non-Annex
I products is large. In order to make better use of the
means of control this imbalance should be improved
upon. This can be attained partially by reducing the
control rate for non-Annex I products to 0,5 %. In addi-
tion, Member States should also have the possibility,
when calculating the minimum rate of checks to be
carried out in accordance with Article 3 of Regulation
(EEC) No 386/90,
to disregard export declarations
relating to small quantities or a small amount of refund;

(3)

Article 21(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/
1999 (5) stipulates that no refund shall be granted on
products which are not of sound and fair marketable
quality on the date on which the export declaration is
accepted. Although it is not possible to examine all the
products presented for export, because the capacity for
laboratory analysis is limited, where the sound and fair
marketable quality of a product is the object of definite
suspicions further verifications should be carried out; if
necessary by means of laboratory testing;

(4)

An examination of laboratory testing indicated that the
requirement for obligatory laboratory testing should be
lightened where positive assurance is available on the

(1) OJ L 42, 16.2.1990, p. 6.
(2) OJ L 24, 29.1.1994, p. 2.
(3) OJ L 224, 21.9.1995, p. 13.
(4) OJ L 169, 27.6.1997, p. 12.
(5) OJ L 102, 17.4.1999, p. 11.

There is a distinction between the treatment which
export consignments receive at large ports, where there
is a wide variety of products and a wide range of expor-
ters, and the treatment export consignments receive at
customs offices where only a limited range of products
from a few exporters are handled. In the latter case
export consignments receive a much more intensive
level of control. For such customs offices, the selection
of consignments for physical check on the basis of a
smaller
taken into
sample
account;

representative

shall be

(6)

(7)

(8)

(9)

The provisions dealing with substitution controls should
also be made more flexible, in order that the controls
can be carried out in accordance with risk analysis;

The evaluation of the application of Regulation (EEC) No
386/90 requires that Member States should be obliged
to submit annual evaluations of the execution and effec-
tiveness of the checks carried out under this Regulation;

In order to assist the practical application of the new
provisions and with regard for clarity, Article 4 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 3122/94 (6) shall be
replaced by Article 5a(1);

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the relevant Manage-
ment Committee,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 2221/95 is hereby amended as follows:

1. Article 2(3) is replaced by the following sentences:

‘When calculating the minimum rate of checks to be carried
out in accordance with Article 3(2) of Regulation (EEC) No
386/90, Member States may opt
to disregard export
declarations involving quantities not exceeding:

— 5 000 kg in the case of cereals and rice,

— 1 000 kg for fruits and vegetables fruits as well as for

goods falling outside Annex I to the Treaty,

— 500 kg in the case of other products.

(6) OJ L 330, 21.12.1994, p. 31.

17. 12. 1999

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Official Journal of the European Communities

L 325/13

As an alternative Member States may also opt to disregard
export declarations
less
than EUR 200.’

referring to refund amounts

2. In Article 5 the following new paragraph shall be added:

fair and marketable quality of a
‘5. Where the sound,
product is namely the object of definite suspicions, the
Customs office shall verify the compliance with the applic-
able Community provisions, in particular those relating to
Community sanitary and phytosanitary rules. Where consid-
ered necessary by the customs office, it initiates, or causes
to be initiated, laboratory testing, indicating the objective of
the test.’

3. The following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 5a

If
the Member State applies a system of risk analysis
pursuant to the second subparagraph of Article 3(2) of
Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 the following rules shall be
applicable:

1. The percentage of physical checks carried out on non-
Annex I products shall not be taken into account for the
purposes of calculating the overall rate of 5 % for all
sectors. In this case, a minimum rate of 0,5 % shall be
compulsory for non-Annex I products.

2. If the rate of refund depends on a particular content and
a product with the same refund code or CN code is
exported on a regular basis by the same exporter, and
with regard to the laboratory testing in the past six
months there have been no non-conformities with finan-
cial consequences greater than EUR 200 relating to the
gross amount of
then by derogation of
Article 5(4) representative samples need to be taken in
only 50 % of the physical checks. If the result of the
laboratory testing detects a non-conformity with finan-
cial consequences greater than EUR 200 relating to the
gross amount of the refund, samples must be taken for
all physical checks in the following six months.

the refund,

3. For customs offices of export where a limited range of
products (maximum of two product sectors) from a few
exporters (maximum of five exporters) are presented for

export, physical checks may be reduced to a minimum
rate of 2 % per product sector. Sectors with fewer than
20 export declarations per year per customs office shall
not be taken into account for determining the number of
sectors. Customs offices may make use of these provi-
sions for a full calendar year, based on the statistics for
the previous calendar year, even where export declara-
tions are made by additional exporters or for additional
product sectors during the course of the year.’

4. Article 9(2) is replaced by the following sentences:

‘If the customs office of export has not sealed the means of
transport or the package then:

(a) without prejudice to control measures based on other
provisions, substitution checks shall be carried out, as
far as possible,

in the light of risk analysis,

and

(b) the number of substitution checks shall not be less than
the number of days, on. which export refund products
leave the customs territory of the Community through
the particular customs office of exit.’

5. The following Article shall be inserted:

‘Article 9a

Each year, before 1 April, the Member States shall send the
Commission a report on the evaluation of the execution and
effectiveness of this regulation.’

Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 3122/94 is hereby deleted.

Article 2

Article 3

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

It shall apply from 1 January 2000.

The provisions of Article 9a shall apply for the first time to the
checks, which will be carried out in the year 2000.

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

Done at Brussels, 16 December 1999.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission