Commission Regulation (EC) No 1066/2003 of 20 June 2003 opening a standing invitation to tender for the export of sorghum held by the French intervention agency
Date: 2003-06-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: France, award of contract, export, intervention agency, sorghum

21.6.2003

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Official Journal of the European Union

L 154/53

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1066/2003

of 20 June 2003

opening a standing invitation to tender for the export of sorghum held by the French intervention
agency

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Article 2

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92 of 30
June 1992 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1666/
2000 (2), and in particular Article 5 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 (3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 1630/2000 (4),
lays
down the procedure and conditions for the disposal of
cereals held by intervention agencies.

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92 (5), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 770/96 (6), lays down
common detailed rules for verifying the use and/or desti-
nation of products from intervention.

Given the current market situation, a standing invitation
to tender should be opened for the export of 6 575
tonnes of sorghum held by the French intervention
agency.

Special rules must be laid down to ensure that the opera-
tions are properly carried out and monitored. To that
end, securities should be lodged to ensure that the goals
of the operation are achieved without excessive cost to
the operators. Derogations should accordingly be made
to certain rules, in particular those laid down in Regula-
tion (EEC) No 2131/93.

(5) Where removal of the sorghum is delayed by more than
five days or the release of one of the securities required
is delayed for reasons imputable to the intervention
agency,
concerned should pay
compensation.

the Member State

(6)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Cereals,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The French intervention agency shall issue a standing invitation
to tender for the export of sorghum held by it in accordance
with Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, save as otherwise provided
in this Regulation.

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 193, 29.7.2000, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 191, 31.7.1993, p. 76.
(4) OJ L 187, 26.7.2000, p. 24.
(5) OJ L 301, 17.10.1992, p. 17.
(6) OJ L 104, 27.4.1996, p. 13.

The invitation to tender shall cover a maximum of 6 575

1.
tonnes of sorghum for export to third countries.

The quantity of sorghum referred to in paragraph 1 shall

2.
be stored in the regions listed in Annex I.

Article 3

No export refund or tax or monthly increase shall be

1.
granted on exports carried out under this Regulation.

Article 8(2) of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93 shall not

2.
apply.

3.
Notwithstanding the third paragraph of Article 16 of
Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the price to be paid for the
export shall be that quoted in the tender, with no monthly
increase.

Article 4

1.
Export licences shall be valid from their date of issue
within the meaning of Article 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2131/
93 until the end of the fourth month thereafter.

2.
Tenders submitted in response to the invitation to tender
opened by this Regulation may not be accompanied by export
licence applications submitted under Article 49 of Commission
Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 (7).

Article 5

1.
Notwithstanding Article 7(1) of Regulation (EEC) No
2131/93, the time limit for submission of tenders under the
first partial invitation to tender shall be 9.00 (Brussels time) on
3 July 2003.

2.
The time limit for submission of tenders under subse-
quent partial invitations to tender shall be 9.00 (Brussels time)
each Thursday thereafter.

The last partial invitation to tender shall expire at 9.00

3.
(Brussels time) on 27 May 2004.

Tenders shall be lodged with the French intervention

4.
agency.

(7) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1.

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Article 6

The intervention agency,

1.
the storer and a successful
tenderer shall, at the request of the latter and by common
agreement, either before or at the time of removal from storage
as the tenderer chooses, take reference samples for counter-
analysis at the rate of at least one sample for every 500 tonnes
and shall analyse the samples. The intervention agency may be
represented by a proxy, provided this is not the storer.

In the cases provided for in the second indent of the
3.
second subparagraph of paragraph 2 and in the third subpara-
graph thereof, the successful tenderer may request the interven-
tion agency to supply another lot of intervention sorghum of
the quality laid down at no additional charge. In that case, the
security shall not be released. The lot must be replaced within
three days of the date of the successful tenderer's request. The
successful tenderer shall immediately inform the Commission
thereof using the form set out in Annex II.

Reference samples for counter-analysis shall be taken and
analysed within seven working days of
the
successful tenderer's request or within three working days if the
samples are taken on removal from storage.

the date of

In the event of a dispute, the analysis results shall be forwarded
to the Commission.

If, as a result of successive replacements, the successful tenderer
has not received a replacement lot of the quality laid down
within one month of the date of the first request for a replace-
ment, the successful tenderer shall be discharged of all obliga-
tions and the securities shall be released, provided the Commis-
sion and the intervention agency have been immediately
informed using the form set out in Annex II.

The successful tenderer must accept the lot as established

2.
where the final result of sample analyses indicates a quality:

(a) higher than that specified in the notice of invitation to

tender;

(b) higher than the minimum characteristics laid down for
intervention but below the quality described in the notice
of invitation to tender, providing that the differences do
not exceed the following limits:

— a quarter of a percentage point as regards maximum

tannin content,

— one percentage point as regards moisture content,

— half a percentage point as regards the impurities speci-
fied in points B.2 and B.4 of the Annex to Commission
Regulation (EC) No 824/2000 (1), and

— half a percentage point as regards the impurities speci-
fied in point B.5 of the Annex to Regulation (EC) No
824/2000,
the percentages admissible for noxious
grains and ergot, however, remaining unchanged.

Where the final result of sample analyses indicates a quality
higher than the minimum characteristics laid down for inter-
vention but below the quality described in the notice of invita-
tion to tender, and a difference exceeding the limits set out in
point (b), the successful tenderer may:

— accept the lot as established, or

— refuse to take over the lot concerned.

In the case provided for in the second indent of the second
subparagraph, the successful tenderer shall be discharged of all
obligations relating to the lot in question and the securities
shall be released provided the Commission and the intervention
agency are immediately notified using the form set out in
Annex II.

Where the final result of sample analyses indicates a quality
below the minimum characteristics laid down for intervention,
the successful tenderer may not remove the lot in question.
The successful tenderer shall be discharged of all obligations
relating to the lot
in question and the securities shall be
released provided the Commission and the intervention agency
are immediately notified using the form set out in Annex II.

(1) OJ L 100, 20.4.2000, p. 31.

If the sorghum is removed from storage before the results
4.
of the analyses are known, all risks shall be borne by the
successful tenderer from the time the lot is removed, without
prejudice to any means of redress against the storer.

5.
Except where the final results of analyses indicate a
quality below the minimum characteristics laid down for inter-
vention, as referred to in the third subparagraph of paragraph
2, the costs of taking the samples and conducting the analyses
provided for in paragraph 1 but not of inter-bin transfers shall
be borne by the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee
Fund (EAGGF) in respect of up to one analysis per 500 tonnes.
The costs of inter-bin transfers and any additional analyses
requested by the successful tenderer shall be borne by that
tenderer.

Article 7

Notwithstanding Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 3002/92,
the documents relating to the sale of sorghum under this Regu-
lation, 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 applicable, the T5 copy shall
carry the following entry:

— Sorgo de intervención sin aplicación de restitución ni

gravamen, Reglamento (CE) no 1066/2003

— Sorghum fra intervention uden restitutionsydelse eller

-afgift, forordning (EF) nr. 1066/2003

— Interventionssorghum ohne Anwendung von Ausfuhr-
erstattungen oder Ausfuhrabgaben, Verordnung (EG) Nr.
1066/2003

— Σόργος παρέµβασης χωρίς εφαρµογή επιστροφής ή φόρου,

κανονισµός (ΕΚ) αριθ. 1066/2003

— Intervention sorghum without application of refund or tax,

Regulation (EC) No 1066/2003

— Sorgho d'intervention ne donnant pas lieu à restitution ni

taxe, règlement (CE) no 1066/2003

— Sorgo d'intervento senza applicazione di restituzione né di

tassa, regolamento (CE) n. 1066/2003

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— Sorghum uit interventie, zonder toepassing van restitutie of

belasting, Verordening (EG) nr. 1066/2003

— Sorgo de intervenção sem aplicação de uma restituição ou

imposição, Regulamento (CE) n.o 1066/2003

— Interventiodurraa, johon ei sovelleta vientitukea eikä vienti-

maksua, asetus (EY) N:o 1066/2003

— Interventionssorghum, utan tillämpning av bidrag eller

avgift, förordning (EG) nr 1066/2003.

Article 8

1.
The security lodged under Article 13(4) of Regulation
(EEC) No 2131/93 shall be released once the export licences
have been issued to the successful tenderers.

2.
Notwithstanding Article 17(1) of Regulation (EEC) No
2131/93, the obligation to export shall be covered by a security
equal to the difference between the intervention price applying
on the day of the award and the price awarded but not less
than EUR 10 per tonne. Half of this security shall be lodged
when the licence is issued and the remaining half shall be
lodged before the cereals are removed.

3.
Notwithstanding Article 15(2) of Regulation (EEC) No
3002/92, the part of the security lodged when the licence is
issued shall be released within 20 working days of the date on
which the successful tenderer provides proof that the cereals
removed have left the customs territory of the Community.

Notwithstanding the second indent of Article 17(3) of
4.
Regulation (EEC) No 2131/93, the remainder of the security
shall be released within 15 working days of the date on which
the successful tenderer provides the proof referred to in Article
16 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 (1).

5.
Except in duly substantiated exceptional cases, in parti-
cular the opening of an administrative enquiry, where the secu-
rities provided for in paragraphs 1, 3 and 4 are released after
the time limits specified in those paragraphs, the Member State
to
shall be
EUR 0,015 per 10 tonnes for each day's delay.

compensation amounting

required to pay

This compensation shall not be charged to the EAGGF.

Article 9

Within two hours of the expiry of the time limit for the
submission of tenders, the French intervention agency shall
notify the Commission of tenders received. Such notification
shall be made using the form set out in Annex III.

Article 10

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day of its publica-
tion in the Official Journal of the European Union.

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

Done at Brussels, 20 June 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 102, 17.4.1999, p. 11.

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Place of storage

Lyon

ANNEX I

ANNEX II

(in tonnes)

Quantity

6 575

Communication of refusal and possible replacement of lots under the standing invitation to tender for the
export of sorghum held by the French intervention agency

(Article 6(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1066/2003)

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L 154/57

ANNEX III