Commission Regulation (EC) No 1431/2003 of 11 August 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 as regards the conditions for the payment of export refunds on cereal products
Date: 2003-08-11
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Cyprus, Malta, cereal product, cereals, derogation from EU law, export, export refund

L 203/16

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

12.8.2003

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1431/2003

of 11 August 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 as regards the conditions for the payment of export refunds
on cereal products

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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 1104/
2003 (2), and in particular Article 13(11) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

The second indent of Article 3 of Commission Regula-
tion (EC) No 800/1999 of 15 April 1999 laying down
common detailed rules for the application of the system
of export refunds on agricultural products (3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 444/2003 (4), stipulates
that, when a differentiated refund applies for a specific
third country, entitlement to the refund is acquired on
importation into that third country. Articles 14, 15 and
16 of that Regulation lay down the conditions for the
payment of
the refund when a differentiated refund
applies and in particular the documents to be presented
to prove the arrival of the products at destination.

(2) When a differentiated refund applies, Article 18(1) and
(2) of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 stipulates that part
of the refund, calculated using the lowest refund rate, is
paid on application by the exporter once proof is furn-
ished that the product has left the customs territory of
the Community.

(3)

Article 13a of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1501/95
of 29 June 1995 laying down certain detailed rules for
the application of Council Regulation (EEC) No 1766/92
on the granting of export refunds on cereals and the
measures to be taken in the event of disturbance on the
market for cereals (5), as last amended by Regulation (EC)
No 1163/2002 (6), provides for derogations from Regu-
lation (EC) No 800/1999 as a result of trade agreements
concluded with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovenia
and Slovakia, providing for the abolition of refunds for
those destinations.

(4)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 934/2003 (7) opens an
invitation to tender for the refund on common wheat
exports to all third countries, except for the 10 countries

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 158, 27.6.2003, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 102, 17.4.1999, p. 11.
(4) OJ L 67, 12.3.2003, p. 3.
(5) OJ L 147, 30.6.1995, p. 7.
(6) OJ L 170, 29.6.2002, p. 46.
(7) OJ L 133, 29.5.2003, p. 42.

acceding to the Community on 1 May 2004, and
Bulgaria and Romania, so requiring the refund rate to be
differentiated, depending on the destination. Those desti-
nations are also excluded when the export refunds are
fixed at regular intervals. As there is no trade agreement
with Cyprus or Malta and these countries are not there-
fore listed among the destinations referred to in Article
13a of Regulation (EC) No 1501/95,
the derogation
regarding proof of arrival at destination and calculation
of
the advance provided for in that
Article does not apply to the invitation to tender opened
by Regulation (EC) No 934/2003, nor to the fixing of
export refunds at regular intervals.

the amount of

Based on the statistical data available,
there are no
exports of Community cereal products to Cyprus or
Malta. So as not to hamper most Community exports by
requiring proof of arrival at destination, the scope of the
derogations provided for in Article 13a of Regulation
(EC) No 1501/95 should be extended to cases where a
refund is not fixed for those two destinations.

Regulation (EC) No 1501/95 should therefore be
amended.

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

(5)

(6)

(7)

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

The following paragraph 3 is hereby added to Article 13a of
Regulation (EC) No 1501/95:

‘3.
The derogations laid down in paragraphs 1 and 2
shall also apply where refunds are not fixed for exports of
the products referred to in Article 1(1) of Regulation (EEC)
No 1766/92 to Cyprus or Malta.’

Article 2

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

12.8.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 203/17

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

Done at Brussels, 11 August 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission