Commission Regulation (EC) No 2010/2003 of 14 November 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products
Date: 2003-11-14
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, export refund

15.11.2003

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 297/13

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2010/2003

of 14 November 2003

amending Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 laying down common detailed rules for the application of
the system of export refunds on agricultural 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, and the corresponding
provisions of the other regulations on the common organisa-
tion of markets in agricultural products,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

The existing rules in the framework of the prefinancing
with processing, provide for a system of equivalence for
basic products stored in bulk and intermediate products
stored in bulk and which are going to be exported after
processing. Equivalence may be made for products
placed in different locations; equivalence may be made
also for products placed in the same location. Equiva-
lence is forbidden for products in some situations, such
as intervention products intended for export. As a
general rule, equivalence is not allowed in the frame-
work of the prefinancing for storage, without prejudice
to specific sector regulations that provide that certain
products can be stored in bulk in the same silo or
storage location with other products having another
customs status. The European Court of Auditors in its
Special Report No 1/2003 has noted that the system of
equivalence is unnecessarily complex and difficult
to
control. Furthermore the Court has found that the rules
have been applied very differently in different Member
States, and even in different regions within the same
Member State. It is therefore advisable to remove the
equivalence possibility from the prefinancing with
processing.

Council Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 of 4 March 1980
on the advance payment of export refunds in respect of
agricultural products (3), as last amended by Commission
Regulation (EC) No 444/2003 (4), has introduced the use
of real rates of yield for products processed under the
prefinancing arrangements. In order to take into account
the variability in yields, it is advisable to implement a
certain flexibility where the declared yield turns out to
be higher than the real yield.

(3) With a view to providing a more efficient administration
of the applications for payment of export refunds, it is
considered appropriate that Member States may decide
that only electronic applications must be used.

(1) OJ L 181, 1.7.1992, p. 21.
(2) OJ L 158, 27.6.2003, p. 1.
(3) OJ L 62, 7.3.1980, p. 5.
(4) OJ L 67, 12.3.2003, p. 3.

(4) With a view to simplifying the administrative procedure
for payment of refunds involving small quantities, the
requirement of furnishing proof of import in the context
of a request for equivalent documents should be waived
for refunds less than or equal to EUR 2 400.

(5) With a view to simplifying the handling of files with
penalties of small amounts, the minimum amount for
which Member States may waive recovery should be
increased.

(6)

(7)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 (5), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 444/2003, should
therefore be amended accordingly.

The Management Committees concerned have not deliv-
ered opinions within the time limits
set by their
chairmen,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 is amended as follows:

1. Article 28 is amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 3 the second, third and fourth subpara-

graphs are deleted;

(b) paragraphs 4 and 5 are deleted.

2. In Article 35(1), the following subparagraph is added:

‘However where the difference between the sum due and
the sum paid in advance is due to a difference between the
rate of yield declared in the payment declaration and the
rate of yield obtained after processing, the increase of 15 %
referred to in the second subparagraph shall not apply if the
difference between the rates of yield is lower than 2 %.

Article 51 shall not apply when there is a difference
between the rate of yield declared and the rate of yield
obtained after processing.’

3. Article 49 is amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 1, the following subparagraph is inserted

after the second subparagraph:

‘However Member States may decide that refund appli-
the
cations must be made exclusively using one of
methods referred to in the second subparagraph.’

(b) in paragraph 3,

second subparagraph, point

(a),

‘EUR 1 200’ is replaced by ‘EUR 2 400’.

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

L 297/14

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Official Journal of the European Union

15.11.2003

4. In Article 51(9), ‘EUR 60’ is replaced by ‘EUR 100’.

5. In Article 52(3), ‘EUR 60’ is replaced by ‘EUR 100’.

Article 1(1) shall apply to products covered by a payment
declaration accepted from 1 January 2004.

Article 2

Article 1(2) shall apply to products covered by a payment
declaration accepted from 1 October 2003.

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

Article 1(3), (4) and (5) shall apply to products covered by an
export declaration accepted from 1 December 2003.

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

Done at Brussels, 14 November 2003.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission