Commission Regulation (EC) No 307/2004 of 20 February 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application of the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amounts of such refunds, and providing special measures in respect of certain refund certificates
Date: 2004-02-20
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, export refund

21.2.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

L 52/35

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 307/2004

of 20 February 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 laying down common detailed rules for the application
of the system of granting export refunds on certain agricultural products exported in the form of
goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amounts of such
refunds, and providing special measures in respect of certain refund certificates

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 3448/93 of 6
December 1993 laying down the trade arrangements applicable
to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural
products (1), and in particular the first subparagraph of Article
8(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

As provided for in Article 19 of Commission Regulation
(EC) No 1520/2000 (2), that Regulation is to be adapted
in line with amendments to the Combined Nomenclature
and Annex B is to be adapted so as to maintain equiva-
lence with the respective Annexes to the Regulations
referred to in Article 1(1).

Commission Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 of 11
September 2003 amending Annex I to Council Regu-
lation (EEC) No 2658/87 on the tariff and statistical
nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (3)
introduced amendments to the Combined Nomenclature
for certain goods. In addition, Annex V to Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the
common organisation of
the markets in the sugar
sector (4) provides that from 1 February 2004 no export
refunds may be paid on the sugar element of active
yeasts.

(3)

Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000 should be updated in
order to take account of those changes.

(4) With the entry into force of this Regulation the sugar
element incorporated in active yeasts, for which opera-
tors may have applied for refund certificates in accord-
ance with Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, will no longer
be eligible for refund when they are exported to third
countries.

(5)

Reduction of refund certificates and pro rata release of
the corresponding security should be allowed where
the
operators can demonstrate to the satisfaction of
national competent authority that
for
their claims
refunds have been affected by the entry into force of this
Regulation.

(1) OJ L 318, 20.12.1993, p. 18. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 2580/2000 (OJ L 298, 25.11.2000, p. 5).

(2) OJ L 177, 15.7.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 740/2003 (OJ L 106, 29.4.2003, p. 12).

(3) OJ L 281, 30.10.2003, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 178, 30.6.2001, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Commis-

sion Regulation (EC) No 39/2004 (OJ L 6, 10.1.2004, p. 16).

security,

(6) When assessing requests for reduction of the amount of
the refund certificate and proportional release of the
relevant
the national competent authority
should, in cases of doubt, have regard in particular to
the documents referred to in Article 1(2) of Council
Regulation (EEC) No 4045/89 of 21 December 1989 on
scrutiny by Member States of transactions forming part
of the system of financing by the Guarantee Section of
the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund
and repealing Directive 77/435/EEC (5) without prejudice
to the application of the other provisions of that Regu-
lation.

(7)

(8)

(9)

For administrative reasons it is appropriate to provide
that requests for reduction of the amount of the refund
certificate and release of the security are to be made
within a short period and that the amounts for which
reductions have been accepted are to be notified to the
Commission in time for their inclusion in the determin-
ation of the amount for which refund certificates for use
from 1 April 2004 are to be issued pursuant to Regu-
lation (EC) No 1520/2000.

Since the amendments to the Combined Nomenclature
introduced by Regulation (EC) No 1789/2003 and the
amendments introduced by Regulation (EC) No 39/2004
are applicable from 1 January 2004 and 1 February
2004 respectively, the amendments provided for in this
Regulation should be applicable from the same dates.

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee on horizontal questions concerning trade in
processed agricultural products not listed in Annex I to
the Treaty,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

In Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000, Annex B is amended as
follows:

(a) in the row beginning with the entry ‘1905 90 40 to

1905 90 90’ in column 1, that entry is replaced by:

‘1905 90 45 to 1905 90 90’;

(b) in the row beginning with the entry ‘2102 10 31 and
2102 10 39’ in column 1, the ‘X’ in column 6 is deleted.

(5) OJ L 388, 30.12.1989, p. 18. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 2154/2002 (OJ L 328, 5.12.2002, p. 4).

L 52/36

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Official Journal of the European Union

21.2.2004

Article 2

1.
Refund certificates issued in accordance with Regulation
(EC) No 1520/2000 in respect of exports of the agricultural
products
refunds have been abolished
pursuant to point (b) of Article 1 of this Regulation may, at the
request of
the
following conditions are fulfilled:

the interested party, be reduced if each of

for which export

(a) the certificates have been applied for before the date of

entry into force of this Regulation;

(b) the validity of the certificates expires after the date of entry

into force of this Regulation.

2.
The certificate shall be reduced by the amount for which
the interested party is unable to claim export refunds following
the entry into force of the amendment provided for in point (b)
of Article 1 as demonstrated to the satisfaction of the national
competent authority.

In making their appraisal the competent authorities shall, in
cases of doubt, have regard in particular to the commercial
documents referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EEC) No
4045/89.

The relevant security shall be released in proportion to

3.
the reduction concerned.

Article 3

For a request

to be eligible for consideration under
1.
Article 2, the national competent authority must receive it by 7
March 2004, at the latest.

2. Member States shall notify the Commission not later than
14 March 2004 of the amounts for which reductions have
been accepted in accordance with Article 2(2) of this Regu-
lation. The notified amounts shall be taken into account for the
determination of the amount for which refund certificates for
use from 1 April 2004 are to be issued pursuant to point (d) of
Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1520/2000.

Article 4

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

Point (a) of Article 1 shall apply from 1 January 2004.

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

Done at Brussels, 20 February 2004.

For the Commission

Erkki LIIKANEN

Member of the Commission