Commission Regulation (EC) No 444/2004 of 10 March 2004 amending Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables
Date: 2004-03-10
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: aid system, common organisation of markets, fruit product, vegetable product

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 444/2004

of 10 March 2004

amending Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 laying down detailed rules for applying Council Regu-
lation (EC) No 2201/96 as regards the aid scheme for products processed from fruit and vegetables

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 of 28
October 1996 on the common organisation of the markets in
processed fruit and vegetable products (1), and in particular
Articles 6, 25 and 27(1) thereof,

(8)

(9)

In order to respect the legitimate expectations of the
operators concerned, this Regulation should apply from
the 2004/05 marketing year.

However, since contracts between tomato producers and
processors for the 2004/05 marketing year have already
been signed, the application of certain provisions on
contracts
the 2005/06
marketing year in the case of tomatoes.

should be postponed until

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Since publication of Commission Regulation (EC) No
1535/2003 (2), the Member States and the Commission
improving the
have identified a number of ways of
provisions on the management of contracts between
producers and processors.

Checks should be made more operational, in particular
as regards the checks to be carried out to verify the yield
of raw materials processed into the finished product
obtained.

The conditions governing interest rates for the reduction
of the aid in case of discrepancy between the aid applied
for and the amount due should be brought into line
with Article 49(3) of Commission Regulation (EC) No
2419/2001 of 11 December 2001 laying down detailed
rules for applying the integrated administration and
control system for certain Community aid schemes
established by Council Regulation (EEC) No 3508/92 (3).

the
To ensure the smooth operation of
disposal of the production of producers participating in
the system should be ensured in cases where processors
are not in a position to comply with their contractual
obligations.

the system,

Notification procedures should be improved in the case
of processing in another Member State, to make them
more flexible and adapt them to the specific circum-
stances, without compromising checking requirements
under any circumstances.

In order to comply with the principle of proportionality,
the provisions on the penalties to be applied to proces-
sors who do not pay the contract price to producers of
raw materials should be clarified.

Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 should therefore be
amended accordingly.

(1) OJ L 297, 21.11.1996, p. 29. Regulation last amended by Commis-

sion Regulation (EC) No 453/2002 (OJ L 72, 14.3.2002, p. 9).

(2) OJ L 218, 30.8.2003, p. 14.
(3) OJ L 327, 12.12.2001, p. 11. Regulation last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 118/2004 (OJ L 17, 24.1.2004, p. 7).

(10)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of
the Management
Committee for Products Processed from Fruit and Vege-
tables,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003 is amended as follows:

1. Article 7 is amended as follows:

(a) paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1.

Contracts must specify, in particular:

(a) the name and address of the signatory producer

organisation;

(b) the name and address of the processor;

(c) the quantities of raw materials to be delivered for

processing;

(d) the period covered and the provisional schedule of

deliveries to processors;

(e) an undertaking by the processors to process the
quantities delivered under the contract in question;

(f) the price to be paid to the producer organisation
for the raw materials, which may vary by variety
and/or quality and/or delivery period and shall be
paid only by bank or post office transfer;

(g) the compensation payable should either party fail
to fulfil its contractual obligations, in particular as
regards the payment in full of the price specified in
the
for
respect of
payment, and the obligation to deliver and accept
the quantities covered by the contract.

contract,

limits

time

the

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The contract shall also indicate the delivery stage to
which the price referred to in point (f) applies and the
payment terms. The time limit for payment may not
exceed two months from the end of the month of
delivery of each consignment.’

(b) in paragraph 2, the phrase ‘the price referred to in
paragraph 1(e) of this Article’ is replaced by ‘the price
referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph of
paragraph 1 of this Article’;

2. Article 9(3) is replaced by the following:

‘3.
The price of the additional quantity laid down in the
amendment may differ from the price referred to in point
(f) of the first subparagraph of Article 7(1).’;

3. Article 11(4) is replaced by the following:

‘4.
In exceptional and duly justified cases, Member
States may accept contracts and amendments thereto that
reach their competent authorities after the time limit laid
down in paragraph 3, provided that such late arrival does
not hinder their checks.

In the case of amendments to contracts for tomatoes,
Member States may authorise, for duly justified reasons, a
time limit shorter than the five days laid down in para-
graph 3, provided that
this does not hinder effective
checks on the production aid scheme.’;

4. the first subparagraph of Article 21(2) is replaced by the

following:

On the basis of a risk analysis, carried out by the
‘2.
Member State where processing takes place or by the
Member State in which the producer organisation has its
head office, of the producer organisations and processors
involved, the Member States may, as far as they are directly
concerned, decide to exempt producer organisations from
the obligations laid down in paragraph 1.’;

5. Article 31(2)(b) is replaced by the following:

‘(b) physical and/or accounting checks on at least 5 % of
finished products to verify the yield of raw materials
processed into the finished product obtained under
contract and otherwise than under contract;’

6. Article 33(1) is replaced by the following:

‘1. Where it is ascertained, for a given product, that the
aid applied for in respect of any marketing year exceeds
the amount due, then that amount shall be reduced, unless
the difference is clearly due to error. The reduction shall be
equal to the difference. If the aid has already been paid, the
beneficiary shall pay back double the difference, plus
interest calculated in accordance with Article 35a(2).’;

7. the following Article 33a is inserted:

‘Article 33a

Cancellation of a contract due to the fault of the other
party

Where one of the parties to the contracts referred to in
Articles 3 and 6a of Regulation (EC) No 2201/96 is not in
a position to comply with its contractual obligations due

to the fault of the other party, the party concerned may be
authorised by the competent authorities of the Member
State concerned, in accordance with national law, to cancel
such contracts or to transfer them, unchanged, to another
approved processor in the case of producer organisations
or to another producer organisation in the case of proces-
sors.’;

8. Article 35 is amended as follows:

(a) the first subparagraph of paragraph 1 is replaced by

the following:

‘1.
Except in cases of force majeure, where it is found
that the full quantity of tomatoes, peaches or pears
accepted for processing under contract has not been
processed into one of the products listed in Article
6a(1) of, and Annex I to, Regulation (EC) No 2201/96,
the processor shall pay the competent authorities an
amount equal to twice the unit amount of the aid
multiplied by the quantity of
raw material
concerned which has not been processed, plus interest
calculated in accordance with Article 35a(2).’;

the

(b) paragraph 2 is replaced by the following:

‘2.
The Member States shall exclude the processor
from the aid scheme provided for in Regulation (EC)
No 2201/96 where:

(a) the producer organisation makes false declarations

with the collaboration of the processor,

(b) the processor repeatedly fails to pay the price
referred to in point (f) of the first subparagraph of
Article 7(1) of this Regulation,

(c) the processor repeatedly fails to meet the payment
deadline referred to in the second subparagraph of
Article 7(1) of this Regulation,

(d) where the processor fails to pay the penalties

provided for in paragraph 1 of this Article,

(e) the processor fails to comply with the obligations
referred to in Article 30(1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) of
this Regulation.

The duration of the exclusion of the processor from
the aid scheme shall be not less than one marketing
year and shall be determined by the Member States
having regard to the seriousness of the failure.’;

(c) paragraph 3 is deleted;

9. the following Article 35a is added:

‘Article 35a

Payment of the amount recovered

1.
Amounts recovered and interest due pursuant to this
Chapter shall be paid to the competent paying agency and
deducted from expenditure financed by the European Agri-
cultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund.

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The interest rate to be applied shall be calculated in
2.
accordance with national law, and shall not be lower than
the interest rate generally applicable to recovery under the
national rules.’;

paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 are correct, complete, defini-
tive and have been duly verified by the competent
authorities prior
to being communicated to the
Commission.’;

10. Article 39 is amended as follows:

(a) in paragraph 2, points (c) and (d) are replaced by the

following:
‘(c) the quantity of raw materials used to manufacture

each of the products referred to in (b);

(d) the quantity of products as referred to in (b) in
stock at the end of the previous marketing year in
the case of products processed from tomatoes,
peaches and pears, broken down, in the case of
tomatoes, into products sold and products unsold;’

(b) paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

‘3.
No later than 30 September, each Member State
shall send the Commission a report on the checks
made during the previous marketing year, specifying
the number of checks and the results, broken down by
type of finding.’;

(c) the following paragraph 5 is added:

11. the second paragraph of Article 41 is replaced by the

following:

‘References to the repealed Regulation shall be construed
as references to this Regulation and shall be read in
accordance with the correlation table set out in the Annex
hereto.’;

12. the text in the Annex to this Regulation is added as an

Annex to Regulation (EC) No 1535/2003.

Article 2

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

‘5. Member States shall adopt the necessary provi-
sions to ensure that all data contained in the notifica-
tions and reports to the Commission referred to in

It shall apply from the 2004/05 marketing year. However,
Article 1(1)(a) shall apply from the 2005/06 marketing year in
the case of tomatoes.

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

Done at Brussels, 10 March 2004.

For the Commission

Franz FISCHLER

Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX

CORRELATION TABLE

Regulation (EC) No 449/2001

Present Regulation

Article 1(1)

Article 1(2)

Article 2(1)

Article 2(2)

Article 2(3)

Article 3(1)

Article 3(1), second subparagraph

Article 3(1), third subparagraph

Article 3(2), first and second subparagraphs

Article 3(2), third subparagraph

Article 3(3), first subparagraph

Article 3(3), second subparagraph

Article 3(3), third subparagraph

Article 3(4)

Article 3(5)

Article 3(6), first subparagraph

Article 3(6), second subparagraph

Article 3(6), third subparagraph

Article 3(7)

Article 4

Article 5(1)

Article 5(2)

Article 5(3)

Article 5(4)

Article 5(5)

Article 5(6)

Article 5(7)

Article 6

Article 7(1)

Article 7(2)

Article 8(1)

Article 8(2)

Article 8(3)

Article 8(4)

Article 1

Article 2

Article 3(1)

Article 3(2)

Article 3(3)

Article 4(1)

Article 5(2)

Article 5(3)

Article 4(2)

Article 5(1)

Article 6(1)

Article 6(2)

Article 6(3)

Article 7(1)

Article 8

Article 9(1)

Article 9(2)

Article 9(3)

Article 7(2)

Article 10

Article 11(1)

Article 11(2)

Article 11(3)

Article 11(4)

Article 12(1)

Article 12(3)

Article 12(4)

Article 13

Article 22(1)

Article 22(2)

Article 14

Article 15(1)

Article 15(2)

Article 16

Article 9, point (1)(i), and point 9(1)(ii), first subparagraph Article 17(1)

Article 9, point (1)(ii), second subparagraph

Article 9, point (1), second subparagraph

Article 9, point (2)

Article 17(2)

Article 17(3)

Article 18

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Regulation (EC) No 449/2001

Present Regulation

Article 10(1)

Article 10(2)

Article 19

—

Article 11(1) first and second subparagraphs

Article 20(1)

Article 11(1), third subparagraph

Article 11(1), fourth subparagraph

Article 11(2)

Article 12(1)

Article 12(2)

Article 12(3)

Article 12(4)

Article 12(5)

Article 12(6)

Article 12(7)

Article 13(1)

Article 13(2)

Article 13(3), first subparagraph

Article 13(3), second subparagraph

Article 13(3) third, fourth and fifth indents

Article 13(3), sixth subparagraph

Article 14(1)

Article 14(2)

Article 14(3)

Article 14(4)

Article 15(1)

Article 15(2)

Article 15(3)

Article 16(1)

Article 16(2)

Article 16(3)

Article 16(4)

Article 17(1)

Article 17(2)

Article 17(3)

Article 17(4)

Article 17(5)

Article 17(6)

Article 17(7)

Article 18(1)

Article 18(2)

Article 19(1)

Article 19(2)

Article 20(2)

Article 20(3)

Article 20(4)

Article 23(1)

Article 23(2), first subparagraph

Article 25(1)

Article 23(3)

Article 23(4)

Article 23(6)

Article 23(5)

Article 24

Article 26

Article 25(2)

Article 25(3)

Article 25(4)

Article 25(5)

Article 27(1)

Article 27(2)

Article 27(3)

Article 27(4)

Article 28(1)

Article 28(2)

Article 28(3)

Article 29(1)

Article 29(2)

Article 29(3)

Article 29(4)

Article 30(1)

Article 30(2)

Article 30(3)

Article 30(4)

Article 30(5)

Article 30(6)

Article 30(7)

Article 31(1)

Article 31(2)

Article 32(1)

Article 32(2)

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Regulation (EC) No 449/2001

Present Regulation

Article 20(1)

Article 20(2)

Article 20(3)

Article 20(4)

Article 20(5)

Article 20(6)

Article 21(1)

Article 21(2)

Article 21(3)

Article 22(1)

Article 22(2)

Article 23

Article 24

Article 25

Article 26

Article 33(1)

Article 33(2)

Article 33(3)

Article 37

Article 34(1)

Article 34(3)

Article 35(1)

Article 35(2)

Article 35a

Article 36

Article 38

Article 39

Article 40

Article 41

Article 42’