Commission Regulation (EC) No 1741/2006 of 24 November 2006 laying down the conditions for granting the special export refund on boned meat of adult male bovine animals placed under the customs warehousing procedure prior to export
Date: 2006-11-24
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: beef, boned meat, cattle, customs warehouse, export refund, traceability

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1741/2006

of 24 November 2006

laying down the conditions for granting the special export refund on boned meat of adult male
bovine animals placed under the customs warehousing procedure prior to export

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

and veal products placed under a customswarehousing or
freezone procedure (5). They were adopted to amplify and
clarify the provisions of Regulations (EEC) No 565/80
and (EC) No 800/1999, particularly in terms of
controls, for boned meat of adult male bovine animals.

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1254/1999 of 17
May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in beef
and veal (1), and in particular Article 33(12) thereof,

(5)

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82 of 20 July
1982 laying down the conditions for granting special
refunds on certain cuts of boned meat of
export
bovine animals (2)
lays down the conditions under
which a special refund may be granted on boned cuts
of meat of adult male bovine animals exported to third
countries.

For the smooth operation of the arrangements instituted
by Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82, the legislator provided
in particular for the possibility for operators to make use,
in the case of boned meat of adult male bovine animals,
of
the customs warehousing or free zone procedure
provided for in Council Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 of
4 March 1980 on the advance payment of export
refunds in respect of agricultural products (3).

for applying the
The rules and general conditions
advance payment of
the refund on products placed
under the customs warehousing or free zone procedure
are laid down in Chapter 3 of Title II of Commission
Regulation (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 (4).

The specific conditions for applying the advance payment
on boned meat of adult male bovine animals placed
under the customs warehousing or free zone procedure
are laid down in Commission Regulation (EC) No
456/2003 of 12 March 2003 laying down special rules
on the pre-financing of export refunds for certain beef

(1) OJ L 160, 26.6.1999, p. 21. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1913/2005 (OJ L 307, 25.11.2005, p. 2).

(2) OJ L 212, 21.7.1982, p. 48. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1713/2006 (OJ L 321, 21.11.2006, p. 11).

(3) OJ L 62, 7.3.1980, p. 5. Regulation as repealed by Regulation (EC)

No 1713/2006.

The measures introduced by Regulation (EEC) No 565/80
and the corresponding implementing measures laid down
in Chapter 3 of Title II of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999
repealed by Commission Regulation (EC) No
were
1713/2006. As
these
measures, the specific measures laid down in Regulation
(EC) No 456/2003 were rendered obsolete and were also
repealed.

repeal of

result of

the

a

(6)

(7)

Advance payment of the refund on boned meat of adult
male bovine animals under the customs warehousing
procedure has been and is still used for exports to
third countries. The interest in this system shown by
operators is due in particular to the flexibility which it
offers for the preparation of orders, especially the possi-
bility for operators to store the meat for a maximum
period of
four months prior to export and freeze it
during that period of intermediate storage.

In the absence of new provisions, operators will lose the
flexibility provided by the previous procedure and will
encounter additional difficulties on external markets in
exporting boned meat of adult male bovine animals.
The consequences of
those measures
should be restricted as far as possible. To achieve that,
operators should be able to continue to place boned
meat of adult male bovine animals under the customs
warehousing procedure prior
and the
conditions for granting the special refund on such meat
when exported after storage should be laid down.

the repeal of

to export,

(8) Within that

it

is essential

framework,

to specify the
conditions for meat entering that regime and, in order
to ensure the traceability of
the meat of adult male
bovine animals during storage, provision should be
made for operators to set up and update a computerised
database approved by the customs authority beforehand.

(4) OJ L 102, 17.4.1999, p. 11. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

(5) OJ L 69, 13.3.2003, p. 18. Regulation as repealed by Regulation

lation (EC) No 1713/2006.

(EC) No 1713/2006.

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(9)

(10)

To improve the transparency of operations and increase
the speed and effectiveness of controls, the number of
declarations of entry into storage that may be submitted
per boning operation and the number of boned meat
certificates involved in entry into the supervised storage
arrangements should be restricted.

the smooth operation of

For
the regime, provision
should be made for derogations from Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 1291/2000 of 9 June 2000 laying down
common detailed rules for the application of the system
of import and export licences and advance fixing certi-
for agricultural products (1),
in particular as
ficates
the moment when the licences are to be
regards
presented and attributed and management of the asso-
ciated security.

(11) A maximum storage period should also be laid down and
the operations that may be carried out during that period
specified.

(12)

The criteria for controls during the storage period should
also be laid down, and their frequency and the conse-
quences to be drawn in the event of discrepancies
between the data recorded in the database and actual
stocks specified.

(13)

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

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Scope

Without prejudice to Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 and Regu-
lation (EEC) No 1964/82, payment of the special export refund
on boned meat of adult male bovine animals placed under the
customs warehousing procedure prior to their exportation shall
be subject to the conditions laid down in this Regulation.

Article 2

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(b) ‘customs warehousing procedure’ means the procedure as
defined in Article 98(2) of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2913/92 (3);

(c)

‘operator’ means the exporter as defined in Article 2(1)(i) of
Regulation (EC) No 800/1999;

(d) ‘boning operation’ means the meat boned on a single day or

part of a day;

(e)

‘boned meat certificate’ means the certificate referred to in
Article 4(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82.

Article 3

Admission to the customs warehousing procedure

1.
Admission of boned meat of adult male bovine animals to
the customs warehousing procedure shall be conditional on the
issue of written authorisation by the
authority
responsible for the management and control of the scheme.

customs

2.
The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall be
issued only to operators giving a written undertaking to
maintain a computerised database of products to be placed
under the customs warehousing procedure (hereinafter called
the database) and to ensure that storage will only be carried
out in the Member State in which the authorisation has been
granted and in the places covered by such authorisation. Where
the products are stored in more than one place, authorisation
may be granted for a database for each warehouse.

Where all or part of the goods are stored by a third party acting
on behalf of the operator, the database may be maintained by
that third party on the responsibility of the operator, who shall
remain answerable for its accuracy.

The customs authority shall make prior checks to ensure that
the database, to which it must have direct access without any
need for prior notification, has been set up and is operational.
The authorisation referred to in paragraph 1 shall lay down the
procedure for accessing the database.

Article 4

Entry into storage

(a)

‘boned meat of adult male bovine animals’ means products
falling within codes 0201 30 00 9100 and 0201 30 00
9120 of the agricultural product nomenclature for export
refunds established by Commission Regulation (EEC) No
3846/87 (2);

(1) OJ L 152, 24.6.2000, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1713/2006.
(2) OJ L 366, 24.12.1987, p. 1.

1.
Operators with the authorisation referred to in Article 3(1)
shall submit to the customs authority a declaration of entry into
storage stating their intention to place fresh or chilled boned
meat of adult male bovine animals under the customs ware-
housing procedure pending its exportation. That declaration
may only be submitted in the Member State in which the
boning operation was carried out.

(3) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.

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The declaration shall include a description of the products in
accordance with the export refund nomenclature code for meat
to be placed under that regime, their net weight and all data
required for the precise identification of
the meat and the
locations in which it is to be stored until it is exported.

The primary requirement shall be considered to have been
fulfilled when proof of acceptance of the declaration of entry
into storage is provided. For the provision of proof, Articles 33
and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply mutatis
mutandis as required.

It shall be accompanied by the boned meat certificate(s) and
copy No 1 of the export licence currently valid which, by way
of derogation from 24(1) and (2) of Regulation (EC) No
1291/2000,
shall be presented to the customs authority
together with that declaration of entry into storage.

2.
A maximum of two declarations of entry into storage
under customs supervision may be accepted for each boning
operation. A declaration of entry into storage may refer to a
maximum of two boned meat certificates.

3.
The date of acceptance of the declaration of entry into
storage, the number of the boned meat certificate(s) accom-
panying boned meat of adult male bovine animals on entry
into the customs warehousing procedure,
the number of
boxes per type of cut, the identification details and the weight
of such meat shall be entered in the declaration of entry into
storage.

7.
The date of acceptance of the declaration of entry into
storage shall determine the type, quantity and characteristics of
the products selected for payment of the refund in accordance
with Article 10.

8.
Boned meat of adult male bovine animals for which a
declaration of entry into storage is accepted shall be subject
to a physical check relating to a representative selection of at
least 5 % of accepted declarations of entry into storage.

Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 (1) and Article
2(2), Articles 3, 4, 5 and 6, Article 8(1) and (2), the first
subparagraph of Article 11 and Annex I to Commission Regu-
lation (EC) No 2090/2002 (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.

By derogation from the first subparagraph, the physical check
may cover a smaller percentage of declarations of entry into
storage accepted, but not less than 2 %, where the customs
authority uses a risk analysis taking account of the criteria
provided for in Commission Regulation (EC) No 3122/94 (3).

The information referred to in the first subparagraph shall be
entered in such a way that a clear link can be established
between the different meats entered into storage and the corre-
sponding certificates.

Article 5

Traceability of the meat

The database must:

The date of acceptance of the declaration of entry into storage,
the weight of the meat and the number of the declaration of
entry into storage shall be immediately entered in boxes 10 and
11 of the boned meat certificate.

4.
The declarations of entry into storage shall be sent
through administrative channels to the body responsible for
paying the export refund. The same shall apply for boned
meat certificates for which all quantities available have been
attributed.

(a) permit the meat covered by the arrangements to be traced

administratively throughout the period of storage;

(b) provide an up-to-date report in real time of the quantities of
meat in storage, which must be available on the basis of
each of the criteria referred to in the third subparagraph.

Traceability as referred to in the first subparagraph, point (a)
above shall be based on a unique identification reference
assigned to meat
from one boning operation carried out
before the products concerned are placed under the customs
warehousing procedure.

After

5.
customs
attribution and endorsement by the
authority, copy No 1 of the licence shall be returned to the
operator.

The unique identification reference referred to in the second
subparagraph shall comprise:

6.
By derogation from Article 31(b) of Regulation (EC) No
1291/2000, in the case of boned meat of adult male bovine
animals placed under the customs warehousing procedure prior
to export, the obligation to export shall be considered to have
been fulfilled and the right
to export under the licence or
certificate shall be considered to have been exercised on the
day when the declaration of entry into storage is accepted.

(a) a unique number;

(b) the date of production;

(1) OJ L 42, 16.2.1990, p. 6.
(2) OJ L 322, 27.11.2002, p. 4.
(3) OJ L 330, 21.12.1994, p. 31.

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(c)

the number of the boned meat certificate;

quantity and type of the products in question, the number of
the licence and the date of attribution concerned.

(d) the number of boxes per type of cut obtained and the net
weight measured on entry into the customs warehousing
procedure.

Article 6

Updating the database

1.
The database shall be kept up to date and shall indicate
the entry into and the removal from storage of products up to
the day of presentation of:

(a)

the declaration of entry into storage referred to in Arti-
cle 4(1);

3. Where the obligation to export is not complied with, the
authority which issued the licence shall apply Article 44 of
Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 mutatis mutandis.

Article 8

Operations during storage

During the period of storage referred to in Article 7,
1.
boned meat of adult male bovine animals may undergo,
in
accordance with the conditions laid down by the customs
authority, a change of
freezing or, where applicable,
repackaging, provided that:

labels,

(b) the export declaration referred to in Article 5 of Regulation

(EC) No 800/1999.

(a)

the individual packaging of each piece of meat
impaired or altered;

is not

The customs authority shall accept

the declarations
2.
referred to in paragraph 1 only after verifying that
the
operation for which the declaration has been issued is entered
in the database as an ‘entry’ or a ‘removal’.

(b) the link to the original label is maintained and the trace-
the meat as referred to in Article 5 is not

ability of
compromised.

However,
the customs authority may accept declarations as
referred to in paragraph 1 before making the check referred
to in the first subparagraph. In such cases, the operator must
confirm to the authority that the relevant entry has been made
in the database. The customs authority may thus postpone and
group these checks but must carry them out at least once in
each period of two calendar months.

Article 7

Duration of storage

Where the operations referred to in the first subparagraph take
place, they shall be recorded in the database and a clear link
shall be established with the declaration of entry into storage
and the corresponding boned meat certificate(s).

2.
Any refund on products which have undergone operations
as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined on the basis of
the quantity, type and characteristics of the meat existing at the
date on which the declaration of entry into storage is accepted
in accordance with Article 4(3).

1.
Boned meat of adult male bovine animals may remain
under a customs warehousing procedure for a maximum of
four months from the date of acceptance of the declaration
of entry into storage referred to in Article 4(1).

Any weight
loss occurring during storage in a customs
warehouse shall not be taken into account if it is due exclu-
sively to natural causes. Damage occurring to products shall not
be considered to be weight loss due to natural causes.

2. Where an operator fails to comply with the time limit
referred to in paragraph 1, or withdraws part of the products
placed under the customs warehousing procedure from super-
vision, the obligation to export shall be deemed not to have
been met for the quantity concerned.

The customs authority which accepted the declaration of entry
into storage referred to in Article 4(1) or the body responsible
for payment of the export refunds referred to in Article 9(3)
immediately inform the body which issued the export
shall
the
it
licence thereof.

shall notify them of

In particular,

Article 9

Export formalities

1. When the customs formalities for the export of boned
meat of adult male bovine animals placed under a customs
warehousing procedure in accordance with this Regulation are
carried out,
the declaration(s) of entry into
storage and the quantities exported for each declaration of
entry into storage shall be entered under the supervision of
the customs authority on the export declaration(s) referred to
in Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999.

the number of

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The export declaration shall be submitted by the last day

2.
of the time limit referred to in Article 7(1).

Article 50(3), (4) and (6) of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 shall
apply mutatis mutandis.

for export have been
3. When the customs
completed, the copy of each export declaration shall be sent
through administrative channels to the body responsible for
paying the export refunds.

formalities

Article 10

Grant of the refund

Payment of the refund shall be made by the Member State
1.
in which the declaration of entry into storage was accepted in
accordance with Article 4(1).

2. When the quantities corresponding to a declaration of
entry into storage have been exported, the operator shall have
the right to payment of the refund on those quantities, provided
that the other conditions of the Community rules on exports
in particular those laid down in Article 6 of
with a refund,
Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82,
in Article 21 and in Title IV
of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999, have been met.

When an operator has made use of the provisions of Article 24
of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999, prior to release of the corre-
sponding security, the body responsible for paying the export
refund shall ascertain in particular that the provisions of Article
6 of Regulation (EEC) No 1964/82 have been complied with.

3. When an operator fails to comply with one or more of
the time limits laid down in Article 7(1) of this Regulation and
in Articles 7(1) and 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999, the
applicable export refund shall be corrected, except in cases of
force majeure, as follows:

(a)

the refund shall first be reduced by 15 %;

(b) the resulting refund shall then also be reduced by:

(i) 2 % for each day after the expiry of the time limits
this Regulation and

referred to in Article 7(1) of
Article 15(1) of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999;

Article 11

Checks on storage

1.
The customs authority shall carry out at least two un-
announced checks per calendar year on the operation and
content of the database.

Such checks shall cover a total of at least 5 % of the total
quantities of products that, according to the database, are in
storage on the day checks begin. These checks shall ensure that
the meat located on the storage premises is entered in the
database
entered in the
database can be identified on the storage premises.

conversely,

and that,

the meat

A report shall be drawn up for each check.

The customs authority shall inform the body responsible

2.
for paying the export refund of:

(a) all authorisations granted, suspended or withdrawn;

(b) all checks carried out.

Where there is presumed to be a risk of an irregularity, the
the
bodies responsible for paying the refund may request
customs authority to carry out a check.

Article 12

Penalties

Where the customs authority finds a discrepancy between the
physical stock and the stock recorded in the database,
the
authorisation referred to in Article 3(1) shall be suspended for
a period to be determined by the Member States, which may
not be less than three months from the date on which the
problem is detected. During the period of suspension,
the
operator is not authorised to place boned meat of adult male
bovine animals in a customs warehouse under this Regulation.

(ii) 5 % for each day after the expiry of the time limit
referred to in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No
800/1999.

Authorisation shall not be suspended where the discrepancy
between the physical stock and the stock registered in the
database is the result of force majeure.

When the documents referred to in Article 49(2) of Regulation
(EC) No 800/1999 are produced within six months after the
expiry of the stipulated time limit, the refund, as established
where applicable in accordance with the first subparagraph,
shall be reduced by an amount equivalent
the
refund that would have been paid if all the time limits had
been met.

to 15 % of

Authorisation shall also not be suspended where the quantities
missing or not entered in the database do not exceed 1 % of the
total weight of products selected for the check and are due to
omissions or
errors, provided that
administrative
corrective measures are taken to ensure that similar errors do
not recur.

simple

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they recur,

If
authorisation definitively.

the customs authorities may then withdraw

Article 13

Notification to the Commission

Member States shall notify the Commission of the quantities of
boned meat of adult male bovine animals placed under the
customs warehousing procedure prior to export in accordance
with this Regulation, with a breakdown of those quantities by
12-figure code of the agricultural product nomenclature for
export refunds established by Regulation (EEC) No 3846/87.

Member States shall take measures to ensure that the notifi-
cation is made no later than the second month following the
month in which the declaration of entry into storage is
accepted.

Article 14

Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the 20th day following
its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 January 2007.

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

Done at Brussels, 24 November 2006.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission