Commission Regulation (EC) No 1001/2007 of 29 August 2007 amending Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 2090/2002 as regards controls in the framework of export refunds on agricultural products
Date: 2007-08-29
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: agricultural product, customs formalities, customs inspection, export monitoring, export refund, third country

30.8.2007

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Official Journal of the European Union

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COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1001/2007

of 29 August 2007

amending Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 2090/2002 as regards controls in the
framework of export refunds on agricultural products

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty
Community,

establishing the European

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1784/2003 of 29
September 2003 on the common organisation of the market in
cereals (1), and in particular Article 18 thereof, and the corre-
sponding provisions of the other regulations on the common
organisation of the markets in agricultural products,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 of 12
February 1990 on the monitoring carried out at the time of
export of agricultural products
receiving refunds or other
amounts (2), and in particular Article 6 thereof,

Whereas:

(1)

(2)

requires

Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 of 15 April
1999 laying down common detailed rules for the appli-
cation of the system of export refunds on agricultural
products (3)
that certain docu-
in particular
mentary proof be presented to show that the products
for which export refunds are claimed have in fact been
imported in their unaltered state into a specific third
country, when a differentiated refund applies for that
third country. The procedures concerning such proof
should be simplified whilst safeguarding the financial
interests of the Community. The Commission and the
Member States should monitor the use of simplified
procedures and take appropriate action in the case of
abuse.

In practice, the third countries for which export refunds
for a given product are differentiated to lower than
average or zero values are generally situated close to
the Community whilst refund levels tend to be set at a
for countries which are more
higher,
remote from the Community. In many cases, exporters
have problems obtaining proof of importation into these
more remote countries.

identical

level

(3)

The countries for which the higher,
levels of
refund have been set may be considered as a ‘remote

identical

(1) OJ L 270, 21.10.2003, p. 78. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 735/2007 (OJ L 169, 29.6.2007, p. 6).

(2) OJ L 42, 16.2.1990, p. 6. Regulation as amended by Regulation (EC)

No 163/94 (OJ L 24, 29.1.1994, p. 2).

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

lation (EC) No 1913/2006 (OJ L 365, 21.12.2006, p. 52).

for

refund zone’
the product concerned. However,
remote countries for which the differentiated part of
the refund is lower than average or zero should be
excluded from such zone. Also those countries
in
respect of which a real risk of trade deflection exists,
or all countries for sectors in respect of which a real
risk of trade deflection exists should be excluded from
such zone.

(4) Where an export declaration is made for a country in a
remote refund zone and export is made by container sea
transport,
the combination of commercial container
management, transport documentation and the relatively
inflexible transport modality gives a reasonable level of
assurance that the products have been imported into the
specific third country. Under these circumstances, proof
that the products have been transported to and unloaded
in a country in the remote refund zone could be
provided by the combination of a transport document
to the port in the country of destination or the port
serving the hinterland of destination, and a declaration
of unloading.

(5)

(6)

If a container carrier’s commercial, computerised tracking
and tracing system meets the operational security norms
as set out in Annex I to Commission Regulation (EC) No
885/2006 of 21 June 2006 laying down detailed rules
the application of Council Regulation (EC) No
for
accreditation of paying
1290/2005 as
the
agencies and other bodies and the clearance of
the EAFRD (4), and
accounts of
the EAGF and of
provides information equivalent
to that contained in
transport documents, Member States may decide to use
such information instead of
the paper documents, as
proof of transport to the country of destination.

regards

the

It

containerised sea

is considered useful

Article 17 of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 provides for
derogations limited to EUR 2 400 and 12 000 on differ-
entiated parts of the refund for contiguous or remote
to provide for a
destinations.
to
new derogation for
transport
transport
refund
remote
document and one of
the declarations of unloading
referred to in point (a), (b) or (c) of Article 16(2). Such
derogation may be granted only if
information is
provided on the unloading in the port situated in the
In order to ensure the reliability
remote refund zone.
of
they
the proof generated under such derogations,
should be granted under revocable authorisations.

zones by

requiring

the

(4) OJ L 171, 23.6.2006, p. 90.

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(7)

(8)

In order to reduce the risk of substitution, all means of
transport or packages should be sealed save in excep-
tional cases where the products may be identified by
some other means in accordance with Article 340a and
Article 357 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No
2454/93 of 2 July 1993 laying down provisions for
the implementation of Council Regulation (EEC) No
2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code (1).
This requirement has been laid down in Article 7 of
Commission Regulation (EC) No 2090/2002 of 26
November 2002 laying
for
applying Council Regulation (EEC) No 386/90 as
regards physical checks carried out when agricultural
products qualifying for refunds are exported (2). As that
the formalities concerning the
requirement
export declaration and of general character,
it should
be deleted from Regulation (EC) No 2090/2002 and a
similar provision should be included in Regulation (EC)
No 800/1999.

down detailed

is part of

rules

The customs office of exit needs information in the T5
control copy as to whether products presented to it
qualify for a substitution check required in accordance
with Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 2090/2002. As T5
control copies may also be used for products not
qualifying for substitution checks, box 107 of the T5
control copy should bear information in case products
are exported with a right to refunds.

(9)

Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 2090/2002
should therefore be amended accordingly.

(10)

The provisions of this Regulation related to proof of
arrival at destination should apply in respect of refund
applications submitted from the date of entry into force
of this Regulation. Since this Regulation is intended to
simplify the administration of the scheme for operators
and Member States alike, it should also be possible, at the
request of the exporter, to apply it in respect of refund
applications submitted before that date, provided that the
time limit for submission of proof has not expired.

(11)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in
accordance with the opinion of the relevant Management
Committees,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

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

Article 1

(1) OJ L 253, 11.10.1993, p. 1. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 214/2007 (OJ L 62, 1.3.2007, p. 6).

(2) OJ L 322, 27.11.2002, p. 4. Regulation as last amended by Regu-

lation (EC) No 1847/2006 (OJ L 355, 15.12.2006, p. 21).

1.

in Article 2(1), the following point is added:

‘(p) “remote refund zone” means all destinations for which
the same differentiated, non-zero part of
the refund
applies for a particular product except the excluded desti-
nations for that product as set out in Annex XI;

(q) “hinterland country” means a third country without its
own sea port which is served by the sea port of another
third country.’

2.

in Article 5, the following paragraph is added:

‘8.
Goods for which export refunds are claimed shall be
sealed by, or under the control of, the customs office of
export. Article 340a and paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article
357 of Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.’

3.

in Article 8, the following paragraph is added:

‘In case refunds are applied for, box 107 shall show one of
the entries listed in Annex XII.’

4.

in Article 15, paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

‘1. Within 12 months of the date of acceptance of the
export declaration, the products shall:

(a) be imported in their unaltered state into the third
country or one of the third countries for which the
refund applies, or

(b) be unloaded in their unaltered state in a remote refund
to the

zone for which the refund applies pursuant
conditions set out in Article 17(1)(b) and (2).

However, an extension to the time limit may be granted in
accordance with Article 49.’

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5. Article 16 is amended as follows:

(a) Paragraph 1 is replaced by the following:

Proof

‘1.
importation
that customs formalities for
have been completed shall, as the exporter chooses, be
furnished by one of the following documents:

(a)

the customs document, a copy or photocopy thereof,
or a printout of equivalent
information recorded
electronically by the competent customs authority;
such copy, photocopy or printout shall be certified
as being a true copy or printout by one of
the
following:

(i) the body which endorsed the original document
or electronically recorded the equivalent infor-
mation;

(ii) an

official
concerned;

agency

of

the

third

country

(iii) an official agency of a Member State in the third

country concerned;

containers to the place of destination provided that the
third party specialises in such operations and the infor-
mation system security is approved by the Member State
as meeting the criteria laid down in the version
applicable to the period concerned of one of the inter-
nationally accepted standards set out in point 3(B) of
Annex
(EC) No
885/2006 (*).

Commission

Regulation

to

I

___________
(*) OJ L 171, 23.6.2006, p. 90.’

6. Article 17 is replaced by the following:

‘Article 17

1. Member States may exempt exporters from furnishing
the proof required pursuant to Article 16 other than the
transport document or its electronic equivalent as referred
to in Article 16(3), in case of an export declaration giving
entitlement to a refund where:

(a)

the differentiated part of the refund is no more than:

(iv) an agency responsible for paying the refund;

(i) EUR 2 400 where the third country or territory of

destination is listed in Annex IV;

(b) a certificate of unloading and importation drawn up
by an approved international control and supervisory
agency (hereinafter referred to as “SA”) in accordance
with the rules set out in Annex VI, Chapter III, using
the model set out in Annex VII; the date and number
of the customs document of import must appear on
the certificate concerned.

At the request of the exporter, a paying agency may
waive the certification requirement referred to in point
(a) of the first subparagraph where it is able to verify that
customs formalities for importation have been completed
by accessing electronically recorded information held by
or on behalf of the competent authorities of the third
country.’

(ii) EUR 12 000 where the third country or territory of

destination is not listed in Annex IV; or

(b) the port of destination is located in the remote refund

zone for the product concerned.

The exemption referred to in paragraph 1(b) shall

2.
apply only where the following conditions are met:

(b) Paragraph 3 is replaced by the following:

(a)

the products are transported in containers and transport
of the containers to the port of unloading is done by sea;

Exporters shall

‘3.
in all cases produce a copy or
photocopy of
the transport documents, which shall
relate to the transport of the products for which the
export declaration was made.

the exporter’s

request,

At
in the case of container
transport by sea, a Member State may accept information
equivalent to that contained in transport documents if
they are generated by an information system managed
by a third party responsible for the transport of the

(b) the transport document mentions as destination the
country mentioned in the export declaration or a port
normally used for unloading products destined for a
hinterland country which is the country of destination
mentioned in the export declaration;

(c)

the proof of unloading is provided pursuant to point (a),
(b) or (c) of Article 16(2).

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that

in the case of container
At the request of the exporter,
transport by sea, a Member State may accept
the
proof of unloading referred to in point (c) of the first sub-
paragraph is provided instead by information equivalent to
that of the unloading document if it is generated by an
information system managed by a third party responsible
for the transport of the containers to and unloading of the
containers at the place of destination, provided that the third
party specialises in such operations and the information
system security is approved by the Member State as
meeting the criteria laid down in the version applicable to
the period concerned of one of the internationally accepted
standards set out in point 3(B) of Annex I to Commission
Regulation (EC) No 885/2006.

The proof of unloading may be provided pursuant to point
(c) of the first subparagraph or pursuant to the second sub-
paragraph without the exporter having to prove that he has
taken the appropriate steps to obtain the document referred
to in points (a) or (b) of Article 16(1).

Eligibility for the exemptions referred to in paragraph
in case of application of

3.
1(a) shall be automatic except
paragraph 4.

Eligibility for the exemption referred to in paragraph 1(b)
shall be granted for three years, by means of a written
in advance of export, upon application by
authorisation,
shall
the exporter. Exporters using these authorisations
refer to the number of the authorisation in the payment
application.

The exporter concerned shall not be eligible for any further
exemption under this Article for two years from the date of
withdrawal.

In case of withdrawal of eligibility the entitlement to the
export refund for the products concerned shall no longer
exist and the refund shall be reimbursed, unless
the
exporter can provide the proof required under Article 16
for the products concerned.

In addition, the entitlement to export refunds shall no longer
exist for products covered by any export declaration made
after the date of the act which led to the withdrawal of
eligibility and the refunds shall be reimbursed, unless the
exporter can provide the proof required under Article 16
for the products concerned.’

7. the title of Annex IV is replaced by the following:

‘ANNEX IV

List of third countries and territories referred to in Article
17(1)(a)(i) and (ii)’

8. the text in the Annex to this Regulation is added as Annexes

XI and XII.

Article 7 of Regulation (EC) No 2090/2002 is deleted.

Article 2

If the Member State considers that products for which
4.
the exporter claims an exemption under this Article have
been exported to a country other than that mentioned in
the export declaration or, as the case may be, to a country
outside the relevant remote refund zone for which the
refund is fixed, or the exporter has artificially divided an
export operation with the aim of benefiting from an
exemption, the Member State shall
immediately withdraw
eligibility for any exemption under this Article from the
exporter concerned.

Article 3

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

At the request of the exporter, points 1, 4, 5 and 6 of Article 1
may apply in respect of refund applications submitted before
the date of entry into force of this Regulation, provided that the
time limit set out in paragraph 2 or, as the case may be, 4 of
Article 49 of Regulation (EC) No 800/1999 has not expired.

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

Done at Brussels, 29 August 2007.

For the Commission

Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission

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ANNEX

‘ANNEX XI

Products and destinations excluded from the remote refund zone

PRODUCT SECTOR — EXCLUDED DESTINATIONS

Sugar (*)

Sugar or sugar products of CN code 1701 11 90, 1701 12 90, 1701 91 00, 1701 99 10, 1701 99 90, 1702 40 10,
1702 60 10, 1702 60 95, 1702 90 30, 1702 90 60, 1702 90 71, 1702 90 99, 2106 90 30, 2106 90 59 — Morocco,
Algeria, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon

Cereals (*)
CN 1001 — Russian Federation, Moldova, Ukraine, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Albania, FYROM, Turkey, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Ceuta, Melilla

CN 1003 — All destinations

CN 1004 — Iceland, Russian Federation

Rice (*)
CN 1006 — All destinations

Milk and milk products (*)
All products — Morocco, Algeria

Milk and milk products of CN code 0401 30; 0402 21; 0402 29; 0402 91; 0402 99; 0403 90; 0404 90; 0405 10;
0405 20; 0405 90 — Canada, Mexico, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon

0406 — Syria, Lebanon, Mexico

Beef and veal
All products — All destinations

Wine
All products — Zone 3 and zone 4 in Annex IV to Regulation (EC) No 883/2001, Morocco, Algeria

Poultry
Poultrymeat — All destinations

One day-old chicks of CN code 0105 11 — USA, Canada, Mexico

Eggs (*)

Eggs in shell of ERN code 0407 00 30 9000 Japan, Russia, China, Taiwan,

Hatching eggs of ERN code 0407 00 11 9000; 0407 00 19 9000 — USA, Canada, Mexico

(*) Other than in the form of Non-Annex I goods containing less than 90 % by weight of the product concerned.

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ANNEX XII

Entries referred to in Article 8

— in Bulgarian:

Регламент (ЕО) № 800/1999

— in Spanish:

Reglamento (CE) no 800/1999

— in Czech:

Nařízení (ES) č. 800/1999

— in Danish:

— in German:

Forordning (EF) nr. 800/1999

Verordnung (EG) Nr. 800/1999

— in Estonian:

Määrus (EÜ) nr 800/1999

— in Greek:

Κανονισμός (ΕΚ) αριθ. 800/1999

— in English:

Regulation (EC) No 800/1999

— in French:

Règlement (CE) no 800/1999

— in Italian:

— in Latvian:

Regolamento (CE) n. 800/1999

Regula (EK) Nr. 800/1999

— in Lithuanian:

Reglamentas (EB) Nr. 800/1999

— in Hungarian:

800/1999/EK rendelet

— in Maltese:

— in Dutch:

Regolament (KE) Nru 800/1999

Verordening (EG) nr. 800/1999

— in Polish:

Rozporządzenie (WE) nr 800/1999

— in Portuguese:

Regulamento (CE) n.o 800/1999

— in Romanian:

Regulamentul (CE) nr. 800/1999

— in Slovak:

Nariadenie (ES) č. 800/1999

— in Slovenian:

Uredba (ES) št. 800/1999

— in Finnish:

Asetus (EY) N:o 800/1999

— in Swedish:

Förordning (EG) nr 800/1999’