Report on the annual accounts of the Community Plant Variety Office for the financial year 2006 together with the Office's replies
Date: 2007-09-27
Institutions: European Court of Auditors
Subjects: Community Plant Variety Office, European Court of Auditors, administration of the Institutions, financial control, implementation of the budget, powers of the institutions (EU), report

19.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 309/135

REPORT

on the annual accounts of the Community Plant Variety Office for the
financial year 2006 together with the Office’s replies

(2007/C 309/23)

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Paragraph

1-2

3-6

Tables 1 to 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Office’s replies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

136

136

137

140

C 309/136

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.12.2007

INTRODUCTION

1.
The Community Plant Variety Office (hereinafter ‘the
Office’) was created by Council Regulation (EC) No 2100/94 of
27 July 1994 (1). Its main task is to register and examine applica-
tions for the grant of Community industrial property rights for
plant varieties and to ensure that the necessary technical exami-
nations are carried out by the competent offices in the Member
States.

2.
Table 1 summarises the Office’s competences and activi-
ties. Key data summarised from the financial statements drawn up
by the Office for the financial year 2006 is presented in Tables 2,
3 and 4 for information purposes.

The Court conducted its audit in accordance with the IFAC
5.
and INTOSAI International Auditing Standards and Codes of Eth-
ics, insofar as these are applicable in the European Community
context. The audit was planned and performed to obtain reason-
able assurance that the accounts are reliable and that the under-
lying transactions are legal and regular.

The Court has thus obtained a reasonable basis for the

6.
Statement set out below.

STATEMENT OF ASSURANCE

Reliability of the accounts

This Statement is addressed to the Administrative Council
3.
of the Office in accordance with Article 111 of Council Regula-
tion (EC) No 2100/94.

The Office’s accounts for

4.
the financial year ended
31 December 2006 (2) were drawn up by its President, pursuant
to Article 112 of Regulation (EC) No 2100/94, and sent to the
Court, which is required to give a statement of assurance on their
reliability and on the legality and regularity of the underlying
transactions.

The Office’s accounts for the financial year ended 31 Decem-
ber 2006 are, in all material respects, reliable.

Legality and regularity of the underlying transactions

The transactions underlying the Office’s annual accounts,
taken as a whole, are legal and regular.

This report was adopted by the Court of Auditors in Luxembourg at
27 September 2007.

its meeting of

For the Court of Auditors
Hubert WEBER
President

(1) OJ L 227, 1.9.1994, p. 27.
(2) These accounts were drawn up on 21 June 2007 and received by the

Court on 3 July 2007.

Table 1

Community Plant Variety Office (Angers)

Areas of Community competence
deriving from the Treaty

Competences of the Office as defined in Council Regulation (EC)
No 2100/94

Governance

Free movement of goods

Objectives

Tasks

Prohibitions or restrictions justi-
fied on grounds of the protection
of industrial and commercial prop-
erty shall not constitute a means of
arbitrary discrimination or a dis-
guised restriction on trade between
the Member States.

(Extract from Article 30 of the Treaty)

To apply the system of Commu-
nity plant variety rights as the
sole and exclusive form of Com-
munity industrial property rights
for plant varieties.

— To decide whether to refuse
or grant applications for
Community plant variety
rights.

— To decide on objections.

— To decide on appeals.

— To decide on the revocation
or cancellation of a Com-
munity plant variety right.

1. The President directs the
Office. He is appointed by the
Council from a list of candidates
proposed by the Commission
after obtaining the opinion of the
Administrative Council.

2. The Administrative Coun-
cil oversees the Office’s work
programme and draws up rules
governing the Office’s working
methods. It is composed of one
representative of each Member
State and one representative of
the Commission, plus their alter-
nates.

regarding

3. Decisions
the
grant of Community plant vari-
ety rights are adopted by com-
mittees
three
members of staff of the Office
and by the Board of Appeal in
appeal proceedings.

composed of

4. External control: review of
the legality of acts by the Presi-
dent for which Community legis-
lation provides no judicial review
by any other body, as well as the
legality of acts by the Adminis-
trative Council in respect of the
Office’s budget.

Financial control: Court of

5.
Auditors.

6. Discharge
Administrative Council.

Authority:

Source:

Information supplied by the Office

.

1
9
1
2
2
0
0
7

.

Resources made available
to the Office in 2006
(2005)

Products and services supplied
in 2006

Final budget

Applications heard: 2 751 (2 734)

13,0 (13,4) million euro

Rights granted: 2 289 (2 178)

Staff numbers as at 31 Decem-
ber 2006:

Community rights
in force at
31 December 2006: 12 933
(11 231)

Number of posts in establish-
ment plan: 41 (40)

Posts occupied: 41(40)

+ 4 (5) other posts (auxiliary con-
tracts, national experts on sec-
ondment,
staff,
employment agency staff)

local

Total staff: 45 (45)

Assigned to the following duties:

operational:

19

administrative:

20

mixed:

6

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
U
n
o
n

i

C
3
0
9
/
1
3
7

Community Plant Variety Office (Angers) — Budget implementation for the financial year 2006

Table 2

Source of revenue

Own revenue

Accumulated surplus

Community subsidies

Other revenue

Revenue

Revenue entered
in the final budget
for the financial year

8 395

2 130

328

325

Revenue collected

Allocation of expenditure

8 478

0

328

524

Title I
Staff (NDA)

Title II
Administration (NDA)

Title III
Operating activities (DA)

Expenditure

Final budget appropriations

(1 000 euro)

Appropriations carried over from
the previous financial year

entered

committed

paid

carried
over

cancelled

available

paid

cancelled

4 451

4 404

4 351

51

49

47

47

0

2 071

1 555

702

852

516

630

371

259

Total

11 178

9 330

NDA: non-differentiated appropriations (commitment appropriations equal payment appropriations).
DA:
CA:
PA:
Source: Data supplied by the Office. This table summarises the data provided supplied by the Office in its annual accounts. Revenue collected and payments are estimated on a cash basis.

differentiated appropriations (commitment appropriations may differ from payment appropriations).
commitment appropriations in a system of differentiated appropriations.
payment appropriations in a system of differentiated appropriations.

— CA

— PA

6 496

4 656

5 397

0

0

4 358

Total CE

13 018

11 356

0

0

0

0

Total CP

11 178

0

9 411

903

1 099

298

1 664

863

0

0

677

677

0

0

418

418

0

0

259

259

C
3
0
9
/
1
3
8

E
N

O

f
f
i
c
i
a
l

J
o
u
r
n
a
l

o
f

t
h
e

E
u
r
o
p
e
a
n
U
n
o
n

i

.

1
9
1
2
2
0
0
7

.

19.12.2007

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 309/139

Community Plant Variety Office (Angers) — Economic outturn account for the financial years 2006 and 2005

Table 3

Operating revenue

Fees collected

Other revenues

Operating expenditure

Staff expenditure

Fixed asset related expenditure

Other administrative expenditure

Operating expenditure

Total (a)

Total (b)

Surplus/(deficit) from operating activities (c = a – b)

Revenue from financial operations (e)

Expenditure on financial operations (f)

Surplus/(deficit) from non-operating activities (g = e – f)

Extraordinary income

Extraordinary expenditure

Surplus/(deficit) from extraordinary activities

Economic result for the year

Table 4

(1 000 euro)

2006

2005

8 844

29

8 873

4 398

191

1 031

4 535

10 155

– 1 282

495

0

495

7

38

– 31

– 818

7 649

235

7 884

4 226

189

1 296

3 971

9 682

– 1 798

367

0

367

—

—

—

– 1 431

Community Plant Variety Office (Angers) — Balance sheet at 31 December 2006 and 2005

Non-current assets

Intangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets

Current assets

Short-term receivables

Cash and cash equivalents

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

Net assets

Accumulated surplus/deficit

Economic result for the year

(1 000 euro)

2006

2005

43

3 319

943

18 487

22 792

7 419

7 419

16 191

– 818

15 373

22 792

81

3 432

897

19 111

23 521

7 331

7 331

17 621

– 1 431

16 190

23 521

Total assets

Total liabilities

Total net assets

Total liabilities and net assets

Source: Data supplied by the Office. This table summarises the data provided by the Office in its annual accounts: these accounts are drawn

up on an accrual basis.

C 309/140

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

19.12.2007

THE OFFICE’S REPLIES

The Office has taken note of the Court’s report.