COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION fixing the production levies and the coefficient for calculating the additional levy in the sugar sector for the 1999/2000 marketing year and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for the 2000/2001 marketing year
Date: 2017-10-24
Institutions: Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development, European Commission
Subjects: agricultural holding, agricultural production, common organisation of markets, marketing year, sugar, sugar beet, sugar levy

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 24.10.2017  SWD(2017) 348 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT Accompanying the document Proposal for a COUNCIL REGULATION fixing the production levies and the coefficient for calculating the additional levy in the sugar sector for the 1999/2000 marketing year and fixing the production levies in the sugar sector for the 2000/2001 marketing year {COM(2017) 619 final}  
 
 
1.  REIMBURSEMENT OF THE PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST  

By  Judgement  of  9  February  20171,  the  Court  of  Justice  declared  invalid  Regulations  (EC) 
No 2267/20002 and (EC) No 1993/20013,  

In this judgement the Court of Justice also ruled on the interpretation of Articles 33(1) and (2) 
of Council regulation (EC) No 2038/19994 and clarified all the elements that have to be taken 
into consideration for the calculation of the 'average loss', within the meaning of Article 33 of 
Council Regulation (EC) No 2038/1999, which has to be used for estimating the 'overall loss' 
to be covered by the production levies.  

In particular, the 'average loss' is to be calculated by dividing the actual total refunds paid by 
the  total  exported  quantities  of  quota  sugar,  regardless  whether  they  were  exported  with  or 
without  a  refund.  The  application  of  the  new  method  indicated  by  the  Court  leads  to  a 
substantial decrease of the 'average loss' and the 'overall loss' to be covered by the levies for 
the period in question. 

Thus,  following  the reasoning  applied  by  the Court  in  its Judgement  of  27  September  2012 
(Jülich  II  judgement)5,  producers  are  entitled  to  reimbursement  of  the  excess  sums  unduly 
paid  in  respect  of  the  invalid  production  levies  paid  in  the  relevant  marketing  years.  Such 
excess  levies  have  accrued  to  the  Union  budget  net  of  collection  fees  retained  by  Member 
States pursuant to Article 2(3) of Council Decisions 94/728/EC/Euratom6 and 2000/597/EC, 
Euratom7. 

The  proposed  Council  Regulation  fixes  sugar  production  levies  for  the  marketing  years 
1999/2000 and 2000/2001, which will allow Member States to determine the amounts to be 
reimbursed to sugar producers. Only the difference between the old and the new levies, and 
not  the  entire  amounts  collected  over  the  period  concerned,  is  to  be  reimbursed  to  sugar 
producers.  

It follows from the general principle of unjust enrichment that Member States should be able 
to recover the amounts actually reimbursed, net of collection costs, from the EU budget. 

The  Court  clarified  in  the  Jülich  II  judgement  that  individuals  entitled  to  reimbursement  of 
sums paid unduly in respect of production levies in the sugar sector determined on the basis of 

1  Case C-585/15, Raffinerie Tirlemontoise, ECLI:EU:C:2017:105. 
2   Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 2267/2000  of  12 October 2000  fixing  the  production  levies  and  the 
coefficient  for  calculating  the  additional  levy  in  the  sugar  sector  for  the  marketing  year  1999/2000  (OJ  L 
259, 13.10.2000, p. 29). 

3   Commission  Regulation  (EC)  No 1993/2001  of  11 October 2001  fixing  the  production  levies  in  the  sugar 

sector for the marketing year 2000/2001 (OJ L 271, 12.10.2001, p. 15). 

4   Council Regulation (EC) No 2038/1999 of 13 September 1999 on the common organisation of the markets 

in the sugar sector (OJ L 252, 25.9.1999, p. 1).  
5  
Joined Cases C-113/10, C- 147/10 and C- 234/10, Zuckerfabrik Jülich and Others, ECLI:EU:C:2012:591. 
6   Council  Decision  of  31  October  1994  on  the  system  of  the  European  Communities'  own  resources 

(94/728/EC, Euratom), (OJ L 293, 12/11/1994, p.9). 

7   Council  Decision  of  29  September  2000  on  the  system  of  the  European  Communities'  own  resources 

(2000/597/EC, Euratom) (OJ L 253, 07/10/2000, p. 42). 

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the invalid regulations are also entitled to payment of the interest on such sums. It follows that 
reimbursements by Member States to economic operators of sums unduly paid under EU law 
shall therefore include the payment of interest, to the extent provided for by national law in 
similar situations.  

Member States shall apply their national law for calculating the amount of interest. 

2.  REIMBURSEMENT OF BEET SELLERS 

The  proposed  Council  Regulation  lays  down  in  its  Article  1(3)  the  revised  amount  that  the 
sugar  producers  have  to  pay  to  beet  growers  in  respect  of  the  difference  between  the 
maximum amount of the B levy and the amount of the levy actually charged (also known as 
"complement" price) for the marketing year 2000/2001. It has to be underlined that only the 
difference  between  the  old  and  the  new  "complement"  prices  should  be  used  for  the 
calculation  of  the  reimbursement  to  beet  sellers,  including  interest  payable  under  the  same 
conditions referred to in Section 1.  

Before  reimbursing  sugar  producers  the  excess  levies  paid  over  the  period  in  question, 
Member  States  should  put  in  place  administrative  procedures  ensuring  that  the  concerned 
producers repay, where relevant, the amounts due to the beet sellers. In the absence of such 
repayment, the reimbursement to sugar producers should be reduced proportionally. 

3.  ACCOUNTING PROCEDURE  

The own resources regulatory framework does not include any provision that would allow for 
the payment of interest from the EU to the Member States. Therefore, when claiming back to 
the Commission expenditure incurred, Member States must inform the Commission about the 
amounts  effectively  paid  as  restitution  to  the  concerned  economic  operators,  distinguishing 
the principal from the interest components. 

3.1. 

Principal amounts 

The reimbursement of the sugar levies constitutes a correction in the EU own resources. This 
implies that Member States can deduct 80% of the excess amount effectively paid, by way of 
charging the own resources of the EU. 

Based  on  Article  2(2)  of  Council  Regulation  (EU,  Euratom)  No  609/20148  Member  States 
have  to  establish  the  corrected  sugar  levies  applicable  in  the  relevant  years  by  the  date  laid 
down in Article 2 of the proposed Council Regulation fixing the sugar levies. 

As the proposed Council Regulation refers to a correction of the sugar levies originally paid, 
Member States have all the elements in their possession to establish the correct amounts to be 
reimbursed. 

8   Council Regulation (EU, Euratom) No 609/2014 of 26 May 2014 on the methods and procedure for making 
available the traditional, VAT and GNI-based own resources and on the measures to meet cash requirement 
(OJ L 168, 7.6.2014, p.39). 

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They should execute the reimbursement to economic operators resulting from the application 
of  the  revised  levies  in  accordance  with  the  applicable  national  law  including  national 
limitation  periods.  They  should  ensure  that  economic  operators  that  claimed  reimbursement 
rightfully and in a timely manner are reimbursed. 

Member  States  can  recover,  via  a  negative  correction  in  the  so-called  A-statement,  the 
amounts effectively paid as reimbursement of the excess levies unduly collected. It should be 
stressed  that  in  the  A-statement,  Member  States  will  have  first  to  include  the  full  amount 
(100%)  reimbursed  as  correction.  Subsequently,  the  amount  net  of  collection  costs  (80%) 
shall be posted in the last column of the statement. This is the normal procedure to take into 
account the collection costs. 

The establishment by the Member States for the own resources has to be done by a date fixed 
in  Article  2  of  the  proposed  Council  Regulation,  at  the  latest.  Member  States  have  to 
introduce the result of the establishment in the A-statements that they have to transmit to the 
Commission  on  the  first  working  day  after  the  19th  day  of  the  second  month  following  the 
month during which the entitlement was established, at the latest. 

If  the  Council  Regulation  is  adopted  in  2017  or  early  2018,  the  financial  impact  on  the 
revenue part of the EU budget will be in 2018. 

3.2. 

Interest 

As indicated above, it follows from the general principle of unjust enrichment that individuals 
entitled to reimbursement of sums paid unduly as a result of the production levies in the sugar 
sector  determined  on  the  basis  of  an  invalid  regulation  are  also  entitled  to  payment  of  the 
interest on such sums to the extent provided for by national law in similar situations. 

Interest effectively paid shall be declared, using the procedure for making monthly payments 
referred to in Article 18 of Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council9, under budget line 05 07 02 dedicated to the 'settlement of disputes'. In particular, 
this budget line 'is intended to accommodate, if necessary, appropriations to cover expenditure 
(positive or negative) for which the Commission may be made responsible by a decision of a 
Court of Justice, including the cost of settling claims for damages and interest'. 

4.  MONITORING OF REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS 

For  monitoring  purposes,  Member  States  should  notify  the  Commission  an  overview  of  the 
amounts that are to be reimbursed to sugar manufacturers, distinguishing the principal and the 
interest  amounts,  before  starting  the  reimbursement  process,  and  in  any  case  by  the  second 
month following the entry into force of the Regulation at the latest. This notification should 
include  a  detailed  explanation  of  the  legal  basis  in  the  national  law  used  to  determine  the 

9   Regulation (EU) No 1306/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 December 2013 on the 
financing,  management  and  monitoring  of  the  common  agricultural  policy  and  repealing  Council 
Regulations (EEC) No 352/78, (EC) No 165/94, (EC) No 2799/98, (EC) No 814/2000, (EC) No 1290/2005 
and (EC) No 485/2008 (OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 549). 

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interest  payable  and  the  rate  applied,  and  the  period  considered  for  the  calculation  of  the 
interest amount. In accordance with the principle of equivalence, the Commission wishes to 
emphasise  that  the  interest  rate  used  shall  correspond  to  the  one  normally  used  for  similar 
national reimbursements. 

The Commission reserves the right to ask for additional justifications of the amounts declared 
as paid and to take any appropriate measure to protect the Union's financial interests. 

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