Commission Regulation (EC) No 142/98 of 21 January 1998 laying down detailed rules for granting the compensatory allowance for tuna intended for the processing industry

COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 142/98 of 21 January 1998 laying down detailed rules for granting the compensatory allowance for tuna intended for the processing industry
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES
,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 of 17 December 1992 on the common organisation of the market in fishery and aquaculture products (1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 3318/94 (2), and in particular Article 18(6) thereof,
Whereas Article 18 of Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 provides for an allowance to be paid to producers' organisations if it is found that the prices of given products, during a given quarter, are below a specified triggering threshold;
Whereas, for the purposes of applying the allowance system, the selling price referred to in Article 18(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 3759/92 should be defined;
Whereas, for the quantities for which entitlement to the allowance has been established, rules should be laid down governing the submission of applications for and payment of the allowance, including conditions relating to furnishing proof of the Community origin and the Community nature of the products;
Whereas the framework and objectives of the control procedure should be laid down, while it should be left to the Member States' control authorities to adopt suitable provisions for effective regular monitoring of the system introduced;
Whereas the allowance system is open to specific risks of fraud, in particular on account of the fact that the allocation and payment of the allowance are decided after the expiry of the quarterly periods concerned; whereas, with a view to minimising such risks, in the case of a false declaration made intentionally or by serious negligence, the beneficiary should pay the Member State an amount equal to 50 % of the allowance concerned without prejudice to the recovery of the allowance and payment of interest; in the case of a second infringement, the organisation or the member concerned shall also be ineligible for the allowance for the eight quarters following the quarter concerned;
Whereas it should be laid down that an infringement of the tuna allowance scheme with limited implications does not entail the total withdrawal of the right to the allowance but only a standard reduction thereof;
Whereas, to ensure the correct functioning of the system in question, certain rules should be laid down regarding the notifications to be made by the Member States;
Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2381/89 of 2 August 1989 laying down detailed rules for granting compensation to producers of tuna for the canning industry (3) should be repealed;
Whereas the Management Committee for Fishery Products could not express an opinion as regards the measures provided for in this Regulation within the time required by its President,