Commission Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 of 27 June 2001 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards the buying in and sale of sugar by intervention agencies
Modified by
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1498/2005of 15 September 2005amending Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards the buying in and the sale of sugar by intervention agencies, 32005R1498, September 16, 2005
Commission Regulation (EC) No 218/2006of 8 February 2006amending Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards the buying in and sale of sugar by intervention agencies, 32006R0218, February 9, 2006
Commission Regulation (EC) No 952/2006of 29 June 2006laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 as regards the management of the Community market in sugar and the quota system, 32006R0952, July 1, 2006
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1262/2001of 27 June 2001laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 as regards the buying in and sale of sugar by intervention agenciesTHE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 of 19 June 2001 on the common organisation of the market in the sugar sectorSee page 1 of this Official Journal., and in particular Articles 7(5) and 9(3) thereof,Whereas:(1)Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 provides for intervention agencies to buy in certain sugars.(2)The implementation of Community intervention measures requires sugar to be taken over by the intervention agencies at a specified place. Accordingly, only sugar held in an approved warehouse when the offer is made may be taken over. The intervention system is confined to sugar manufactured from beet or cane harvested within the Community and the price and sales guarantee is restricted to manufacturers who have been allocated a basic quota.(3)Experience gained in the sugar sector has demonstrated the importance of free competition for the marketing of sugar. Free competition can be encouraged if independent traders participate in the marketing of sugar. The position of these undertakings in the sugar sector should therefore be strengthened. To that end, they should be allowed to offer Community sugar for intervention, so that they can effect their commercial transactions under normal conditions.(4)The intervention agencies are responsible for the goods bought in. They must therefore take all the necessary steps to ensure that, when sugar is offered for intervention, it is stored in the conditions required for keeping sugar in good condition. To ensure that the intervention arrangements function smoothly, therefore, it must be possible for sellers to conclude storage contracts with intervention agencies.(5)As regards the conditions for granting and withdrawing approval of warehouses, account should be taken of the requirements for keeping sugar in good condition and easily accessible for removal, the geographical location, and the capacity for removal from storage, and where appropriate bagging, guaranteed by applicants in respect of the sugar offered by them.(6)In order to grant and withdraw approval in an intervention system extended to specialised sugar traders, objective criteria must be laid down for assessing that activity, in particular to define what constitutes a significant participation in the sugar trade. Member States should be allowed to impose further requirements if necessary and to withdraw approval if those requirements are not met. The Commission should be notified each time approval is granted, renewed or withdrawn.(7)Council Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87 of 22 December 1987 laying down the maximum permitted levels of radioactive contamination of foodstuffs and of feedingstuffs following a nuclear accident or any other case of radiological emergencyOJ L 371, 30.12.1987, p. 11., as amended by Regulation (Euratom) No 2218/89OJ L 227, 22.7.1989, p. 1., sets out the procedure to be followed in cases of radiological emergency to determine the levels of radioactive contamination which foodstuffs and feedingstuffs must comply with if they are to be offered for sale. Consequently, agricultural products in which such radioactive contamination levels are exceeded may not be bought in.(8)Sugar with characteristics that will make it difficult to dispose of later and likely to deteriorate in storage should not be accepted for intervention.(9)To facilitate the administration of the intervention arrangements, sugar should be offered in lots. A lot, in particular its quantity, should therefore be defined.(10)The intervention agency must have all the facts needed to determine whether the offer meets all the requirements. To that end, the party making the offer must supply it with all the necessary information.(11)The intervention agency is entitled to make acceptance of the offer subject to the conclusion of a storage contract with the seller, should it consider this necessary. In the interests of uniformity, the principal terms which such contracts must contain, in particular their period of validity, should be laid down.(12)Approved silos and warehouses must offer optimal conditions for storing sugar. It is generally accepted that in the correct conditions sugar can be stored for around 12 months without risk of deterioration. Where a storage contract is concluded with the seller, it is therefore justified for the latter to remain responsible for the quality of the sugar concerned for a period not normally exceeding 12 months, irrespective of when ownership passes.(13)Article 7(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 provides that the detailed implementing rules to be adopted must include scales of price increases and reductions to be applied to the intervention prices to take account of the quality of the sugar offered. For determining such scales, sugar must be classified according to its quality. This classification and the resulting price increases and reductions can be determined on the basis of the objective data generally used in commercial transactions.(14)To avoid any discrimination in the treatment of the parties concerned, and taking into account current administrative practices in the Member States, uniform conditions should be laid down for payment and collection of the goods, whether or not there is a storage contract, in particular as regards the time limits within which these operations are to be carried out.(15)It may be necessary for the sugar offered for intervention to be delivered in bags, depending on its subsequent destination. The intervention agency should therefore be able to require certain forms of packing generally used in the trade, on condition that it bears the cost thereof, to be fixed at a flat rate.(16)When an intervention agency requires certain forms of packing, the flat rate it pays relates to bags in perfect condition. Where a storage contract is concluded, therefore, the rate for the packing costs should be set according to the condition of the bags.(17)Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1265/69 of 1 July 1969 establishing methods for determining the quality of sugar bought in by intervention agenciesOJ L 163, 4.7.1969, p. 1., as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1280/71OJ L 133, 19.6.1971, p. 34., is confined to the technical aspects of those methods. Moreover, since those methods cannot provide strictly accurate results, a margin of error must be allowed for. In addition, suitable arbitration procedures should be introduced for settling any disputes arising from the comparison of conflicting analysis results.(18)Intervention is designed to allow products to be withdrawn temporarily from a market suffering imbalance with a view to their resale as soon as the market situation has improved. Accordingly, products offered for intervention must be suitable for human or animal consumption, as the case may be.(19)Sugar held by intervention agencies must be sold without discrimination between Community buyers and on the most economic terms possible. In general, these objectives can be attained using the tendering system. To prevent sugar being disposed of when market conditions are unfavourable, invitations to tender should be subject to prior authorisation. It is preferable in certain circumstances to make use of procedures other than tendering.(20)In view of the changes to the rules governing intervention, new detailed rules should be laid down for the sale by tender of sugar by intervention agencies.(21)To ensure that all interested parties in the Community receive equal treatment, invitations to tender issued by the intervention agencies must conform to uniform rules. In this connection, it is necessary to ensure that the sugar is actually put to the intended use.(22)Certain special rules are needed to take account of the specific features of the sugar sector. In particular, so that the greatest possible number of potential tenderers can participate, it should be possible to fix a maximum quantity which each tenderer may offer to buy. Furthermore, in view of the frequent fluctuations in sugar prices and quotations, tenderers should not be bound by their tenders if the award is made after the date and time specified by them.(23)For the purpose of determining storage costs, in particular, it is essential to specify when ownership of the sugar is transferred.(24)The criteria used to determine the grade of the white sugar and the yield of the raw sugar sold should be the same as those applied when sugar is bought in by intervention agencies. Equal treatment for all interested parties can be ensured only by introducing uniform and precisely defined provisions for adjusting the selling price, the denaturing premium or the export refund, as the case may be, and correcting export licences where the sugar is found to be of a quality other than that indicated in the invitation to tender.(25)The detailed implementing rules laid down in this Regulation replace those in Commission Regulations (EEC) No 258/72 of 3 February 1972 laying down detailed rules concerning the sale by tender of sugar by intervention agenciesOJ L 31, 4.2.1972, p. 22., as amended by Regulation (EC) No 260/96OJ L 34, 13.2.1996, p. 16., and (EEC) No 2103/77 of 23 September 1977 laying down detailed rules for the buying in by intervention agencies of sugar manufactured from beet and cane harvested in the CommunityOJ L 246, 27.9.1977, p. 12., as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 260/96 which must therefore be repealed.(26)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Sugar,HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: