Passing on the advantage to the end-user
For the purposes of Article 13(1) of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013, the competent authorities shall take all appropriate measures to check that the advantage is actually passed on to the end-user. In doing so, they may assess the trading margins and prices applied by the various operators concerned.
The measures referred to in the first paragraph, and in particular the control points used to determine whether the aid has been passed on, and any amendments made, shall be notified to the Commission in the context of the annual implementation report referred to in Article 32(2) of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013.
Register of operators
1. In order to be eligible for entry in the register referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 12(1) of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013, operators shall undertake to:
(a)
communicate to the competent authorities, at their request, all relevant information about their commercial activities, particularly regarding the prices and profit margins they practice;
(b)
operate exclusively in their own name and on their own accounts;
(c)
submit licence and certificate applications commensurate with their real capacity to dispose of the products concerned, such capacity being proven with reference to objective factors;
(d)
refrain from acting in a way likely to create artificial shortages of products and from marketing the available products at artificially low prices;
(e)
ensure to the satisfaction of the competent authorities that, when the agricultural products are disposed of in the outermost region concerned, the advantage is passed on to the end-user.
2. Operators intending to dispatch or export unprocessed, processed or packaged products under the conditions referred to in Article 13 shall, at the time of applying for entry in the register or later, declare their intention to engage in this activity and indicate the location of the packaging plant where applicable.
3. Processors intending to export or dispatch processed products under the conditions referred to in Articles 13 or 15 shall, at the time of applying for entry in the register or later, declare their intention to engage in this activity, indicate the location of the processing plant and, where applicable, provide analytical lists of the processed products.
Documents to be presented by operators and validity of licences and certificates
1. Subject to Articles 2(5), 3(6), 5(7) and Articles 11 and 12, the competent authorities shall accept the import licence, exemption certificate or aid certificate application presented by operators for each consignment, provided that they are accompanied by the original or certified copy of the purchase invoice and the original or certified copy of the following documents:
(a)
regarding the import licence, or the exemption certificate:
(i)
the bill of lading or airway bill or multimodal transport document;
(ii)
the certificate of origin for products originating in third countries;
(b)
regarding the aid-certificate:
(i)
the T2L document, or the T2LF document under the terms of Article 315(1) and (2) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2454/93 ( 8 ) ; or
(ii)
a declaration type CO as set out in Article 786(2)(a), and Annex 38, Title II, box 1 of that Regulation.
The above documents may take the form of an electronic message. In case the verifying competent authority has no access to the IT system managing and producing such electronic document, it shall be replaced by a duly certified true copy print-out.
The purchase invoice, bill of lading or airway bill shall be drawn up in the name of the applicant.
2. The period of validity of licences and certificates shall be fixed on the basis of transportation time. That time may be extended by the competent authority in special cases where serious and unforeseeable difficulties affect the transportation time, but may not exceed two months from the date on which the licence or certificate was issued.
Presentation of licences, certificates and goods
1. For the products covered by the specific supply arrangements, import licences, exemption certificates and aid certificates shall be presented to the customs authorities with a view to completing the customs formalities within no more than 15 working days from the date of the authorisation for unloading the goods. The competent authorities may reduce that maximum time.
In the case of products which have been the subject of inward processing or customs warehousing in the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands and subsequently released into free circulation there, the maximum period of 15 days shall start on the date on which the licences or certificates referred to in first subparagraph are applied for.
2. The goods shall be presented in bulk or in separate lots corresponding to the licence or certificate presented.
The licences and certificates shall be used for a single operation only when completing customs formalities.
Quality of products
Conformity of the products with the requirements laid down in Article 10(4) of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013 shall be examined no later than the stage of first marketing, in accordance with the standards or practices in force in the Union.
Where the product is considered not to meet the requirements laid down in Article 10(4) of Regulation (EU) No 228/2013, its entitlement under the specific supply arrangements shall be withdrawn and the corresponding quantity shall be reattributed to the forecast supply balance. Where aid has been granted in accordance with Article 5 of this Regulation the aid shall be reimbursed. Where imports have been made in accordance with Articles 2 or 3 of this Regulation, the import duty shall be paid, unless the party concerned supplies proof that the products have been re-exported or destroyed.
Significant increases in applications for licences and certificates
1. If the state of execution of a forecast supply balance indicates a significant increase in applications for import licences, exemption certificates or aid certificates for a given product which might jeopardise the achievement of one or more of the objectives of the specific supply arrangements, Member State shall take all necessary measures, after having consulted the authorities concerned, to ensure that the outermost region concerned is supplied with essential products, taking account of available supply and the requirements of priority sectors.
2. Where, after having consulted the authorities concerned, Member States decide to apply restrictions on the issue of licences and certificates, the competent authorities shall apply a uniform reduction percentage to all pending applications.
Fixing the maximum quantity per licence or certificate application
In so far as is strictly necessary to avoid disturbances on the market in the outermost regions concerned, or the pursuit of speculative actions likely to be prejudicial to the smooth functioning of the specific supply arrangements, the competent authorities may fix the maximum quantity per licence or certificate application.
The competent authorities shall notify the Commission immediately of the instances in which this Article is applied.
The notification referred to in this Article shall be made in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 792/2009.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
