Article 16
Criteria for redistributing the excess levy 1. Where appropriate, Member States shall determine the priority categories of producers referred to in Article 13(1)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 1788/2003, on the basis of one or more of the following objective criteria, in order of priority: (a) formal acknowledgement by the competent authority of the Member State that all or part of the levy has been wrongly charged; (b) the geographical location of the holding, and primarily mountain areas within the meaning of Article 18 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1257/1999(4); (c) the maximum stocking density on the holding for the purposes of extensive livestock production; (d) the percentage by which the individual reference quantity is exceeded; (e) the producer's reference quantity. 2. Where the excess levy, referred to in Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1788/2003, available for a given period, is not used up after redistribution in accordance with the criteria set out in paragraph 1 of this Article, the Member State shall adopt other objective criteria after consulting the Commission. The redistribution of the excess levy shall be completed 15 months after the end of the 12-month period in question at the latest.