Commission Regulation (EU) No 578/2010 of 29 June 2010 on the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 1216/2009 as regards the system of granting export refunds for certain agricultural products exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, and the criteria for fixing the amount of such refunds

CHAPTER I

SUBJECT-MATTER AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1

It shall apply to exports of basic products, of products derived from the processing thereof, or of products assimilated to one of those two categories in accordance with Article 3 of this Regulation, where those products are exported in the form of goods not covered by Annex I to the Treaty but listed in Parts I to V of Annex XX to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and in Annex II to this Regulation.

No refund shall be granted for such goods where they are exported after processing or when they are incorporated in other goods.

Article 2

For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:

(a) ‘budget period’ means the period from 1 October of one year to 30 September of the following year;

(b) ‘budget year’ means the period from 16 October of one year to 15 October of the following year;

(c) ‘basic products’ means products listed in Annex I to this Regulation;

(d) ‘ingredients’ means basic products, products derived from the processing thereof, or products assimilated to those two categories that are used in the manufacturing of the goods and are listed in points (i), (ii), (iii), (v) and (vii) of Article 162(1)(a) and point (b) of Article 162(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007;

(e) ‘goods’ means products not covered by Annex I to the Treaty but listed in Parts I to V of Annex XX to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and in Annex II to this Regulation;

(f) ‘the Agreement’ means the Agreement on Agriculture concluded during the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations;

(g) ‘food aid’ means food aid operations meeting the conditions laid down in Article 10(4) of the Agreement;

(h) ‘residues’ means the products of the manufacturing process, of compositions distinctly different from the goods actually exported and which cannot be marketed;

(i) ‘by-products’ means the products or goods obtained in the course of the manufacturing process, of compositions or characteristics distinct from the goods actually exported and which are capable of being marketed;

(j) ‘losses’ means the quantities of products or goods resulting from the manufacturing process, from the stage at which agricultural products are used unprocessed in the manufacture, other than the quantities of goods which are actually exported, other than residues and by-products and which cannot be marketed.

For the purposes of point (j) of paragraph 1, the products or goods resulting from the manufacturing process, and which can be disposed of, whether or not against payment, only as animal feed, shall be assimilated to losses.

Article 3

The following products shall be assimilated to milk in powder of a fat content not exceeding 1,5 % as listed in Annex I, hereinafter ‘Product Group 2’:

(a) milk and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 11 , 0403 90 51 and 0404 90 21 , not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, whether or not frozen, of a milk fat content, by weight, not exceeding 0,1 %;

(b) milk and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 11 , 0403 90 11 and 0404 90 21 , in powder, granules or other solid forms, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, of a milk fat content, by weight, not exceeding 1,5 %.

The following products shall be assimilated to milk in powder of a fat content of 26 % as listed in Annex I, hereinafter ‘Product Group 3’:

(a) milk, cream and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 11 , 0403 10 13 , 0403 90 51 , 0403 90 53 , 0404 90 21 and 0404 90 23 , not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, whether or not frozen, of a milk fat content, by weight, exceeding 0,1 % but not exceeding 6 %;

(b) milk, cream and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 11 , 0403 10 13 , 0403 10 19 , 0403 90 13 , 0403 90 19 , 0404 90 23 and 0404 90 29 in powder, granules or other solid forms, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, of a milk fat content, by weight, exceeding 1,5 % but less than 45 %.

The following products shall be assimilated to Product Group 6:

(a) milk, cream and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 19 , 0403 90 59 , 0404 90 23 and 0404 90 29 , not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, of a milk fat content, by weight, exceeding 6 %;

(b) milk, cream and milk products falling within CN codes 0403 10 19 , 0403 90 19 and 0404 90 29 , in powder, granules or other solid forms, not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, of a milk fat content, by weight, of not less than 45 %;

(c) butter and other milk fats with a milk fat content, by weight, other than 82 % but not less than 62 %, falling within CN codes 0405 10 , 0405 20 90 , 0405 90 10 , 0405 90 90 .

The first subparagraph shall also apply to cheese and curd.

Where the following products meet the conditions of eligibility for a refund laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 and in Commission Regulation (EC) No 951/2006 (¹⁰) when exported unprocessed, they shall be assimilated to white sugar falling within CN code 1701 99 10 :

(a) raw beet or cane sugar falling within CN code 1701 11 90 or CN code 1701 12 90 and containing, in the dry state, at least 92 % by weight of sucrose determined by the polarimetric method;

(b) sugar falling within CN codes 1701 91 00 or 1701 99 90 ;

(c) the products referred to in Part III (c) of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, excluding mixtures obtained partly using products covered by Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007;

(d) the products referred to in Part III (d) and (g) of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, excluding mixtures obtained partly using products covered by Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007.

Article 4

Regulation (EC) No 612/2009 and Regulation (EEC) No 2220/85 shall apply in addition to the provisions of this Regulation except where Article 39(4) and Article 50 of this Regulation provide otherwise.

CHAPTER II

EXPORT REFUNDS

SECTION 1

Method of calculation

Article 5

SECTION 2

Reference quantity

Article 6

In respect of goods, the quantity of each of the basic products to serve as a basis for calculating the amount of the refund, hereinafter ‘the reference quantity’, shall be determined in accordance with Articles 7, 8 and 9, except where reference is made to Annex III or where Article 47(2) applies.

Article 7

In the case of use of a basic product, unprocessed, or of an assimilated product, the reference quantity shall be the quantity which is actually used in the manufacture of the exported goods, account being taken of the conversion rates set out in Annex VII.

Article 8

In cases of use of a product covered by point (a) of Article 1(1) and Part I of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007 or by point (b) of Article 1(1) and Part II of Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 1234/2007, the reference quantity shall be the quantity which is actually used in the manufacture of the exported goods, adjusted to correspond to a quantity of the basic product by applying the coefficients set out in Annex V to this Regulation where one of the following applies to the product concerned:

(a) the product results from the processing of a basic product or of a product assimilated to that basic product;

(b) the product is assimilated to a product resulting from the processing of a basic product;

(c) the product results from the processing of a product assimilated to a product resulting from the processing of a basic product.

Article 9

Subject to Article 11, in the case of use of either of the following products, the reference quantity for each of the basic products shall be equal to the quantity established by the competent authorities in accordance with Article 45:

(a) a product, not covered by Annex I to the Treaty, which is derived from the processing of a product referred to in Articles 7 or 8 of this Regulation;

(b) a product derived from the mixture or processing of several products referred to in Articles 7 or 8, or of products referred to in point (a) of this subparagraph.

The reference quantity shall be determined on the basis of the quantity of the product actually used in the manufacture of the goods exported.

For the purpose of calculating that quantity, the conversion rates referred to in Annex VII or, as the case may be, the special rules for calculation, equivalence ratios and coefficients referred to in Article 8 shall apply.

Article 10

Except in the case of a formal authorisation given by the competent authority, the quantities of products thus determined shall be confirmed at least once a year.

Article 11

However, in the case of fresh pasta, the quantities of basic products set out in Annex III shall be reduced to an equivalent quantity of dry pasta by multiplying those quantities by the percentage of the dry extract of the pasta and dividing them by 88.

Article 12

If such goods have the same composition as those actually exported, a pro rata reduction in the quantities of agricultural products actually used in the manufacture of the latter may be applied.

Article 13

The threshold of 2 % shall be calculated as the proportion of the weight of the dry matter of all raw materials used, after deduction of the quantities referred to in Article 12(2), in relation to the weight of the dry matter of the goods actually exported, or using any other method of calculation appropriate to the conditions of manufacture of the goods.

SECTION 3

Rates of refund

Article 14

Article 15

The rate of the refund shall be determined by the Commission with particular reference to the following:

(a) the average cost incurred by the processing industries in obtaining supplies of basic products on the Union market and the prices prevailing on the world market;

(b) the level of the refund for exports of processed agricultural products covered by Annex I to the Treaty which are manufactured under similar conditions;

(c) the need to ensure equal conditions of competition between industries which use Union products and those which use third country products under inward processing arrangements;

(d) on the one hand, the trend in budgetary expenditure and, on the other hand, the trend in market prices for basic products in the Union and on the world market;

(e) compliance with the limits resulting from agreements concluded in accordance with Article 218 of the Treaty.

Article 16

Article 17

Article 18

For all other starches with a dry-extract content of 87 % or more, the rate of the export refund shall be that laid down in accordance with Article 14. Where the dry-extract content is less than 87 %, the rate of the refund shall be that laid down in accordance with Article 14 multiplied by 1/87 of the actual dry-extract percentage.

Article 19

The refunds for casein falling within CN code 3501 10 , on caseinates falling within CN code 3501 90 90 or, on ovalbumin falling within CN codes 3502 11 90 and 3502 19 90 exported in the unaltered state, may be differentiated according to destination where that is required by any of the following:

(a) the world trade situation with regard to those goods;

(b) specific requirements of certain markets;

(c) international trade agreements.

Article 20

The rate of the refund shall be that which applies on the day on which the goods are exported, except in the following cases:

(a) an application has been made in accordance with Article 26 for the refund rate to be fixed in advance;

(b) an application has been made in accordance with Article 37(2) and the refund rate has been fixed in advance on the day the application for the refund certificate was submitted.

In the case of processed cereal and rice products, the rate of the refund shall be adjusted using the same rules as those that apply to the advance fixing of refunds for basic products exported unprocessed, but using the conversion coefficients laid down in Annex V.

CHAPTER III

REFUND CERTIFICATES

SECTION 1

General provisions

Article 21

The refund certificates shall guarantee payment of the refund, provided that the conditions set out in Chapter V are met. Those conditions may include advance fixing of the refund rates. Certificates shall be valid in a single budget period only.

The cereals referred to in the first subparagraph shall be deemed to be exported.

The first subparagraph shall not apply to the supplies referred to in the third indent of the second subparagraph of Article 4(1), Articles 33(1), 37(1), 41(1) and 43(1) of Regulation (EC) No 612/2009, or to the exports referred to in Chapter IV of this Regulation.

Article 22

In such cases, the certificate shall be cancelled for any amounts not applied for due to force majeure and the relevant security shall be released.

Article 23

Article 24

Those documents shall be completed in accordance with the instructions set out in Annex VI to this Regulation.

The competent authority shall record all the information from the refund certificates referred to in Sections III and IV of Annex VI and the amounts claimed under the certificate.

Article 25

In the event of a request for transfer by the titular holder or in the event of a transfer back to the titular holder by the transferee, the issuing authority or the agency or agencies designated by each Member State shall enter the following on the certificate or, where appropriate, on the extract thereof:

(a) the name and address of the transferee as indicated in accordance with paragraph 1 or the entry referred to in paragraph 2.

(b) the date of transfer or transfer back to the titular holder certified by the stamp of the authority or agency.

Article 26

Article 27

The amount for which the extract is requested shall be recorded on the original certificate.

Article 28

The competent authority may consider that the specific application is not the payment documents referred to in Article 46(2) of Regulation (EC) No 612/2009.

The competent authority may consider the specific application to be the export declaration within the meaning of Article 5(1) of Regulation (EC) No 612/2009. In that case, the date of receipt of the specific application by the authority responsible for payment referred to in paragraph 2 of this Article shall be the date on which that authority received the export declaration. In all other cases, the specific application must contain particulars of the export declaration including the reference number of the export declaration.

The authority responsible for payment shall record that amount on the refund certificate within six months of the date of receipt of the specific application.

The certificates shall be attributed on the reverse of Copy No 1. Boxes 28, 29 and 30 shall contain the amount in euros instead of the quantity.

The third subparagraph shall apply mutatis mutandis to certificates kept in electronic format.

Article 29

Refund certificates issued for a single budget period may be applied for separately in six tranches. Applications for certificates may be submitted at the latest on:

(a) 7 September for certificates for use from 1 October;

(b) 7 November for certificates for use from 1 December;

(c) 7 January for certificates for use from 1 February;

(d) 7 March for certificates for use from 1 April;

(e) 7 May for certificates for use from 1 June;

(f) 7 July for certificates for use from 1 August.

Article 30

The deadline for the notification by the Member States to the Commission of applications for certificates shall be the following:

(a) 14 September for certificates referred to in point (a) of Article 29(1);

(b) 14 November for certificates referred to in point (b) of Article 29(1);

(c) 14 January for certificates referred to in point (c) of Article 29(1);

(d) 14 March for certificates referred to in point (d) of Article 29(1);

(e) 14 May for certificates referred to in point (e) of Article 29(1);

(f) 14 July for certificates referred to in point (f) of Article 29(1).

Article 31

From the figure representing the maximum amount of refunds, as determined in accordance with Article 9(2) of the Agreement, the following elements shall be deducted:

(a) the amount exceeding the maximum amount and unduly granted during the previous budget year;

(b) the amount reserved to cover the exports referred to in Chapter IV of this Regulation;

(c) the amounts in respect of which refund certificates valid during the budget period concerned have been issued.

Article 32

The total amount in respect of which certificates may be issued for each of the tranches referred to in Article 29 shall be:

(a) 30 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 September, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (a) of Article 29(1);

(b) 27 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 November, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (b) of Article 29(1);

(c) 32 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 January, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (c) of Article 29(1);

(d) 44 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 March, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (d) of Article 29(1);

(e) 67 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 May, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (e) of Article 29(1);

(f) 100 % of the amount calculated in accordance with Article 31, as determined on 14 July, in the case of the tranche referred to in point (f) of Article 29(1).

SECTION 2

Applications for and issue of refund certificates