Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1240 of 18 May 2016 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council with regard to public intervention and aid for private storage (Text with EEA relevance)

TITLE I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

CHAPTER I

Introductory provision

Article 1

Scope

This Regulation lays down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 and Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 as regards:

(a) the buying-in and selling from public intervention of products listed in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013;

(b) the granting of aid for private storage for products listed in Article 17 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to specific provisions laid down in Implementing Regulations:

(a) opening a tendering procedure for buying-in of products or opening the sale of products from intervention; or

(b) opening a tendering procedure or fixing the amount of aid for private storage in advance.

CHAPTER II

General common rules

Article 2

Submission and admissibility of offers, tenders and applications

An offer, tender or application shall be admissible if it is submitted in the official language or one of the official languages of the Member State in which the offer, tender or application is submitted, and shall include, on a form made available by the paying agency, at least the following information:

(a) the operator's name, address and VAT registration number in the Member State where the operator carries out his main activity;

(b) the product, or type of product, covered with its relevant CN code, if applicable;

(c) the quantity offered, tendered or applied for, subject to the minimum quantities laid down in Article 5, if applicable.

TITLE II

PUBLIC INTERVENTION

CHAPTER I

Specific rules related to public intervention

Article 3

Intervention storage places

Each intervention storage place (‘storage place’) shall have a minimum storage capacity of:

(a) for cereals: 5 000 tonnes, 7 500 tonnes from the public intervention period 2017/18, 10 000 tonnes from the 2018/19 period, 15 000 tonnes from the 2019/20 period;

(b) for rice: 5 000 tonnes, 7 500 tonnes from the public intervention period 2017/18, 10 000 tonnes from the 2018/19 period;

(c) for butter and skimmed milk powder: 400 tonnes, 600 tonnes from the 2017 public intervention period, 800 tonnes from the 2018 period.

Member States with an average annual production of cereals of less than 20 million tonnes may continue to apply from the 2019/20 period a minimum storage capacity of 10 000 tonnes.

Article 4

Establishing the eligibility of products

The eligibility of products for public intervention shall be established in accordance with the methods laid down in the following provisions:

(a) for cereals: in Parts I, II, III and IV of Annex I;

(b) for rice: in Part I of Annex II;

(c) for beef: in Part I of Annex III;

(d) for butter: in Parts I and Ia of Annex IV to this Regulation;

(e) for skimmed milk powder: in Parts I and Ia of Annex V to this Regulation.

CHAPTER II

Buying-in of products into intervention

Section 1

General provisions

Article 5

Minimum quantities of products offered or tendered

The minimum quantity of products offered or tendered for buying-in shall be:

(a) for common wheat, barley and maize: 160 tonnes;

(b) for durum wheat: 20 tonnes;

(c) for rice: 40 tonnes;

(d) for beef: 20 tonnes;

(e) for butter: 30 tonnes;

(f) for skimmed milk powder: 30 tonnes.

Member States with an average annual production of cereals of less than 20 million tonnes may decide to apply a minimum quantity of 120 tonnes for common wheat, barley and maize.

Article 6

Level of the security for buying-in of products

The level of the security required in accordance with Article 4(a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238 when submitting an offer or tender for the buying-in of products into public intervention shall be:

(a) for cereals: EUR 20/tonne;

(b) for rice: EUR 30/tonne;

(c) for beef: EUR 300/tonne;

(d) for butter: EUR 50/tonne;

(e) for skimmed milk powder: EUR 50/tonne.

Article 7

Submission and admissibility of offers and tenders

An offer or tender shall be admissible if it complies with the requirements laid down in Article 2 and, in the case of a tendering procedure, in the Implementing Regulation opening the tendering procedure referred to in Article 12. It shall also meet the following conditions:

(a) it includes at least the following information: (i) for rice, an indication of the type and variety; (ii) except for beef, the place where the product is held at the time of the offer or tender; (iii) for cereals and rice, the storage place for which the offer or tender is made; (iv) for cereals and rice, the year of harvest and the area or areas of production in the Union; (v) for butter and skimmed milk powder, the date of production; (vi) for butter and skimmed milk powder, the name and approval number of the approved undertaking in which it was produced;

(b) the operator has lodged a security in accordance with Article 4(a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238;

(c) for cereals and rice, the operator has declared: (i) that the products are of Union origin; (ii) that the offer or tender refers to a homogeneous lot which, for rice, must comprise paddy rice of the same variety; (iii) whether any post-harvest treatment has been carried out or not, and, where appropriate, the name of the product used, that it has been applied in conformity with the conditions of use, and that the product is authorised under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (¹).

Article 8

Verification of offers and tenders by the paying agency

Where the paying agency decides that an offer or tender is inadmissible, it shall inform the operator concerned within three working days of the receipt of the offer or tender. For offers, if the operator does not receive such information, the offer is considered as being admissible.

Article 9

Notifications of offers and tenders to the Commission

Member States shall notify the Commission of all admissible offers and tenders within the following time limits:

(a) in the case of offers, notifications shall be submitted not later than 12.00 (Brussels time) each Tuesday and shall relate to the quantities of the products which, during the preceding week, have been the subject of an admissible offer, and of the related information. When the quantities offered approach the limits fixed in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013, the Commission shall inform Member States as of which date they shall notify the Commission on each working day. As from that date, Member States shall notify the Commission, not later than 14.00 (Brussels time) each working day, of the quantities offered for intervention during the preceding working day.

(b) in the case of tenders, the time limits laid down in the Implementing Regulation opening the tendering procedure shall apply.

Section 2

Buying-in at fixed price

Article 10

Submission of offers for buying-in of common wheat, butter and skimmed milk powder at fixed price

Offers may be submitted to the paying agency from the beginning of the public intervention periods laid down in Article 12 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013.

Article 11

Measures for respecting the quantitative limitations

In order to comply with the quantitative limitations fixed in Article 3(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013, the Commission shall decide as provided for in Article 3(6)(a) of that Regulation:

(a) to close intervention buying-in at fixed price;

(b) where acceptance of the full quantity offered would lead to the maximum quantity being exceeded, to set an allocation coefficient applicable to the total quantity in the offers received and notified to the Commission from each operator on the day of the decision;

(c) where appropriate, to reject pending offers submitted to the paying agencies of the Member States.

The Commission shall decide within two working days of the notification referred to in the first subparagraph of point (a) of Article 9(1), and within five working days of the notification referred to in the third subparagraph of point (a) of Article 9(1).

For the purposes of this Article, when a date of notification is a public holiday for the Commission the counting of the deadline shall start on the first working day after that public holiday. If such public holidays are included in the time period for the Commission's decision, only working days shall be counted.

Section 3

Buying-in via a tendering procedure

Article 12

Tendering procedure

A tendering procedure for the buying-in of products referred to in Article 11 of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 shall be opened by way of an Implementing Regulation opening the tendering procedure, which shall contain, in particular, the following information:

(a) the products covered, and: (i) for rice, an indication of the type and variety; (ii) for beef, whether the tender is for the bought-in carcasses to be deboned or for storage without deboning;

(b) the period covered (‘tendering period’) and, if necessary, the different sub-periods during which the tenders can be submitted.

With regard to beef, the following rules shall apply:

(a) the average market price by eligible category in a Member State or in a region thereof shall take account of the prices for qualities U, R and O, expressed in quality R3 using the conversion coefficients set out in Part II of Annex III in the Member State or the intervention region concerned;

(b) the average market prices shall be recorded in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 1249/2008 (²);

(c) the average market price by eligible category in a Member State or a region thereof shall be the average of the market prices for all the qualities referred to in point (b), weighted by the proportion each quality represents in the total number of slaughterings in that Member State or region. The United Kingdom shall consist of two intervention regions as follows: (i) region I: Great Britain; (ii) region II: Northern Ireland.

Article 13

Submission and admissibility of tenders

In the case of cereals and rice, the price tendered per tonne of products shall be a price corresponding to the minimum quality for cereals defined in Part II of Annex I to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238 or to the standard quality for rice defined in Section A of Annex III to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, delivered to the storage place, not unloaded.

In the case of butter and skimmed milk powder, the tendered price shall be the price per 100 kg of products delivered to the loading bay of the storage place.

In the case of beef, tenders shall state the price quoted in accordance with Article 12(5)(a), expressed per tonne of products of quality R3, and if it relates to bone-in meat intended for deboning, or for storage without deboning.

Article 14

Decisions on the buying-in price

On the basis of the tenders notified in accordance with Article 9, the Commission shall decide:

(a) not to fix a maximum buying-in price; or

(b) to fix a maximum buying-in price.

Article 15

Individual decisions on tenders

The paying agency shall only accept tenders that have been notified to the Commission in accordance with Article 9.

The paying agency shall notify the operators of the outcome of their participation in the tendering procedure within three working days of the entry into force of that decision of the Commission.

This notification shall not be necessary when the tender is accepted, if the paying agency issues a delivery order as referred to in Article 17 within five working days of the entry into force of that decision of the Commission. In case of such acceptance, no further extension of the time limit for the issue of the delivery order, as referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 17(1), may be granted.

Article 16

Limitation of buying-in for beef

Where the paying agencies are offered beef in quantities greater than they are able to take over, they may limit the buying-in to the quantities they can take over in their territory or in one of their intervention regions referred to in Article 12(5).

Paying agencies shall ensure equal access for all parties concerned in the event of such limitation.

Section 4

Deliveries and transport costs

Article 17

Delivery order

The paying agency may decide to extend the time limit for the issue of the delivery order when it is necessary due to high quantities of cereals or rice accepted. However, the final date for delivery of the products shall not be later than 65 days after the deadline or entry into force referred to in the first subparagraph. In such cases the paying agency shall inform the affected operators.

The delivery order shall be dated and numbered and shall contain the following information:

(a) the quantity to be delivered;

(b) the final date for delivery of the products;

(c) the storage place to which the products shall be delivered;

(d) the price at which the offer or tender is accepted.

Article 18

Specific provisions for the delivery of cereals and rice

The operator shall bear the costs relating to the following tests carried out for cereals in accordance with the methodology referred to in Part IV of Annex I:

(i) the amylasic activity (Hagberg) test;

(ii) the test for the determination of the protein content of durum wheat and common wheat;

(iii) the Zeleny test;

(iv) the machinability test;

(v) analyses of contaminants.

Article 19

Transport costs for cereals and rice

Beyond that maximum distance, the additional transport costs shall be borne by the paying agency and reimbursed by the Commission at a rate per tonne and per kilometre of EUR 0, 05.

Article 20

Specific provisions for the delivery of beef

Article 21

Specific provisions for the packing, delivery and storage of butter and skimmed milk powder

The butter and skimmed milk powder shall be delivered on pallets of a quality suitable for long-term storage, to be exchanged against equivalent pallets. Alternatively, an equivalent system may be approved by the paying agency.

The costs incurred in unloading the butter or skimmed milk powder at the loading bay of the storage place shall be borne by the paying agency.

Article 22

Delivery

The date of delivery shall be:

(a) for cereals, rice, butter and skimmed milk powder: the date on which it is confirmed that the whole of the quantity referred to in the delivery order entered the designated storage place. This date cannot be earlier than the day following the date of issue of the delivery order;

(b) for each consignment of beef: the date of entrance at the weighing point of the intervention storage place or, where the meat is to be deboned, at the cutting plant.

Section 5

Control and takeover

Article 23

The takeover record

The takeover record shall be issued by the paying agency after the required checks and analyses have established that the eligibility requirements laid down in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238 are fulfilled. It shall indicate at least:

(a) the quantities delivered and, for rice, the variety;

(b) the characteristics of the products as resulting from the analyses in so far as this is relevant for the calculation of the price;

(c) if applicable, the quantities that have not been taken over. In this case, the operator shall be notified accordingly.

Article 24

Obligations of the operator

The products shall meet the eligibility requirements set out in Article 3 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1238. Where the required checks show that the products do not fulfil the eligibility requirements, the operator shall:

(a) take back at his expense the products concerned;

(b) pay the associated costs from the date of entry of the products into the storage place until the date of their removal from storage.

The costs to be paid by the operator shall be determined on the basis of standard amounts for entry, removal and storage costs in accordance with Article 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 906/2014 (³).

Article 25

Deboning requirement for beef

Where deboning is required as a condition of the tendering procedure, the paying agency shall have all the beef that is bought-in deboned in accordance with Part III of Annex III.

Section 6

Price adjustments and payments

Article 26

Price adjustments for cereals and rice

The price adjustment as provided for in Articles 2(2) and 3(4) of Regulation (EU) No 1370/2013 shall be made in accordance with:

(a) Parts V and VI of Annex I to this Regulation in the case of cereals;

(b) Part II of Annex II to this Regulation in the case of rice.

Article 27

Payments

CHAPTER III

Sale of products from intervention

Article 28

Opening of the tendering procedure

The first closing date for submission of tenders shall be fixed not earlier than six days after the publication of that Implementing Regulation in the Official Journal of the European Union.

The Implementing Regulation opening the sale shall contain, in particular, the following information:

(a) the products covered, and in particular: (i) for rice, an indication of the type and variety, (ii) for beef, the relevant cuts;

(b) the period covered (‘tendering period’) and the different sub-periods during which the tenders can be submitted;

(c) for beef, butter and skimmed milk powder, the minimum quantity for which a tender may be submitted;

(d) the amount of the security that shall be lodged when submitting a tender. In addition, that Implementing Regulation may contain: (a) the global quantities covered by the tendering procedure; (b) if applicable, provisions concerning transport costs for cereals and rice.

Article 29

Notice of invitation to tender and arrangements related to the invitation to tender

The notice of invitation to tender shall indicate in particular:

(a) the name and address of the paying agency issuing the notice of invitation to tender;

(b) the reference to the Implementing Regulation opening the sale;

(c) the closing dates for the submission of tenders for each partial invitation to tender;