COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 322/96 of 22 February 1996 laying down detailed rules of application for the public storage of skimmed-milk powder
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 of 27 June 1968 on the common organization of the market in milk and milk products (1), as last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 2931/95 (2), and in particular Articles 7 (5) and 28 thereof,
Whereas Council Regulation (EEC) No 1014/68 of 20 July 1968 laying down general rules for the public storage of skimmed-milk powder (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 3577/90 (4), will be repealed with effect from 1 March 1996 by Council Regulation (EC) No 1538/95 (5); whereas the rules which have not been incorporated into Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 should be included in the detailed rules of application for the public storage of skimmed-milk powder laid down by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 625/78 (6), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1802/95 (7); whereas, in view of the number of adjustments to be made to that Regulation and the many amendments which have already been made to it, it should be redrafted in the interests of clarity and transparency; whereas Regulation (EEC) No 625/78 should therefore be repealed;
Whereas intervention agencies may only buy skimmed-milk powder with a minimum protein content; whereas, furthermore, the buying-in price may vary according to the protein content; whereas, therefore, the analysis method to be used for determining that protein content and the method of calculating the buying-in price should be laid down;
Whereas, in order to ensure that payments are not made incorrectly for skimmed-milk powder bought in, it should be laid down that compliance with all the relevant conditions must be checked and the protein content measured before payment is made;
Whereas a reference method has been developed for the detection of buttermilk; whereas, in order to ensure uniform application of control measures, that analysis method should be used for checking skimmed-milk powder bought in by intervention agencies;
Whereas Council Directive 92/46/EEC of 16 June 1992 laying down the health rules for the production and placing on the market of raw milk, heat-treated milk and milk-based products (8), as last amended by Directive 94/71/EC (9), lays down that milk with an antimicrobial, substance content exceeding the maximum level authorized by Council Regulation (EEC) No 2377/90 (10), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 282/96 (11), cannot be used for human consumption; whereas skimmed-milk powder bought in by intervention agencies should be checked for the presence of antimicrobial substances currently used; whereas a method should be laid down for such checks;
Whereas, for the rest, the provisions concerning the public storage of skimmed-milk powder have proven satisfactory and, subject to certain technical adjustments, may therefore remain unchanged;
Whereas the operative events for the agricultural conversion rate applicable to public storage arrangements are laid down by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1756/93 (12), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 693/95 (13);
Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Milk and Milk Products,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. Intervention agencies shall buy in only such skimmed-milk powder as meets the definition laid down in Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 and the quality requirements laid down in Annex I hereto, and for which the following conditions have been fulfilled:
(a) quality checks have been carried out in accordance with the analysis methods set out in Annexes I, V, VI and VII hereto on samples taken in accordance with the procedure set out in Annex IV hereto;
(b) the packaging and marking comply with the conditions laid down in Annexes II and III;
(c) it does not contain other products, in particular buttermilk or whey;
(d) it was manufactured during the month preceding the day on which the intervention agency received the offer to sell it or, in the case referred to in the second sentence of point (e) of Annex III, during the four weeks preceding the week during which the offer was received;
(e) its radioactivity levels do not exceed the maximum levels permitted under Community rules.
The applicable levels shall be those laid down in Article 3 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 737/90 (14). The level of radioactive contamination of the product shall be monitored if the situation so requires and only during the period necessary. Where necessary, the duration and scope of the checks shall be determined in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 30 of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68.
2. For the purposes of this Regulation, the following definitions shall apply:
(a) buttermilk: the by-product of butter manufacture obtained after churning of the cream (by batch process or continuous process) and separation of the solid fat;
(b) whey: the by-product of cheese or casein manufacture obtained by the action of acids, rennet and/or chemico-physical processes.
3. The minimum quantity offered for sale shall be 20 tonnes. Member States may increase the minimum quantity and/or lay down that the skimmed-milk powder must be offered in whole tonnes.
4. The intervention agency shall register the date on which the offer to sell is received, the corresponding quantities and dates of manufacture and the place at which the skimmed-milk powder is stored.
5. Offers shall only be valid where proof is provided that the seller has constituted a security of ECU 12 per tonne of skimmed-milk powder offered for sale.
For the purposes of this Regulation, the primary requirements whose fulfilment is ensured by the security shall be maintenance of the offer and delivery of the skimmed-milk powder to the storage depot designated by the intervention agency. However, where the checks referred to in paragraph 1 (a) show that the skimmed-milk powder does not conform to the requirements laid down in paragraph 1, the security shall be released for the quantities not yet delivered.
The security shall be constituted in the Member State in which the offer to sell is submitted.
Article 2
1. Undertaking as referred to in Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 shall be approved only if they:
(a) are approved pursuant to Article 10 of Directive 92/46/EEC and have the appropriate technical equipment;
(b) undertake to keep permanent records, in the form determined by the competent agency of each Member State, listing the origin of the raw materials, the quantities of skimmed-milk powder, buttermilk and whey treated, the type of heat-treatment for the skimmed milk, the quantities of products obtained, the packaging and identification of each lot of skimmed-milk powder, buttermilk powder and whey powder and the date on which it left the plant;
(c) agree to submit their production of skimmed-milk powder liable to be offered for intervention to a specific official inspection;
(d) undertake to inform the body responsible for inspection, at least two working days in advance, of their intention to manufacture skimmed-milk powder for public intervention. The Member State may, however, fix a shorter deadline.
2. To ensure compliance with this Regulation, the competent bodies shall carry out unannounced on-the-spot inspections on the basis of the production schedules for skimmed-milk powder for intervention of the plants concerned.
Those inspections must include at least:
- one inspection per period of 28 days of manufacture for intervention with at least one inspection every six months, to examine the records referred to in paragraph 1 (b),
- one inspection every six months, to verify compliance with the conditions for approval referred to in paragraph 1.
3. Approval shall be withdrawn if the prior conditions laid down in paragraph 1 are no longer satisfied. Approval may be regranted at the request of the enterprise concerned after a period of six months, following a thorough inspection.
Where an enterprise is found not to have complied with one of its undertakings as referred to in paragraph 1 (b), (c) and (d), except in cases of force majeure, approval shall be suspended for between 1 and 12 months depending on the seriousness of the irregularity.
The Member State may decide not to impose the said suspension where it is found that the irregularity was not committed deliberately or as a result of serious negligence and it is of minor importance with regard to the effectiveness of the inspection provided for in paragraph 2.
4. A report shall be drawn up on the inspections carried out pursuant to paragraphs 2 and 3 specifying:
- the date of inspection,
- its duration,
- the operations carried out.
The inspection report must be signed by the inspector responsible.
5. Member States shall inform the Commission of the measures taken with regard to the inspections provided for in paragraphs 2 and 3 within one month of their adoption.
Article 3
The body responsible for ensuring compliance with the provisions of Article 1 (1) shall record the results of the analysis of each lot offered, specifying each of the characteristics of the product listed in paragraph 1 of Annex I; the results shall then be entered on a certificate to be issued on request, in particular in the case of trade between Member States and export.
Article 4
1. After checking the offer, the intervention agency shall immediately issue a dated and numbered delivery order showing;
(a) the quantity to be delivered;
(b) the final date for delivery of the skimmed-milk powder;
(c) the storage depot to which it must be delivered.
2. The skimmed-milk powder must be delivered within 28 days of the day of receipt of the offer to sell referred to in Article 1 (1) (d). Delivery may be in several consignments.
3. For the purposes of this Regulation, the skimmed-milk powder shall be deemed to be taken over by the intervention agency on the day when it enters the storage depot but no earlier than the day following the day of issue of the delivery order referred to in paragraph 1.
4. Payment for the skimmed-milk powder bought in by the intervention agency shall be made between the 120th day and the 140th day following the date on which it is taken over by the intervention agency, provided that it is found to comply with the requirements laid down in Article 1.
5. The buying-in price for the skimmed-milk powder shall be calculated as follows:
- where the protein content of the non-fat dry matter, determined in accordance with the method described in Annex I, is equal to or more than 35,6 %, the buying-in price shall be equal to the intervention price,
- where that protein content is equal to or more than 31,4 % but less than 35,6 %, the buying-in price shall be equal to the intervention price less an amount calculated as follows: intervention price × [(0,356 - protein content) × 1,75].
6. In making the offer the seller shall undertake, in the event of the inspection showing that the skimmed-milk powder does not comply with the requirements laid down in Article 1 (1):
- to take back the goods in question,
- to pay the storage costs for the quantities concerned from the date they are taken over to the date of their removal from storage.
Such storage costs shall be payable at a flat rate per tonne as follows:
(a) ECU 21 for fixed costs;
(b) ECU 0,10 per day of storage for warehousing costs.
The amounts shall be credited to the account of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guarantee Section.
Article 5
1. The storage depots referred to in the fourth subparagraph of Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 must:
(a) be dry, well maintained and free of vermin;
(b) be free of extraneous odours;
(c) permit good ventilation;
(d) be of sufficient capacity and have equipment relevant to that capacity.
The risks of storing the skimmed-milk powder shall be covered by insurance in the form of either a contractual obligation on storers or a comprehensive coverage of the liability borne by the intervention agency. The Member States may also act as their own insurers.
2. The intervention agencies shall require that the skimmed-milk powder be placed and kept in storage on pallets and in easily identifiable and readily accessible lots.
3. The competent body responsible for inspection shall also carry out checks on the presence of the products in store as provided for in Article 4 of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 618/90 (15).
Article 6
1. The intervention agency shall choose the available storage depot nearest to the place where the skimmed-milk powder is stored.
However, provided that the choice of another storage depot does not result in additional storage costs, it may:
(a) choose another depot situated within the distance referred to in paragraph 2;
(b) choose a storage depot situated beyond that distance if the resulting expenditure, inclusive of storage and transport costs, is less. In that case, the intervention agency shall notify the Commission of its choice forthwith.
2. The maximum distance referred to in the third subparagraph of Article 7 (1) of Regulation (EEC) No 804/68 shall be 350 km. Beyond that distance, the additional transport costs borne by the intervention agency shall be ECU 0,05 per tonne and per kilometre.
However, where the intervention agency buying in the skimmed-milk powder is in a Member State other than that in whose territory it is stored, no account shall be taken, for calculating the maximum distance referred to in subparagraph 1, of the distance between the store of the seller and the border of the Member State of the purchasing intervention agency.
Article 7
At the time of removal from storage, the intervention agency shall, in the case of delivery ex-storage depot, make the skimmed-milk powder available:
- at the storage depot loaded on to the means of transport, where this is a lorry or a railway wagon, but not stowed,
- at the exit of the storage depot in the case of other means of transport, in particular containers.
Article 8
Regulation (EEC) No 625/78 is hereby repealed.
References to Regulation (EEC) No 625/78, shall be understood as being to this Regulation.
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities.
It shall apply from 1 March 1996.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 22 February 1996.