20.7.2004   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 185/6

1.

A standing invitation to tender will be held in order to determine levies and/or refunds on exports of white sugar falling within CN code 1701 99 10 for all destinations except for Albania, Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro, including Kosovo as defined by the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244 of 10 June 1999, and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

2.

The standing invitation to tender shall be conducted in accordance with Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 1260/2001 (1) and Regulation (EC) No 1327/2004 (2).

1.

The standing invitation to tender shall remain open until 28 July 2005. During the period of validity of this invitation, partial invitations will be issued.

2.1.

The period during which tenders may be submitted in response to the first partial invitation will begin on 23 July 2004 and will expire at 10.00 Brussels time on Thursday 29 July 2004.

2.2.

For each of the partial invitations to tender, the period during which tenders may be submitted will begin on the first working day following the day on which the period for the previous partial invitation to tender ends.

2.3.

The period for the submission of tenders will end at 10.00 Brussels time on:

3.

Subject to its amendment or replacement, the terms of this notice will apply to every partial invitation to tender held during the period of validity of this standing invitation to tender.

1.

This notice invites interested parties to submit, for each partial invitation to tender, tenders for the export levy and/or export refund for the sugar referred to in Title I above.

2.1.

Written tenders must reach the competent agency of a Member State no later than the dates and times indicated in point 2 of Title II, and must either be handed in, in return for a receipt, or be sent by registered post or by telegram, or else by telex, fax or electronic-mail provided the competent agency accepts those forms of transmission, to one of the following addresses:

3.

Tenders not submitted by telex, telegram, fax or e-mail message must reach the address concerned in double sealed envelopes. The inner envelope, also sealed, must carry the words: ‘Tender under standing invitation to tender to determine levies and/or refunds on exports of white sugar, No 1/2004 — Confidential’.

4.

Tenders shall be valid only if the following conditions are met:

5.

The tender, as well as the proofs and declarations referred to in points 3 and 4, must be in the official language, or one of the official languages, of the Member State in which the tender is submitted.

6.

A tender which is not submitted in accordance with this notice, or which contains terms other than those in this notice, will not be considered.

7.

Once submitted, a tender may not be withdrawn.

8.

A tender may stipulate that it is to be regarded as having been submitted only if one or both of the following conditions is/are met:

1.1.

A security of EUR 11 per 100 kilograms of white sugar to be exported under this invitation to tender must be lodged by each tenderer.

1.2.

Without prejudice to VI.3, the security referred to in I.1 shall in the case of successful tenderers and at the time of the application referred to in V.6.1(b) become the security for the export licence.

2.1.

The security referred to in point 1.1 may be lodged at the tenderer's choice, either in cash or in the form of a guarantee given by a bank approved by the Member State concerned and expressed in the currency of that Member State. The guarantee must be made out in favour of the competent authority concerned.

2.2.

However, for a tender submitted to the competent authority in Germany, the security must be in favour of the Federal Republic of Germany. For a tender submitted to the competent authority in the other Member States, the guarantee may also be given by a financial institution approved by the Member State concerned. The guarantee must be made out in the official language, or in one of the official languages, of the Member State in which the tender is submitted.

3.1.

Except in the event of force majeure the security referred to in point 1.1 shall be released:

In the case referred to under (b) of the first subparagraph, the releasable part of the security shall be reduced, as applicable, by:

3.2.

The part of the security or the security which is not released shall be forfeit in respect of the quantity of sugar for which the corresponding obligations have not been fulfilled.

4.

In cases of force majeure, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall take such action for the release of the security as it considers necessary having regard to the circumstances invoked by the party concerned.

1.

After examination of the tenders, a maximum quantity may be fixed for each of the partial invitations to tender.

2.

A decision may be taken to make no award under a specific partial invitation to tender.

3.1.

Except where point 2 applies and without prejudice to points 4 and 5, where a minimum export levy is fixed an award will be made to the tenderer or tenderers who quote either the same levy as the minimum levy or a higher figure.

3.2.

Except where point 2 applies, and without prejudice to points 4 and 5, where a maximum export refund is fixed, an award will be made to the tenderer or tenderers who quote either the same refund as the maximum refund or a lower figure, or to every tenderer quoting an export levy.

4.

Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a partial invitation to tender and if a minimum export levy is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to the tenderer whose tender quotes the highest export levy; if the maximum quantity is not fully covered by that award, awards shall be made to other tenderers in descending order of export levies quoted until the entire maximum quantity has been accounted for.

Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a partial invitation to tender and if a maximum export refund is fixed, contracts shall be awarded in accordance with the first subparagraph; if after such awards a quantity is still outstanding, or if there are no tenders quoting an export levy, awards shall be made to tenderers quoting an export refund in ascending order of export refunds quoted until the entire maximum quantity has been accounted for.

5.1.

the maximum quantity being exceeded, that award shall be limited to such quantity as is still available.

5.2.

Where offers quote the same export levy or refund and would, if accepted for the full quantity in respect of which they have been submitted, cause the maximum quantity to be exceeded, awards will be made:

6.1.

The successful tenderer will have:

6.2.

This right and these obligations are not transferable.

7.1.

The competent authority in the Member State concerned will immediately notify all applicants of the result of their participation in the invitation to tender. In addition, that authority will send the successful tenderers a statement of award.

7.2.

Statements of award will indicate, inter alia:

1.

The first subparagraph of Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1464/95 (4) and Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 120/89 (5) shall not apply to white sugar exported in accordance with this notice.

2.1.

Export licences issued in connection with a partial invitation to tender shall be valid from the day of issue until the end of the fifth calendar month following that in which the partial invitation was issued.

2.2.

However, export licences issued in respect of the partial invitations held after 1 May 2005 shall be valid only until 30 September 2005.

Should technical difficulties arise which prevent export being carried out by the expiry date referred to in the first subparagraph above, the competent authorities in the Member State which issued the export licence may, at the written request of the holder of that licence, extend its validity to 15 October 2005 at the latest, provided that export is not subject to the rules laid down in Articles 4 or 5 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 (6).

2.3.

The export licences issued in respect of the partial invitations held between 29 July and 30 September 2004 shall be usable only from 1 October 2004.

3.

Except in cases of force majeure, the licence holder shall pay the competent body a specified amount for the quantity for which the obligation to export resulting from the export licence applied for is not fulfilled in accordance with Articles 31(b) and 32(1)(b)(i) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 and where the security referred to in IV.1.1. is less than the figure produced by one of the following calculations:

The amount to be paid referred to in the first paragraph shall be equal to the difference between the result of the valuation made under (a), (b) or (c), as the case may be, and the security referred to in Article IV, point 1.1.

4.

For this standing invitation, the cancellation procedure provided for in Article 13(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 cannot be invoked.

1.

fall exclusively within the jurisdiction:

2.

be settled: