28.7.2007   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 176/15

1.

A standing invitation to tender shall be opened in order to determine export refunds on white sugar covered by CN code 1701 99 10 for all destinations excluding Andorra, Gibraltar, Ceuta, Melilla, the Holy See (Vatican City State), Liechtenstein, Communes of Livigno and Campione d'Italia, Heligoland, Greenland, Faroe Islands, the areas of Cyprus in which the Government of the Republic of Cyprus does not exercise effective control, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia (1), Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. During the period of validity of this standing invitation, partial invitations to tender shall be issued.

2.

The standing invitation to tender shall be conducted in accordance with Article 32 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 (2) and Commission Regulation (EC) No 900/2007 (3).

1.

The standing invitation to tender shall remain open until 25 September 2008. 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 1 August 2007 and will expire at 10.00 Brussels time on 9 August 2007.

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 export refunds 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 be sent by fax or electronic-mail provided the competent agency accepts these forms of transmission to one of the following addresses:

3.

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

4.

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

5.

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.

6.

Once submitted, a tender may not be withdrawn.

7.

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.6.2 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 security 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.

The security referred to in point 1.1 shall be released:

In the case referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph, the part of the security which may be released shall be reduced, where applicable, by the difference between the maximum amount of the export refund fixed for the partial invitation concerned and the maximum amount of the export refund fixed for the following partial invitation, when the latter amount is higher than the former.

Except for cases of force majeure, 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 the tenders received have been examined, a maximum quantity may be fixed for the partial invitation concerned.

2.

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

3.1.

If the Commission decides to make an award under a specific partial invitation to tender, it shall determine the maximum amount of export refund, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 39(2) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 and in the light of the current state and foreseeable development of the Community and world sugar markets.

3.2.

Without prejudice to V.4, a contract shall be awarded to every tenderer whose tender quotes a rate of export refund equal to or less than the maximum amount.

4.

Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a partial invitation to tender, contracts shall be awarded to the tenderer quoting the lowest export refund. If the maximum quantity is not fully covered by that award, awards shall be made to other tenderers until the entire quantity has been accounted for on the basis of the amount of refund, starting with the lowest.

5.1.

Where an award to a particular tenderer in accordance with point 4 would result in the maximum quantity being exceeded, that award shall be limited to such quantity as is still available.

5.2.

Where two or more tenders quote the same refund, and awards to all of them would result in the maximum quantity being exceeded, the quantity available shall be allocated to the tenderers concerned according to one of the following methods:

6.1.

Every successful tenderer shall have the right to receive, in the circumstances referred to in point 6.2, an export licence for the quantity awarded indicating the export refund quoted in the tender.

6.2.

Every successful tenderer shall be obliged to lodge, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000, an application for an export licence in respect of the quantity that has been awarded to him, the application not being revocable in derogation from Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 120/89 (5).

The application shall be lodged not later than:

Every successful tenderer shall be obliged to export the tendered quantity and, if this obligation is not fulfilled, to pay, where necessary, the amount referred to in VI.3.

6.3.

This right and these obligations are not transferable.

7.1.

The competent authority of the Member State concerned shall immediately notify applicants of the result of their participation in the invitation to tender. It shall also send statements of award to the successful tenderers.

7.2.

Statements of award shall indicate at least:

1.

For the purposes of determining the period of validity of the licence, Article 23(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply.

2.

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.

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 referred to in V.6.1 applied for is not fulfilled and where the security referred to in IV.1.1 is less than the difference between the export refund referred to in Article 33(2)(a) of Regulation (EC) No 318/2006 in force on the last day of validity of the licence and the refund indicated in the licence.

The amount to be paid referred to in the first paragraph shall be equal to the difference referred to in the first paragraph and the security referred to in IV.1.1.

1.

fall exclusively within the jurisdiction:

2.

be settled: