1.   This Regulation lays down common rules for the organisation and management of tendering procedures for fixing the amount of the export refunds for the products of the following sectors:

It shall apply without prejudice to the derogations and specific provisions laid down in Commission Regulations opening a tendering procedure concerning export refunds specific to the agricultural products mentioned in the first subparagraph.

2.   For the purposes of application of this Regulation ‘the competent authorities of the Member States’ are the departments or bodies accredited by the Member States as paying agencies which fulfil the conditions laid down in Article 6 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1290/2005 (10).

3.   Regulations (EC) No 800/1999 and (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply, save as otherwise provided for in this Regulation.

1.   For each product concerned the tendering procedure shall be opened by Commission Regulation, hereinafter referred to as ‘Regulation opening the tendering procedure’, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 42(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 and the corresponding Articles of the other Regulations on the common organisation of the markets in the agricultural products concerned.

2.   The Regulation opening the tendering procedure shall contain the following information:

3.   The information required in points (b), (d) and (h) of paragraph 2, may be published in the Official Journal of the European Union by a notice of invitation to tender.

4.   At least six days must elapse between the entry into force of the Regulation opening the tendering procedure or the publication of the notice of invitation to tender and the first date for the submission of tenders.

1.   Tenders shall be lodged by operators established and registered for VAT purposes in the Community to the competent authorities of the Member States indicated either in the Regulation opening the tendering procedure or in the notice of invitation to tender.

2.   Tenders shall be lodged in conjunction with and using the application form for an export licence as provided for in Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000.

3.   Tenders may be lodged by electronic means, using the method made available to the operators by the Member State concerned. The competent authorities of the Member States may require that electronic tenders be accompanied by an advance electronic signature within the meaning of Article 2(2) of Directive 1999/93/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (11). In all other cases, the competent authorities shall require an electronic signature offering equivalent assurances with regard to the functionalities attributed to a signature by applying the same rules and conditions as these defined in the Commission's provisions on electronic and digitised documents, set out by Commission Decision 2004/563/EC, Euratom (12), and in its implementing rules (13).

4.   In case of application of Article 2(2)(g), the licence application shall bear an indication of the destinations referred to in the Regulation opening the tendering procedure.

5.   A tender shall be valid if the following conditions are met:

6.   The tender security shall constitute the export licence security.

7.   Tenders shall not be withdrawn nor amended after their submission.

1.   The competent authorities of the Member States shall examine tenders based on the elements mentioned in Article 3(5). They shall verify in particular the correctness of that information and they shall decide on the validity of tenders.

2.   Persons authorised to receive and examine the tenders shall be under an obligation not to disclose any particulars relating thereto to any unauthorised person.

3.   In the case of an invalid tender the competent authorities of the Member States shall inform the tenderer thereof.

1.   All valid tenders shall be notified to the Commission by the competent authorities of the Member States.

2.   The notifications shall not contain the data referred to in Article 3(5)(b).

3.   The notifications shall be made by electronic means, using the method indicated to the Member States by the Commission, within a specific period fixed by the Commission Regulations opening the tendering procedure in question.

The form and content of the notifications shall be defined on the basis of models made available by the Commission to the Member States. Those models shall not apply until the Management Committee competent has been informed.

4.   Nil returns shall be notified to the Commission by the Member States within the period referred to in paragraph 3.

1.   On the basis of the tenders notified in accordance with Article 5(1), the Commission shall decide, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 42(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1255/1999 and the corresponding Articles of the other Regulations on the common organisation of the markets in the agricultural products concerned:

2.   In the case of tenders submitted at the level of the maximum refund, in case of application of Article 2(2)(d), a coefficient applicable to awarding the quantities tendered may be fixed by the Commission.

3.   The decision on refunds shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

1.   Where a maximum export refund has been fixed in accordance with Article 6(1), the competent authorities of the Member States shall accept tenders which are equal to or lower than the maximum refund. All the other tenders will be rejected.

2.   Where no refund has been fixed all tenders shall be rejected.

The competent authorities of the Member States shall not accept tenders that have not been notified according to Article 5(1).

3.   The competent authorities of the Member States shall adopt Decisions referred to in paragraph 1 after the publication of Commission's Decision on refunds referred to in Article 6(1).

4.   No later than the fifth working day following the entry into force of the Commission's Decision fixing a maximum refund, the competent authority of the Member State shall issue successful tenderers export licences for the quantity accepted, mentioning the refund offered in the tender. In case of application of Article 2(2)(g), the licence shall bear an indication of the destinations referred to in the Regulation opening the tender.

5.   By way of derogation from Article 23 paragraph 1 of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000, the export licence shall become valid on its actual day of issue.

1.   Successful tenderers shall have the right to be awarded an export licence in respect of the quantity and export refund accepted, in accordance with the Decision referred to in Article 7(3).

2.   Successful tenderers shall have the obligation to export the accepted quantity within the period of validity of the licence, and to deliver it to the destination referred to in Article 2(2)(g) if applicable.

1.   The primary requirement within the meaning of Article 20(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2220/85 is to export the accepted quantity, within the period of validity of the licence. In case where the Regulation opening the tendering procedure provides for a specified destination as referred to in Article 2(2)(g), of this Regulation, Article 35(5) of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000 shall apply.

2.   The security shall be released if:

3.   The security shall be forfeited when the obligation referred to in Article 8(2) is not fulfilled except in cases of force majeure.

1.   Without prejudice to Chapter 2 of Title IV of Commission Regulation (EC) No 800/1999, where it is found that a document presented by a tenderer for the attribution of the rights deriving from this Regulation provides for incorrect information and where the incorrect information concerned is decisive for the attribution of that right, the competent authorities of the Member State shall exclude the tenderer from participating in the scheme of granting export refunds through a tendering procedure for the products covered by the procedure in question, for a period of one year from the moment when a final administrative decision establishing the irregularity has been made.

2.   Paragraph 1 shall not apply if the applicant proves, to the satisfaction of the competent authorities that the situation referred to in paragraph 1 is not due to his gross negligence or that it is due to force majeure or to obvious error.

3.   Member States shall inform the Commission of the cases of application of paragraph 1. The Commission shall keep the information available to the other Member States.