1.   During the buying-in period fixed in Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003, any holder of a lot of at least 20 tonnes of paddy rice harvested in the Community shall be entitled to offer such rice to the intervention agency.

A lot shall be made up of rice of the same variety.

The Member States may set the minimum quantity of the lot referred to in the first subparagraph at a higher level.

2.   Where a lot is delivered in several loads (by lorry, barge, railway wagon, etc.) each load must comply with the requisite minimum characteristics laid down in Article 3, Article 12 notwithstanding.

1.   To be accepted for intervention, paddy rice shall be of sound and fair merchantable quality.

2.   Paddy rice shall be considered of sound and fair merchantable quality if:

3.   For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘miscellaneous impurities’ means foreign matter other than rice.

1.   All offers for sale into intervention shall be made in writing, and sent preferably by e-mail, to an intervention agency, using the form drawn up by it.

To be eligible, the offers for tranches 1 and 2 must be presented between 1 and 9 April and 1 and 9 June respectively.

2.   The offer shall include the following information:

3.   All offers shall be made to the intervention agency of the producer Member State in respect of the intervention centre in that Member State which is nearest to where the paddy rice is held when the offer is made. For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘the nearest intervention centre’ means the centre in the producer Member State to which the paddy rice can be delivered at least expense.

4.   Once submitted, an offer may not be altered or withdrawn.

5.   Where an offer is ineligible, the intervention agency shall inform the relevant trader of that fact within 10 working days of the offer’s submission.

1.   No later than the first working day in May, the competent authority in the Member State shall examine whether or not the total quantity offered for tranche 1 exceeds the available quantity. Where there is an overrun, it shall apply a coefficient, to six decimal places, for awarding the quantities. This coefficient shall be set at the highest possible value, to ensure (given the minimum quantity of each offer) that the total quantity awarded is equal to or less than the available quantity. Where there is no overrun, the award coefficient shall be 1.

Where appropriate, the unused quantity, or the difference between the available quantity and the total quantity awarded, shall be added to the quantity fixed for tranche 2.

The competent authority in the Member State shall inform the Commission of the value of the award coefficient, the total quantity awarded and the quantity unused and carried over to tranche 2, no later than the day following the date indicated in the first subparagraph. The Commission shall make this information available to the public on its website as quickly as possible.

No later than the second day following the date given in the first subparagraph, the competent authority in the Member State shall notify the applicant that the offer has been accepted for an awarded quantity equal to the quantity offered multiplied by the award coefficient. However, if this quantity is below the minimum quantity indicated in the offer, it shall be reduced to 0.

2.   For tranche 2, the Member States shall inform the Commission, no later than the first working day in July, of the quantities offered with, where appropriate, the specified minimum quantities. This notification shall be made electronically using the model in Annex VI. It must be made even if no quantity of rice has been offered.

The Commission shall collect all the offers presented in the Member States and shall examine whether or not the total quantity offered exceeds the quantity available. Where there is an overrun, it shall apply a coefficient, to six decimal places, for awarding the quantities. This coefficient shall be set at the highest possible value, to ensure (given the minimum quantity of each offer) that the total quantity awarded is equal to or less than the available quantity. Where there is no overrun, the award coefficient shall be 1.

No later than the third working day after publication of the award coefficient in the Official Journal of the European Union, the competent authority in the Member State shall notify the applicant that the offer has been accepted for an awarded quantity equal to the quantity offered multiplied by the award coefficient. However, if this quantity is below the minimum quantity indicated in the offer, it shall be reduced to 0.

3.   The security referred to in paragraph 6(2)(i) shall be released proportionately to the quantity offered but not awarded. For the quantity awarded, it shall be released in its entirety once 95 % of the quantity has been delivered in accordance with Article 9.

1.   The costs of transporting the goods from the depot where they are stored at the time the offer is submitted to the nearest intervention centre shall be borne by the applicant.

2.   If the intervention agency does not take the paddy rice over at the nearest intervention centre, the additional transport costs shall be borne by the intervention agency.

3.   The costs referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be established by the intervention agency.

1.   The intervention agency shall fix the date and intervention centre of delivery and shall notify the applicant of both forthwith. These conditions may be appealed no later than two working days from the receipt of the notification.

2.   Delivery to the intervention centre must occur not later than the end of the third month following receipt of the offer and in any case not later than 31 August of the current marketing year.

In the case of staggered deliveries, the last part of the lot must be delivered in accordance with the first subparagraph.

3.   The intervention agency shall take the goods over in the presence of the applicant or his/her duly authorised agent.

1.   The rice offered shall be taken over by the intervention agency where the minimum quantity and characteristics laid down in Articles 2 and 3 have been established by the intervention agency or its agent for the goods delivered to the intervention store, in accordance with Article 12.

2.   The quantity delivered shall be established by weight in the presence of the applicant and a representative of the intervention agency, who must have no relationship to the applicant. The storekeeper may represent the intervention agency.

3.   In this case the intervention agency shall itself carry out a check within 30 days of the completion of delivery. The weight at least must be checked, using volumetric measurement.

If, having used the volumetric method referred to in the first subparagraph, the weight is less than 6 % below the quantity recorded in the storekeeper’s accounts, the storekeeper shall bear all the costs relating to the missing quantities established as such in a subsequent weighing compared to the weight recorded in the accounts at taking over.

If, having used the method referred to in the first subparagraph, the weight is more than 6 % below the quantity recorded in the storekeeper’s accounts, the goods shall be immediately weighed. The weighing costs involved shall be borne by the storekeeper if the weight established is less than the weight recorded in the accounts. In the opposite case, the intervention agency shall bear the weighing costs.

1.   The intervention agency can take the paddy rice over at the place where it is stored when the offer is submitted rather than at the intervention centre nominated by the applicant. In this case the goods taken over must be stored separately from other goods.

The date of taking over shall coincide with the date on which the minimum characteristics listed in the take-over record referred to in Article 14 have been noted.

2.   Where take-over is carried out under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1, the quantity can be established on the basis of the stock accounts — drawn up to professional specifications and in accordance with the intervention agency’s requirements — provided that:

The weight to be recorded shall be the weight entered in the accounts, adjusted as appropriate to take account of any difference between the moisture content established at weighing and the content established on the basis of the representative sample.

However, the intervention agency shall carry out a volumetric check within 30 days of the date of taking over. Any difference between the quantity weighed and the estimated quantity using the volumetric method must not be more than 6 %.

If, having used the volumetric method referred to in the third subparagraph, the weight is less than 6 % below the quantity recorded in the storekeeper’s accounts, the storekeeper shall bear all the costs relating to the missing quantities established as such in a subsequent weighing compared to the weight recorded in the accounts at taking over.

If, having used the method referred to in the third subparagraph, the weight is more than 6 % below the quantity recorded in the storekeeper’s accounts, the storekeeper shall immediately weigh the rice. The storekeeper shall bear the weighing costs if the weight thus established is less than the weight as recorded. The EAGGF shall bear the costs in the opposite case.

1.   With a view to verifying the requisite quality requirements under Article 3 for accepting the rice into intervention, samples shall be taken by the intervention agency in the presence of the applicant or his/her duly authorised agent.

Three representative samples, each weighing a minimum of one kilogram, shall be collected. One each shall go to:

To make up the representative samples, the number of individual samples to be taken shall be obtained by dividing the quantity of the lot on offer by 10 tonnes. Each individual sample shall weigh the same. The representative samples shall be made up of the sum of the individual samples, divided by three.

The requisite quality requirements shall be verified using the representative sample intended for the store where take-over is to take place.

2.   Where rice is taken over outside the applicant’s store, representative samples shall be taken of each part-delivery (by lorry, barge, railway wagon) under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.

Before its entry into the intervention store the examination of each part-delivery can be restricted to a check of the moisture content and impurity level and verification that no live insects are present. However, if it later becomes apparent when the check is finalised that a part-delivery does not satisfy the minimum quality requirements, the lot shall be refused for take over. The entire lot must be withdrawn. The applicant shall bear the costs of this operation.

If the intervention agency in a Member State is able to check all the minimum quality requirements for each part-delivery before it enters the store, it shall refuse take-over of any part-delivery that fails to satisfy these requirements.

3.   Where take-over occurs at the applicant’s store, as provided for in Article 11, checking shall be based on a representative sample of the lot offered under the conditions laid down in paragraph 1.

The check should establish that the goods comply with the minimum quality requirements. Should this not be the case, the lot shall not be taken over.

1.   Where the goods are accepted, once the examination under Article 12 has been carried out the precise characteristics of the goods shall be identified with a view to establishing the price to be paid to the applicant. This price shall be established for the lot offered on the basis of the weighted average of the test results on the representative samples as defined in Article 12.

The test results shall be notified to the applicant in the take-over record provided for in Article 14.

2.   Should the applicant contest the result of the test carried out to determine the price under paragraph 1, a laboratory approved by the competent authorities shall carry out a further, detailed analysis of the characteristics of the goods using a new representative sample made up equally of samples held by the applicant and the intervention agency. In the case of part-deliveries of the lot offered, the result shall be obtained from the weighted average of the findings of the analyses of the new representative samples of each part-delivery.

The result of these analyses shall be final and shall decide the price to be paid to the applicant. The cost of carrying out these new analyses shall be borne by the losing party.

1.   The price to be paid to the applicant shall be that fixed in accordance with Article 7(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 for goods delivered not unloaded to the storage depot and valid on the date fixed as the first day of delivery, account being taken of the price increases and reductions provided for in Article 4 and the provisions of Article 8 of this Regulation.

Where the rice is taken over at the applicant’s store pursuant to Article 11, the price to be paid shall be established on the basis of the intervention price valid on the date the offer is accepted, adjusted by the applicable price increases and reductions, and reduced by the most advantageous transport costs between the place where the paddy rice is taken over and the nearest intervention centre, and by the costs of removal from storage. Such costs shall be determined by the intervention agency.

2.   Payment shall be made between the 32nd and 37th day following the day of taking over referred to in Article 10(1) or Article 11(1).

Where Article 13(2) applies, payment shall be made as soon as possible after the results of the last test are notified to the applicant.

Where applicants must submit an invoice before they can be paid and where this invoice is not submitted within the time limit laid down in the first subparagraph, payment shall be made within five working days of the actual submission of the invoice.