
Article 1 

1. A tendering procedure is hereby opened for the refund on export as referred to in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003 for wholly milled round-grain, medium-grain and long-grain A rice falling within CN codes 1006 30 61, 1006 30 63, 1006 30 65, 1006 30 92, 1006 30 94 and 1006 30 96.The tendering procedure shall be restricted to the following destinations:
(a) zones I to VI in the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 2145/ 92, except for Malta, Cyprus, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Romania and Turkey;
(b) zone VIII in the Annex to Regulation (EEC) No 2145/92, except for Guyana, Madagascar, Suriname, the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
2. The tendering procedure shall be open until 23 June 2005. During that period regular invitations to tender shall be issued and the date for submission of tenders shall be set down in the notice of invitation to tender.
3. The tendering procedure shall take place in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 584/75 and this Regulation.
Article 2 
Tenders shall be admissible only if they cover a quantity for export of at least 50 tonnes but not more than 3 000 tonnes.
Article 3 
The security referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 584/75 shall be EUR 30 per tonne.
Article 4 

1. As an exception to Article 23(1) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000, export licences issued under this tendering procedure shall, for the purposes of determining their period of validity, be considered as having been issued on the day the tender was submitted.
2. The licences shall be valid from their date of issue, within the meaning of paragraph 1, until the end of the fourth month following.
Article 5 
Tenders submitted must reach the Commission through the Member States not later than one and a half hours after expiry of the time limit for submission of tenders as laid down in the notice of invitation to tender. They must be transmitted in accordance with the table given in the Annex.
If no tenders are lodged, Member States shall inform the Commission within the time limit referred to in the first paragraph.
Article 6 

1. On the basis of tenders submitted, the Commission shall decide in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 26(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003:
— either to fix a maximum export refund, taking account in particular of the criteria laid down in Article 14 of Regulation (EC) No 1785/2003,
— or to make no award.
2. Where a maximum export refund is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to any tenderer whose tender specifies a rate of refund not exceeding such maximum export refund.
Article 7 
The closing date for the submission of tenders for the first regular invitation to tender shall be 16 December 2004 at 10.00 (Brussels time).
The final date for submission of tenders shall be 23 June 2005.
Article 8 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.Done at Brussels, 26 November 2004.
For the Commission
Mariann FISCHER BOEL
Member of the Commission
ANNEX


Closing date for the submission of tenders (date/time): …

1 2 3 4
Serial numbers of tenderers Quantityin tonnes Amount of export refund(in EUR per tonne) Minimum quantityin tonnes
1   
2   
3   
4   
5   
etc.   
