- TITLE I
- TITLE II
- TITLE III
- TITLE IV
- ANNEX I
- ANNEX II
- ANNEX III
- ANNEX IV
- ANNEX V
- ANNEX VI
- ANNEX VII
- ANNEX VIII
- ANNEX IX
- ANNEX X
Commission Regulation (EC) No 436/2009
of 26 May 2009
laying down detailed rules for the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards the vineyard register, compulsory declarations and the gathering of information to monitor the wine market, the documents accompanying consignments of wine products and the wine sector registers to be kept
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 of 29 April 2008 on the common organisation of the market in wine, amending Regulations (EC) No 1493/1999, (EC) No 1782/2003, (EC) No 1290/2005, (EC) No 3/2008 and repealing Regulations (EEC) No 2392/86 and (EC) No 1493/1999 [1], and in particular Article 115(2) and Article 121 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 amended the previous wine-sector arrangements, as laid down in Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine [2], and repealed Council Regulation (EEC) No 2392/86 of 24 July 1986 establishing the Community vineyard register [3] with effect from 1 August 2009.
(2) The compulsory information and the provisions relating to the updating and monitoring of the wine register are at present laid down in Regulation (EEC) No 2392/86 and the detailed implementing rules relating to the keeping of the vineyard register are laid down in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 649/87 [4].
(3) Article 108 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 makes provision for certain Member States to keep a vineyard register containing up-to-date information about production potential.
(4) Regulation (EEC) No 649/87 should therefore be repealed and detailed implementing rules in respect of the vineyard register should be adopted.
(5) The main objectives of the vineyard register are the monitoring and verification of production potential. Pursuant to Article 116 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, Member States are required to ensure that those administration and control procedures which relate to areas are compatible with the Integrated Administration and Control System (IACS). In particular, the identification of the wine producers and the vineyard parcels cultivated must be compatible with the IACS.
(6) To avoid excessive administrative burdens without undermining the objectives of the vineyard register, the gathering of information from producers with a very limited production should not be made compulsory.
(7) To ensure the practical use of the vineyard register, the information required in it should be consistent with the communications required pursuant to Title IV, production potential, of Commission Regulation (EC) No 555/2008 [5] laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards support programmes, trade with third countries, production potential and on controls in the wine sector.
(8) To ensure consistency between the wine-growing data available, certain data collected within the framework of Council Regulation (EEC) No 357/79 of 5 February 1979 on statistical surveys of areas under vines [6] should be included in the vineyard register, and in particular the data concerning the year in which the vineyard parcel was planted.
(9) To ensure that the information contained in the vineyard register consistently tallies with the actual wine-growing situation, it should be constantly updated and regularly verified.
(10) Article 111 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 states that producers of grapes intended for winemaking and producers of must and wine must make harvest declarations each year in respect of the most recent harvest and that producers of wine and must and commercial operators other than retailers must declare their stocks each year. That Article also stipulates that the Member States may also require grape merchants to declare the quantities of grapes marketed.
(11) To facilitate the processing of data relating to declarations, each declaration presented in a competent administrative unit should be considered separately from any others that the same producer may have presented in other administrative units in the Member State.
(12) However, producers who may provide all the necessary information required in a single declaration of wine production need not make two declarations. Very small producers may be exempted from making declarations as their total production accounts for a very small percentage of Community production.
(13) Provision should also be made to require operators selling wine products before the dates specified for declarations to make declarations.
(14) In order to facilitate market management operations, a time limit should be laid down for making declarations. Since harvesting takes place at different times in different Member States, the deadlines for declarations by producers should be staggered.
(15) In order to facilitate the application of this Regulation, the particulars which must be given in the declarations should be laid down here in tabular form while the Member States should be allowed to decide on the form in which operators are to provide them.
(16) The use of computerised procedures is gradually replacing the manual input of data in the different areas of administrative activity. It should therefore also be possible to use computerised and electronic procedures for compulsory declarations.
(17) The Member States with a complete vineyard register should be allowed to use certain data, such as area. It is therefore desirable to exempt producers from declaring the area in some circumstances.
(18) Member States in which the area under vines does not exceed 500 hectares and wine production does not exceed 50000 hectolitres should be empowered to exclude certain information from the declarations and exempt producers from submitting one or other declarations in circumstances to be determined.
(19) The dates by which the information gathered has to be centralised at national level should be adopted.
(20) Harvest and stock declarations submitted by the various parties concerned are currently the only means of properly knowing the quantities of wine produced and wine stocks. Appropriate steps therefore need to be taken to ensure that declarations are presented by the parties concerned and are complete and accurate by providing for penalties where declarations are not forthcoming or are false or incomplete when presented.
(21) For the same reason, it is essential that the dates by which the information gathered concerning the compulsory declarations has to be forwarded to the Commission, and the form that this forwarding must take should be adopted.
(22) Certain information must be available on the wine market to ensure that it can be monitored. In addition to the data provided in the summaries of the various declarations, information on wine supplies, utilisation and prices is essential. The Member States should therefore be required to gather this information and send it to the Commission on certain fixed dates.
(23) Certain Member States may be exempted from communicating prices as their total production accounts for a comparatively small percentage of Community production.
(24) Commission Regulation (EC) No 1282/2001 [7] laying down detailed rules as regards the gathering of information to identify wine products and to monitor the wine market should therefore be repealed.
(25) For the purposes of the single Community market, the authorities responsible for monitoring the holding and marketing of wine products should be provided with the necessary instruments for carrying out effective controls in accordance with uniform rules applicable throughout the Community.
(26) Pursuant to Article 112(1) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, wine products can be put into circulation within the Community only with an officially authorised accompanying document. Under Article 112(2) natural or legal persons who hold wine products are to be obliged to keep goods inwards and outwards registers in respect of those products.
(27) Progress on tax harmonisation was achieved by means of Council Directive 92/12/EEC of 25 February 1992 on the general arrangements for products subject to excise duty and on the holding, movement and monitoring of such goods [8]. To establish uniform rules applicable within the Community and simplify administrative formalities for professionals and the general public, it is appropriate that documents accompanying consignments of wine products for the purposes of applying tax regulations should also be regarded as recognised accompanying documents.
(28) The carriage of wine products not subject to the abovementioned tax formalities and consignments of wine products from small producers should be accompanied by a document to enable the competent authorities to monitor the movement of such products. Any commercial document containing at least the details necessary for identifying the product and for tracking its movements may be recognized for that purpose.
(29) In order not to cause unnecessary administrative burdens for carriers, no accompanying document should be required for consignments of certain wine products transported over short distances or in small quantities in small containers.
(30) Paper documents are gradually being replaced as a result of the growing computerisation of operators’ administrative activities. It is therefore desirable to computerise the drawing-up and use of accompanying documents and registers as well.
(31) Supplementary documents, in particular export declarations, are required for exports of wine products in addition to the accompanying documents. Additional procedures should therefore be laid down for drawing up and validating these documents.
(32) The monitoring of wine products transported in bulk requires particular care since such products are more susceptible to fraudulent practices than are labelled, bottled products fitted with a non-reusable closing device. Additional information and prior validation of the accompanying document should be required in such cases.
(33) To facilitate controls by the competent authorities, a reference to document VI 1 should be required in the documents accompanying consignments of third-country products placed in free circulation.
(34) The abovementioned provisions concerning the drawing-up of accompanying administrative documents and the simplified accompanying document refer to rules on the certification of the origin and quality of certain types of wine. The rules for such certification should therefore be laid down. Rules must also be laid down for the certification of the origin of certain wines for carriage not subject to tax formalities, in particular for export. In order to simplify administrative formalities for individuals and to remove the burden of routine tasks from the competent authorities, provision should be made for the latter to authorise consignors fulfilling certain conditions to enter the wording certifying the origin of the wine in the accompanying document, without prejudice to completion of the relevant checks.
(35) Provision should be made for the measures to be taken by the competent authorities in the case of carriage by a consignor who has committed a serious offence or in the case of unlawful carriage, care being taken to ensure that the regularisation of such carriage does not delay transport unduly.
(36) In order to ensure that by consulting the registers the competent authorities are able effectively to monitor the movement and stocking of wine products, in particular in the course of cooperation between those authorities in the different Member States, the rules concerning the keeping of records should be harmonised at Community level.
(37) The obligations relating to registers may cause disproportionate administrative burdens for certain operators. Therefore, Member States should be able to exempt those producers from certain requirements.
(38) The substances used in certain oenological practices, especially enrichment, acidification and sweetening, are particularly open to the danger of fraudulent use. Records must therefore be kept concerning those substances to enable the competent authorities to supervise their movement and use.
(39) Monitoring of sparkling wines and liqueur wines requires special attention since other products are added to them. Supplementary information should therefore be provided in addition to the registers.
(40) The accompanying document for the carriage of wine products laid down by Community rules is a very useful source of information for the bodies responsible for ensuring compliance with Community and national rules in the wine sector. Member States should be allowed to lay down additional rules for the purpose of applying this Regulation for carriage beginning on their own territory.
(41) Article 18(1) of Commission Regulation (EEC) No 884/2001 of 24 April 2001 laying down detailed rules of application concerning the documents accompanying the carriage of wine products and the records to be kept in the wine sector [9], introduced the possibility for the Member States to lay down additional or specific provisions for the products in question in circulation on their territory. One provision permits the replacement of the indication of the mass of grape must by volume by the indication of density expressed in degrees Oechsle by 31 July 2010. This traditional practice is used mainly by small agricultural producers who still need several years to adopt the new rules on density. It is therefore appropriate to extend this derogation, while repealing Regulation (EC) No 884/2001.
(42) It is desirable that Member States communicate to the Commission the names and addresses of the bodies responsible for conferring the entitlement in respect of the accompanying documents and registers, so as to enable the Commission to forward this information to the other Member States.
(43) Information necessary for the verification and auditing of the implementation of the provisions of this Regulation should be retained by Member States for inspection for an appropriate period.
(44) Provision should be made for resolving cases of obvious error, force majeure and other exceptional circumstances to ensure fair treatment of carriers. Rules for artificially created situations should be provided for in order to avoid any benefit being derived from such situations.
(45) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for the Common Organisation of Agricultural Markets,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
TITLE I
VINEYARD REGISTER
Article 1
Purpose
This Title lays down detailed rules for applying Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards the vineyard register.
Article 2
Definitions
For the purposes of this Title:
(a) "wine grower" shall mean a natural or legal person, or a group of natural or legal persons, whatever legal status is granted to the group and its members by national law, whose holding is situated within Community territory, as defined in Article 299 of the Treaty, and who farms an area planted with vines;
(b) "vineyard parcel" shall mean an agricultural parcel as defined in Article 2(1a) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 796/2004 [10] with vines;
(c) "abandoned wine-growing area" shall mean the total area of land under vines which is no longer subjected to regular cultivation with a view to obtaining a marketable product.
Article 3
Information contained in the vineyard register
1. In order to establish and maintain a vineyard register, Member States shall gather:
(a) for each wine grower with an area planted with vines of at least 0,1 hectares or subject to a declaration required under Community or national rules, information concerning:
(i) his identity;
(ii) the location of the vineyard parcels;
(iii) the area of the vineyard parcels;
(iv) the characteristics of the vines planted on the vineyard parcels;
(v) unlawful plantings, planting rights and the grubbing-up scheme as provided for under Title V of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008;
(vi) support for restructuring and conversion of vineyards and green harvesting as provided for in Articles 11 and 12 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008;
(b) the areas of vineyard parcels not included under (a);
(c) in respect of any natural or legal person or group of such persons required to make the production declaration provided for in Article 9, information concerning:
(i) his identity;
(ii) the compulsory declarations provided for in Title II.
2. The information relating to the characteristics of each vineyard parcel shall be shown separately in the holding file. However, when possible because of the uniform nature of the vineyard parcels, the information may relate to a set of several adjacent parcels or part(s) of adjacent parcel(s) provided that identification of each parcel is still guaranteed.
3. The vineyard register shall contain at least the information gathered in accordance with paragraph 1, the details and specifications of which are set down in Annex I to this Regulation.
4. However, some Member States shall not be required to gather or include the following information in the vineyard register:
(a) the information corresponding to paragraph (3) of point 1.1 and paragraphs (5) to (7) of point 1.2 in Annex I when the Member States are not covered by the transitional planting right regime under Article 95 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008;
(b) the information corresponding to paragraphs (9) and (10) of point 1.2 in Annex I when the Member States are not covered by the grubbing-up scheme under Article 105 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008;
(c) the information corresponding to subparagraphs (b) and (c) of paragraph (3) of point 1.2 in Annex I when the Member States are exempted from the classification of wine grape varieties under Article 24(2) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008.
Article 4
Keeping and updating information
Member States shall ensure that the data in the vineyard register are kept for as long as is necessary for the purposes of monitoring and verifying the measures to which they relate and in any event for at least five wine years following the wine year to which they relate.
Member States shall ensure that the vineyard register is updated regularly as and when the information gathered becomes available.
Article 5
Verification of information
Member States shall, at least every five years, verify that the structural situation arising from the "wine grower" and "production" files corresponds to the actual situation in relation to each wine grower and any natural or legal person or group of such persons required to submit the production declaration laid down in Article 9. The files shall be adapted on the basis of that verification.
TITLE II
COMPULSORY DECLARATIONS AND THE GATHERING OF INFORMATION TO MONITOR THE WINE MARKET
Article 6
Purpose
This title concerns the detailed rules for implementing Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 as regards compulsory declarations and the gathering of information to monitor the wine market.
Article 7
Definitions
For the purposes of this title:
(a) "harvesters" shall mean natural or legal persons or groups of such persons who harvest grapes;
(b) "retailers" shall mean any natural or legal persons or groups of such persons whose business activity includes the sale directly to the consumer of wine in small quantities, to be defined by each Member State, having regard to the special features of trade and distribution, but not those who use cellars equipped for storing and facilities for bottling wines in large quantities.
CHAPTER I
Compulsory declarations
Article 8
Harvest declarations
1. Harvesters shall submit each year to the competent authorities in the Member States a harvest declaration for the administrative unit specified, containing at least the information specified in Annex II and, where appropriate, Annex III.
Member States may authorise the submission of one declaration per holding.
2. The following shall not be required to submit a harvest declaration:
(a) harvesters whose entire grape production is intended for consumption unprocessed or for drying or for processing directly into grape juice;
(b) harvesters whose holdings comprise less than 0,1 hectares of area under vines and no part of whose harvest has been or will be marketed in any form whatsoever;
(c) harvesters whose holdings comprise less than 0,1 hectares of area under vines and who deliver their entire harvested production to a cooperative winery or group to which they belong or with which they are associated.
In the case where subparagraph (c) applies, the harvesters must submit to the cooperative winery or group a declaration stating:
(a) the name and address of the wine-grower;
(b) the quantity of grapes delivered;
(c) the size and location of the areas under vines concerned.
The cooperative winery or group shall check the accuracy of the data contained in this declaration against the information at its disposal.
3. By way of derogation from paragraph 1, and without prejudice to the obligations resulting from Article 9, Member States may exempt from the obligation to submit harvest declarations:
(a) harvesters who themselves process the whole of their harvest of grapes into wine or have it processed into wine on their behalf;
(b) harvesters associated with or belonging to a cooperative winery or group who deliver the whole of their harvest to that cooperative winery or group as grapes and/or must, including the harvesters referred to in Article 9(3).
Article 9
Production declarations
1. Natural or legal persons or groups of such persons, including cooperative wineries, who have produced wine and/or must from the current harvest, shall submit each year to the competent authorities designated by the Member States a production declaration containing at least the information specified in Annex IV.