L 77/14 Official Journal of the European Communities 14. 3. 98 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 583/98 of 13 March 1998 amending Regulation (EEC) No 2641/88 laying down detailed rules for the application of the aid scheme for the use of grapes, grape must and concentrated grape must to produce grape juice THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 822/87 of 16 March 1987 on the common organisation of the market in wine ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2087/97 (3, and in particular Article 46(5) thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2641/88 (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2122/95 (%), lays down detailed rules for the application of the aid scheme for the use of grape must to produce grape juice; whereas pursuant to that Regulation the product eligible for the payment of the aid is grape juice intended for direct human consumption; whereas that grape juice may be mixed with other products before packaging; whereas experience has shown that the products obtained by such mixing in which grape juice is used as the basic product should be specified; whereas the category of products in which grape juice, whether or not concentrated, is used as such may include only non-alcoholic drinks; Whereas eligibility for aid is conditional on submission of a written statement by the processor concerning the work which he will undertake to produce grape juice; whereas that requirement is necessary to ensure the proper opera- tion of the aid scheme and checks; whereas, in order to avoid administrative management which is excessively burdensome both for the processors and for the adminis- tration, that prior written statement should not be required from processors using a limited quantity of grapes or grape must each year; whereas that quantity should be laid down; whereas the processors in question should nevertheless inform the responsible authorities of their Member State, at the beginning of the marketing year, of their intention to process a certain quantity of grapes or grape must; Whereas Articles 6, 7 and 11 of that Regulation refer to the ‘bottler’; whereas current practice in trade in grape juice shows that the product is also sold to intermediary firms who store it before selling it to bottlers; whereas () () () ) OJ L 84, 27. 3. 1987, p. 1. OJ L 292, 25. 10. 1997, p. 1. OJ L 236, 26. 8. 1988, p. 25. OJ L 212, 7. 9. 1995, p. 7. there are also firms which purchase the juices from processors to mix them with other juices or other products to manufacture non-alcoholic drinks; whereas that situation should be taken into account and provision made for such operators by using the term ‘user’ and defining it; Whereas, in cases where the processor is not himself the user of the product in question, it is not always clear to the checking authorities, particularly when they are located in a Member State other than that of the processor, whether the product is grape must which has not yet benefited from aid pursuant to this Regulation or grape juice in respect of which aid has already been applied for; whereas there should be provision for the document accompanying transport of the product in question to show whether an application for aid has been made; Whereas checks should be carried out on the prepared grape juices up to the bottling stage; whereas, in cases where these juices are mixed with other products, the checks may be carried out at the mixing stage only, when it is clear that there is no further possibiltiy of the products being used for wine-making; whereas provision should be made for an appropriate procedure for ensuring that such a mixture exists; whereas, where the grape juice is consigned to a storage firm, check should be carried out to ensure that it is then sent to a bottler or a manufacturer of non-alcoholic drinks; Whereas Article 9(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2641/88 provides for payment of the aid no later than three months after receipt of all the supporting documents; whereas an administrative enquiry may be opened into entitlement to the aid; whereas in that case payment may not be made until entitlement to the aid has been recog- nised; whereas the Regulation should be supplemented accordingly; Whereas this Regulation should apply to all operators who so request in respect of applications for aid and/or consignments of grape juice to bottling plants, manufac- turers of products based on grape juice as defined in this Regulation, and storage facilities, relating to the recent past; whereas that period may concern only applications for aid submitted and/or consignments dispatched from the date when the questions underlying the amendments in this Regulation were raised;