10. 12. 85 Official Journal of the European Communities No L 332/19 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 3460/85 of 6 December 1985 laying down detailed rules for the granting of a compensatory allowance for Mediterranean sardines THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community, Having regard to the Act of Accession of Spain and Portugal, and in particular Articles 171 and 358 thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85 of 4 November 1985 laying down general rules for the granting of compensatory allowances for sardines ('), and in particular Article 4 thereof, Whereas Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85 sets out the conditions for the granting of compensatory allowances, as regards eligible products and forms of processing, the limit of 43 000 tonnes and the beneficia- ries of the scheme, and fixes the method of calculating the said allowance; Whereas this scheme must be applied to those categories of sardines which are likely to be marketed most easily after processing ; Whereas the health and technical provisions laid down by the national authorities ensure that thé products in ques- tion have been subjected fully and definitively to one of the processes referred to in Article 3 (1) of Reguiation (EEC) No 3117/85 ; whereas compliance of the processed products in question with the said provisions should be subject to verification ; Whereas the responsibility for deciding the quantities in respect of which each producer established on its territory is eligible for the allowance should be left to the Member States ; Whereas, in order to comply with the Community quan- titative limit of 43 000 tonnes provided for this scheme, each Member State should inform the Commission at the beginning of the marketing year of overall quantities granted ; whereas, where appropriate, it is necessary to provide for methods of reducing the overall quantities if the maximum quantitative limit is exceeded ; Whereas to ensure that payment of the said allowance for those quantities in respect of which entitlement is estab- lished takes place within a reasonable period, the maximum period for processing and the lodging by the processor of the application for payment of the allowance should be fixed at six months after the delivery date; () OJ No L 297, 9. 11. 1985, p. 1. Whereas, to speed up payment of the allowance, provision should be made for the producer or producers’ organiza- tton to issue a written attestation certifying that each quantity sold forms part of the quantity eligible for the allowance as determined for the producer or producers’ organization concerned; whereas, moreover, for the purposes of checks on attestations issued, provision should made for Member States to exchange the necessary information relating to such attestations ; Whereas, in order to ensure constant control, those quali- fying for the allowance must keep the inspection autho- rity informed of their processing activities at all times ; Whereas, pursuant to Article 2 (3) of the Treaty of Acces- sion, the institutions of the Community may adopt before accession the measures referred to in Articles 171 and 358 of the Act; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Fishery Products, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION : Article 1 This Regulation lays down detailed rules for the granting of the compensatory allowance, hereinafter referred to as the ‘allowance’, referred to in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85 in respect of Mediterranean sardines. Article 2 1. The allowance shall be granted only in respect of sardines which are sold to a processor for the purposes of full and definitive processing under the conditions laid down by Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/85, in accordance with the health and technical provisions rela- " ting to products intended for human consumption in force in the Member State where the processor is estab- lished. 2. For the purposes of paragraph 1, processor means any natural or legal person who: — processes Mediterranean sardines by one of the methods provided for in Article 3 of Regulation (EEC) No 3117/8S, — satisfies the conditions laid down in the national legis- lation of the Member State concerned for processing by one of the said methods.