11. 10. 97 Official Journal of the European Communities L 278/7 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1978/97 of 10 October 1997 issuing a standing invitation to tender in order to determine refunds on exports of olive oil for the 1997/98 marketing year THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September 1966 on the establishment of a common organization of the market in oils and fats('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1581/96 (%), and in par- ticular Article 3 thereof, Whereas the export refunds for olive oil cannot be fixed solely in accordance with the standard procedure, since there is insufficient information available on the world market situation; whereas provision should therefore be made for issuing a standing invitation to tender so that the refunds can, in the coming months, be determined by tender; Whereas, in view of the demand for olive oil on the world market in certain special cases, provision should be made for amending certain conditions in the standing invitation to tender; Whereas, in view of the specific nature of the tendering procedure, detailed rules should be laid down which will enable operators in the various Member States to take part on equal terms, while providing certain guarantees regarding the validity of the tenders; Whereas, in order to ensure the smooth operation of the tendering procedure, the arrangements for determining the refunds and awarding the contract should be specified; Whereas decisions fixing refunds are to be made in par- ticular on the basis of information on tenders forwarded by the Member States; whereas, in order to ensure the arrangements are administered properly, the possibility that the award may be made to tenderers whose bids have not been duly communicated should be ruled out; Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 815/97 (%), lays down common detailed rules for the application of the system of export refunds on agricultural products; whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3719/88 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1404/97 (%), lays down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certi- ficates for agricultural products; whereas those Regulations apply to olive oil; whereas those common provisions should be supplemented by certain specific provisions; J 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. J L 206, 16. 8. 1996, p. 11. J L 351, 14. 12. 1987, p. 1. L 116, 6. 5. 1997, p. 22. % O] L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1. L 194, 23. 7. 1997, p. 5. Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Oils and Fats, HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: Article 1 1. A standing invitation to tender is hereby issued in order to determine export refunds on olive oil falling within the following CN codes: — 1509 10 90, — 1509 90 00, — 1510 00 50. 2. The standing invitation to tender shall remain open until 31 October 1998. During its period of validity partial invitations to tender shall be issued. Article 2 Pursuant to this invitation to tender the Commission may, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC: (a) issue invitations to tender in respect of specific des- tinations (specific invitations to tender) in response to demand for olive oil in certain third countries; (b) impose restrictions on the quantities and qualities of oil for which offers may be submitted; (c) cancel one or more partial invitations to tender before the deadline for submitting tenders; (d) exclude certain countries of destination from an invi- tation to tender or differentiate the refund according to the country of destination. Article 3 1. The periods during which tenders may be submitted in response to the partial invitations to tender shall be as follows: — for January, February, March, April, May, June, July, September, October and November: from the fifth day to 12 noon on the ninth day of each month and from the 19th day to 12 noon on the 23rd day of each month, — for August: from the 19th day to 12 noon on the 24th day of the month, — for December: from the 10th day to 12 noon on the 15th day of the month. That deadline shall be in Belgian time. Where the day on which the deadline expires in a Member State is a holiday for the authority responsible for receiving the tenders, the deadline shall be 12 noon on the last preceding working day.