No L 348/46 Official Journal of the European Communities 30. 12. 77 COMMISSION REGULATION (EEC) No 2960/77 of 23 December 1977 on detailed rules for the sale of olive oil held by intervention agencies THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic 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 (1), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 1707/73 (?), and in particular Article 11 (5) thereof, Having regard to Council Regulation No 171/67/EEC of 27 jJune 1967 on exports refunds and levies on olive oil (3), as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2429/72 (%), and in particular Article 11 thereof, Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 1226/77 of 8 June 1977 (5), as amended by Regulation (EEC) No 2375/77 (¢), laid down the detailed rules for the sale of olive oil held by intervention agencies; whereas the abovementioned Regulation should be supplemented so that olive oil can be sold for export; whereas, in view of the numerous amendments made and for the sake of clarity, Regulation (EEC) No 1226/77 should be replaced by a new Regulation ; Whereas olive oil held by the intervention agencies must be sold on the Community market or for export without discrimination among Community purchasers on the best possible terms; whereas sale by tender seems an appropriate procedure for .this purpose ; Whereas, however, certain special situations may call for the use of other procedures ; Whereas, in order to ensure that olive oil is sold when the market condition is most favourable, sales should be subject to a decision taken in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 38 of Regulation No 136/66/EEC ; Whereas, where there is a risk of market disturbance, provision should be made for limiting the quantity which may be awarded to any one tenderer; ‘Whereas, since the object of holding an invitation to tender is to obtain the best price, contracts should be awarded to the tenderers quoting the highest prices, subject always to a minimum price established by (") OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. () OJ No L 175, 29. 6. 1973, p. S. () OJ No 130, 28. 6. 1967, p. 2600/67. () OJ No L 264, 23. 11. 1972, p. 1. () OJ No L 141, 9. 6. 1977, p. 20. (¥) OJ No L 277, 29. 10. 1977, p. 29. reference to the market situation ; whereas, moreover, provisions should be laid down to deal with cases where two or more tenders relating to the same quan- tity quote the same price ; whereas, however, in the case of sale for export, more than one minimum price may be fixed in each case because of the distance between the Community market and the countries of destination and because of the special import condi- tions in certain countries of destination ; Whereas a uniform system should be set up concerning the stage at which the minimum selling prices of the products held in intervention refer; whereas, until the examination of this problem is completed, the present system in the olive oil sector should be maintained ; Whereas in some cases olive residue oil is stored in especially large containers; whereas the purchase of such quantities can interest only a limited number of traders ; Whereas the transfer of such oil to other containers might pose technical problems; whereas provision should therefore be made so that such oil may be sold in more than one lot; Whereas, in order to ensure that the sales take place in a proper manner, provision should be made for certain information to be given in the invitation to tender and in each tender; Whereas prospective tenderers should be encouraged by being permitted to familiarize themselves with the characteristics of the products.on sale; whereas, as a corollary to this facility, such persons must be required to waive all claims regarding the characteris- tics of any oil eventually awarded to them ; Whereas, in order to guarantee performance of the obligations resulting from the submission of a tender, provision should be made for the lodging of a security ; Whereas, since the quantity of oil sold may be different from that actually withdrawn, the final selling price cannot be calculated until withdrawal has been completed ; whereas, in order to ensure that the sale is properly conducted, the provisional price should be paid before withdrawal ;