No L 260/38 Official Journal of the European Communities 31. 10. 95 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2544/95 of 30 October 1995 issuing a standing invitation to tender in order to determine refunds on exports of olive oil for the 1995/96 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 the Act of Accession of Austria, Finland and Sweden and Regulation (EC) No 3290/94 (%), 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 re- garding 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 speci- fied ; Whereas Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3665/87 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1384/95 (%), 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 2137/95 (%), lays down common detailed rules for the application of the system of import and export licences and advance fixing certificates for agricultural products ; whereas those Regu- lations apply to olive oil ; whereas those common provi- sions should be supplemented by certain specific provi- sions ; Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Oils and Fats, () OJ No 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66. () OJ No L 349, 31. 12. 1994, p. 10S. () OJ No L 351, 14. 12. 1987, p. 1. 4 O] No L 134, 20. 6. 1995, p. 14. 9 OJ No L 331, 2. 12. 1988, p. 1. ) O No L 214, 8. 9. 1995, p. 21. 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 50 00, — 1510 00 50. 2. The standing invitation to tender shall remain open until 31 October 1996. During its period of validity partial invitations to tender shall be issued. Article 2 Pursuant to this tendering procedure 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 desti- nations (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 1 p.m. on the ninth day of each month and from the 19th day to 1. p.m. on the 23rd day of each month, — for August : from the 15th day to 1 p.m. on the 23rd day of the month, — for December: from the 10th day to 1 p.m. on the 14th 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 1 p.m. on the last preceding working day.