L 90/4 Official Journal of the European Union 8.4.2003 COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 625/2003 of 2 April 2003 amending Regulation (EC) No 16232000 laying down detailed rules for implementing Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine with regard to market mechanisms THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 of 17 May 1999 on the common organisation of the market in wine ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2585/2001 (3, and in particular Articles 26, 33 and 36 thereof, Whereas: 1 1 2 4 () © () O () O () © Chapter T of Title I of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 (), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1795/2002 (%), lays down the detailed rules for applying the aid scheme for the use of grapes, grape must, concentrated grape must or rectified concentrated grape must. Experience has shown that the comestible products not eligible under the scheme should be speci- fied in greater detail, the administrative burden placed on users and processors of juice should be lightened and adequate arrangements should be introduced to ensure that proper use of the juice is monitored. The percentage of quantities of comestible products which must be checked must be higher than under other schemes because the product is often used in a Member State other than the one where the aid is paid. Under the aid scheme for must used to increase the alco- holic strength of wine products, the reference to the method of determining alcoholic strength should be corrected. To facilitate the work of the Member States, they should be responsible for the administration of aid applications. To allow detailed and effective checks, checking arrangements should be specified. To ensure that problem cases are treated equally, the provisions relating to payment of the aid provided for under the various aid schemes covered by Regulation (EC) No 16232000 should be harmonised. To allow detailed and effective checks to be carried out in the case of aid for the private storage of wine, checking arrangements should be laid down and the tolerance margins for verifying the alcoholic strength of grape must, concentrated grape must and rectified concentrated grape must should be clarified. To facilitate the payment of advances under this measure, the related administrative procedure must be changed. As regards the arrangements for the distillation of by- products of wine-making, it is fair to modulate aid and prices according to the type of by-product concerned. L 179, 14.7.1999, p. 1. L 345, 29.12.2001, p. 10. L 194, 31.7.2000, p. 45. L 272,10.10.2002, p. 15. (10) (11) The flat-rate aid and the flat-rate price should therefore be abolished. In addition, in order to respond to struc- tural changes in the sector, the Member States concerned should be allowed to extend the exemption from the obligation to deliver by-products for distillation to certain categories of producers. If a Member State decides to vary the buying-in price paid to producers according to yield under the distilla- tion arrangements referred to in Article 28 of Regulation (EC) No 14931999, it should be possible to extend the deadline by which the aid is to be paid to distillers. To ensure that financial transactions under crisis distilla- tion as provided for in Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 1493/1999 are properly implemented, it should be confirmed that the advance on the price to be paid to distillers by the intervention agency is to be treated the same as the aid provided for in the case of other distilla- tions. For all distillation measures, the provision relating to the use of part of the wine checked as being representative of all wine delivered for distillation should be abolished. In addition, the advances paid for crisis distillation and treated as aid should be included in the system of penal- ties, and the same arrangements should be introduced for all the different distillations to ensure that producers are paid the minimum price for their wine where the distiller fails to do so. Experience has shown that the arrangements for disposing of alcohol obtained under the different distilla- tion measures and held by the intervention agencies should be adjusted. The deadlines for removing alcohol should therefore be fixed on a case-by-case basis where large quantities are involved. To enhance marketing opportunities the present geographical limitations on sales of alcohol should be removed. The conditions for checking the destination of alcohol used in the fuel sector should also be specified. Since managing the intervention measures requires the Member States to provide the Commission with a great deal of information, the rules for doing so should be laid down. Regulation (EC) No 1623/2000 should therefore be amended.