L 124/28 Official Journal of the European Communities 18.5.1999 COMMISSION DECISION of 30 April 1999 on the clearance of the accounts of Member States’ expenditure financed by the European Agricultural guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF), Guarantee Section, for the 1998 financial year (notified under document number C(1999) 1175) (1999/327/EC) THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 of 21 April 1970 on the financing of the common agricul- tural policy ('), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1287/95 (3, and in particular Article 5(2)(b) thereof, After consulting the Fund Committee, Whereas: ) under Article 5(2)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/ 70, the Commission, on the basis of the annual accounts submitted by the Member States, accom- panied by the information required for clearance and a certificate regarding the veracity, complete- ness, and accuracy of the accounts transmitted clears the accounts of the paying agencies referred to in Article 4(1) of that Regulation; with regard to Article 7(1) of Commission Regula- tion (EC) No 296/96 of 16 February 1996 on data to be forwarded by the Member States and the monthly booking of expenditure financed under the Guarantee Section of the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2776/88 (%), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 2236/98 (%), account is taken for the 1998 financial year of expenditure incurred by the Member States between 16 October 1997 and 15 October 1998; the time limits granted to the Member States for the submission to the Commission of the docu- ments referred to in Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 and in Atrticle 4(1), (3) and (4) of Commission Regulation (EC) No 1663/95 of 7 July 1995 laying down detailed rules for the application of Regulation (EEC) No 729/70 regarding the procedure for the clearance of accounts of the 94, 28.4.1970, p. 13. 125, 8.6.1995, p. 1. oJ L oJ L OJ L 39, 17.2.1996, p. S. oJ L 281, 17.10.1998, p. 9. 0) (©) 0 0] 0] 0J EAGGF Guarantee Section (°), as amended by Regulation (EC) No 896/97 (), have expired,; the Commission has checked the information submitted and communicated to the Member States before the 31 March 1999 the results of its verifica- tions with the necessary amendments; under the first subparagraph of Article 7(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1663/75, the accounts clear- ance decision referred to in Article 5(2)(b) of Regu- lation (EEC) No 729/740 must determine, without prejudice to decisions taken subsequently in accordance with paragraph 21(c) of that Article, the amount of expenditure effected in each Member State during the financial year in question recog- nised as being chargeable to the EAGGF Guarantee Section, on the basis of the accounts referred to in Article 5(1)(b) of the abovementioned Regulation and the reductions and suspensions of advances for the financial year concerned, including the reduc- tions referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 4(3) of Regulation (EC) No 296/96; under Article 102 of the Financial Regulation of 21 December 1977, as last amended by Regulation (EC, ECSC, Euratom) No 2779/98 (’), the outcome of the clearance decision, that is to say, any discrep- ancy which may occur between the total expendi- ture booked to the accounts for a financial year pursuant to Articles 100 and 101 and that total expenditure taken into consideration by the Commission in this Decision, is to be booked, under a single article, as additional expenditure or a reduction in expenditure; for certain paying agencies, the annual accounts and the accompanying documents permit the Commssion to take a decision on the complete- ness, accuracy and veracity of the accounts submitted; whereas in the light of the verifications made some of the accounts do not fulfil this condi- tion and therefore part of the expenditure L 158, 8.7.1995, p. 6. L 128, 21.5.1997, p. 8. L 356, 31.12.1977, p. 1.