1.   A standing invitation to tender shall be issued in order to determine export levies and/or export refunds on white sugar covered by CN code 1701 99 10 for all destinations excluding Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro (5), and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. During the period of validity of this standing invitation, partial invitations to tender shall be issued.

2.   The standing invitation to tender shall be open until 28 July 2005.

1.   The Member States shall establish a notice of invitation to tender. The notice of invitation to tender shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Member States may also publish the notice, or have it published, elsewhere.

2.   The notice shall indicate, in particular, the terms of the invitation to tender.

3.   The notice may be amended during the period of validity of the standing invitation to tender. It shall be so amended if the terms of the invitation to tender are modified during that period.

1.   The period during which tenders may be submitted in response to the first partial invitation to tender:

2.   The periods during which tenders may be submitted in response to the second and subsequent partial invitations:

1.   Tenders in connection with this tendering procedure:

2.   Tenders shall be valid only if the following conditions are met:

3.   A tender may stipulate that it is to be regarded as having been submitted only if one or both of the following conditions is/are met:

4.   A tender which is not submitted in accordance with paragraphs 1 and 2, or which contains conditions other than those indicated in the present invitation to tender, shall not be considered.

5.   Once submitted, a tender may not be withdrawn.

1.   A security of EUR 11 per 100 kilograms of white sugar to be exported under this invitation to tender must be lodged by each tenderer.

Without prejudice to Article 13(4), where a tender is successful this security shall become the security for the export licence at the time of the application referred to in Article 12(2).

2.   The security referred to in paragraph 1 may be lodged at the tenderer's choice, either in cash or in the form of a guarantee given by an establishment complying with criteria laid down by the Member State in which the tender is submitted.

3.   Except in cases of force majeure, the security referred to in paragraph 1 shall be released:

In the case referred to under (b) of the first subparagraph, the releasable part of the security shall be reduced, as applicable, by:

The part of the security or the security which is not released shall be forfeit in respect of the quantity of sugar for which the corresponding obligations have not been fulfilled.

4.   In cases of force majeure, the competent authority of the Member State concerned shall take such action for the release of the security as it considers necessary having regard to the circumstances invoked by the party concerned.

1.   Tenders shall be examined in private by the competent authority concerned. The persons present at the examination shall be under an obligation not to disclose any particulars relating thereto.

2.   Tenders submitted shall be communicated to the Commission by the Member States without the tenderers being mentioned by name and must be received by the Commission within one hour and thirty minutes of the expiry of the deadline for the weekly submission of tenders stipulated in the notice of invitation to tender.

Where no tenders are submitted, the Member States shall notify the Commission of this within the same time limit.

1.   After the tenders received have been examined, a maximum quantity may be fixed for the partial invitation concerned.

2.   A decision may be taken to make no award under a specific partial invitation to tender.

1.   In the light of the current state and foreseeable development of the Community and world sugar markets, there shall be fixed either:

2.   Without prejudice to Article 10, where a minimum export levy is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to every tenderer whose tender quotes a rate of levy equal to or greater than such minimum levy.

3.   Without prejudice to Article 10, where a maximum export refund is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to every tenderer whose tender quotes a rate of refund equal to or less than such maximum refund and to every tenderer who has tendered for an export levy.

1.   Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a partial invitation to tender and if a minimum export levy is fixed, a contract shall be awarded to the tenderer whose tender quotes the highest export levy; if the maximum quantity is not fully covered by that award, awards shall be made to other tenderers in descending order of export levies quoted until the entire maximum quantity has been accounted for.

Where a maximum quantity has been fixed for a partial invitation to tender and if a maximum export refund is fixed, contracts shall be awarded in accordance with the first subparagraph; if after such awards a quantity is still outstanding, or if there are no tenders quoting an export levy, awards shall be made to tenderers quoting an export refund in ascending order of export refunds quoted until the entire maximum quantity has been accounted for.

2.   Where an award to a particular tenderer in accordance with paragraph 1 would result in the maximum quantity being exceeded, that award shall be limited to such quantity as is still available. Where offers quote the same export levy or refund and would, if accepted for the full quantity in respect of which they have been submitted, cause the maximum quantity to be exceeded, awards will be made:

1.   The competent authority of the Member State concerned shall immediately notify applicants of the result of their participation in the invitation to tender. It shall also send statements of award to the successful tenderers.

2.   Statements of award shall indicate at least:

1.   Every successful tenderer shall have the right to receive, in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 2, an export licence covering the quantity awarded, indicating the export levy or refund quoted in the tender, as the case may be.

2.   Every successful tenderer shall be obliged to lodge, in accordance with the relevant provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1291/2000, an application for an export licence in respect of the quantity that has been awarded to him, the application not being revocable in derogation from Article 12 of Regulation (EEC) No 120/89.

The application shall be lodged not later than:

3.   Every successful tenderer shall be obliged to export the tendered quantity and, if this obligation is not fulfilled, to pay, where necessary, the amount referred to in Article 13(4).

4.   The rights and obligations referred to in paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 shall not be transferable.

1.   The period for the issue of export licences referred to in Article 9(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1464/95 shall not apply to the white sugar to be exported under this Regulation.

2.   Export licences issued in connection with a partial invitation to tender shall be valid from the day of issue until the end of the fifth calendar month following that in which the partial invitation was issued.

However, export licences issued in respect of the partial invitations held after 1 May 2005 will be valid only until 30 September 2005.

Should technical difficulties arise which prevent export being carried out by the expiry date referred to in the second subparagraph above, the competent authorities in the Member State which issued the export licence may, at the written request of the holder of that licence, extend its validity to 15 October 2005 at the latest, provided that export is not subject to the rules laid down in Articles 4 or 5 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 565/80 (6).

3.   The export licences issued in respect of the partial invitations held between 29 July and 30 September 2004 will be usable only from 1 October 2004.

4.   Except in cases of force majeure, the holder of the licence shall pay the competent authority a specific amount in respect of the quantity for which the obligation to export resulting from the export licence referred to in Article 12(2) has not been fulfilled, if the security referred to in Article 6 is less than:

The amount to be paid referred to in the first paragraph shall be equal to the difference between the result of the valuation made under (a), (b) or (c), as the case may be, and the security referred to in Article 6(1).