THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community,

Having regard to Council Regulation No 359/67/EEC of 25 July 1967 on the common organization of the market in rice1, as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 668/752, and in particular Article 17 (6) thereof,

Whereas, to ensure the proper working of the refund system applicable to exports of rice to non-member countries, suitable rules should be applied to exports of mixtures of rice falling within different tariff subheadings;

Whereas the refund on such mixtures results from their tariff classification, which is normally determined in accordance with the general rules for the interpretation of the Common Customs Tariff;

Whereas, in the case of mixtures of rice falling within different tariff headings, the tariff classification give rise to difficulties if determined in accordance with these rules; whereas in fact such classification sometimes results in the granting of a high refund on mixtures which, however, contain a substantial proportion of products qualifying for a low refund;

Whereas, in order to avoid such difficulties, special provisions should be adopted for determining the refund on mixtures of rice;

Whereas, since the provisions of Commission Regulation No 669/67/EEC of 27 September 1967 laying down certain detailed rules for the application of export refunds on rice3, as last amended by Regulation (EEC) No 941/724, are closely linked to the system applicable to exports of mixtures of rice, those provisions should be included in this Regulation and Regulation No 669/67/EEC should therefore be repealed;

Whereas the measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Management Committee for Cereals,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: