1.Deliveries of catering supplies shall, for the purpose of establishing the rate of refund payable, rank as deliveries of supplies within the meaning of Article 33(1)(a):
(a)to drilling or extraction rigs, including ancillary facilities providing support services for such operations, located within the European continental shelf or the continental shelf of the non-European part of the Community but outside a three-mile zone from the base line used to determine a Member State’s territorial sea; and
(b)on the high seas, to naval and auxiliary vessels flying the flag of a Member State.
‘Catering supplies’ means products intended solely for consumption on board.
2.Paragraph 1 shall apply only where the rate of refund is higher than the lowest rate.
Member States may apply these provisions to all deliveries of catering supplies, provided that:
(a)a certificate of delivery on board is furnished; and
(b)in the case of rigs:
(b)the delivery takes place under supply operations recognised as normal by the competent authorities of the Member State from which shipment to the rig takes place. In this connection, the ports or places of loading, the type of vessel — where supply is by sea — and the type of packaging and containers shall, except in cases of force majeure, be those normally used,
the supply vessel or helicopter is operated by a natural or legal person who keeps records in the Community which are available for consultation and which provide sufficient details of the voyage or flight.
3.Certificates of delivery on board as provided for in point (a) of paragraph 2 shall give full details of the products and the name and/or other details identifying the rig or naval or auxiliary vessel to which they were delivered and the date of delivery. Member States may require further information to be given.
Such certificates shall be signed:
(a)in the case of rigs: by a person whom the operators of the rig consider responsible for catering supplies. The competent authorities shall take the measures necessary to ensure that the transactions are genuine. Member States shall notify the Commission of the measures taken;
(b)in the case of naval or auxiliary vessels: by the naval authorities.
By way of derogation from paragraph 2, in the case of supplies to rigs Member States may release exporters from the obligation to present certificates of delivery on board in the case of deliveries:
(a)qualifying for a refund not exceeding EUR 3 000 per export;
(b)providing adequate guarantees to the satisfaction of the Member State regarding the arrival at destination of the products; and
(c)where the transport document and proof of payment are presented.
4.The competent authorities of the Member State granting the refund shall carry out checks of quantities declared as delivered to rigs by verifying the records of the exporter and of the operator of the supply vessel or helicopter. They shall also ensure that the quantities of supplies for victualling delivered pursuant to this Article do not exceed the requirements of the crew.
For the purposes of the first subparagraph, the assistance of the competent authorities of other Member States may, where necessary, be requested.
5.Where Article 8 applies to deliveries to a rig, one of the entries listed in Annex XVII shall be entered under ‘Other’ in box 104 of the T5 control copy.
6.Where Article 37 is applied, the warehousekeeper shall undertake to record details of the rig to which each consignment is sent, the name/number of the supply vessel/helicopter and the date of delivery on board, in the register provided for in point (b) of Article 37(2). Certificates of delivery on board as provided for in point (a) of the second subparagraph of paragraph 3 of this Article shall be deemed to form part of such registers.
7.Member States shall arrange for a record to be kept of the quantities of products, broken down by sector, delivered to rigs and qualifying under this Article.