TITLE III AID FOR PRIVATE STORAGE

CHAPTER I Specific rules for aid for private storage

Section III Fixing the amount of aid for private storage in advance

Article 45Decisions on applications for aid for private storage fixed in advance

1.For products already in storage, an admissible application shall be deemed to have been accepted on the eighth working day following the date of receipt of that application, provided that the Commission does not adopt a decision in accordance with paragraph 3 in the interim.

2.For products that are not already stored, decisions on acceptance of an admissible application shall be notified by the paying agency to the operator on the eighth working day following the date of receipt of that application, provided that the Commission does not adopt a decision in accordance with paragraph 3 in the interim.

3.Where an examination of the situation reveals that excessive use has been made of the aid for private storage scheme, or that there is a risk of excessive use or speculation, the Commission may, without applying the procedure referred to in Article 229(2) or (3) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013, decide to:

(a)suspend the application of the scheme for not more than five working days; applications submitted during that period shall not be accepted;

(b)set a single percentage by which the quantities in the applications are reduced, subject to observance of the minimum contractual quantity where appropriate;

(c)reject applications made before the period of suspension the acceptance of which would have been decided during the period of suspension.

By way of derogation from Article 2(6), an operator to whom point (b) of the first subparagraph applies may withdraw his application within 10 working days of the date of entry into force of the decision setting the percentage reduction.