Commission Decision of 27 April 2011 determining transitional Union-wide rules for harmonised free allocation of emission allowances pursuant to Article 10a of Directive 2003/87/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (notified under document C(2011) 2772) (2011/278/EU) (repealed)

Article 8 U.K. Verification

1. In the process of collecting data in accordance with Article 7, Member States shall only accept data that has been verified as satisfactory by a verifier. The verification process shall relate to the methodology report and the reported parameters referred to in Article 7 and Annex IV. The verification shall address the reliability, credibility and accuracy of the data provided by the operator and shall come to a verification opinion that states with reasonable assurance whether the data submitted is free from material misstatements.

2. Member States shall ensure that the verifier is independent of the operator, carries out his activities in a sound and objective professional manner, and understands each of the following:

(a) the provisions of this Decision, as well as relevant standards and guidance;

(b) the legislative, regulatory, and administrative requirements relevant to the activities being verified;

(c) the generation of all information related to each parameter or source of emissions in the installation, in particular, relating to the collection, measurement, calculation and reporting of the data.

3. In addition to the requirements set out in Decision 2007/589/EC, Member States shall ensure that all of the following minimum requirements are met:

(a) the verifier has planned and performed the verification with an attitude of professional scepticism recognising that circumstances may exist that cause the information and data submitted to be materially misstated;

(b) the verifier has only validated reported parameters determined with a high degree of certainty. A high degree of certainty requires the operator to show that:

(i)

the reported parameters are free of inconsistencies;

(ii)

the collection of the parameters has been carried out in accordance with applicable standards or guidance;

(iii)

the relevant records of the installation are complete and consistent;

(c) the verifier has commenced the verification process with a strategic analysis of all relevant activities carried out in the installation and has an overview of all the activities and their significance for allocation purposes;

(d) the verifier has taken account of the information contained in the greenhouse gas emissions permit or other relevant environmental permits, such as the permit provided for in Directive 2008/1/EC, in particular when assessing the initial installed capacity of sub-installations;

(e) the verifier has analysed the inherent risks and control risks related to the scope and complexity of the operator’s activities and related to allocation parameters, which could lead to material misstatements and has drawn up a verification plan following this risk analysis;

(f) the verifier has conducted a site visit, when appropriate, to inspect the operation of meters and monitoring systems, conduct interviews, and collect sufficient information and evidence. If the verifier has deemed a site visit is not appropriate, he should be able to fully justify his decision to an appropriate authority;

(g) the verifier has carried out the verification plan by gathering data in accordance with the defined sampling methods, walkthrough tests, document reviews, analytical procedures and data review procedures, including any relevant additional evidence, upon which the verifier’s verification opinion will be based;

(h) the verifier has requested the operator to provide any missing data or complete missing sections of audit trails, explain variations in parameters or emissions data, or revise calculations, or adjust reported data;

(i) the verifier has prepared an internal verification report. The verification report shall record evidence showing that the strategic analysis, the risk analysis and the verification plan has been performed in full, and provide sufficient information to support verification opinions. The internal verification report shall as well facilitate a potential evaluation of the audit by the competent authority, and accreditation body;

(j) the verifier has made a judgment with respect to whether the reported parameters contain any material misstatement and whether there are other issues relevant for the verification opinion based on the findings contained in the internal verification report;

(k) the verifier has presented the verification methodology, his findings and verification opinion in a verification report, addressed to the operator, to be submitted by the operator with the methodology report and the reported parameters to the competent authority.

4. Member States shall not allocate emission allowances free of charge to an installation where data relating to this installation has not been verified as satisfactory.

Member States may only decide to allocate emission allowances free of charge to an installation where data relating to this installation has not been verified as satisfactory, if they are satisfied that the data gaps leading to the verifier’s judgment are due to exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances that could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised and that are beyond the control of the operator of the installation concerned, in particular because of circumstances such as natural disasters, war, threats of war, terrorist acts, revolution, riot, sabotage or acts of vandalism.

5. Upon verification, Member States shall, in particular, ensure that there are no overlaps between sub-installations and no double counting.