Regulation (EC) No 854/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 laying down specific rules for the organisation of official controls on products of animal origin intended for human consumption (repealed) (c. 854)

ANNEX VI REQUIREMENTS FOR CERTIFICATES ACCOMPANYING IMPORTS

1. The representative of the competent authority of the third country of dispatch issuing a certificate to accompany a consignment of products of animal origin destined for the Community must sign the certificate and ensure that it bears an official stamp. This requirement applies to each sheet of the certificate if it consists of more than one. In the case of factory vessels, the competent authority may authorise the captain or another ship's officer to sign the certificate.

2. Certificates must be drawn up in the official language or languages of the third country of dispatch and the Member State in which the border inspection takes place, or be accompanied by a certified translation into that language or languages. If the Member State of destination so requests, certificates must also be accompanied by a certified translation into the official language or languages of that Member State. However, a Member State may consent to the use of an official Community language other than its own.

3. The original version of the certificate must accompany consignments on entry into the Community.

4. Certificates must consist of:

(a)

a single sheet of paper; or

(b)

two or more pages that are part of an integrated and indivisible sheet of paper; or

(c)

a sequence of pages numbered so as to indicate that it is a particular page in a finite sequence (for example, “page 2 of 4 pages”).

5. Certificates must bear a unique identifying number. Where the certificate consists of a sequence of pages, each page must indicate this number.

6. The certificate must be issued before the consignment to which it relates leaves the control of the competent authority of the third country of dispatch.