Commission Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 (repealed)Dangos y teitl llawn

Section 3 Checks performed by third countries

Article 13 Approval of checking operations performed by third countries prior to import into the Community

1. At the request of a third country, the Commission may approve, in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 46 of Regulation (EC) No 2200/96, conformity checking operations performed by this third country prior to import into the Community.

2. The approval referred to in paragraph 1 may be granted to third countries which so request and on whose territory the Community marketing standards, or at least equivalent standards, are met for products exported to the Community.

The approval shall specify the official authority in the third country under the responsibility of which checking operations referred to in paragraph 1 are performed. This authority shall be responsible for contacts with the Community. The approval also specifies the inspection bodies in charge of the proper checks, hereinafter called ‘third country inspection bodies’.

The approval may only apply to products originating in the third country concerned and may be limited to certain products.

3. The third country inspection bodies shall be official bodies or officially recognised by the authority referred to in paragraph 2 providing satisfactory guarantees and disposing of the necessary personnel, equipment and facilities to carry out checks according to the methods referred to in Article 20(1) or equivalent methods.

4. The list of countries whose checks on conformity have been approved under this Article, and the products concerned, are set out in Part A of Annex IV. Details of their official authorities and inspection bodies are set out in Part B of that Annex and the models for the certificates referred to in Article 14 are set out in Part C of that Annex.

Article 14 Certificates

1. The third country inspection bodies shall draw up, for each lot checked prior to its entry into Community customs territory, either the certificate of conformity set out in Annex III, or any other form agreed between the Commission and the third country. Where the import consignment consists of several lots, the conformity of these lots may be certified on a single certificate which clearly lists the various lots constituting that consignment.

The standard forms on which the certificates provided for in the first subparagraph are drawn up shall be established within the framework of the approval referred to in Article 13(1).

2. The certificate shall bear the word ‘original’. Where additional copies are required, they should be stamped with the word ‘copy’. The competent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the original of the certificate.

The form shall measure 210 × 297 mm; a tolerance of up to plus 8 mm or minus 5 mm in the length may be allowed. The paper used shall be white, not containing mechanical pulp, sized for writing and shall weigh not less than 40 g/m².

The forms shall be printed and completed in one of the official languages of the Community.

The forms must be completed using a mechanographical or similar process.

Entries must not be erased or overwritten. Any alterations shall be made by crossing out the incorrect particulars and, where appropriate, adding those required. Such changes shall be initialled by the person making them and endorsed by the issuing authorities.

Each certificate shall bear a serial number, by which it can be identified, and shall be stamped by the issuing authority and signed by the person or persons empowered to do so.

The issuing authority shall retain a copy of each certificate it issues.

Article 15 Suspension of approval

The Commission may suspend approval if it is found that, in a significant number of lots and/or quantities, the goods do not correspond to the information in the certificates of conformity issued by the third country inspection bodies, or where an unsatisfactory response has been made to the requests for a posteriori checks as referred to in Article 16(2).

Article 16 Additional checks by the Member States

1. Member States shall conduct physical checks at the point of import on products imported under the conditions set out in this Section for conformity with the standards by carrying out conformity checks for each third country concerned on a significant proportion of the consignments and quantities imported under those conditions. This proportion shall be sufficient to ensure compliance with the Community rules by the third country inspection bodies. Member States shall ensure that the measures laid down in Article 20(3) are applied to the lots checked where those lots do not comply with the marketing standards.

Where checks reveal significant irregularities, Member States shall immediately inform the Commission, and the inspection bodies shall increase the proportion of consignments and quantities checked in accordance with the provisions of this Article.

If a Member State levies a fee to cover the costs of the checks referred to in this paragraph, the level of this fee shall be such as to reflect the lower proportion of consignments and quantities checked for these checks than for those mentioned in Article 12.

2. Whenever doubts arise as to the authenticity of a certificate as referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 14(1) or the accuracy of the information contained therein, an a posteriori check shall be carried out.

The competent authority in the Community shall return the certificate or its copy thereof to the official correspondent in the third country, as referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 13(2), giving, where appropriate, the reasons for the enquiry and any information obtained suggesting that the certificate is not authentic or that the details it contains are incorrect. Requests for a posteriori checks shall be brought to the attention of the Commission as quickly as possible, together with the results of each request.

Where a request is made for an a posteriori check, the importer of the products concerned may ask the competent inspection bodies to carry out a conformity check as referred to in Article 12.

Article 17 Obligations of communication

1. The coordinating authority shall communicate to the Commission each quarter, by the end of the quarter following that quarter at the latest, for each third country and product concerned, the number of lots and total quantities imported in accordance with Article 13, the number of lots and the quantities which have been checked for conformity as referred to in Article 16(1) and, of those lots, those which the inspection bodies found not to conform with the data mentioned in the conformity certificates issued by the third country inspection body, specifying the quantities for each of those lots and the type of defects giving rise to that finding.

2. The customs authorities shall closely cooperate with the coordinating authority and/or the inspection bodies in particular as regards the application of Article 16(1) and (2) and provide them with all the information necessary.

Article 18 Administrative cooperation

1. The application of this Section shall be subject to the establishment of a procedure for administrative cooperation between the Community and each third country concerned.

To be eligible for this procedure, the third countries concerned shall send the Commission all relevant information on checking operations, in particular specimens of the stamp imprints used by the inspection bodies of the third country and, where appropriate, and without delay, any change to this information. The Commission shall notify this information, and any subsequent amendments, to the coordinating authorities in the Member States who shall inform the customs authorities and other competent authorities thereof.

Once administrative cooperation has been established, and following any significant amendment of the information communicated by a third country concerned both within the framework of this administrative cooperation and as regards the names and addresses of the official correspondent and of the inspection bodies, the Commission shall make a notice to this end publicly available by such means as it considers appropriate.

2. The approval of the third countries referred to in Article 13(4) shall apply from the date the notice referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article relating to the establishment of administrative cooperation between the Community and the third country is made publicly available by the Commission.