Commission Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008Dangos y teitl llawn

TITLE III U.K. IMPORT OF PRODUCTS PROVIDING EQUIVALENT GUARANTEES

CHAPTER 1 U.K. List of recognised third countries

Article 7 U.K. Compilation and content of the list of third countries

1. The Commission shall establish a list of recognised third countries in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. The list of recognised countries is set out in Annex III to this Regulation. The procedures for drawing up and amending the list are defined in Articles 8 and 16 of this Regulation. Amendments to the list shall be made available to the public on the Internet in accordance with Articles 16(4) and 17 of this Regulation.

2. The list shall contain all the information necessary in respect of each third country to allow verifying whether products placed on the Community market have been subject to the control system of the third country recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and in particular:

(a) the product categories concerned;

(b) the origin of the products;

(c) a reference to the production standards applied in the third country;

(d) the competent authority in the third country responsible for the control system, its address, including e-mail and Internet addresses;

[F1 (e) the name, address, email address, internet address and code number of the control authority or authorities and the control body or bodies recognised by the competent authority referred to in point (d) to carry out controls;

(f) the name, address, email address, internet address and code number of the authority or authorities and the control body or bodies responsible in the third country for issuing certificates with a view to importing into the Union;]

(g) the duration of the inclusion in the list.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 8 U.K. Procedure for requesting inclusion in the list of third countries

[F2 1. The Commission shall consider whether to include a third country in the list provided for in Article 7 upon receipt of a request for inclusion from the representative of the third country concerned, provided that such request is submitted before 1 July 2014 .]

2. The Commission shall only be required to consider a request for inclusion which meets the following preconditions.

The request for inclusion shall be completed by a technical dossier, which shall comprise all the information needed for the Commission to ensure that the conditions set out in Article 33(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 are met for products intended for export to the Community, namely:

(a) general information on the development of organic production in the third country, the products produced, the area in cultivation, the production regions, the number of producers, the food processing taking place;

(b) an indication of the expected nature and quantities of organic agricultural products and foodstuffs intended for export to the Community;

(c) the production standards applied in the third country as well as an assessment of their equivalence to the standards applied in the Community;

(d) the control system applied in the third country, including the monitoring and supervisory activities carried out by the competent authorities in the third country, as well as an assessment of its equivalent effectiveness when compared to the control system applied in the Community;

(e) the Internet or other address where the list of operators subject to the control system can be found, as well as a contact point where information is readily available on their certification status and the product categories concerned;

(f) the information the third country proposes to include in the list as referred to in Article 7;

(g) an undertaking to comply with the provisions of Article 9;

(h) any other information deemed relevant by the third country or by the Commission.

3. When examining a request for inclusion in the list of recognised third countries, and also any time after its inclusion, the Commission may request any further information, including the presentation of one or more on-the-spot examination reports established by independent experts. Furthermore, the Commission may, based on risk-assessment and in case of suspected irregularities organise an on-the-spot examination by experts it designates.

[F3 Experts from other third countries recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 may be invited by the Commission to attend on-the-spot-examination as observers.]

[F4 4. The Commission shall assess whether the technical dossier referred to in paragraph 2 and the information referred to in paragraph 3 are satisfactory and may subsequently decide to recognise and include a third country in the list for a three-year period. Where the Commission considers that the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and this Regulation continue to be met, it may decide to extend the inclusion of the third country after that three-year period.

The decisions referred to in the first subparagraph shall be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 442/2014 of 30 April 2014 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards requests for inclusion in the list of third countries recognised for the purpose of equivalence in relation to the import of organic products (Text with EEA relevance).

F3 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 125/2013 of 13 February 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (Text with EEA relevance).

F4 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 508/2012 of 20 June 2012 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 9 U.K. Management and review of the list of third countries

1. The Commission shall only be required to consider a request for inclusion when the third country undertakes to accept the following conditions:

[F1 (a) if, after a third country has been included in the list, any changes are made to the measures in force in the third country or their implementation and in particular to its control system, that third country shall notify the Commission thereof without delay; any changes made to the information referred to in points (d), (e) and (f) of Article 7(2) shall be notified to the Commission without delay via the computer system referred to in Article 94(1) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008;]

(b) the annual report referred to in Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 shall update the information of the technical dossier referred to in Article 8(2) of this Regulation; it shall describe in particular the monitoring and supervisory activities carried out by the competent authority of the third country, the results obtained and the corrective measures taken;

(c) in the light of any information received, the Commission may at any time amend the specifications relating to the third country and may suspend the entry of that country from the list referred to in Article 7; a similar decision may also be made where a third country has not supplied information required or where it has not agreed to an on-the-spot examination.

2. If a third country does not send the annual report, referred to Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, does not keep available or does not communicate all information related to its technical dossier or control system or does not agree to an on-the-spot examination, after request by the Commission within a period which the Commission shall determine according to the severity of the problem and which generally may not be less than 30 days, that third country may be withdrawn from the list, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

CHAPTER 2 U.K. List of recognised control bodies and control authorities for the purpose of equivalence

Article 10 U.K. Compilation and content of the list of recognised control bodies and control authorities for the purpose of equivalence

1. The Commission shall draw up a list of control bodies and control authorities, recognised for the purpose of equivalence in accordance with Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. The list shall be published in Annex IV to this Regulation. The procedures for drawing up and amending the list are defined in Articles 11, 16 and 17 of this Regulation. The list shall be made available to the public on the Internet in accordance with Articles 16(4) and 17 of this Regulation.

2. The list shall contain all the information necessary in respect of each control body or authority to allow verifying whether products placed on the Community market have been controlled by a control body or authority recognised in accordance with Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and in particular:

(a) the name, address and code number of the control body or authority, and, when appropriate, its e-mail and Internet address;

(b) the third countries not listed in the list provided for in Article 7 where the products have their origin;

(c) the product categories concerned for each third country;

(d) the duration of the inclusion in the list;[F5 and]

[F6 (e) the internet website where an updated list of operators subject to the control system can be found, indicating their certification status and the product categories concerned as well as a contact point where information is available on suspended and decertified operators and products [F6 ; and] ]

[F7 (f) the internet website where a complete presentation of the production standard and control measures applied by the control body or control authority in a third country can be found.]

[F1 3. By way of derogation from paragraph 2(b), those products originating from a recognised third country listed in accordance with Article 7, but not covered by the recognition granted to that third country, may be included in the list provided for in this Article.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

F5 Deleted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 586/2013 of 20 June 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the date of submission of the annual report (Text with EEA relevance).

F6 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 586/2013 of 20 June 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the date of submission of the annual report (Text with EEA relevance).

F7 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 586/2013 of 20 June 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the date of submission of the annual report (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 11 U.K. Procedure for requesting inclusion in the list of recognised control bodies and control authorities for the purpose of equivalence

[F8 1. The Commission shall consider whether to include a control body or control authority in the list provided for in Article 10 upon receipt of a request thereto from the representative of the control body or control authority concerned on the basis of the model of application made available by the Commission in accordance with Article 17(2). Only complete requests shall be taken into account for updating the list.]

2. The request can be introduced by control bodies and control authorities established in the Community or in a third country.

3. The request for inclusion shall consist of a technical dossier, which shall comprise all the information needed for the Commission to ensure that the conditions set out in Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 are met for products intended for export to the Community, namely:

(a) an overview of the activities of the control body or control authority in the third country or third countries, including an estimate of the number of operators involved and the expected nature and quantities of agricultural products and foodstuffs intended for export to the Community under the rules set out in Article 33(1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007;

(b) a description of the production standards and control measures applied in the third countries, including an assessment of the equivalence of these standards and measures with Titles III, IV and V of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as well as with the associated implementing rules laid down in Regulation (EC) No 889/2008;

(c) a copy of the assessment report as set out in the fourth subparagraph of Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007:

(i)

proving that the control body or control authority has been satisfactorily assessed on its ability to meet the conditions set out in Article 33(1) and (3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007;

(ii)

confirming that it has effectively implemented its activities according to those conditions; and

(iii)

demonstrating and confirming the equivalence of the production standards and control measures referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph;

(d) proof that the control body or control authority has notified its activities to the authorities of each of the third countries concerned and its undertaking to respect the legal requirements imposed on it by the authorities of each of the third countries concerned;

(e) the Internet website where the list of operators subject to the control system can be found, as well as a contact point where information is readily available on their certification status, the product categories concerned, as well as suspended and decertified operators and products;

(f) an undertaking to comply with the provisions of Article 12;

(g) any other information deemed relevant by the control body or control authority or by the Commission.

4. When examining a request for inclusion in the list of control body or control authority, and also any time after its inclusion, the Commission may request any further information, including the presentation of one or more on-the-spot examination reports established by independent expert. Furthermore, the Commission may organise an on-the-spot examination by experts it designates on a risk-based approach and in case of suspected irregularities.

5. The Commission shall assess whether the technical dossier referred to in paragraph 2 and the information referred to in paragraph 3 are satisfactory and may subsequently decide to recognise and include a control body or control authority in the list. The decision shall be taken in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

Textual Amendments

F8 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2015/931 of 17 June 2015 amending and correcting Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 12 U.K. Management and review of the list of control bodies and control authorities for the purpose of equivalence

1. A control body or control authority may only be included in the list referred to in Article 10 when it fulfils the following obligations:

(a) if, after a control body or control authority has been included in the list, any changes are made to the measures applied by the control body or control authority, that control body or control authority shall notify the Commission thereof; requests to amend the information in respect of a control body or authority referred to in Article 10(2), shall also be notified to the Commission;

(b) by [F6 28 February] every year, the control body or control authority shall send a concise annual report to the Commission. The annual report shall update the information of the technical dossier referred to in Article 11(3); it shall describe in particular the control activities carried out by the control body or control authority in the third countries in the previous year, the results obtained, the irregularities and infringements observed and the corrective measures taken; It shall furthermore contain the most recent assessment report or update of such report, which shall contain the results of the regular on-the-spot evaluation, surveillance and multiannual reassessment as referred to in Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007; the Commission may request any other information deemed necessary;

(c) in the light of any information received, the Commission may at any time amend the specifications relating to the control body or control authority and may suspend the entry of that body or authority from the list referred to in Article 10; a similar decision may also be made where a control body or control authority has not supplied information required or where it has not agreed to an on-the-spot examination;

(d) the control body or control authority shall make available to interested parties, by electronic means, a continuously updated list of operators, and of products certified as organic.

[F9 2. In accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 a control body or a control authority, or a reference to a specific product category or to a specific third country in relation to that control body or control authority, may be withdrawn from the list referred to in Article 10 of this Regulation in the following cases:

(a) if its annual report referred to paragraph 1(b) has not been received by the Commission by [F6 28 February] ;

(b) if it does not notify the Commission in due time of changes to its technical dossier;

(c) if it does not provide information to the Commission during the investigations of an irregularity case;

(d) if it fails to take adequate corrective measures in response to the irregularities and infringements observed;

(e) if it does not agree to an on-the-spot examination required by the Commission, or if an on-the-spot examination comes up with a negative result due to systematic malfunctioning of control measures;

(f) in any other situation presenting the risk for the consumer to be misled about the true nature of the products certified by the control body or the control authority.

If a control body or a control authority fails to take appropriate and timely remedial action after request by the Commission within a period which the Commission shall determine according to the severity of the problem and which generally may not be less than 30 days, the Commission shall withdraw it from the list without delay in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. That withdrawal decision shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union . The Commission shall make the amended list available as soon as possible to the public by any appropriate technical means, including publication on the Internet.]

Textual Amendments

F6 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 586/2013 of 20 June 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries and derogating from Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the date of submission of the annual report (Text with EEA relevance).

F9 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1267/2011 of 6 December 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries.

CHAPTER 3 U.K. Release for free circulation of products imported in accordance with Article 33 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007

[F1 Article 13 U.K. Certificate of inspection

1. The release for free circulation in the Union of a consignment of products referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and imported in accordance with Article 33 of that Regulation shall be conditional on:

(a) the submission of an original certificate of inspection to the relevant Member State's competent authority;

(b) the verification of the consignment and the endorsement of the certificate of inspection by the relevant Member State's competent authority; and

(c) the indication of the number of the certificate of inspection in the customs declaration for release for free circulation as referred to in Article 158(1) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) .

The verification of the consignment and the endorsement of the certificate of inspection shall be carried out by the relevant Member State's competent authority in that Member State where the consignment is released for free circulation in the Union.

Member States shall designate the points of entry in their territory and inform the Commission of the designated points of entry.

2. The certificate of inspection shall be issued by the relevant control authority or control body, endorsed by the relevant Member State's competent authority and completed by the first consignee on the basis of the model and the notes set out in Annex V and using the electronic Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) established by Commission Decision 2003/24/EC (2) .

The original certificate of inspection shall be a printed and hand-signed copy of the completed electronic certificate in TRACES or, alternatively, a certificate of inspection signed in TRACES with an advanced electronic signature within the meaning of Article 3(11) of Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council (3) or with an electronic signature offering equivalent assurances with regard to the functionalities attributed to a signature by applying the same rules and conditions as those laid down in the Commission's provisions on electronic and digitised documents, set out in the Annex to Commission Decision 2004/563/EC, Euratom (4) .

When the original certificate of inspection is a printed and hand-signed copy of the completed electronic certificate in TRACES, control authorities, control bodies, relevant Member State's competent authorities and the first consignee shall verify at each stage of issuing, endorsement and reception of the certificate of inspection that this copy corresponds to the information indicated in TRACES.

3. To be accepted for endorsement, the certificate of inspection shall have been issued by the control authority or control body of the producer or the processor of the product concerned or, where the operator carrying out the last operation for the purposes of preparation is different from the producer or processor of the product, by the control authority or control body of the operator carrying out the last operation for the purposes of preparation as defined in Article 2(i) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

That control authority or control body shall be:

(a) a control authority or control body listed in Annex III to this Regulation for the products concerned and for the third country in which the products have their origin, or, where applicable, in which the last operation for the purposes of preparation has been carried out; or

(b) a control authority or control body listed in Annex IV to this Regulation for the products concerned and for the third country in which the products have their origin or in which the last operation for the purposes of preparation has been carried out.

4. The control authority or control body issuing the certificate of inspection shall only issue the certificate of inspection and sign the declaration in box 18 of the certificate after it has carried out a documentary check on the basis of all relevant inspection documents, including in particular the production plan for the product concerned, transport documents and commercial documents and, as appropriate according to its risk assessment, it has carried out a physical check of the consignment.

However, for processed products, if the control authority or control body issuing the certificate of inspection is a control authority or control body listed in Annex III, it shall only issue the certificate of inspection and sign the declaration in box 18 of the certificate after it has verified that all organic ingredients of the product have been controlled and certified by a control authority or control body recognised by the third country concerned listed in that Annex, or if the issuing control authority or control body is a control authority or control body listed in Annex IV, it shall only issue the certificate of inspection and sign the declaration in box 18 of the certificate after it has verified that all organic ingredients of such products have been controlled and certified by a control authority or control body listed in Annex III or IV or have been produced and certified in the Union in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.

Where the operator carrying out the last operation for the purposes of preparation is different from the producer or processor of the product, the control authority or control body issuing the certificate of inspection and listed in Annex IV shall only issue the certificate of inspection and sign the declaration in box 18 of the certificate after it has carried out a documentary check on the basis of all relevant inspection documents, including transport documents and commercial documents, it has verified that the production or the processing of the product concerned has been controlled and certified by a control body or control authority recognised for the products concerned and the country concerned in accordance with Article 33(3) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and it has carried out, as appropriate according to its risk assessment, a physical check of the consignment.

At the request of the Commission or of the competent authority of a Member State, the control authority or control body issuing the certificate of inspection in accordance with the second and third subparagraphs shall make available without delay the list of all operators in the organic production chain and the control authorities or control bodies under whose control those operators have placed their operations.

5. The certificate of inspection shall be made in one single original.

The first consignee or, where relevant, the importer may make a copy of the certificate of inspection for the purpose of informing the control authorities and control bodies in accordance with Article 83 of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008. Any such copy shall carry the indication ‘ COPY ’ printed or stamped thereon.

6. At the verification of a consignment, the relevant Member State's competent authority shall endorse the original certificate of inspection in box 20 and shall return it to the person who submitted the certificate.

7. The first consignee shall, at the reception of the consignment, complete box 21 of the certificate of inspection, to certify that the reception of the consignment has been carried out in accordance with Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.

The first consignee shall then send the original of the certificate to the importer mentioned in box 11 of the certificate for the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 33(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

[F10 Article 13a U.K. Force majeure or exceptional circumstances

1. In cases of force majeure or exceptional circumstances preventing the electronic system from working, and in particular of malfunctioning of the system or a lack of a lasting connection, certificates of inspection and their extracts may be issued and endorsed pursuant to Article 13(3) to (7) without using TRACES in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, and on the basis of the models and the notes set out in Annex V or VI. The competent authorities, control authorities, control bodies and operators shall inform the Commission without delay and shall insert in TRACES all the necessary details within ten calendar days following the re-establishment of the system.

2. When the certificate of inspection is issued without using TRACES, it shall be drawn up in one of the official languages of the Union and filled in, except for the stamps and signatures, either entirely in capital letters or entirely in typescript.

The certificate of inspection shall be in the official language or one of the official languages of the Member State of clearance. Where necessary, the relevant Member State's competent authorities may request a translation of the certificate of inspection into its official language or one of its official languages.

Uncertified alterations or erasures shall invalidate the certificate.

3. The control authority or control body issuing the certificate of inspection shall give a serial number to each issued certificate and keep a register of the issued certificates in chronological order and make the correspondence afterward with the serial number given by TRACES.

4. Where the certificate of inspection is issued and endorsed without using TRACES, the second and third subparagraphs of Article 15(1) and Article 15(5) shall not apply.

Textual Amendments

F10 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 13b U.K. Importer

The importer shall indicate the number of the certificate of inspection in the customs declaration for release for free circulation as referred to in Article 158(1) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

Textual Amendments

F10 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 13c U.K. Access rights

The Commission shall be in charge of granting and updating access rights to TRACES of the competent authorities as defined in Article 2(n) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, of competent authorities of third countries recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of that Regulation and of control authorities and control bodies listed in Annex III or IV to this Regulation. Before granting access rights to TRACES, the Commission shall verify the identity of the competent authorities, control authorities and control bodies concerned.

The competent authorities as defined in Article 2(n) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 shall be in charge of granting and updating access rights to TRACES of operators, control authorities and control bodies in the Union. Before granting access rights to TRACES, the competent authorities shall verify the identity of the operators, control authorities and control bodies concerned. Member States shall designate a single authority responsible to coordinate the cooperation and the contacts with the Commission in this area.

The competent authorities shall communicate the granted access rights to the Commission. The Commission shall activate those access rights in TRACES.

Textual Amendments

F10 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 13d U.K. Integrity and legibility of information

TRACES shall protect the integrity of the information encoded in accordance with this Regulation.

In particular, it shall offer the following guarantees:

(a)

it shall allow each user to be unequivocally identified and shall incorporate effective control measures of access rights in order to protect against illegal, malicious or unauthorised access, deletion, alteration or movement of the information, files and metadata;

(b)

it shall be equipped with physical protection systems against intrusions and environmental incidents and software protection against cyber-attacks;

(c)

it shall safeguard stored data in an environment which is secure in both physical and software terms;

(d)

it shall prevent, by various means, any unauthorised changes and incorporate integrity mechanisms to check if the information has been altered over time;

(e)

it shall keep an audit trail for each essential stage of the procedure;

(f)

it shall provide reliable format conversion and migration procedures in order to guarantee that the information is legible and accessible throughout the entire storage period required;

(g)

it shall have sufficiently detailed and up-to-date functional and technical documentation on the operation and characteristics of the system, that documentation being accessible at all times to the organisational entities responsible for the functional and/or technical specifications.]

Textual Amendments

F10 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

Article 14 U.K. Special customs procedures

[F1 1. Where a consignment coming from a third country is placed under customs warehousing or inward processing as provided for in Regulation (EU) No 952/2013, and subject to one or more preparations as referred to in the second subparagraph, the relevant Member State's competent authority shall carry out the verification of the consignment as referred to in point (b) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of this Regulation before the first preparation is carried out. The reference number of the customs declaration by which the goods have been declared for customs warehousing or for inward processing procedure shall be indicated in box 19 of the certificate of inspection.

The preparation shall be limited to the following types of operations:

(a) packaging or repackaging; or

(b) labelling concerning the presentation of the organic production method.

After this preparation, the consignment shall be subject, before the release for free circulation, to the measures referred to in Article 13(1) of this Regulation.

After this procedure, the original of the certificate of inspection shall, where relevant, be returned to the importer of the consignment, referred to in box 11 of the certificate for the purposes of the second subparagraph of Article 33(1) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007.]

2. Where, under a suspensive customs procedure pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, a consignment coming from a third country is intended to be submitted in a Member State, before its release for free circulation in the Community, to a splitting into different batches, the consignment shall be subject, before this splitting is carried out, to the measures referred to in Article 13(1) of this Regulation.

[F1 For each of the batches which results from the splitting, the importer mentioned in box 11 of the certificate of inspection shall submit an extract of the certificate of inspection through TRACES to the relevant Member State's competent authority, in accordance with the model and the notes set out in Annex VI. After verification of the batch, the relevant Member State's competent authority shall endorse the extract of the certificate of inspection in box 13 for the purpose of the release for free circulation. The verification of the batch and the endorsement of the extract of the certificate of inspection shall be carried out by the relevant Member State's competent authority in that Member State where the batch is released for free circulation in the Union.]

A copy of each endorsed extract from the certificate of inspection shall be kept together with the original certificate of inspection by the person identified as the original importer of the consignment and mentioned in box 11 of the certificate of inspection. This copy shall carry the indication ‘COPY’ or ‘DUPLICATE’ printed or stamped thereon.

[ F11 . . . . .]

The consignee of a batch shall, at the reception thereof complete the original of the extract of the certificate of inspection in box 15, in order to certify that the reception of the batch has been carried out in accordance with Article 34 of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.

The consignee of a batch shall keep the extract of the certificate of inspection at the disposal of the control authorities and/or control bodies for not less than two years.

3. The preparation and splitting operations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2 shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions set out in Title V of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and in Title IV of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

F11 Deleted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

[F9 Article 15 U.K. Non-compliant products

1. Without prejudice to any measures or actions taken in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 and/or Regulation (EC) No 889/2008, the release for free circulation in the Union of products not in conformity with the requirements of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 shall be conditional on the removal of references to organic production from the labelling, advertising and accompanying documents.

[F10 When the verification of a consignment by a relevant Member State's competent authority leads to the detection of an infringement or an irregularity that leads to the refusal of the endorsement of the certificate and of the release for free circulation of products, that authority shall without delay notify that infringement or irregularity to the Commission and to the other Member States through TRACES.

Member States shall ensure effective and efficient coordination amongst competent authorities performing official controls with a view to exchanging without delay information on the detection of consignments of products referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 bearing terms referring to the organic production method, but not declared as intended to be imported in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 834/2007. The relevant Member State's competent authority shall without delay notify the Commission and the other Member States of those findings through TRACES.]

2. [F12 Without prejudice to any measures or actions to be taken in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, in case of suspicion of infringements and irregularities as regards compliance of imported organic products from third countries recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 or imported organic products controlled by control authorities or control bodies recognised in accordance with Article 33(3) of that Regulation with the requirements laid down in that Regulation, the importer shall take all necessary measures in accordance with Article 91(1) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.]

The importer and the control authority or control body which issued the certificate of inspection as referred to in Article 13 of this Regulation shall immediately inform the control bodies, control authorities and competent authorities of the Member States concerned and of the third countries involved in the organic production of the products in question and, where appropriate, the Commission. The control authority or control body may require that the product cannot be placed on the market with indications referring to the organic production method until it is satisfied, by the information received from the operator or from other sources, that the doubt has been eliminated.

[F12 3. Without prejudice to any measures or actions to be taken in accordance with Article 30 of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, where a control authority or control body of a Member State or a third country has a substantiated suspicion of an infringement or irregularity as regards compliance of imported organic products from third countries recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 or imported organic products controlled by control authorities or control bodies recognised in accordance with Article 33(3) of that Regulation with the requirements laid down in that Regulation, it shall take all necessary measures in accordance with Article 91(2) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 and shall immediately inform the control bodies, control authorities and competent authorities of the Member States concerned and of the third countries involved in the organic production of the products in question and the Commission.]

[F3 4. Where a competent authority of a third country recognised in accordance with Article 33(2) of Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 or a control authority or control body recognised in accordance with Article 33(3) of that Regulation is notified by the Commission after having received a communication from a Member State informing it of a substantiated suspicion of an infringement or irregularity as regards compliance of imported organic products with the requirements laid down in that Regulation or this Regulation, it shall investigate the origin of the suspected irregularity or infringement and shall inform the Commission and the Member State which sent the initial communication of the result of the investigation and of the action taken. That information shall be sent within 30 calendar days from the date of sending of the original notification by the Commission.

The Member State which sent the initial communication may ask the Commission to request additional information, if needed, which shall be sent to the Commission and to the Member State concerned. In any case, after receiving a reply or additional information, the Member State which sent the initial communication shall make the necessary entries and updates in the computer system referred to in Article 94(1) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008.]

[F10 5. The importer, the first consignee or their control authority or control body shall send the information on infringements or irregularities as regards imported products to the competent authorities of the Member States concerned via the computer system referred to in Article 94(1) of Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 through TRACES.] ]

Textual Amendments

F3 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 125/2013 of 13 February 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (Text with EEA relevance).

F9 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1267/2011 of 6 December 2011 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries.

F10 Inserted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).

F12 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 125/2013 of 13 February 2013 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 laying down detailed rules for implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 as regards the arrangements for imports of organic products from third countries (Text with EEA relevance).

(1)

[F1 Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code ( OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1 ).]

(2)

[F1 Commission Decision 2003/24/EC of 30 December 2002 concerning the development of an integrated computerised veterinary system ( OJ L 8, 14.1.2003, p. 44 ).]

(3)

[F1 Regulation (EU) No 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions in the internal market and repealing Directive 1999/93/EC ( OJ L 257, 28.8.2014, p. 73 ).]

(4)

[F1 Commission Decision 2004/563/EC, Euratom of 7 July 2004 amending its Rules of Procedure ( OJ L 251, 27.7.2004, p. 9 ).]

Textual Amendments

F1 Substituted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/1842 of 14 October 2016 amending Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008 as regards the electronic certificate of inspection for imported organic products and certain other elements, and Regulation (EC) No 889/2008 as regards the requirements for preserved or processed organic products and the transmission of information (Text with EEA relevance).