1.When this Regulation or the rules referred to in Article 1(2) require the issuance of official attestations by the operators under the official supervision of the competent authorities, or by the competent authorities themselves, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall apply.
2.Official attestations shall:
(a)be authentic and accurate;
(b)[F2be drawn up in English and one of the official languages of the country of destination and may also be in Welsh;] and
(c)where they relate to a consignment or a lot, allow the verification of the link between the official attestation and that consignment or lot.
3.Competent authorities shall ensure that the staff performing official controls to supervise the issuance of official attestations or, where the official attestations are issued by the competent authorities, the staff involved in the issuance of those official attestations:
(a)are impartial, free from any conflict of interest, and in particular are not in a situation which may, directly or indirectly, affect the impartiality of their professional conduct in relation to what is being certified by the official attestations; and
(b)have received appropriate training on:
the rules with which compliance is certified by the official attestations and on the technical assessment of compliance with those rules;
the relevant rules laid down in this Regulation.
4.Competent authorities shall perform regular official controls to verify that:
(a)the operators issuing the attestations comply with the conditions laid down in the rules referred to in Article 1(2); and
(b)the attestation is issued on the basis of relevant, correct and verifiable facts and data.
Textual Amendments
F2Art. 91(2)(b) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 17(5) (with reg. 46)