Article 38Verification of compliance with the product specification
1.Member States shall draw up and keep up to date a list of operators that produce spirit drinks with a geographical indication registered under this Regulation.
2.In respect of the geographical indications that designate spirit drinks originating within the Union registered under this Regulation, verification of compliance with the product specification referred to in Article 22, before placing the product on the market, shall be carried out by:
(a)one or more competent authorities referred to in Article 43(1); or
(b)control bodies within the meaning of point 5 of the second subparagraph of Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, operating as a product certification body.
Where a Member State applies Article 24(2), verification of compliance with the product specification shall be ensured by an authority other than that deemed to be a group under that paragraph.
Notwithstanding the national law of Member States, the costs of such verification of compliance with the product specification may be borne by the operators which are subject to those controls.
3.In respect of the geographical indications that designate spirit drinks originating within a third country registered under this Regulation, verification of compliance with the product specification, before placing the product on the market, shall be carried out by:
(a)a public competent authority designated by the third country; or
(b)a product certification body.
4.Member States shall make public the names and addresses of the competent authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 2, and update that information periodically.
The Commission shall make public the name and address of the competent authorities and bodies referred to in paragraph 3 and update that information periodically.
5.The control bodies referred to in point (b) of paragraph 2 and the product certification bodies referred to in point (b) of paragraph 3 shall comply with and be accredited in accordance with European standard ISO/IEC 17065:2012 or any applicable future revision or amended version thereof.
6.The competent authorities referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 that verify compliance of the geographical indication protected under this Regulation with the product specification shall be objective and impartial. They shall have at their disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out their tasks.