Articles 56 to 65 lay down the conditions for use of certificates of origin relating to agricultural products originating in third countries for which special non-preferential import arrangements have been established, in so far as these arrangements refer to the following provisions.
1.Certificates of origin relating to agricultural products originating in third countries for which special non-preferential import arrangements are established shall be made out on a form conforming to the specimen in Annex 13.
2.Such certificates shall be issued by the competent governmental authorities of the third countries concerned, hereinafter referred to as the issuing authorities, if the products to which the certificates relate can be considered as products originating in those countries within the meaning of the rules in force in the Community.
3.Such certificates shall also certify all necessary information provided for in the Community legislation governing the special import arrangements referred to in Article 55.
4.Without prejudice to specific provisions under the special import arrangements referred to in Article 55 the period of validity of the certificates of origin shall be ten months from the date of issue by the issuing authorities.
1.Certificates of origin drawn up in accordance with the provisions of this subsection shall consist only of a single sheet identified by the word ‘original’ next to the title of the document.
If additional copies are necessary, they shall bear the designation ‘copy’ next to the title of the document.
2.The competent authorities in the Community shall accept as valid only the original of the certificate of origin.
1.The certificate of origin shall measure 210 x 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, and shall weigh not less than 40 g/m2. The face of the original shall have a printed yellow guilloche pattern background making any falsification by mechanical or chemical means apparent.
2.The certificates shall be printed and completed in one of the official languages of the Community.
1.The certificate shall be completed in typescript or by means of a mechanical data-processing system, or similar procedure.
2.Entries must not be erased or overwritten. Any changes shall be made by crossing out the wrong entry and if necessary adding the correct particulars. Such changes shall be initialled by the person making them and endorsed by the issuing authorities.
1.Box 5 of the certificates of origin issued in accordance with Articles 56 to 59 shall contain any additional particulars which may be required for the implementation of the special import arrangements to which they relate as referred to in Article 56 (3).
2.Unused spaces in boxes 5, 6 and 7 shall be struck through in such a way that nothing can be added at a later stage.
Each certificate of origin shall bear a serial number, whether or not printed, 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 certificate shall be issued when the products to which it relates are exported, and the issuing authority shall keep a copy of each certificate issued.
Exceptionally, the certificates of origin referred to above may be issued after the export of the products to which they relate, where the failure to issue them at the time of such export was a result of involuntary error or omission or special circumstances.
The issuing authorities may not issue retrospectively a certificate of origin provided for in Articles 56 to 61 until they have checked that the particulars in the exporter's application correspond to those in the relevant export file.
Certificates issued retrospectively shall bear one of the following:
expedido a posteriori,
udstedt efterfølgende,
Nachträglich ausgestellt,
Εκδοθέν εκ των υστέρων,
Issued retrospectively,
Délivré a posteriori,
rilasciato a posteriori,
afgegeven a posteriori,
emitido a posteriori,
in the ‘Remarks’ box.
1.Where the special import arrangements for certain agricultural products provide for the use of the certificate of origin laid down in Articles 56 to 62, the entitlement to use such arrangements shall be subject to the setting up of an administrative cooperation procedure unless specified otherwise in the arrangements concerned.
To this end the third countries concerned shall send the Commission of the European Communities:
the names and addresses of the issuing authorities for certificates of origin together with specimens of the stamps used by the said authorities,
the names and addresses of the government authorities to which requests for the subsequent verification of origin certificates provided for in Article 64 below should be sent.
The Commission shall transmit all the above information to the competent authorities of the Member States.
2.Where the third countries in question fail to send the Commission the information specified in paragraph 1, the competent authorities in the Community shall refuse access entitlement to the special import arrangements.
1.Subsequent verification of the certificates of origin referred to in Articles 56 to 62 shall be carried out at random and whenever reasonable doubt has arisen as to the authenticity of the certificate or the accuracy of the information it contains.
For origin matters the verification shall be carried out on the initiative of the customs authorities.
For the purposes of agricultural rules, the verification may be carried out, where appropriate, by other competent authorities.
2.For the purposes of paragraph 1, the competent authorities in the Community shall return the certificate of origin or a copy thereof to the governmental authority designated by the exporting country, giving, where appropriate, the reasons of form or substance for an enquiry. If the invoice has been produced, the original or a copy thereof shall be attached to the returned certificate. The authorities shall also provide any information that has been obtained suggesting that the particulars given on the certificates are inaccurate or that the certificate is not authentic.
Should the customs authorities in the Community decide to suspend the application of the special import arrangements concerned pending the results of the verification they shall grant release of the products subject to such precautions as they consider necessary.
1.The results of subsequent verifications shall be communicated to the competent authorities in the Community as soon as possible.
The said results must make it possible to determine whether the origin certificates remitted in the conditions laid down in Article 64 above apply to the goods actually exported and whether the latter may actually give rise to application of the special importation arrangements concerned.
2.If there is no reply within a maximum time limit of six months to requests for subsequent verification, the competent authorities in the Community shall definitively refuse to grant entitlement to the special import arrangements.