Article 16Submission and checks of catch certificates
1.The validated catch certificate shall be submitted by the importer to the competent authorities of the Member State in which the product is intended to be imported at least three working days before the estimated time of arrival at the place of entry into the territory of the Community. The deadline of three working days may be adapted according to the type of fishery product, the distance to the place of entry into the territory of the Community or the transport means used. Those competent authorities shall, on the basis of risk management, check the catch certificate in the light of the information provided in the notification received from the flag State in accordance with Articles 20 and 22.
2.By way of derogation to paragraph 1, importers who have been granted the status of approved economic operator may advise the competent authorities of the Member State of the arrival of the products within the deadline referred to in paragraph 1 and keep the validated catch certificate and related documents as referred to in Article 14 available to the authorities for the purposes of checks in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article or verifications in accordance with Article 17.
3.The criteria for granting the status of approved economic operator to an importer by the competent authorities of a Member State shall include:
(a)the establishment of the importer on the territory of that Member State;
(b)a sufficient number and volume of import operations to justify the implementation of the procedure referred to in paragraph 2;
(c)an appropriate record of compliance with the requirements of conservation and management measures;
(d)a satisfactory system of managing commercial and, where appropriate, transport and processing records, which enables the appropriate checks and verifications to be carried out for the purposes of this Regulation;
(e)the existence of facilities with regard to the conduct of those checks and verifications;
(f)where appropriate, practical standards of competence or professional qualifications directly related to the activities carried out; and
(g)where appropriate, proven financial solvency.
Member States shall communicate to the Commission the name and address of the approved economic operators as soon as possible after having granted this status. The Commission shall make available this information to the Member States by electronic means.
The rules relating to the status of approved economic operator may be determined in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 54(2).