Article 14U.K.Certificate of conformity
1.Certificates of conformity may be issued by a competent authority to confirm that the products concerned conform to the relevant marketing standard (hereinafter referred to as ‘certificate’). The certificate for use by competent authorities in the Union is set out in Annex III.
Instead of certificates issued by competent authorities in the Union, the third countries referred to in Article 15(4) may use their own certificates provided that they contain at least equivalent information to the Union certificate. The Commission shall make available, by the means it considers appropriate, specimens of such third country certificates.
2.The certificates may be issued either in paper format with original signature or in verified electronic format with electronic signature.
3.Each certificate shall be stamped by the competent authority and signed by the person or persons empowered to do so.
4.The certificate shall be issued in at least one of the official languages of the Union.
5.Each certificate shall bear a serial number, by which it can be identified. A copy of each issued certificate shall be retained by the competent authority.
6.Notwithstanding the first subparagraph of paragraph 1, Member States may continue to use certificates which conformed to Regulation (EC) No 1580/2007 on 30 June 2009 until stocks are exhausted.