Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 is amended as follows:
Article 2a is replaced by the following:
1.For the purpose of this Article, “olive oil marketed” means total quantity of olive oil and olive pomace oil of a relevant Member State that is consumed in that Member State or exported from that Member State.
2.Member States shall ensure that conformity checks are carried out selectively, based on a risk analysis, and with appropriate frequency, so as to ensure that the olive oil marketed is consistent with the category declared.
3.The criteria to assess the risk may include:
(a)the category of oil, the period of production, the price of oils in relation to other vegetable oils, the blending and packing operations, the storage facilities and conditions, the country of origin, the country of destination, the means of transport or the volume of the lot;
(b)the position of the operators in the marketing chain, the volume and/or value marketed by them, the range of oil categories they market, the type of business carried out such as milling, storage, refining, blending, packaging or retail sale;
(c)findings made during previous checks including the number and type of defects found, the usual quality of oils marketed, the performance of technical equipment used;
(d)the reliability of operators’ quality assurance systems or self-checking systems related to the conformity to marketing standards;
(e)the place where the check is carried out, in particular if it is the first point of entry into the Union, the last point of exit from the Union or the place where the oils are produced, packaged, loaded or sold to the final consumer;
(f)any other information that might indicate a risk of non-compliance.
4.Member States shall lay down in advance:
(a)the criteria for assessing the risk of non-conformity of lots;
(b)on the basis of a risk analysis for each risk category, the minimum number of operators or lots and/or quantities which will be subject to a conformity check.
At least one conformity check per thousand tonnes of olive oil marketed in the Member State shall be carried out per year.
5.Member States shall verify compliance by:
(a)carrying out, in any order, the analyses set out in Annex I; or
(b)following the order set out in Annex Ib on the decision tree until one of the decisions appearing in the decision tree is reached.’;
Article 3 is replaced by the following:
Where it is found that an oil does not correspond to its category description, the Member State concerned shall, without prejudice to any other penalties, apply effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties to be determined in the light of the seriousness of the irregularity detected.
Where checks reveal significant irregularities, Member States shall increase the frequency of checks in relation to marketing stage, oil category, origin, or other criteria.’;
the following Article 7a is inserted:
Natural or legal persons and groups of persons who hold olive oil and olive pomace oil from the extraction at the mill up to the bottling stage included, for whatever professional or commercial purposes, shall be required to keep entry and withdrawal registers for each category of such oils.
Member State shall ensure that the obligation laid down in the first paragraph is duly complied with.’;
Article 8 is replaced by the following:
1.Member States shall notify the Commission of the measures implementing this Regulation. They shall inform the Commission of any subsequent amendments.
2.No later than 31 May of each year, Member States shall transmit to the Commission a report on the implementation of this Regulation during the previous calendar year. The report shall contain at least the results of the conformity checks carried out on olive oils as per the templates set out in Annex XXI.
3.The notifications referred to in this Regulation shall be made in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No 792/2009(1).’;
Annex IX is replaced by the text set out in Annex I to this Regulation;
Annex XVIII is replaced by the text set out in Annex II to this Regulation;
Annex XXI, the text of which is set out in Annex III to this Regulation, is added.