Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 664/2014Show full title

Article 6 Amendments to a product specification

1. The application for an amendment to a product specification as referred to in Article 53(1) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 which is not minor shall contain an exhaustive description and the specific reasons for each amendment. The description shall compare in detail, for each amendment, the original product specification and, where relevant, the original single document with the amended version proposed.

That application shall be self-sufficient. It shall contain all amendments to the product specification and, where relevant, to the single document for which approval is sought.

An application for an amendment which is not minor that does not comply with the first and the second subparagraphs shall not be admissible. The Commission shall inform the applicant if the application is deemed inadmissible.

The approval by the Commission of an application for an amendment to a product specification which is not minor shall only cover the amendments as included in the application itself.

2. Applications for a minor amendment to a product specification concerning protected designations of origin or protected geographical indications shall be submitted to the authorities of the Member State the geographical area of the designation or indication relates to. Applications for a minor amendment of a product specification concerning traditional specialities guaranteed shall be submitted to the authorities of the Member State in which the group is established. If the application for a minor amendment of a product specification does not come from the group which had submitted the application for registration of the name or names the product specification refers to, the Member State shall give that group the opportunity to make comments on the application if that group still exists. If the Member State considers that the requirements of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 and of the provisions adopted pursuant thereto are met, it may lodge a minor amendment application dossier with the Commission. Applications for a minor amendment to a product specification concerning products originating in third countries may be submitted by a group having a legitimate interest either directly to the Commission or via the authorities of that third country.

The application for a minor amendment shall only propose minor amendments in the meaning of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. It shall describe those minor amendments, provide a summary of the reason an amendment is required and show that the proposed amendments qualify as minor in accordance with Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012. It shall compare, for each amendment, the original product specification and, where relevant, the original single document with the amended version proposed. The application shall be self-sufficient and shall contain all amendments to the product specification and, where relevant, to the single document for which approval is sought.

Minor amendments referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 53(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 shall be deemed approved if the Commission does not inform the applicant otherwise within three months from the reception of the application.

An application for a minor amendment that does not comply with the second subparagraph of this paragraph shall not be admissible. Tacit approval referred to in the third subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply to such applications. The Commission shall inform the applicant if the application is deemed inadmissible within three months from the reception of the application.

The Commission shall make public the approved minor amendment to a product specification not implying a modification of the elements referred to in Article 50(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012.

3. The procedure laid down in Articles 49 to 52 of Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 shall not apply to amendments concerning a temporary change in the product specification resulting from the imposition of obligatory sanitary and phytosanitary measures by the public authorities or linked to natural disasters or adverse weather conditions formally recognised by the competent authorities.

Those amendments shall be communicated to the Commission together with the reasons for them not later than two weeks following approval. Temporary amendments to a product specification concerning protected designations of origin or protected geographical indications shall be communicated to the Commission by the authorities of the Member State the geographical area of the designation or indication relates to. Temporary amendments to a product specification concerning traditional specialities guaranteed shall be communicated to the Commission by the authorities of the Member State in which the group is established. Temporary amendments concerning products originating in third countries shall be communicated to the Commission either by a group having a legitimate interest or by the authorities of that third country. Member States shall publish temporary amendments to the product specification. In communications concerning a temporary amendment to a product specification relating to a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication, Member States shall only enclose the reference to the publication. In communications concerning a temporary amendment to a product specification relating to a traditional speciality guaranteed, they shall enclose the temporary amendment to the product specification as published. In communications concerning products originating in third countries the approved temporary amendments to the product specification shall be sent to the Commission.. Evidence of the sanitary and phytosanitary measures and a copy of the act recognising natural disasters or adverse weather conditions shall be provided in all communications for temporary amendments from Member States and third countries. The Commission shall make public such amendments.