Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2016/6Show full title

Article 1 Scope

This Regulation applies to feed and food within the meaning of Article 1(2) of Council Regulation (Euratom) No 3954/87(1) (‘the products’) originating in or consigned from Japan, with the exclusion of:

(a)

products which have been harvested and/or processed before 11 March 2011;

(b)

personal consignments of feed and food of animal origin which are covered by Article 2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 206/2009(2);

(c)

personal consignments of feed and food other than of animal origin which are non-commercial and destined to a natural person for personal consumption and use only. In case of doubt, the burden of proof lies with the recipient of the consignment.

Article 2 Definition

For the purposes of this Regulation, ‘consignment’ means:

• for products for which a sampling and analysis is required by Article 5, a quantity of any of the feed or food falling within the scope of this Regulation of the same class or description, covered by the same document(s), conveyed by the same means of transport and coming from the same prefecture of Japan,

• for the other products falling within the scope of this Regulation, a quantity of any of the feed or food falling within the scope of this Regulation, covered by the same document(s), conveyed by the same means of transport and coming from one or more prefectures of Japan, within the limits set in the declaration referred to in Article 5.

Article 3 Import into the Union

Products may only be imported into the Union if they comply with this Regulation.

Article 4 Maximum levels of caesium-134 and caesium-137

Products shall comply with the maximum level for the sum of caesium-134 and caesium-137 as set out in Annex I.

Article 5 Declaration for certain products

1. Each consignment of mushrooms, fish and fishery products, with the exception of scallops, rice, soybeans, (Japanese) persimmon, Japanese or giant butterbur (fuki), Aralia spp., bamboo shoot, bracken, Japanese royal fern, ostrich fern and koshiabura or a derived product thereof or a compound feed or food containing more than 50 % of those products, originating in or consigned from Japan, shall be accompanied by a valid declaration drawn up and signed in accordance with Article 6.

2. The declaration referred to in paragraph 1 shall attest that the products comply with the legislation in force in Japan.

3. The declaration referred to in paragraph 1 shall furthermore certify that:

(a) the product has been harvested and/or processed before 11 March 2011; or

(b) the product does not originate in and is not consigned from one of the prefectures listed in Annex II(3), for which the sampling and analysis of this product is required; or

(c) the product is consigned from but does not originate in one of the prefectures listed in Annex II, for which the sampling and analysis of this product is required and has not been exposed to radioactivity during transiting; or

(d) the product originates in one of the prefectures listed in Annex II for which the sampling and analysis of this product is required and is accompanied by an analytical report containing the results of sampling and analysis; or

(e) where the origin of the product or of its ingredients present at more than 50 % is unknown, the product is accompanied by an analytical report containing the results of sampling and analysis.

4. Fish and fishery products caught or harvested in the coastal waters of the prefectures of Fukushima, Gunma, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Miyagi, Chiba or Iwate shall be accompanied by a declaration referred to paragraph 1 and by an analytical report containing the results of sampling and analysis, irrespective of where such products are landed.

Article 6 Drawing up and signing of the declaration

1. The declaration referred to in Article 5 shall be drawn up in accordance with the model set out in Annex III.

2. For the products referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 5(3), the declaration shall be signed by an authorised representative of the competent Japanese authority or by an authorised representative of an instance authorised by the competent Japanese authority under the authority and supervision of the competent Japanese authority.

3. For the products referred to in points (d) and (e) of Article 5(3) and in Article 5(4), the declaration shall be signed by an authorised representative of the competent Japanese authority and shall be accompanied by an analytical report containing the results of sampling and analysis.

Article 7 Identification

Each consignment of products referred to in Article 5(1) shall be identified by means of a code which shall be indicated on the declaration referred to in Article 5, on the analytical report referred to in Article 6(3), on the common entry document or common veterinary entry document, referred to in Article 9(2) and on the sanitary certificate accompanying the consignment.

Article 8 Border inspection posts and designated point of entry

1. Consignments of products referred to in Article 5(1) shall be introduced into the Union through a designated point of entry within the meaning of point (b) of Article 3 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 669/2009(4) (‘the designated point of entry’).

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to consignments of products referred to in Article 5(1) falling within the scope of Council Directive 97/78/EC(5). Those consignments shall be introduced into the Union via a border inspection post within the meaning of point (g) of Article 2(2) of that Directive.

Article 9 Prior notification

1. Feed and food business operators or their representatives shall give prior notification of the arrival of each consignment of products referred to in Article 5(1).

2. For the purpose of prior notification, feed and food business operators or their representatives shall complete:

(a) for products of non-animal origin: Part I of the common entry document (CED) referred to in point (a) of Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 669/2009, taking into account the notes for guidance for the CED laid down in Annex II to that Regulation; for the purpose of this Regulation, Box I.13 of the CED can contain more than one commodity code;

(b) for fish and fishery products: the common veterinary entry document (CVED) set out in Annex III to Commission Regulation (EC) No 136/2004(6).

The respective document shall be transmitted to the competent authority at the designated point of entry or border inspection post, at least two working days prior to the physical arrival of the consignment.

Article 10 Official controls

1. The competent authorities of the border inspection post or designated point of entry shall carry out the following controls on the products referred to in Article 5(1):

(a) documentary checks on all consignments;

(b) random identity checks and random physical checks, including laboratory analysis on the presence of caesium-134 and caesium-137. The analytical results shall be available within a maximum of five working days.

2. In case the result of the laboratory analysis provides evidence that the guarantees provided in the declaration referred to in Article 5 are false, the declaration is considered not to be valid and the consignment of feed and food does not comply with this Regulation.

Article 11 Costs

All costs resulting from the official controls referred to in Article 10 and any measures taken following non-compliance shall be borne by the feed and food business operators.

Article 12 Release for free circulation

1. The release for free circulation of each consignment of products referred to in Article 5(1) shall be subject to the presentation (physically or electronically) by the feed or food business operator or their representative to the custom authorities of a CED duly completed by the competent authority once all official controls have been carried out. The custom authorities shall only release the consignment for free circulation if a favourable decision by the competent authority is indicated in box II.14 of the CED and signed in box II.21 of the CED.

2. Paragraph 1 shall not apply to consignments of products referred to in Article 5(1) falling within the scope of Directive 97/78/EC. The release for free circulation of those consignments shall be subject to Regulation (EC) No 136/2004.

Article 13 Non-compliant products

Products which do not comply with this Regulation shall not be placed on the market. Such products shall be safely disposed of or returned to Japan.

Article 14 Review

This Regulation shall be reviewed before 30 June 2016.

Article 15 Repeal

Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014 is repealed.

Article 16 Transitional provision

By way of derogation from Article 3, products may be imported into the Union under the following conditions:

(a)

they comply with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014; and

(b)

either they left Japan before the entry into force of this Regulation or they left Japan after the entry into force of this Regulation but before 1 February 2016 and they are accompanied by a declaration in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014 which was issued before the entry into force of this Regulation.

Article 17 Entry into force

This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 5 January 2016.

For the Commission

The President

Jean-Claude Juncker