Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER VI U.K. Financing of official controls and of other official activities

Article 78 U.K. General rules

1. [F1 The appropriate authority] shall ensure that adequate financial resources are available to provide the staff and other resources necessary for the competent authorities to perform official controls and other official activities.

2. This Chapter also applies in the case of delegation of certain official control tasks and other official activities in accordance with Articles 28 and 31.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Art. 78(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(1) (with reg. 46)

Article 79 U.K. Mandatory fees or charges

1. The competent authorities shall collect fees or charges for the official controls performed in relation to the activities referred to in Chapter II of Annex IV and on animals and goods referred to in points (a), (b) and (c) of Article 47(1), F2 ... either;

(a) at the level of the cost calculated in accordance with Article 82(1); or

(b) at the amounts provided for in Annex IV.

2. The competent authorities shall collect fees or charges to recover the costs they incur in relation to:

(a) official controls performed on animals and goods referred to in points (d), (e) and (f) of Article 47(1);

(b) official controls performed at the request of the operator, to obtain the approval provided for in Article 10 of Regulation (EC) No 183/2005;

(c) official controls which were not originally planned, and which;

(i)

have become necessary following the detection of a case of non-compliance by the same operator, during an official control performed in accordance with this Regulation; and

(ii)

are performed to assess the extent and the impact of the case of non-compliance or to verify that the non-compliance has been remedied.

3. Notwithstanding paragraphs 1 and 2, [F3 competent authorities] may [F4 decide to reduce the amount of, or waive, the fees or charges, after having had regard to any considerations that the competent authority considers to be relevant, including, but not limited to:]

(a) the interests of operators with a low throughput;

(b) the traditional methods used for production, processing and distribution;

(c) the needs of operators located in regions subject to specific geographical constraints; and

(d) the operators’ record of compliance with the relevant rules referred to in Article 1(2) as ascertained through official controls.

4. [F5 Competent authorities] may decide that fees and charges calculated in accordance with point (b) of Article 82(1) shall not be collected below the amount at which, taking into account the cost of collection and the overall income expected from the fees and charges, the collection of that fee or charge would be uneconomical.

5. This Article shall not apply to official controls performed to verify compliance with the rules referred to in points (i) and (j) of Article 1(2).

Textual Amendments

F2 Words in Art. 79(1) omitted (30.4.2024) by virtue of The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(2)(a)

F3 Words in Art. 79(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(2)(a) (with reg. 46)

F4 Words in Art. 79(3) substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(2)(b)

F5 Words in Art. 79(4) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(2)(b) (with reg. 46)

Article 80 U.K. Other fees or charges

[F6 Competent authorities] may collect fees or charges to cover the costs of official controls and other official activities other than those fees or charges referred to in Article 79, unless prohibited by the legislative provisions applicable in the areas governed by the rules referred to in Article 1(2).

Textual Amendments

F6 Words in Art. 80 substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(3) (with reg. 46)

Article 81 U.K. Costs

The fees or charges to be collected in accordance with point (a) of Article 79(1) and with Article 79(2) [F7 may] be determined on the basis of [F8 the costs of official controls and costs connected with official controls, including but not limited to]:

(a)

the salaries of the staff, including support and administrative staff, involved in the performance of official controls, their social security, pension and insurance costs;

(b)

the cost of facilities and equipment, including maintenance and insurance costs and other associated costs;

(c)

the cost of consumables and tools;

(d)

the cost of services charged to the competent authorities by delegated bodies for official controls delegated to these delegated bodies;

(e)

the cost of training of the staff referred to in point (a), with the exclusion of the training necessary to obtain the qualification necessary to be employed by the competent authorities;

(f)

the cost of travel of the staff referred to in point (a), and associated subsistence costs;

(g)

the cost of sampling and of laboratory analysis, testing and diagnosis charged by official laboratories for those tasks.

Textual Amendments

F7 Word in Art. 81 substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(3)(a)

F8 Words in Art. 81 substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(3)(b)

Article 82 U.K. Calculation of fees or charges

1. Fees or charges collected in accordance with point (a) of Article 79(1) and with Article 79(2) shall be established in accordance with one of the following methods of calculation or a combination of them:

(a) at [F9 a flat-rate or set of flat-rates] on the basis of the overall costs of official controls borne by the [F10 competent authorities, individually or, by agreement, collectively,] over a given period of time, and applied to all operators irrespective of whether any official control is performed during the reference period in relation to each operator charged; in establishing the level of the fees to be charged for each sector, activity and category of operators, the competent authorities shall take into consideration the impact that the type and the size of the activity concerned, and the relevant risk factors, have on the distribution of the overall costs of those official controls; or

(b) on the basis of the calculation of the actual costs of each individual official control, and applied to the operators subject to such official control.

2. Travel costs as referred to in point (f) of Article 81 shall be considered for the calculation of the fees or charges referred to in point (a) of Article 79(1) and in Article 79(2) in a manner that does not discriminate between operators on the basis of the distance of their premises from the location of the competent authorities.

3. Where fees or charges are calculated in accordance with point (a) of paragraph 1, the fees or charges collected by competent authorities shall not exceed the overall costs incurred for the official controls performed over the period of time referred to therein.

4. Where fees or charges are calculated in accordance with point (b) of paragraph 1, they shall not exceed the actual cost of the official control performed.

Textual Amendments

F9 Words in Art. 82(1)(a) substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(4)(a)

F10 Words in Art. 82(1)(a) substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(4)(b)

Article 83 U.K. Collection and application of fees or charges

1. An operator shall only be charged with a fee or charge for an official control and for another official activity performed on the basis of a complaint if that control leads to the confirmation of non-compliance.

2. Fees or charges collected in accordance with Articles 79 and 80 shall not be directly or indirectly refunded, unless unduly collected.

3. [F11 Competent authorities] may decide that fees or charges shall be collected by authorities other than the competent authorities or by delegated bodies.

Textual Amendments

F11 Words in Art. 83(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(4) (with reg. 46)

Article 84 U.K. Payment of fees or charges

1. The competent authorities shall ensure that the operators receive, upon request, proof of payment of fees or charges in the event that the operators do not otherwise have access to such proof.

[F12 2. The operator responsible for the consignment or its representative must pay the fee or charge collected in accordance with Articles 79(1), (2) or 80, subject to alternative arrangements being provided by other legislation.]

Textual Amendments

F12 Art. 84(2) substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(5)

Article 85 U.K. Transparency

1. [F13 Competent authorities] shall ensure a high level of transparency on:

(a) the fees or charges provided for in point (a) of Article 79(1), Article 79(2) and Article 80, namely on:

(i)

the method and data used to establish these fees or charges;

(ii)

the amount of the fees or charges, applied to each category of operators and for each category of official controls or other official activities;

(iii)

the breakdown of the costs, as referred to in Article 81;

(b) the identity of the authorities or bodies responsible for the collection of the fees or charges.

2. Each competent authority shall [F14 make available to the public, including by publication online,] the information referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article for each reference period and the costs to the competent authority for which a fee or charge is due in accordance with point (a) of Article 79(1), Article 79(2) and Article 80.

3. [F15 Competent authorities] shall consult relevant stakeholders on the general methods used to calculate the fees or charges provided for in point (a) of Article 79(1), Article 79(2) and Article 80.

Textual Amendments

F13 Words in Art. 85(1) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(5) (with reg. 46)

F14 Words in Art. 85(2) substituted (30.4.2024) by The Official Controls (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 (S.I. 2024/547), regs. 1(1)(b), 2(6)

F15 Words in Art. 85(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 16(5) (with reg. 46)