TITLE IIF2OFFICIAL CONTROLS AND OTHER OFFICIAL ACTIVITIES ...
CHAPTER VIIOfficial certification
Article 86General requirements concerning official certification
1
Official certification shall result in the issuance of:
a
official certificates; or
b
official attestations in the cases provided for in the rules referred to in Article 1(2).
2
Where the competent authorities delegate certain tasks related to the issuance of official certificates or official attestations, or to the official supervision referred to in Article 91(1), such delegation shall comply with Articles 28 to 33.
Article 87Official certificates
Articles 88, 89 and 90 shall apply:
- (a)
when the rules referred to in Article 1(2) require the issuance of an official certificate; and
- (b)
to official certificates which are necessary for the purposes of exporting consignments of animals and goods to third countriesF7....
Article 88Signature and issuance of official certificates
1
Official certificates shall be issued by the competent authorities.
2
Competent authorities shall designate the certifying officers who are authorised to sign official certificates and shall ensure that these officers:
a
are impartial, free from any conflict of interest, and in particular are not in a situation which may, directly or indirectly, affect the impartiality of their professional conduct in relation to what is being certified; and
b
have received appropriate training on the rules with which compliance is certified by an official certificate and on the technical assessment of compliance with those rules as well as with the relevant rules laid down in this Regulation.
3
Official certificates shall be signed by the certifying officer and issued on one of the following grounds:
a
direct knowledge by the certifying officer of up-to-date facts and data relevant for the certification that is obtained through:
- (i)
an official control; or
- (ii)
the acquisition of another official certificate issued by the competent authorities;
b
facts and data relevant for the certification, knowledge of which was ascertained by another person authorised for that purpose by, and acting under the control of, the competent authorities, provided that the certifying officer can verify the accuracy of such facts and data;
c
facts and data relevant for the certification which were obtained from the operators’ own control systems, complemented and confirmed by results from regular official controls, where the certifying officer is thus satisfied that the conditions for issuing the official certificate are met.
4
Official certificates shall be signed by the certifying officer and issued only on the basis of point (a) of paragraph 3 of this Article when rules referred to in Article 1(2) so require.
Article 89Guarantees of reliability for official certificates
1
Official certificates shall:
a
bear a unique code;
b
not be signed by the certifying officer where they are blank or incomplete;
F4c
be in English and one of the official languages of the country of destination and may also be in Welsh;
d
be authentic and accurate;
e
allow for the identification of the person who signed them and the date of issue; and
f
allow the easy verification of the links between the certificate, the issuing authority and the consignment, lot or individual animal or good covered by the certificate.
2
The competent authorities shall take all appropriate measures to prevent the issuance of false or misleading official certificates or the abuse of official certificates.
Article 90F8... Powers concerning official certificates
The F5appropriate authority may make regulations laying down rules for the application of Articles 88 and 89 concerning:
- (a)
model official certificates and rules for the issuance of such certificates, where requirements are not laid down in the rules referred to in Article 1(2);
- (b)
the mechanisms and technical arrangements to ensure the issuance of accurate and reliable official certificates, and prevent risk of fraud;
- (c)
the procedures to be followed in the case of withdrawals of official certificates and for the issuance of replacement certificates;
- (d)
rules for the production of certified copies of official certificates;
- (e)
the format of documents that must accompany animals and goods after official controls have been performed;
- (f)
rules for the issuance of electronic certificates and for the use of electronic signatures.
- (g)
F1rules under point (a) or (e) may also include rules on the publication online of certificates or documents (as the case may be) in the form specified by the appropriate authority.
F6. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Article 91Official attestations
1
When this Regulation or the rules referred to in Article 1(2) require the issuance of official attestations by the operators under the official supervision of the competent authorities, or by the competent authorities themselves, paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article shall apply.
2
Official attestations shall:
a
be authentic and accurate;
b
F3be drawn up in English and one of the official languages of the country of destination and may also be in Welsh; and
c
where they relate to a consignment or a lot, allow the verification of the link between the official attestation and that consignment or lot.
3
Competent authorities shall ensure that the staff performing official controls to supervise the issuance of official attestations or, where the official attestations are issued by the competent authorities, the staff involved in the issuance of those official attestations:
a
are impartial, free from any conflict of interest, and in particular are not in a situation which may, directly or indirectly, affect the impartiality of their professional conduct in relation to what is being certified by the official attestations; and
b
have received appropriate training on:
- (i)
the rules with which compliance is certified by the official attestations and on the technical assessment of compliance with those rules;
- (ii)
the relevant rules laid down in this Regulation.
4
Competent authorities shall perform regular official controls to verify that:
a
the operators issuing the attestations comply with the conditions laid down in the rules referred to in Article 1(2); and
b
the attestation is issued on the basis of relevant, correct and verifiable facts and data.
Words in Title 2 heading omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Official Controls (Animals, Feed and Food, Plant Health etc.) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1481), regs. 1, 4(1) (with reg. 46)