TITLE VIF6ACTIVITIES IN RELATION TO CONTROLS
CHAPTER IF16Controls in third countries
Title 6 Ch. 1 heading 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, 21(2) (with reg. 46)
F7Article 116Commission controls in Member States
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F7Article 117Reports by the Commission on controls in Member States
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F7Article 118Programme of the Commission controls in Member States
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F7Article 119Obligations of the Member States as regards Commission controls
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Article 120F15... Controls in third countries
1
F18Experts appointed by the competent authorities may perform controls in third countries in order to:
a
verify the compliance or equivalence of third-country legislation and systems, including official certification and the issuance of official certificates, official labels, official marks and other official attestations, with the requirements laid down in the rules referred to in Article 1(2);
b
verify the capacity of the third country control system to ensure that consignments of animals and goods exported to F13Great Britain comply with relevant requirements established by the rules referred to in Article 1(2) or with requirements recognised to be at least equivalent thereto;
c
collect information and data to elucidate the causes of recurring or emerging problems in relation to exports of animals and goods from a third country.
2
The controls provided for in paragraph 1 shall have particular regard to:
a
the legislation of the third country;
b
the organisation of the third country’s competent authorities, their powers and independence, the supervision to which they are subject and the authority they have to enforce the applicable legislation effectively;
c
the training of staff of the competent authority of the third country in the performance of official controls;
d
the resources including analytical, testing and diagnostic facilities available to competent authorities;
e
the existence and operation of documented control procedures and control systems based on priorities;
f
where applicable, the situation regarding animal health, animal welfare, zoonoses and plant health, and procedures for notifying the F12competent authorities in Great Britain and relevant international bodies of outbreaks of animal diseases and pests of plants;
g
the extent and operation of controls performed by the competent authority of the third country on animals, plants and their products arriving from other third countries; and
h
the assurances which the third country can give regarding compliance with, or equivalence to, the requirements laid down in the rules referred to in Article 1(2).
3
In order to facilitate the efficiency and effectiveness of the controls provided for in paragraph 1, the F8appropriate authority may, prior to performing such controls, request that the third country concerned provide:
a
the necessary information referred to in Article 125(1); and
b
where appropriate and necessary, the written records on the controls its competent authorities perform.
F144
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Article 121Frequency of F5... controls in third countries
The frequency of F20... controls in third countries referred to in Article 120 shall be determined on the basis of the following criteria:
- (a)
a risk assessment of the animals and goods exported to F10Great Britain from the third country concerned;
- (b)
the rules referred to in Article 1(2);
- (c)
the volume and nature of animals and goods entering F10Great Britain from the third country concerned;
- (d)
the outcome of controls already performed by the F19experts appointed by the competent authority or by other inspection bodies;
- (e)
the outcome of official controls on animals and goods entering F10Great Britain from the third country concerned and of any other official controls that competent authorities F11in Great Britain have performed;
- (f)
information received from the EFSA or similar bodies;
- (g)
information received from internationally recognised bodies such as:
- (i)
the World Health Organization;
- (ii)
the Codex Alimentarius Commission;
- (iii)
the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE);
- (iv)
European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization and any other regional plant protection organisations established under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC);
- (v)
the secretariat of the IPPC;
- (vi)
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development;
- (vii)
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe;
- (viii)
the secretariat of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Biodiversity;
- (i)
- (h)
evidence of emerging disease situations or other circumstances that might result in animals and goods entering F10Great Britain from a third country presenting health or environmental risks or a risk of fraudulent or deceptive practices;
- (i)
the need to investigate or respond to emergency situations in individual third countries.
Article 122Reports by the F9competent authority on controls in third countries
Article 123Programme of F2... controls in third countries
The F1competent authority shall communicate its programme of controls in third countries to F17other competent authorities in Great Britain in advance and shall report on the results. The F1competent authority may amend that programme to take account of developments in the areas governed by the rules referred to in Article 1(2). Any such amendment shall be communicated to the F17other competent authorities in Great Britain in advance.
F4Article 124Third-country controls in Member States
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Title 6 heading 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, 21(1) (with reg. 46)