Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1873Show full title

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1873

of 7 November 2019

on the procedures at border control posts for a coordinated performance by competent authorities of intensified official controls on products of animal origin, germinal products, animal by-products and composite products

(Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products, amending Regulations (EC) No 999/2001, (EC) No 396/2005, (EC) No 1069/2009, (EC) No 1107/2009, (EU) No 1151/2012, (EU) No 652/2014, (EU) 2016/429 and (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Regulations (EC) No 1/2005 and (EC) No 1099/2009 and Council Directives 98/58/EC, 1999/74/EC, 2007/43/EC, 2008/119/EC and 2008/120/EC, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 854/2004 and (EC) No 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council, Council Directives 89/608/EEC, 89/662/EEC, 90/425/EEC, 91/496/EEC, 96/23/EC, 96/93/EC and 97/78/EC and Council Decision 92/438/EEC (Official Controls Regulation)(1), and in particular Article 65(6) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 subjects certain categories of animals and goods to systematic controls at border control posts prior to their entry into the Union.

(2) It follows from Article 65(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 that in case of suspected fraudulent or deceptive practices by an operator or in the case of serious or repeated infringements of the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of that Regulation, official controls on consignments with the same use or origin performed by the competent authorities at the border control posts should be intensified. Pursuant to Article 65(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the competent authorities’ decision to perform such intensified controls is to be notified to the Commission and the Member States through the information management system for official controls (IMSOC) referred to in Article 131 of that Regulation.

(3) In order to ensure a harmonised approach to the coordinated performance of intensified official controls on certain goods entering the Union, detailed procedures for the coordinated performance of those controls should be established, including rules on the role of the IMSOC in this respect. For practical reasons, the coordinated performance of intensified controls at borders should be limited to the categories of consignments for which there is an identifiable listed establishment of origin, i.e. consignments of products of animal origin, germinal products, animal by-products and composite products.

(4) When receiving notifications from the competent authorities in accordance with Article 65(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the Commission should in particular assess whether the non-compliance is based on suspected fraudulent or deceptive practices or on a potentially serious or repeated infringement of the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, for instance the placing on the market of products of animal origin containing levels of contaminants or residues of veterinary medicinal products which exceed the maximum residue limit, or of products which do not comply with Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005(2).

(5) In order to reduce the risk of fraudulent or deceptive practices by way of presenting small consignments for official controls, the total weight of compliant consignments required to end the coordinated performance of intensified official controls should amount to at least ten times the weight of the consignment that initially triggered the measure. However, in order to avoid an unacceptable administrative and financial burden for the competent authorities and for operators, a maximum total weight of compliant consignments required to end the coordinated performance of intensified official controls should be set.

(6) If, during the coordinated performance of intensified official controls, three consignments entering the Union reveal the same type of infringement indicated in the notification in accordance with Article 65(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, the coordinated performance of intensified official controls should be maintained until its results and the action of the competent authorities of the third countries concerned are satisfactory. In that case, the Commission should request the competent authorities of the third countries to carry out the necessary investigations and measures in order to remedy the situation in the establishment of origin and report back to the Commission.

(7) For reasons of the efficiency of the control system, it should be possible for the Member States to exclude certain consignments from the coordinated performance of intensified official controls, in cases where the consignments are to be refused entry into the Union on grounds other than the infringement for which the coordinated intensified official controls are performed.

(8) Since Regulation (EU) 2017/625 applies from 14 December 2019, this Regulation should also apply from that date.

(9) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1 U.K. Subject matter and scope

This Regulation lays down rules relating to the procedures at border control posts for a coordinated performance by competent authorities of intensified official controls on products of animal origin, germinal products, animal by-products and composite products entering [F1 Great Britain, from a third country,] for placing on the market.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Art. 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, 33(2) (with reg. 46)

[F2 Article 2 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation—

(a) ‘the appropriate computerised information management system’ is the system for official controls referred to in Article 131 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(b) ‘the establishment of origin’ means the establishment of origin in a third country, including third country vessels, appearing on lists drawn up regarding the export of products of animal origin, germinal products, animal by-products and composite products to Great Britain, in accordance with the legislation in force in the relevant constituent territory of Great Britain;

(b) ‘third country’ has the meaning given in Article 3(2D) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625.]

Textual Amendments

F2 Art. 2 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, 33(3) (with reg. 46)

Article 3 U.K. Triggering of the coordinated performance of intensified official controls

[F3 1. When notifying other competent authorities of a decision to perform intensified official controls made in accordance with Article 65(5) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 through the appropriate computerised information management system, the competent authority making the decision must indicate—

(a) the establishment of origin;

(b) the category of goods, including their description and code from the classification system applicable in the United Kingdom, as amended from time to time, whether established and maintained pursuant to section 8(1) of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 or under any other enactment; and

(c) the infringement which has occasioned the decision to perform intensified official controls.]

2. After receipt of the notification referred to in paragraph 1, the [F4 notified competent authorities must assess and endeavour to agree] whether the following conditions are met:

(a) the notification is based on suspected fraudulent or deceptive practices or on a potentially serious or repeated infringement of the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(b) the notification is related to an action or omission for which the establishment of origin of the consignment concerned is responsible;

(c) the consignment concerned is not already subject to the coordinated performance of intensified official controls in accordance with this Regulation; and

(d) the consignment concerned is not subject to emergency measures [F5 under Article 261 of Regulation (EU) 2016/429 or to special measures under] Article 128 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, for the same infringement as the one indicated in the notification referred to in paragraph 1.

3. The [F6 notifying competent authority] shall record the outcome of its assessment referred to in paragraph 2 in the [F7 appropriate computerised information management system].

4. Where the outcome of the assessment referred to in paragraph 2 indicates that the requisite conditions have been met, the competent authorities at the border control posts in all [F8 constituent territories of Great Britain] shall perform coordinated intensified official controls.

Textual Amendments

F3 Art. 3(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, 33(4)(a) (with reg. 46)

F4 Words in Art. 3(2) 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, 33(4)(b)(i) (with reg. 46)

F5 Words in Art. 3(2)(d) 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, 33(4)(b)(ii) (with reg. 46)

F6 Words in Art. 3(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, 33(4)(c)(i) (with reg. 46)

F7 Words in Art. 3(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, 33(4)(c)(ii) (with reg. 46)

F8 Words in Art. 3(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, 33(4)(d) (with reg. 46)

Article 4 U.K. Procedures for the coordinated performance of intensified official controls

1. The competent authorities at the border control posts in [F9 Great Britain] shall carry out the identity and physical checks referred to in Article 49 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on each consignment coming from the same establishment of origin and containing the same category of goods, for the same type of infringement, as indicated in the [F10 appropriate computerised information management system] in accordance with Article 3(1).

2. For the controls referred to in paragraph 1, the consignments shall be selected on the basis of the codes from the [F11 classification system applicable in Great Britain, as amended from time to time, whether established and maintained pursuant to section 8(1) of the Taxation (Cross-border) Trade Act 2018 or under any other enactment].

3. Where these codes are not specific enough to properly identify the category of goods, the competent authorities at border control posts shall only subject consignments selected on the basis of these codes to the coordinated performance of intensified official controls if they correspond to the description of the goods indicated in accordance with Article 3(1).

4. The competent authorities shall record in the [F12 appropriate computerised information management system] the reasons for not subjecting a selected consignment to the coordinated performance of intensified official controls in accordance with paragraph 3.

Textual Amendments

F9 Words in Art. 4(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, 33(5)(a)(i) (with reg. 46)

F10 Words in Art. 4(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, 33(5)(a)(ii) (with reg. 46)

F11 Words in Art. 4(2) 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, 33(5)(b) (with reg. 46)

F12 Words in Art. 4(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, 33(5)(c) (with reg. 46)

Article 5 U.K. Imposed checks

1. If, during the coordinated performance of intensified official controls, three consignments entering [F13 Great Britain] reveal the same type of infringement indicated in the notification referred to in Article 3(1), the [F14 the competent authority in the relevant constituent territory of Great Britain, or, where there is more than one competent authority dealing with the infringements, one of those authorities] shall request the competent authority of the third country, in which the establishment of origin of the non-compliant consignments is located, to:

(a) make the necessary investigations to identify the reasons for the infringements (‘imposed checks’);

(b) adopt an action plan in relation to the establishment of origin to effectively remedy the situation; and

(c) report back on the actions referred to in points (a) and (b), including the results of the action plan.

2. The [F15 competent authority making the request in accordance with paragraph 1] shall closely monitor the results of the imposed checks and the action plan and take further action, including measures in accordance with Article 53 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 and Article 127(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, when:

(a) the competent authority of the third country does not take appropriate action to effectively remedy the situation; or

(b) the competent authorities of the [F16 constituent territories of Great Britain] continue to notify unsatisfactory results of the coordinated performance of intensified official controls.

Textual Amendments

F13 Words in Art. 5(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, 33(6)(a)(i) (with reg. 46)

F14 Words in Art. 5(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, 33(6)(a)(ii) (with reg. 46)

F15 Words in Art. 5(2) 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, 33(6)(b)(i) (with reg. 46)

F16 Words in Art. 5(2)(b) 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, 33(6)(b)(ii) (with reg. 46)

Article 6 U.K. Termination of the coordinated performance of intensified official controls

1. The coordinated performance of intensified official controls shall end in the following cases:

(a) when a competent authority decides to withdraw its notification referred to in Article 3(1) and informs the [F17 other competent authorities of its decision, through the appropriate computerised information management system,] indicating the reasons justifying their decision; or

(b) when the following conditions are met:

(i)

an uninterrupted sequence of at least 10 satisfactory results in the coordinated performance of intensified official controls has been recorded in the [F18 appropriate computerised information management system] by the competent authorities of the border control posts of the [F19 constituent territories of Great Britain]; and

(ii)

the total weight of the consignments referred to in point (i) reaches at least 10 times the weight of the consignment to which the notification referred to in Article 3(1) relates, or a net weight of 300 tons, whichever is the lowest.

2. However, where [F20 a competent authority] has requested imposed checks in accordance with point (a) of Article 5(1), the coordinated performance of intensified official controls shall end when:

(a) an uninterrupted sequence of at least 30 satisfactory results in the coordinated performance of intensified official controls has been recorded in the [F21 appropriate computerised information management system] by the competent authorities of the border control posts of the [F22 constituent territories of Great Britain]; and

(b) the competent authority of the third country has adopted a satisfactory action plan in accordance with point (b) of Article 5(1).

Textual Amendments

F17 Words in Art. 6(1)(a) 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, 33(7)(a)(i) (with reg. 46)

F18 Words in Art. 6(1)(b) 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, 33(7)(a)(ii)(aa) (with reg. 46)

F19 Words in Art. 6(1)(b) 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, 33(7)(a)(ii)(bb) (with reg. 46)

F20 Words in Art. 6(2) 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, 33(7)(b)(i) (with reg. 46)

F21 Words in Art. 6(2)(a) 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, 33(7)(b)(ii)(aa) (with reg. 46)

F22 Words in Art. 6(2)(a) 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, 33(7)(b)(ii)(bb) (with reg. 46)

Article 7 U.K. Costs of the coordinated performance of intensified official controls

The costs of the coordinated performance of intensified official controls shall be at the expense of the operator responsible for the consignments that are subject to those controls.

Article 8 U.K. Consignments excluded from the coordinated performance of intensified official controls

1. The competent authorities may exclude a consignment from the coordinated performance of intensified official controls, if the consignment is to be refused entry [F23 to Great Britain ] in accordance with Article 66(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on grounds other than the infringement for which the coordinated intensified official controls are performed.

2. The competent authorities shall record in the [F24 appropriate computerised information management system] the reasons for the exclusion of a consignment from the coordinated performance of intensified official controls in accordance with paragraph 1.

Textual Amendments

F23 Words in Art. 8(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, 33(8)(a) (with reg. 46)

F24 Words in Art. 8(2) 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, 33(8)(b) (with reg. 46)

Article 9 U.K. Entry into force and application

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

It shall apply from 14 December 2019.

F25 ...

Done at Brussels, 7 November 2019.

For the Commission

The President

Jean Claude Juncker

Textual Amendments

F25 Words in Signature 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, 33(9) (with reg. 46)

(1)

OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1.

(2)

Commission Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 of 15 November 2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs (OJ L 338, 22.12.2005, p. 1).