Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1158Show full title

Article 4 Official certificate

1. The official certificate referred to in Article 3(3) shall be issued by the competent authority of the third country of origin or of the third country where the consignment is consigned, if that country is different from the country of origin, in accordance with the model set out in Annex III.

2. The official certificate shall comply with the following requirements:

(a) it shall bear the identification code referred to in Article 3(3), of the consignment to which it relates;

(b) it shall be issued before the consignment to which it relates leaves the control of the competent authority of the third country issuing the certificate;

(c) it shall be valid for not more than 4 months from the date of issue, but in any case no longer than 6 months from the date of the results of the laboratory analysis referred to in paragraph 6.

3. The official certificate which is not submitted in the Information Management System for Official Controls (IMSOC) by the competent authority of the third country issuing it shall also meet the requirements for model official certificates not submitted in IMSOC laid down in Article 3 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/628.

4. Competent authorities may issue a replacement official certificate only in accordance with the rules laid down in Article 5 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/628.

5. The official certificate shall be completed on the basis of the instructions set out in Annex IV.

6. The official certificate shall attest that the products comply with the maximum permitted levels laid down in Article 3(2). The official certificate shall be accompanied by the results of sampling and analysis performed on that consignment by the competent authority of the third country of origin or of the country where the consignment is consigned from, if that country is different from the country of origin.