Packers' and importers' duties as to equipment, checks and documentation9
1
It shall be the duty of a packer in making up packages either—
a
to measure the product contained in each package using equipment which complies with paragraph (2) to ensure that the packages are packed in accordance with regulation 4(1), or
b
to carry out checks on the product contained in the packages using a system of sampling and tests which are sufficiently rigorous to ensure that the packages are packed in accordance with regulation 4(1), and for this purpose—
i
to use equipment which complies with paragraph (2), and
ii
to make, and to keep until the relevant date, a record of the checks, together with a record of the corrections and adjustments which they have shown to be necessary.
2
Equipment complies with this paragraph if it is suitable for the use to which it is put.
3
It shall be the duty of an importer—
a
to carry out such a check as is mentioned in paragraph (1)(b) and to comply with sub-paragraphs (i) and (ii) of that paragraph in connection with the check; or
b
to obtain, before the packages leave his possession, sufficient evidence to give reasonable grounds for believing that the packages have been packed in accordance with regulation 4(1).
4
The importer shall keep, until the relevant date, the evidence obtained for the purposes of paragraph 3(b).
5
The relevant date, for the purposes of paragraphs (1)(b)(ii) and (4), is either:
a
the date, as marked on the package, which indicates by when the product ought to be consumed; or
b
one year after the packages have left the possession of the packer or importer (as appropriate),
whichever occurs first.