II
(Non-legislative acts)
REGUL ATIONS
COMMISSION DELEGA TED REGUL ATION (EU) 2021/1235 
of 12 May 2021
supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council with rules 
concer ning applications for registration of geog raphical indications of spir it drinks, amendments to 
product specif ications, cancellation of the registrati on and the regis ter 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION,
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Havi ng regard to Regulation (EU) 2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 Apr il 2019 on the 
definit ion, descr iption, presentation and labelling of spirit drinks, the use of the names of spirit drinks in the presentation 
and labelling of other foodstuffs, the prote ction of geographical indications for spirit drinks, the use of ethyl alcohol and 
distillate s of agricultural origin in alcoholic beverages, and repealing Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 (1), and in particular 
Article 33(1) and (2) and Article 41 thereof,
Whereas:
(1) Regulation (EU) 2019/787 repealed and replaced Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of 
the Council (2). Chapt er III of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 lays down rules on geographical indications in the spirit 
drinks sector and empo wers the Commission to adopt delegat ed and implementing acts in that respect. In order to 
ensure the smooth functioning of the market of spirit drinks in the new lega l framework and in particular to 
simplify and rationalise the functioning of geographical indications system for spirit drinks, certain rules have to be 
adopt ed by means of such acts. In particular , this Regulation and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/ 
1236 (3)should replace part of the provisions of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 (4), 
which should theref ore be repealed.
(2) In order to facilitate the Commission’s scrutiny and to provid e full information to the parties concer ned in the 
opposition procedure, where the product specification includes specifi c requirements on packaging, the sing le 
document included in the application for registration of a geographical indication should contain a summar y of the 
justif ication showing why the packag ing must take place in the defined geographical area to safeg uard quality , ensure 
the origin or ensure control of the spirit drink.
(1)OJ L 130, 17.5.2019, p. 1.
(2)Regulation (EC) No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 Januar y 2008 on the definit ion, descr iption, 
presentation, labelling and the prot ection of geogr aphical indications of spirit drinks and repealing Council Regulation (EEC) 
No 1576/89 (OJ L 39, 13.2.2008, p. 16).
(3)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236 of 12 May 2021 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EU) 
2019/787 of the European Parliament and of the Council concer ning applications for registration of geographical indications of spirit 
drinks, the opposition procedure, amendments to product specifications, cancellation of the registration, use of symbol and control 
(see page 10 of this Official Jour nal).
(4)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 of 25 July 2013 laying down rules for the application of Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the definition, descr iption, presentation, labelling and the protection 
of geogr aphical indications of spirit drinks (OJ L 201, 26.7.2013, p. 21).EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 29.7.2021                                                                                                                                           L 270/1  (3) For the sake of consiste ncy of the procedure and in order to facilitat e the Commission’s scrutiny , a Member State 
should guarantee that the sing le document is a faithful summar y of the product specifi cation on which the 
Commission may rely when assessing the application and on whic h other Member States and stake holders may rely 
for the purposes of enforcement of the geographical indication. For the same reasons, the publication referen ce of 
the product specifi cation included in the application dossier submitte d to the Commission by the Member States 
should consist of the electronic reference to the product specification as published according to the Member State’s 
administrative system.
(4) The information to be submitte d in order for an application for protection, an application for approval of a Union 
amendment or a request for cancellation to be deemed admissible should be set out in order to facilitate the 
manage ment of such applications or requests and to speed up their examination.
(5) In order to overco me temporar y difficulties and to ensure that all producers compl y with the product specifications 
in the long term , Member States should be allowed to grant producers transitional periods up to 10 years to adapt to 
the changes of certain rules on the product specification.
(6) The Commission is responsible for the approval of Union amendments to the product specif ication, while standard 
amendments are approved by the Member State s or by the responsible person or body in a third countr y. For the 
efficiency of the procedure, when an application for approval of a Union amendment also contains standard 
amendments, standard amendments should be deemed as not existing and should not be considered as approved in 
the conte xt of the Union amendment.
(7) The procedure for the approval of standard amendments and temporar y amendments should be established to allow 
Member States to carry out an appropr iate assessment of the applications and to guarant ee a consist ent approach 
across Member States. The accuracy and exhaustiveness of the assessment by the Member State s should be 
equivalent to the accuracy and exhaustiveness required for the assessment process within the procedure governing 
applications for registration of a geographical indication.
(8) It is necessar y to lay down rules to establish coordination between the procedures for amendments to a product 
specifi cation in cases where applications concer ning a Union amendment and a standard amendment are pending 
at the same time before the Commission and the Member State’s compet ent author ity, respectively . Since both 
applications amend the same product specifi cation, while followi ng two differ ent parallel procedures having a 
differ ent timing, rules should be laid down that avoid inconsiste ncies.
(9) The rules on the procedure for cancellation of the registration of a geographical indication should be supplemente d 
to clarify that Member States are among the legal persons that may have a legitimate inter est in submitting a request 
for cancellation under the first subparagraph of Article 32(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and to specify the exact 
referen ces to the Official Journal of the European Union where the publication is made.
(10) To ensure transparency and unif ormity across Member States, it is necessar y to establish the electronic register of 
geographical indications of spirit drinks referred to in Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 (‘the register ’) and to 
adopt further rules on the cont ent and the form of the registe r. In particular , since the documents available, and to be 
made available, for each register ed name differ depending on the legal basis under whic h they were first protect ed, 
the requirements for those documents should be adapt ed according ly. In order to allow priority dates concer ning 
other intellectual proper ty rights to be determined, the register should indicate the date of an application for 
registration and the date and publication referen ce of the instr ument protect ing the geographical indication. The 
register should be an electronic database managed within digital syste ms made available by the Commission, and 
should be accessible to the public,EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 270/2                                                                                                                                           29.7.2021  HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION:
CHA PTER I
Introductory provision
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation lays down rules supplementing Regulation (EU) 2019/787 as regar ds geographical indications of spirit 
drinks, and in particular concer ning:
(a) applications for registration;
(b) amendments to product specifications;
(c) cancellation of the registration;
(d) the register of the geographical indications.
CHAPTER II
Specif ic provisions
SECTION 1
APPLIC ATION FOR REGISTRA TION
Article 2
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Additional requirements for the single document
Where the sing le document refer red to in point (c) of Article 23(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 includes specifi c 
requirements on packaging, a summar y of the justif ication referred to in the second subparagraph of Article 22(1) of that 
Regulation shall also be included.
Article 3
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(a) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Member State’s application dossier
When submitting an application dossier to the Commission in accordance with Article 24(7) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, 
the Member State concer ned shall certify that the sing le document refer red to in Article 23(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 
2019/787 is a faithful summar y of the product specifi cation. The Member State shall be responsible for any mat erial 
diverg ences between the sing le document and the product specifi cation. The application dossier shall include the 
electronic referen ce of the publication of the product specif ication.
Article 4
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Admissibility of the application
1. An application for registration shall be considered admissible if it has been submitted in accordance with Article 24 
of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and communicat ed to the Commission in accordance with Article 13(1) of Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1236, including the sing le document drawn up in accordance with Article 3 of that Imp lementing 
Regulation, and if it is compl ete.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 29.7.2021                                                                                                                                           L 270/3  An application for registration shall be considered compl ete when it compl ies with Articles 22 and 23 of Regulation (EU) 
2019/787 and Articles 2 and 3 of this Regulation.
2. If the Commission considers that an application is inadmissible, it shall inform the author ities of the Member State or 
the third countr y concer ned or the applicant established in a third countr y, as the case may be, of the reasons for the 
inadmissibility .
Article 5
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) National transitional period
1. To overcome temporar y difficulties, with the long term objective of ensur ing that all producers in the area concer ned 
compl y with the product specifi cation, a Member State may grant a transitional period on condition that the operat ors 
concer ned have legally market ed the spirit drink in question using the names concer ned continuously for at least 5 years 
prior to the submission of the application to the author ities of the Member State and that those temporar y difficulties had 
been raised in the national objection procedure referred to in Article 24(6) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787.
The transitional period shall start from the date on which the application dossier is submitte d to the Commission and shall 
be as shor t as possible. It shall not excee d 10 years.
2. Paragraph 1 shall apply mutatis mutandis to a geographical indication refer ring to a geographical area situated in a 
third countr y, with the excep tion of the national objection procedure.
3. The transitional period refer red to in paragraph 1 shall be indicated in the application dossier submitted to the 
Commission in accordance with Article 24(7) or (8), of Regulation (EU) 2019/787.
SECTION 2
AMENDMENTS TO PRODUCT SPECIFIC ATIONS
Article 6
(Delegated power Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Applications for Union amendments to product 
specif ications
For the purposes of Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, an application for approval of a Union amendment to a 
product specific ation shall contain Union amendments only . If an application for approval of a Union amendment also 
contains standard or temporar y amendments, the procedure for a Union amendment shall apply only to the Union 
amendment. Standard or temporar y amendments included in the application shall be deemed as not submitted .
Article 7
(Delegated power Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Admissibility of applications for appro val of Union 
amendments
1. Applications for approval of a Union amendment to a product specifi cation shall be considered admissible if they 
have been submitte d in accordance with Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and communicat ed to the Commission 
in accordance with Article 13(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236 and comply with Article 7 of that 
Implementing Regulation.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 270/4                                                                                                                                           29.7.2021  The appro val by the Commission of an application for approval of a Union amendment to a product specif ication shall 
only cover the Union amendments set out in the application itself.
2. If the Commission considers that an application is inadmissible, it shall inform the author ities of the Member State or 
the third countr y concer ned or the applicant established in a third countr y, as the case may be, of the reasons for the 
inadmissibility .
Article 8
(Delegated power Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Standard amendments to product specif ications
1. For the purposes of Article 31(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, applications for approval of a standard amendment 
to a product specification shall be submitte d to the author ities of the Member State in whose territory the geographical 
area of the product concer ned is locat ed. Applicants shall satisfy the conditions laid down in Article 24(1), (2) or (3) of 
Regulation (EU) 2019/787. If the application for approval of a standard amendment to a product specifi cation does not 
come from the applicant that had submitted the application for prot ection of the name or names to which the product 
specifi cation refers, the Member State shall give that applicant the oppor tunity to comment on the application, if that 
applicant still exists.
The application for approval of a standard amendment shall provide a descr iption of the standard amendments and 
demonstrate that the proposed amendments qualify as standard in accordance with Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 
2019/787. A summar y of the reasons for whic h the amendments are required shall be added.
2. Where the Member State considers that the requirements of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 and the provisions adopt ed 
pursuant to that Regulation are met, it may approve the standard amendment. The approval decision shall include the 
amended consolidat ed product specifi cation and, where relevant, the amended consolidat ed sing le document.
The approval decision shall be made public. The approved standard amendment shall be applicable in the Member State 
concer ned from the date on whic h the approval decision was made public. The Member State shall communicate approved 
standard amendments to the Commission not later than 1 month following the date on whic h the national approval 
decision was made public. The Member State shall communicate, without undue dela y, to the Commission any final and 
unappealable national judgments annulling a decision approving a standard amendment.
3. Decisions approving standard amendments concer ning spirit drinks originating in third countr ies shall be 
communicated to the Commission by an applicant group having a legitimate interest, either directly to the Commission or 
via the author ities of the third countr y concer ned, not later than 1 month followi ng the date on which the relevant decision 
was made public.
4. The communication of an approved standard amendment to the Commission shall be considered to be duly made 
when it compl ies with Article 8 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236.
5. In the event that the standard amendment implies an amendment of the sing le document, the Commission shall 
publish the descr iption of the standard amendment and the amended sing le document in the Official Journal of the European 
Union, C series, within 3 months from the date on whic h it has received the communication of that standard amendment.
In the event that the standard amendment does not imply an amendment of the sing le document, the Commission shall 
make public, via the digital systems refer red to in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of Implementing 
Regulation (EU) 2021/1236, the descr iption of the standard amendment within 3 months from the date on which it has 
received the communication of that standard amendment.
The sender of a communication of a standard amendment shall remain responsible for its cont ent.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 29.7.2021                                                                                                                                           L 270/5  6. Standard amendments shall be applicable in the territory of the Union from the date on which they have been 
published pursuant to the first subparagraph of paragraph 5 or made public pursuant to the second subparagraph of 
paragraph 5.
7. Where the geographical area covers more than one Member State, the Member States concer ned shall apply the 
procedure for standard amendments separately for the part of the area whic h falls within their territory. The standard 
amendment shall be applicable in the territory of the Member States concer ned only after the last national approval 
decision becomes applicable. The Member State being the last to appro ve the standard amendment shall send the 
Commission the relevant communication not later than 1 month followi ng the date on which its approval decision was 
made public.
If one or more of the Member States concer ned do not adopt the national approval decision refer red to in the first 
subparagraph, any of the Member States concer ned may submit that application under the Union amendment procedure.
8. Paragraph 7 shall apply mutatis mutandis where a part of the geographical area concer ned is locat ed in the territory of 
a third countr y.
Article 9
(Delegated power Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Relationship betw een Union and standard 
amendments
1. Where a standard amendment implying an amendment of the sing le document is approved while an application for 
approval of a Union amendment is pending, the Member State concer ned shall update the sing le document included in the 
application for appro val of a Union amendment according ly. If the pending Union amendment has been published in the 
Official Journal of the European Union, C series, for opposition, the updated version of the sing le document shall be 
published in the Official Journal of the Europ ean Union, L series, as an Annex to the Implementing Regulation approving the 
Union amendment.
2. Where the amended version of the sing le document included in a standard amendment application approved at 
national level does not take into account the latest Union amendments that have been approved, that standard amendment 
shall not be published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The Member State that had approved that standard 
amendment shall send to the Commission the consolidate d version of the sing le document as amended by both the Union 
and the standard amendments for publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
Article 10
(Delegated power Article 41(2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Temporar y amendments to product specif ications
1. Temporar y amendments to product specifications shall be approved and made public by the Member State in whose 
territory the geograp hical area of the product concer ned is locat ed. Temporar y amendments shall be communicate d to the 
Commission together with the reasons suppor ting them not later than 1 month following the date on which the national 
approval decision was made public. A temporar y amendment shall be applicable in the Member State concer ned from the 
date on which the decision appro ving the amendment was made public.
2. Where the geographical area covers more than one Member State, the procedure for temporar y amendments shall 
apply separately in the Member States concer ned for the part of the area whic h falls within their territory.
3. Temporar y amendments concer ning spirit drinks originating in third countr ies shall be communicated to the 
Commission, together with the reasons suppor ting them, by an applicant group having a legitimate interest, either directly 
or via the author ities of that third countr y, not later than 1 month follo wing their appro val.
4. The communication of an approved temporar y amendment to the Commission shall be considered to be duly made 
when it compl ies with Article 9 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 270/6                                                                                                                                           29.7.2021  5. The Commission shall mak e public the communication of temporar y amendment via the digital systems refer red to 
in point (a) of the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236 within 3 months from 
the date on whic h it has received the communication of that temporar y amendment. A temporar y amendment shall be 
applicable in the territory of the Union from the date on which it was made public by the Commission.
The sender of a communication of a temporar y amendment shall remain responsible for its conte nt.
SECTION 3
CANCELLING A GEOGRAPHIC AL INDIC ATION
Article 11
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Cancellation procedure
1. For the purposes of the first subparagraph of Article 32(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, a request to cancel the 
registration of a geographical indication may be submitted by Member States on their own initiative.
2. The Commission shall publish the cancellation requests submitted pursuant to the first subparagraph of Article 32(1) 
of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 in the Official Journal of the European Union, C series.
Article 12
(Delegated power Article 41(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Admissibility of cancellation requests
1. For the purposes of Article 32(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, a cancellation request shall be considered 
admissible if:
(a) it complies with the requirements set out in Article 10 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1236; and
(b) for requests under Article 32(1) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787, it is based on the grounds refer red to in the first 
subparagraph of that provision.
2. If the Commission considers that the cancellation request is inadmissible, it shall inform the author ities of the 
Member State or the third countr y concer ned or the natural or legal person that submitted the request, as the case may be, 
of the reasons for the inadmissibility .
3. Reasoned statements of opposition as regards cancellation shall be admissible only where they show commercial use 
of the registered name by the interested person.
SECTION 4
REGISTER
Article 13
(Delegated power Article 33(1) and (2) of Regulation (EU) 2019/787) Register
1. The electronic register of geographical indications of spirit drinks refer red to in Article 33 of Regulation (EU) 
2019/787 (‘the register ’) shall be established. It shall be based on digital systems manag ed by the Commission and 
accessible to the public.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 29.7.2021                                                                                                                                           L 270/7  2. Upon the entr y into force of a lega l instr ument conferr ing prote ction on the name of a geographical indication, the 
Commission shall record the following data in the register:
(a) the name or names to be protect ed as a geographical indication, including their transcr iptions or translit erations in 
Latin charact ers, where applicable. Multiple names, transcr iptions and translit erations shall be recorded as alternati ve 
names, separated by a space, an oblique and a second space;
(b) the categor y of the spirit drink;
(c) the file number;
(d) the type of ‘geog raphical indication’;
(e) the name of the countr y or countr ies of origin;
(f) the date of application and the reference to the legal instr ument prote cting the name:
(i) for geographical indications registered in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787 or Regulation (EC) 
No 110/2008, with the excl usion of the established geographical indications refer red to in Article 20 of 
Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the date of application and the electronic reference to the instr uments protecting 
the name at Union level;
(ii) for the established geographical indications refer red to in Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the date of 
publication of the instr ument of first prot ection of the geographical indication at Union level and the electronic 
reference to that instr ument ;
(g) the electronic reference or references to the legal instr ument or instr uments concer ning the geographical indication 
subsequent to the legal instr uments referred to in point (f);
(h) the references to the sing le document, the main specifi cations of the technical file, the product specification or the 
technical file, where available, as follows:
(i) for geographical indications registere d in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2019/787, the electronic reference to 
the sing le document, including the electronic reference to the product specification. Where the geographical area 
falls within the territory of a third countr y, the electronic reference to the sing le document, including the 
referen ce to the publication of the product specifi cation;
(ii) for geographical indications register ed in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the electronic reference 
to the main specifi cations of the technical file;
(iii) for the established geographical indications referred to in Article 20 of Regulation (EC) No 110/2008, the 
technical file.
3. Where the Commission approves a Union amendment to a product specification or receives a communication of an 
approved standard amendment to a product specific ation that entails a chang e to the information recorded in the registe r, it 
shall record the new data with effect from the date of application of the amendment in the Union. Data concer ning 
temporar y amendments shall also be recorded.
4. Where the registration of a geographical indication has been cancelled, the Commission shall delete the name from 
the register from the date on whic h the relevant implementing act pursuant to Article 32 of Regulation (EU) 2019/787 
takes effect and shall maintain a record of the cancellation.
5. The geographical indications protect ed by implementing regulations adop ted between 8 June 2019 and the date of 
application of this Regulation shall be entered in the register .
6. The Commission shall retain documentation relat ed to the registration of a geographical indication in digital or paper 
form for the period of validity of the geographical indication, and in case of cancellation for 10 years thereaf ter.EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 270/8                                                                                                                                           29.7.2021  CHA PTER III
Final provisions
Article 14
Repeal
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 716/2013 is repealed.
Article 15
Entr y into force and application
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European 
Union.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.
Done at Brussels, 12 May 2021 .
For the Commission
The President
Ursula VON DER LEYENEN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 29.7.2021                                                                                                                                           L 270/9