COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGUL ATION (EU) 2021/74 
of 26 Januar y 2021 
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 on measures to prev ent the introduction into 
and the spread within the Union of Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION, 
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
Havi ng regard to Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 October 2016 on 
prote ctive measures against pests of plants, amending Regulations (EU) No 228/2013, (EU) No 652/2014 and (EU) 
No 1143/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directives 69/464/EEC, 74/647/EEC, 
93/85/EEC, 98/57/EC, 2000/29/EC, 2006/91/EC and 2007/33/EC (1), and in particular Article 30, 
Havi ng 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 perf ormed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and 
welf are, 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 (2), and in 
particular Article 22(3) and Article 52 thereof, 
Whereas: 
(1) Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 (3) entered into force on 15 August 2020. Since that date, 
certain Member States and professiona l operat ors have interpreted and applied the term ‘storag e’, contained in 
paragraph 2 of Article 7 of that Regulation, in a diverging manner . 
(2) For practical reasons and as the seeds of Solanum lycopersicum L. and Capsicum spp. (‘the specifi ed seeds ’) that have 
been harvested before 15 August 2020 cannot fulfil the requirement for their mother plants to be produced in a 
production site where the specifi ed pest is known not to occur , on the basis of offici al inspections carried out at the 
appropr iate time to detect the specifi ed pest, such seeds should be exem pted from the condition under Article 7(1)(a) 
of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191. 
(3) Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 should be amended to clarify that the 
specifi ed seeds that have been harvested prior to 15 August 2020 should be sampled and tested for the presence of 
the specified pest by the compet ent author ity or by professiona l operat ors under official super vision of the 
compet ent author ity before their first move ment within the Union. Such deroga tion from paragraph 2 of Article 7 
of that Regulation should allow seeds already accompanied by a plant passpor t to circulate in the Union territory 
without being further tested. 
(4) The specifi ed seeds mov ed for the first time within the Union from 1 Apr il 2021 onwards, and whic h have been 
tested before 30 Sept ember 2020 with the ELISA method, should be tested again with a testing method, other than 
ELISA, as referred to in point 3 of the Annex. 
(1)OJ L 317, 23.11.2016, p. 4. 
(2)OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1. 
(3)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 of 11 August 2020 establishing measures to prevent the introduction into and 
the spread within the Union of Tomat o brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV) and repealing Implementing Decision (EU) 2019/1615 
(OJ L 262, 12.8.2020, p. 6). EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 27.1.2021                                                                                                                                           L 27/15   (5) As the specif ied seeds, originating from third countr ies and harveste d before 15 August 2020 cannot fulfil the 
condition for their mother plants to be produced in a production site where the specified pest is known not to 
occur , on the basis of official inspections carried out at the appropr iate time to detect the specified pest, such seeds 
to be introduced into the Union, should be exempted from the requirement under point (a)(i) of Article 9(1). 
(6) The Commission was informed by the seed industr y sector and by the Member States that the requirement to include 
the name of the register ed production site in the phytosan itary certificate in accordance with Article 9 of 
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 is causing dela ys and practical difficulties to the expor ters, as for them it 
is difficult to identify the concrete production site. For the purpose of facilitating the identif ication of the registe red 
production site by the compet ent author ities and profess ional operators of third countr ies, that requirement should 
be replaced by a requirement for submitting information on the traceability of the production site of the mother 
plants. 
(7) The specified seeds originating from third countr ies should be tested using the samp ling and testing methods as 
refer red in the Annex of Imp lementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191. To take into account that some specified seeds 
may have been tested months before they are actually certified for expor t, it is propor tionate from 1 Apr il 2021 
onwar ds to require carrying out of mandatory molecular testing, and give third countr ies time to adapt to this 
requirement. 
(8) In order to avoid unnecessar y trade restr ictions for the specified seeds harvested before 15 August 2020, this 
Regulation should become applicable within the shor test possible time. Theref ore, this Regulation should enter into 
force on the third day follo wing that of its publication. 
(9) The measures provid ed for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committ ee on 
Plants, Animals, Food and Feed, 
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGUL ATION: 
Article 1 
Amendment of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 is amended as follows: 
(1) Article 7 is amended as follows: 
(a) in paragraph 1, the follo wing subparagraph is added: 
‘Specifie d seeds that have been harveste d before 15 August 2020 shall be exem pted from the condition under 
point (a).’; 
(b) paragraph 2 of Article 7 is replaced by the follo wing: 
‘2. By way of derog ation from point (a) and from the first subparagraph of point (b) of paragraph 1, specified 
seeds that have been harvested prior to 15 August 2020 shall have been sampled and tested for the specified pest 
by the compet ent author ity or by professional operat ors under official super vision of the compet ent author ity and 
found free from that pest, before their first move ment within the Union. 
The specified seeds mov ed for the first time within the Union from 1 Apr il 2021 on, and which have been tested 
before 30 Sept ember 2020 with Elisa method, shall be tested again with a testing method, other than ELISA, as 
refer red to in point 3 of the Annex.’; 
(2) Article 9 is amended as follows: 
(a) in paragraph 1, point (a), the text of point (ii) is replaced by the followi ng: 
‘the specifi ed seeds concer ned or their mother plants have undergone official sampling and testing for the specifi ed 
pest as set out in the Annex and have been found, according to those tests, to be free from the specifi ed pest ;’; EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 27/16                                                                                                                                           27.1.2021   (b) in paragraph 1, point (b) is replaced by the following: 
‘information ensur ing the traceability of the production site of the mother plants.’; 
(c) the follo wing paragraph 3 is added: 
‘3. By way of derog ation from point (a)(i) of paragraph 1, for the specifi ed seeds, which have been harvested 
prior to 15 August 2020, the Additional Declaration shall only state the fulfilment of the condition under point 
(a)(ii) of paragraph 1 and shall include the state ment : “The seeds have been harvested before 15 August 2020.”’; 
(d) the follo wing paragraph 4 is added: 
‘4. In phytosanitar y certificates issued after 31 March 2021, the Additional Declaration shall confir m that 
specifi ed seeds originating from third countr ies have been tested under one of the testing methods, other than 
ELISA, as referred to in point 3 of the Annex to Imp lementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191.’ 
Article 2 
Entr y into force 
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, 26 Januar y 2021.  
For the Commission 
The President 
Ursula VON DER LEYEN     EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 27.1.2021                                                                                                                                           L 27/17