COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGUL ATION (EU) 2021/83 
of 27 Januar y 2021 
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 as regards the perfor mance of official controls 
and other official activities by specif ically author ised natural persons and the period of application 
of temporar y measures 
(Text with EEA relevance) 
THE EUR OPEAN COMMISSION, 
Havi ng regar d to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, 
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 (Offici al 
Controls Regulation) (1), and in particular Article 141(1) thereof, 
Whereas: 
(1) Regulation (EU) 2017/625 lays down rules for, inter alia, the performance of official controls and of other official 
activities by the compet ent author ities of Member States. It also empo wers the Commission to adop t, by means of 
an implementing act, appropr iate temporar y measures necessar y to contain risks to human, animal and plant 
health and animal welf are, if it has evidence of a serious disruption in a Member State’s control system. 
(2) In order to address the specifi c circumstances due to the ongoing crisis related to coronavi rus disease (CO VID-19), 
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 (2) allows Member State s to apply temporar y measures in 
relation to official controls and other official activities. 
(3) Member State s have informed the Commission that, in view of the crisis linked to COVID-19, certain serious 
disruptions in the functioning of their control syste ms, difficulties to perform offici al controls and other official 
activities on official certificates and official attestations with respect to mov ements of animals and goods into the 
Union and within the Union and difficulties to organise physical meetings with operators and their staff in the 
conte xt of official controls will persist beyond 1 Febr uary 2021. 
(4) Member States have also informed the Commission of other disruptions relat ed to the capacity to deplo y suitable 
staff, as required by Regulation (EU) 2017/625, in the context of official controls and other official activities. 
(5) In order to address these serious disrupti ons, whic h are likely to persist in the coming months, and to facilitate the 
planning and the performa nce of official controls and other official activities during the crisis linked to COVID-19, 
the possibility to entr ust specifi cally author ised natural persons with official controls and other official activities, as 
previously laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 until 1 August 2020, should be reintroduced and 
the period of application of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 should be prolonged until 1 July 2021. 
(6) Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 should theref ore be amended according ly. 
(1)OJ L 95, 7.4.2017, p. 1. 
(2)Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 of 30 March 2020 on temporar y measures to contain risks to human, animal 
and plant health and animal welf are during certain serious disruptions of Member States’ control systems due to coronavir us disease 
(CO VID-19) (OJ L 98, 31.3.2020, p. 30). EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union 28.1.2021                                                                                                                                           L 29/23   (7) 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 
Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/466 is amended as follo ws: 
(1) the following Article 3 is inser ted: 
‘Article 3 
Official controls and other official activities may excep tionally be performed by one or more natural persons 
specifically author ised by the compet ent author ity on the basis of their qualif ications, training and practical 
exper ience, who are in contact with the compet ent author ity by any available means of communication, and who are 
required to follow the instr uctions of the compet ent author ity for the performa nce of such official controls and other 
official activities. Such persons shall act impartially , and they shall be free from any conf lict of interest as regar ds the 
official controls and other official activities perf ormed by them.’; 
(2) in the second paragraph of Article 6, the date ‘1 Febr uary 2021’ is replaced by the date ‘1 July 2021’ . 
Article 2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European 
Union. 
It shall apply from 2 Febr uary 2021. 
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States. 
Done at Brussels, 27 Januar y 2021.  
For the Commission 
The President 
Ursula VON DER LEYEN     EN Offi cial Jour nal of the European Union L 29/24                                                                                                                                           28.1.2021