. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/NLD/71 
12 September 2006 
 (06-4349) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6. 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:   THE NETHERLANDS
 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Articles 3.2 and 7.2):         
2. Agency responsible:         
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, e-mail and web-site 
addresses, if available) of  agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   National Enquiry 
Point – EC WTO TBT Enquiry Point 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [  X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:         
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in  addition, where applicable):   Fertilisers 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   Decree amending the 
Decree implementing the Fertiliser Act and the Decree on the use of fertilisers (transfer of 
the Fertiliser Act 1947 and the Decree on the qua lity and use of other organic fertilisers,
22 pages, in Dutch) . 
6. Description of content:   This amending Decree transfers the legislation on the trading of 
fertilisers from the Fertiliser Act 1947 and the quality requirements for sewage sludge and 
compost from the Decree on the quality and use of  other organic fertilisers to the Fertiliser 
Act.  The dosage standards included in the D ecree on the quality and use of other organic 
fertilisers and the spreading provisions for com post and sewage sludge are transferred to the 
Decree on the use of Fertilisers.  By means of  these amendments, all the regulations on the 
trading of fertilisers are integrated into th e Decree implementing the Fertiliser Act and all 
the regulations on the use of fertilisers will be  integrated into the Decree on the use of 
Fertilisers.  
The transfer will be put into effect as follows: 
− The (old) allowance system for fertiliser s will be repealed. These fertilisers will 
now be regulated by generic provisions  (Articles 5 to 19 of the Decree 
implementing the Fertiliser Act) regardi ng labelling (the nutrient content with 
regard to the amount of minerals and or igin), agricultural requirements (minimum 
level of nutrients or organic matter c ontent) and environmental requirements 
(maximum level of heavy metals). With re gard to EU fertilisers that are regulated 
on the basis of Regulation (EC) No 2003/ 2003, no provisions have been made. 
 
  G/TBT/N/NLD/71 
Page 2  
 
  − Since inclusion under the Fertiliser Act (w ithout further provisions) results in waste 
materials such as pseudo-fertilisers being withdrawn from the waste system of the Environmental Management Act, which may in turn result in a flow of (possibly polluted) waste materials into agriculture,  there is a provision for defining the 
Environmental Management Act and the Fertili ser Act. In principle, waste materials 
are excluded from the application of the fertiliser system. An exception is made for 
substances that, from an environmental a nd agricultural point of view, may be 
traded and used as fertilisers. These substan ces will be included within the scope of 
the Fertiliser Act through a positive list by Ministerial regulation, and deleted from 
the waste system, following individua l tests based on agricultural and 
environmental criteria. 
Articles 5 to 19 of the Decree implementing the Fertiliser Act may contain technical 
regulations. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
The transfer forms part of a great simplificati on of the legislation, with the starting point 
being an integrated approach to fertiliser s with as limited legislative pressure and 
implementing costs as possible.  Apart from the f act that the proposed transfer will in any 
case result in the deletion of the Fertiliser Ac t 1947 and the Decree on the quality and use of 
other organic fertilisers, which in turn will r esult in a clearer system, little else will change 
with regard to the use of waste materials as fe rtilisers in this system  compared to the old 
situation.  However, the deregulation that  could be achieved by removing individual 
licensing is not possible in this section:  individua l testing of waste material with the view to 
allowing it to be used as a fertiliser is necessary to direct the flow of waste into agriculture 
and thus to prevent unwante d environmental burdens.  
Article 20 of the Decree implementing the Fe rtiliser Act contains a mutual recognition 
clause. 
8. Relevant documents:   AMVB-MR versie, Nota van toelichting 
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    December 2006 
1 January 2007 
10. Final date for comments:   10 November 2006 
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [  X ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addresses, if available of the other body: 
http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/tbt/