COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION
of 18 February 2013
on the supervision, plant health checks and measures to be taken on wood packaging material actually in use in the transport of specified commodities originating in China
(notified under document C(2013) 789)
(2013/92/EU)
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,
Having regard to Council Directive 2000/29/EC of 8 May 2000 on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community (1), and in particular the third sentence of Article 16(3) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)
Wood packaging material actually in use in the transport of objects of all kinds to the Union is to comply with points (2) and (8) of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC.
(2)
Recent plant health checks by Member States have shown that wood packaging material used in the transport of certain commodities originating in China was contaminated by harmful organisms, in particular by Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), causing outbreaks of those organisms in Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria and the United Kingdom.
(3)
Therefore the wood packaging material of those commodities should be subject to the supervision referred to in Article 13(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC, to the plant health checks referred to in Article 13a(1)(b)(iii) of that Directive and, where appropriate, to the measures referred to in Article 13c(7) of that Directive. The results of those plant health checks should be notified to the Commission.
(4)
On the basis of the results notified to the Commission, a review should be carried out by 31 May 2014 to evaluate the efficacy of this Decision and to assess the phytosanitary import risks to the Union of wood packaging material used in the transport of certain commodities originating in China.
(5)
This Decision should apply until 31 March 2015.
(6)
The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plant Health,
HAS ADOPTED THIS DECISION:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purpose of this decision, the following definitions shall apply:
(a)
‘wood packaging material’ means wood or wood products used in supporting, protecting or carrying a commodity, in the form of packing cases, boxes, crates, drums and similar packings, pallets, box pallets and other load boards, pallet collars and dunnage, actually in use in the transport of objects of all kinds; processed wood produced by glue, heat or pressure or a combination thereof and packaging material entirely composed of wood of 6 mm of thickness or less are excluded;
(b)
‘specified commodities’ means commodities originating in China imported into the Union using the Combined Nomenclature codes listed in Annex I and meeting the descriptions laid down in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (2);
(c)
‘consignment’ means a quantity of goods being covered by a single document required for customs formalities or for other formalities.
Article 2
Supervision
1. The wood packaging material of each consignment of the specified commodities shall be subject to customs supervision pursuant to Article 37(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 (3) and to supervision by the responsible official bodies as referred to in Article 13(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC. Specified commodities may only be placed under one of the customs procedures as specified in Article 4(16)(a), (d), (e), (f) and (g) of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, if the formalities as specified in Article 3 have been completed.
2. The responsible official bodies may require that airport authorities, harbour authorities or either importers or operators, as arranged between them, give, as soon as they are aware of the imminent arrival of the specified commodities, advance notice thereof to the customs office of the point of entry and to the official body of the point of entry.
Article 3
Plant health checks
The wood packaging material of consignments of the specified commodities shall be subject to the plant health checks provided for in Article 13a(1)(b)(iii) of Directive 2000/29/EC at the minimum frequencies set out in Annex I to this Decision to confirm that the wood packaging material meets the requirements laid down in points (2) and (8) of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC.
Plant health checks shall take place at the point of entry into the Union or the place of destination established in accordance with Commission Directive 2004/103/EC (4) which shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Article 4
Measures in case of non-compliance
Where the plant health checks referred to in Article 3 show that points (2) and (8) of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC are not complied with or that the wood packaging material is contaminated by harmful organisms listed in Part A of Annex I to that Directive, the Member State concerned shall immediately subject the non-compliant wood packaging material to one of the measures provided for in Article 13c(7) of that Directive.
Article 5
Reporting
Without prejudice to Commission Directive 94/3/EC (5), Member States shall notify the number and the results of the plant health checks carried out in accordance with Articles 2 and 3 of this Decision to the Commission using the reporting template in Annex II by 31 October 2013 for the period from 1 April 2013 to 30 September 2013, by 30 April 2014 for the period from 1 October 2013 to 31 March 2014, by 31 October 2014 for the period from 1 April 2014 to 30 September 2014 and by 30 April 2015 for the period from 1 October 2014 to 31 March 2015.
Article 6
Review
This Decision shall be reviewed by 31 May 2014.
Article 7
Entry into force and end of application
This Decision shall enter into force on 1 April 2013.
It shall apply until 31 March 2015.
Article 8
Addressees
This Decision is addressed to the Member States.
Done at Brussels, 18 February 2013.