2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 1
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►B COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No1788/2001
of7September2001
layingdowndetailedrulesforimplementingtheprovisionsconcerningthecertificateofinspection
for imports from third countries under Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 onorganic production of agricultural products and indications referring thereto on agricultural
productsandfoodstuffs
(OJ L 243, 13.9.2001, p. 3)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 1113/2002 of 26 June 2002 L 168 31 27.6.2002
►M2Commission Regulation (EC) No 1918/2002 of 25 October 2002 L 289 15 26.10.2002
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COMMISSIONREGULATION(EC)No1788/2001
of7September2001
laying down detailed rules for implementing the provisions
concerning the certificate of inspection for imports from thirdcountries under Article 11 of Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 on organic production of agricultural products and indications
referring theretoonagriculturalproductsandfoodstuffs
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 of 24 June
1991 on organic production of agricultural products and indications
referring thereto on agricultural products and foodstuffs(1), as last
amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 436/2001(2), and in
particular Article 11(3)(b) and (4) thereof,
Whereas:
(1)It is necessary to determine a procedure in order to coordinate at
Community level certain controls on products imported fromthird countries in view of these products being marketed withindications referring to the organic production method.
(2)For products imported under the procedure established in Article11(1) of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, the content of the certi-
ficate of inspection is foreseen in that Article. For products
imported under the procedure established in Article 11(6) ofRegulation (EEC) No 2092/91, there is no such provision. It istherefore necessary to extend the use of that certificate toproducts imported under Article 11(6) in order to ensure thatthese products were manufactured according to production rules
equivalent to those laid down in Article 6 of Regulation (EEC)
No 2092/91 and were subject to inspection measures of equiva-lent effectiveness to those referred to in Articles 8 and 9, andsuchinspection measures were permanently and effectivelyapplied in the third country concerned.
(3)Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3457/92(3) established a
certificate of inspection for products imported from third coun-tries according to the provisions laid down in Article 11(1) of
Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91. For reasons of clarity the said
Regulation (EEC) No 3457/92 will be replaced by this Regula-tion.
(4)This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the inspectionsystem in Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91and in Annex III, Sections B and C, thereto.
(5)This Regulation shall apply without prejudice to the Communitycustoms provisions and any other provisions governing importa-tion of products referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No2092/91 for marketing in the Community.
(6)The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordancewith the opinion of the Committee referred to in Article 14 ofRegulation (EEC) No 2092/91,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
1. This Regulation defines detailed rules with regard to the certifi-
cate of inspection required pursuant to Article 11(1)(b) and (3) ofRegulation (EEC) No 2092/91 and withregard to th e submission of2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 2
(1) OJ L 198, 22.7.1991, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 63, 3.3.2001, p. 16.
(3) OJ L 350, 1.12.1992, p. 56.
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suchcertificate for imports undertaken in accordance withth e provi-
sions of Article 11(6) of the same Regulation.
2. This Regulation shall not apply to products which:
— are not intended for release for free circulation in the Community in
unaltered state or after processing,
— are admitted free of import duties in accordance withCouncil
Regulation (EEC) No 918/83(1) setting up a Community system of
reliefs from customs duty. However, the Regulation shall apply toproducts admitted free of import duties in accordance withArticles39 and 43 of Regulation (EEC) No 918/83.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Regulation:
1. ‘certificate of inspection’: shall mean the certificate of inspection
that covers a consignment and is foreseen by Article 11(1)(b) ofRegulation (EEC) No 2092/91 and by Article 3, Article 4 andAnnex I of this Regulation;
2. ‘consignment’: shall mean a quantity of products under one or more
Combined Nomenclature Codes, covered by a single certificate of
inspection, conveyed by the same means of transport and coming
from the same third country;
3. ‘verification of the consignment’: shall mean the verification by the
relevant Member States' authorities of the certificate of inspection tosatisfy Article 4(2), and, where these authorities consider appro-priate, of the products in relation to the requirements of Regulation
(EEC) No 2092/91;
4. ‘release for free circulation in the Community’: shall mean the
clearance given by the customs authorities to allow a consignment
free movement within the Community;
5. ‘relevant Member States' authorities’: shall mean the customs autho-
rities or other authorities, defined by the Member State.
Article 3
Article 11(1)(b), regarding the requirements of issuing the certificate of
inspection and Article 11(3) of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, shallapply for release for free circulation in the Community of products
referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, whether these
products are imported in order to be marketed pursuant to Article 11(1)or (6) of that Regulation.
Article 4
1. The release for free circulation in the Community of a consign-
ment of products referred to in Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No2092/91 shall be conditional on:
(a) the submission of an original certificate of inspection to the rele-
vant Member State's authority, and
(b) on the verification of the consignment by the relevant Member
State's authority and the endorsement of the certificate of inspec-tion in accordance withparagraph11.
2. The original certificate of inspection shall be established in accor-
dance with paragraphs 3 to 10 hereunder and the model and the notesof Annex I.
3. The certificate of inspection shall be issued by:
(a) the authority or body in the third country mentioned for the third
country concerned in the Annex to Commission Regulation (EEC)No 94/92(
2), or2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 3
(1) OJ L 105, 23.4.1983, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 11, 17.1.1992, p. 14.
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(b) the authority or body which has been accepted for issuing the certi-
ficate of inspection under the procedure laid down in Article 11(6)of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.
4. The authority or body issuing the certificate of inspection shall:
(a) only issue the certificate of inspection and endorse the declaration
in box 15, after it has carried out a documentary check on the basisof all relevant inspection documents, including in particular the
production plan for the products concerned, transport documents
and commercial documents, and after the authority or body haseither made a physical check of the consignment concerned beforeit is expedited from the third country of dispatch, or has receivedan explicit declaration of the exporter declaring that the consign-ment concerned has been produced and/or prepared in accordance
with the provisions which are implemented by the authority or
body concerned in respect of the import and marketing in theEuropean Community of products referred to in Article 1 of Regu-lation (EEC) No 2092/91 in accordance withArticle 11(1) or (6) ofthat Regulation;
(b) give a serial number to eachissued certificate and keep a register
of the delivered certificates.
5. The certificate of inspection shall be drawn up in one of the offi-
cial languages of the Community and filled in, except for the stampsand signatures, either entirely in capital letters or entirely in typescript.
The certificate of inspection shall preferably be in one of the official
languages of the Member State of destination. Where necessary, the
relevant Member State's authorities may request a translation of the
certificate of inspection in one of its official languages.
Uncertified alterations or erasures shall invalidate the certificate.6. The certificate of inspection shall be made in one single original.
The first consignee or, where relevant, the importer may make a copy
for the purpose of informing the inspection authority or body in accor-dance withSection C, point 3, of Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No2092/91. Any such copy shall carry the indication ‘COPY’ or ‘DUPLI-CATE’ printed or stamped thereon.
7. The certificate of inspection in paragraph 3(b) shall, at the time it
is submitted in accordance withparagraph1, include in box 16 th edeclaration of the competent authority in the Member State whichgranted the authorisation according to the procedure in Article 11(6)of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.
8. The competent authority in the Member State which granted the
authorisation may delegate the competence for the declaration in box16 to the inspection authority or body inspecting the importer in accor-dance withArticles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, or to th eauthorities defined as the Member State's relevant authorities.
9. The declaration in box 16 is not required:
(a) when the importer presents an original document, issued by the
competent authority of the Member State which granted the author-isation in accordance withArticle 11(6) of Regulation (EEC) No2092/91, and demonstrating that the consignment is covered by
that authorisation, or
(b) when the Member State's authority, which granted the authorisation
in Article 11(6), has given satisfactory evidence that the consign-
ment is covered by that authorisation, directly to the authority in
charge of the verification of the consignment. This procedure ofdirect information is optional for the Member State which grantedthe authorisation.
10. The document giving the evidence required for in subparagraphs
9(a) and (b), shall include:
— the reference number of the import authorisation and the date of
expiration of the authorisation,2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 4
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— the name and address of the importer,
— the third country of origin,
— the details of the issuing body or authority, and, where different, the
details of the inspection body or authority in the third country,
— the names of the products concerned.
11. At the verification of a consignment of products referred to in
Article 1 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, the original certificate ofinspection shall be endorsed by the relevant Member State's authoritiesin box 17 and returned to the person who submitted the certificate.
12.►
M2The first consignee shall, at the reception of the consign-
ment, complete box 18 of the original of the certificate of inspection, tocertify that the reception of the consignment has been carried out inaccordance withSection C, point 6 of Annex III to Regulation (EEC)No 2092/91. ◄
The first consignee will then send the original of the certificate to the
importer mentioned in box 11 of the certificate, for the purpose of therequirement of Article 11(3)(a) of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91,unless the certificate has to further accompany the consignment for a
preparation referred to in Article 5(1) of the present Regulation.
Article 5
1.►
M2Where a consignment coming from a third country is
assigned to customs warehousing or inward processing in the form of
a system of suspension as foreseen in Council Regulation (EEC) No2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code(
1), and subject to
one or more preparations as defined in Article 4(3) of Regulation(EEC) No 2092/91, the consignment must be subject, before the first
preparation is carried out, to the measures referred to in Article 4(1)
of the present Regulation. ◄
The preparation can include operations such as:
— packaging or re-packaging, or
— labelling concerning the presentation of the organic production
method.
After this preparation, the endorsed original of the certificate of inspec-
tion shall accompany the consignment, and shall be presented to therelevant Member State's authority, which shall verify the consignmentin view of its release for free circulation.
After this procedure, the original of the certificate of inspection is,
where relevant, returned to the importer of the consignment, mentioned
in box 11 of the certificate to fulfil the requirement of Article 11(3)(a)of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.
2. Where, under a suspensive customs procedure pursuant to
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92, a consignment coming from a
third country is intended to be submitted in a Member State, before itsrelease for free circulation in the Community, to a splitting intodifferent batches, the consignment must be subject, before this splittingis carried out, to the measures referred to in Article 4(1).
For each of the batches which results from the splitting, an extract of
the certificate of inspection shall be submitted to the relevant MemberState's authority, in accordance with the model and the notes of AnnexII. The extract of the certificate of inspection shall be endorsed by the
relevant Member States' authorities in box 14.
A copy of each endorsed extract of the certificate of inspection shall be
kept together with the original certificate of inspection by the personidentified as the original importer of the consignment and mentioned2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 5
(1) OJ L 302, 19.10.1992, p. 1.▼M2
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in box 11 of the certificate of inspection. Such copy shall carry the
indication ‘COPY’ or ‘DUPLICATE’ printed or stamped thereon.
After the splitting, the endorsed original of each extract of the certifi-
cate of inspection shall accompany the batch concerned, and shall bepresented to the relevant Member State's authority, which shall verifythe concerned batch in view of its release for free circulation.
The consignee of a batch shall, at the reception thereof complete the
original of the extract of the certificate of inspection in box 15, in orderto certify that the reception of the batch has been carried out in accor-
dance withSection B, point 5, of Annex III to Regulation (EEC) No
2092/91.
The consignee of a batch shall keep the extract of the certificate of
inspection at the disposal of the inspection body and/or inspectionauthority for not less than two years.
3. The preparation and splitting operations referred to in paragraphs
1 and 2 shall be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisionsof Articles 8 and 9 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, the GeneralProvisions set out in Annex III to that Regulation and the SpecificProvisions set out in Sections B and C of that Annex, and in particularpoints 3 and 6 of Section C. The operations shall be carried out in
accordance withArticle 5 of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91.
Article 6
Without prejudice to any measures or actions taken in accordance with
Article 9(9) and/or 10a of Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91, the releasefor free circulation in the Community of products not complying withthe requirements of that Regulation shall be conditional on the removalof references to the organic production method from the labelling,
advertising and accompanying documents.
Article 7
The relevant Member State's authorities and the authorities in the
Member States responsible for the implementation of Regulation
(EEC) No 2092/91, as well as the inspection authorities and inspectionbodies, shall assist each other in applying this Regulation.
Before 1 April 2002 Member States shall inform each other and the
Commission on the authorities they have defined in the context ofArticle 2(5), as well as on the delegations they have given for the
implementation of Article 4(8) and on the procedures, if any, followed
under Article 4(9)(b). This information shall be updated by MemberStates as and when changes occur.
Article 8
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 3457/92 shall be repealed as from
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M11 November 2002 ◄.
Article 9
This Regulation shall enter into force on the seventh day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities and it
shall apply from ►M11 November 2002 ◄.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable
in all Member States.2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 6
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ANNEX I
Model of the certificate of inspection for import of products from organic
productionintotheEuropeanCommunity
The model of the certificate is determined with regard to:
— the text,
— the format, on one single sheet,— the layout and the dimensions of the boxes.2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 7
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ANNEX II
Modeloftheextractofthecertificate ofinspection
The model of the extract is determined with regard to:
— the text,
— the format,— the layout and the dimensions of the boxes.2001R1788 — EN — 29.10.2002 — 002.001 — 11
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