COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING DECISION (EU) 2018/1137

of 10 August 2018

on the supervision, plant health checks and measures to be taken on wood packaging material for the transport of commodities originating in certain third countries

(notified under document C(2018) 5245)

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 and the fourth sentence of Article 16(3) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Commission Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU (2) provides for plant health checks and measures to be taken on wood packaging material actually in use in the transport of specified commodities originating in China. Articles 1 to 4 of that Decision expire on 31 July 2018.

(2) Plant health checks conducted by Member States on the basis of that Decision, as well as Article 13a of Directive 2000/29/EC, have shown that wood packaging material used in the transport of certain commodities originating from Belarus and China (‘the specified commodities’) was non-compliant with Union requirements concerning marking of wood packaging material as set out in point 2 of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC, and in some cases also infested by harmful organisms listed in Part A of Annex I to that Directive.

(3) In order to ensure a better preparation of the authorities carrying out the respective plant health checks, airport authorities, harbour authorities, other authorities responsible for the control of movement of goods or any professional operator involved in the importation of specified commodities accompanied by wood packaging material, should give, as soon as they are aware of the imminent arrival of that wood packaging material, advance notice thereof to the customs office of the point of entry and to the responsible official body of the point of entry.

(4) The wood packaging material of consignments of the specified commodities should be subject to the plant health checks on a regular basis. Member States should define the rate of the wood packaging material of the specified commodities subject to plant health checks. That rate should be no lower than 1 % of the imported wood packaging material of the specified commodities, to ensure that a representative sample is checked.

(5) That wood packaging material, as well as the specified commodities, should be subject to the Union rules concerning customs supervision until those plant health checks are completed, in order to ensure that their free movement within the Union territory does not introduce any phytosanitary risks.

(6) Plant health checks should take place at the point of entry into the Union or at the place of destination approved for that purpose by the responsible official body, in order to ensure that those checks are carried out in the most appropriate facilities.

(7) Where the plant health checks are carried out in the place of destination, and they show that point 2 of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC is not complied with, or that the wood packaging material has been found infested by harmful organisms listed in Part A of Annex I to that Directive, the Member State concerned should properly handle the respective wood packaging material and immediately destroy it, to ensure the phytosanitary protection of the Union territory.

(8) Member States should notify to the Commission the number and the results of the plant health checks carried out in accordance with this Decision by means of a specific electronic reporting template.

(9) Experience of the plant health checks carried out so far shows that, in order to provide further detail on the interceptions recorded on wood packaging material to the national plant protection organisations of those third countries, it is necessary that Member States report any information necessary to identify the sources of unreliable or incorrect marking.

(10) This Decision should apply as from 1 October 2018, in order to allow the responsible official bodies and the professional operators the appropriate time to adapt to the new provisions.

(11) In order to ensure that no legal vacuum occurs by that date, Articles 1 to 4 of Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU which expire on 31 July 2018 should apply until 30 September 2018.

(12) For the purpose of legal clarity, Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU should be repealed as of 1 October 2018, which is the date of application of this Decision.

(13) This Decision should apply until 30 June 2020, in order to allow for the adoption of the necessary measures as appropriate by that time.

(14) The measures provided for in this Decision are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

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, whether or not 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 Belarus or China imported into the Union supported, protected or carried by wood packaging material, with the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes or the TARIC codes listed in Annex I to this Decision and meeting the descriptions laid down in Annex I to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 (3); (c) ‘consignment’ means a quantity of goods being covered by a single document required for customs formalities or for other formalities; (d) ‘professional operator’ means any person, governed by public or private law, involved professionally in, and legally responsible for the introduction in the Union territory of wood packaging material.

Article 2 Supervision The wood packaging material of each consignment of the specified commodities, from the time of entry into the customs territory of the Union shall be subject to customs supervision pursuant to Article 134 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (4) and to supervision by the responsible official bodies as referred to in Article 13(1) of Directive 2000/29/EC. The wood packaging material and the specified commodities may only be placed under one of the customs procedures as specified in point 16(a) and (b) of Article 5 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 with the exception of the special procedures referred to in Article 210(a) and (b) of that Regulation, if the plant health checks as specified in Article 4 of this Decision have been completed.

Article 3 Advance notice of imported wood packaging material Airport authorities, harbour authorities, other authorities responsible for the control of movement of goods or any professional operator involved in the importation of the specified commodities accompanied by wood packaging material, shall give, as soon as they are aware of the imminent arrival of that wood packaging material, advance notice thereof to the customs office at the point of entry or to the responsible official body of the point of entry.

Article 4 Plant health checks The wood packaging material of consignments of the specified commodities shall, on a regular basis, be subject to the plant health checks provided for in Article 13a(1)(b)(iii) of Directive 2000/29/EC, to confirm that the wood packaging material meets the requirements laid down in point 2 of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC. Based on the identified plant health risk, Member States shall define the rate of the wood packaging material of the specified commodities subject to plant health checks. That rate shall be no lower than 1 % of the consignments of the specified commodities. Until the completion of the checks, that wood packaging material and the respective specified commodities shall remain under customs supervision pursuant to Article 134 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 and also to supervision by the responsible official body. Plant health checks shall take place at the point of entry into the Union or at the place of destination approved for that purpose by the responsible official body.

Article 5 Measures in case of non-compliance Where the plant health checks referred to in Article 4 show that point 2 of Section I of Part A of Annex IV to Directive 2000/29/EC is not complied with, or that the wood packaging material has been found infested 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. When such non-compliance or detection of such infestation is concluded in the place of destination, as referred to in Article 4 of this Decision, the Member State concerned shall ensure that the respective wood packaging material is immediately destroyed. Prior to that destruction, the wood packaging material shall be treated to ensure that no phytosanitary risks occur during and after that destruction.

Article 6 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 this Decision to the Commission, using the electronic reporting template set out in Annex II to this Decision by the following dates: (a) by 31 October 2019 for the period from 1 October 2018 to 30 September 2019; (b) by 31 March 2020 for the period from 1 October 2019 to 29 February 2020.

Article 7 Amendment to Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU The second paragraph of Article 7 of Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU is replaced by the following: ‘Articles 1 to 4 shall apply until 30 September 2018’.

Article 8 Repeal of Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU is repealed as from 1 October 2018.

Article 9 Application Articles 1 to 6 shall apply from 1 October 2018. This Decision shall apply until 30 June 2020.

Article 10 Addressees This Decision is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels, 10 August 2018. For the Commission Vytenis ANDRIUKAITIS Member of the Commission

(1) OJ L 169, 10.7.2000, p. 1.

(2) Commission Implementing Decision 2013/92/EU 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 (OJ L 47, 20.2.2013, p. 74).

(3) Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).

(4) Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 October 2013 laying down the Union Customs Code (OJ L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1).

(5) Commission Directive 94/3/EC of 21 January 1994 establishing a procedure for the notification of interception of a consignment or a harmful organism from third countries and presenting an imminent phytosanitary danger (OJ L 32, 5.2.1994, p. 37).