PART 1 Introduction

Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Products of Animal Origin (Third Country Imports) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2007 and shall come into operation on 13 April 2007.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations—

“the Agency” means the Food Standards Agency;

“the Animal By-Products Regulations” means the Animal By-Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(3);

“Article 9 product” means a product from a third country which is first brought into the relevant territories at one border inspection post but is intended for import via another, as described (in relation to consignments) in Article 9(1) of Directive 97/78/EC, whether or not the product is transhipped or unloaded at the first border inspection post;

“authorised officer” means a person who is authorised by the Department, a district council, or the Agency either generally or specially, to act in matters arising under these Regulations, whether or not he is an officer of the Department, a district council or the Agency;

“border inspection post” means—

“border inspection post of destination” means the border inspection post via which an Article 9 product is intended for import;

“border inspection post of introduction” means the border inspection post at which an Article 9 product is first brought into the relevant territories;

“carrier who has charge for the time being” of a product, consignment or part of a consignment includes the driver of any vehicle, the pilot of any aircraft and the master of any vessel (but not the driver of any train) transporting the same;

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

“common veterinary entry document” means a document in the form set out in Annex III to Regulation (EC) No. 136/2004 (laying down procedures for Veterinary checks at Community border inspection posts on products imported from third countries(6);

“Community establishment of origin” means the premises located in a member State at which a returned product attained the form in which it was originally exported from the relevant territories;

“consignment” means a quantity of products of the same type covered by the same veterinary certificate or veterinary document, or other document provided for by veterinary legislation, conveyed by the same means of transport and coming from the same third country or part of a third country;

“the Customs Code” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2913/92 establishing the Community Customs Code(7);

“the customs territory of the Community” has the same meaning as in Article 3 of the Customs Code;

“customs warehouse” means a warehouse which fulfils the conditions of Articles 98 to 113 of the Customs Code, in which goods are stored subject to the customs warehousing procedure referred to in those Articles;

“Decision 2001/881/EC” means Commission Decision 2001/881/EC (drawing up a list of border inspection posts agreed for veterinary checks on animals and animal products from third countries and updating the detailed rules concerning the checks to be carried out by the experts of the Commission)(8);

“the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

“destination establishment” in relation to a product, means the establishment identified in the “delivery address” entry in part 1 of the common veterinary entry document;

“Directive 97/78/EC” means Council Directive 97/78/EC laying down the principles governing the organisation of veterinary checks on products entering the Community from third countries(9);

“document” includes information kept by electronic means;

“documentary check” means the examination of the veterinary certificates or veterinary documents or other documents accompanying a consignment, carried out in accordance with Article 4(3) of Directive 97/78/EC and Annex I to Regulation (EC) No. 136/2004;

“fishery products” means all wild or farmed seawater and freshwater animals, whether or not live, and all edible forms, parts and products of such animals, including—

but excludes aquatic mammals, reptiles and frogs and parts thereof;

“free warehouse” and “free zone” have the same meanings as in Title IV, Chapter 3, Section 1 of the Customs Code;

“hay” means any grass, clover, lucerne or sainfoin which has been dried either naturally or artificially, and includes any product which is obtained by so drying any grass, clover, lucerne or sainfoin;

“identity check” means a check by visual inspection to ensure that the veterinary certificates or veterinary documents or other documents accompanying a consignment tally with the products comprised in the consignment, carried out in accordance with Article 4(4)(a) of Directive 97/78/EC;

“import” as a noun, means release for free circulation within the meaning of Article 79 of the Customs Code;

“import conditions” in relation to a product, means—

“non-conforming product” means a product which does not comply with the import conditions;

“official veterinary surgeon” means a veterinarian appointed by the Department in accordance with regulation 6(1)(a);

“operator” means—

“owner”, in relation to a product, consignment or part of a consignment, means the person in whom the property in the product, consignment or part is for the time being vested;

“part consignment” means a consignment which has been split up into parts in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No.136/2004;

“person appearing to have charge” of a product, consignment or part consignment means any person, including a carrier, who appears to have possession, custody or control of the product, consignment or part consignment;

“person responsible for” in relation to a product, consignment, or part consignment is a person construed in accordance with regulation 3;

“physical check” means a check on the product itself (which may include checks on packaging and temperature and also sampling and laboratory testing) carried out in accordance with Article 4(4)(b) of, and Annex III to, Directive 97/78/EC and in the case of laboratory testing, Annex II to Regulation (EC) No. 136/2004;

“premises” includes any construction, installation, container or means of transport;

“product” means—

but does not include composite food products as specified in Article 3 of Commission Decision 2002/349/EC;

“Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002” means Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council (laying down health rules concerning animal by-products not intended for human consumption)(13);

“Regulation (EC) No. 136/2004” means Commission Regulation (EC) No. 136/2004 (laying down procedures for veterinary checks at Community border inspection posts on products imported from third countries)(14);

“regulatory functions” means the functions assigned by these Regulations to authorised officers, official veterinary surgeons and assistants appointed under regulation 6;

“relevant document” in relation to any product means any required document and any other veterinary, commercial or other certificate or document relating to the product, including the manifest of any sea-going vessel or aircraft;

“the relevant territories” means an area comprising the territories of the member States, as listed in Annex I to Directive 97/78/EC, the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway (except Svalbard), the Principality of Andorra, the Faroe Islands and the Republic of San Marino;

“required document” in relation to any product means any original veterinary certificate, original veterinary document or other original document required in relation to the product by virtue of any Directive, Decision or Regulation listed in Schedule 1;

“returned product” means a product originally exported from the customs territory of the Community which is returned there because it has been refused by a third country;

“ships’ store” means closed premises referred to in Article 13(1)(c), or a specially approved warehouse referred to in Article 13(2)(a), of Directive 97/78/EC;

“straw” means any green cereal which has been dried either naturally or artificially and includes any product (other than grain) which is obtained by drying any green cereal;

“third country” means a country not comprised in the relevant territories;

“transhipped product” means an Article 9 product which is transhipped or unloaded in the way described (in relation to consignments) in Article 9(1) of Directive 97/78/EC at its border post of introduction;

“transit” means transit from one third country to another, passing through one or more member States, under the external transit procedure referred to in Articles 91 to 97 of the Customs Code;

“transit product” means a product originating in a third country which, according to the information forwarded in advance referred to in Article 3(3) of Directive 97/78/EC, will undergo transit;

“veterinary check” means any check provided for in Directive 97/78/EC including a documentary check, an identity check and a physical check.

(2) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(15) shall apply to these Regulations as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

(3) Products brought into Northern Ireland from the Republic of Iceland, other than fishery products, are regarded for the purposes of these Regulations as brought from a third country.

(4) Subject to paragraph (5), for the purposes of these Regulations, a person brings a product into a territory or area if—

(a) he brings it into that territory or area as its owner;

(b) he brings it into that territory or area as a carrier; or

(c) a carrier brings it into that territory or area on that person’s instructions.

(5) A product on board a means of transport operating internationally which is intended for consumption by the crew or passengers of that means of transport is not brought into a territory or area if—

(a) the product is not unloaded; or

(b) it is transferred directly from one means of transport operating internationally to another at the same port or airport and under supervision, within the meaning of Article 4(13) of the Customs Code, by the Commissioners.

(6) Any reference in these Regulations to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date on which these Regulations are made.

Person responsible for a consignment

3.—(1) In these Regulations, a reference to “person responsible for”, in relation to a product, consignment or part consignment is construed in accordance with the following paragraphs.

(2) Until—

(a) the product, consignment or part consignment first arrives at a border inspection post in Northern Ireland; or

(b) in the case of an Article 9 product, or a consignment or part consignment of Article 9 products, until it arrives at a border inspection post of destination in Northern Ireland,

the person responsible for the product, consignment or part consignment is the person specified in paragraph (3).

(3) The person referred to in paragraph (2) is—

(a) the person referred to in Article 38(1) of the Customs Code who brings the product, consignment or part consignment into the customs territory of the Community;

(b) the person referred to in Article 38(2) of the Customs Code who assumes responsibility for the carriage of the product, consignment or part consignment after it has been brought into the customs territory of the Community; or

(c) a person in whose name the persons referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and (b) acted.

(4) From the time—

(a) the product, consignment or part consignment first arrives at a border inspection post in Northern Ireland until it leaves that border inspection post; or,

(b) in the case of an Article 9 product, or a consignment or part consignment of Article 9 products, from the time it arrives at a border inspection post of destination in Northern Ireland, until it leaves that border inspection post of destination,

the person responsible for the product, consignment or part consignment is the person specified in paragraph (5).

(5) The person referred to in paragraph (4) is—

(a) the person in whose name the persons referred to in paragraph (3)(a) and (b) acted;

(b) if the product, consignment or part consignment is in temporary storage, as referred to in Article 50 of the Customs Code, the person referred to in Article 51(2) of the Customs Code who holds it in temporary storage; or

(c) if—

(i) the person referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and (b), has appointed a representative in his dealings with the customs authorities, within the meaning of Article 5 of the Customs Code, and

(ii) the representative is given or assumes responsibility for ensuring that the product, consignment or part consignment undergoes veterinary checks,

that representive.

(6) After—

(a) the product, consignment or part consignment leaves a border inspection post referred to in paragraph 4 (a); or

(b) in the case of an Article 9 product, or a consignment or part consignment of Article 9 products, after it leaves the border inspection post of destination,

the person responsible for the product, consignment or part consignment is the person specified in paragraph (7).

(7) The person referred to in paragraph (6) is—

(a) the person who made a customs declaration, within the meaning of Article 64 of the Customs Code, covering the product, consignment or part consignment; or

(b) if no such customs declaration has yet been made, the person capable of making it;

Exemption for authorised products and personal imports

4.—(1) Parts 3 to 9 do not apply to products brought into Northern Ireland from a third country with the previous written authorisation of the Department as trade samples, for exhibition, or for particular studies or analyses.

(2) The Department’s authorisation shall be in writing, may be made subject to conditions, and may be amended, suspended or revoked in writing at any time.

(3) No person shall use a product to which the exemption in paragraph (1) applies for the purpose for which it has not been authorised, or contravene any condition referred to in paragraph (2) or contravene any other condition of the Department’s authorisation in relation to such a product.

(4) In the case of products brought for exhibition or studies and any quantities of products brought for analyses that remain following those analyses, the person who brought them shall redispatch them to a third country or dispose of them as if they were Category 1 material under Regulation (EC) No.1774/2002 in facilities provided for that purpose nearest to the location of the products, within six months of their introduction, unless the Department has specified a different time limit as a condition of the authorisation, in which case he shall redispatch or dispose of them before the expiry of that different time limit.

(5) Where an authorised officer considers that there has been a breach of paragraph (3)(a) or (4) in relation to a product, he shall by notice in writing served on the person appearing to him to have charge of that product, take charge of it and either—

(a) redispatch it, by the mode of transport by which it was first brought into the relevant territories, to a destination located in a third country, agreed with the owner, (in the circumstances described in regulation 24(1)(a), (b) and (c), or with the person responsible for the consignment, (in the circumstances described in regulation (1)(d)), within a period of 60 days commencing with the day following the service of the notice; or

(b) dispose of it as if it were Category 1 material under Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002 in the facilities provided for that purpose nearest to the place at which the authorised officer or veterinary surgeon takes charge of it.

(6) Where an authorised officer considers that there has been a breach of paragraph (3)(b) in relation to a product, he may by notice in writing served on the person appearing to him to have charge of that product, take charge of it and take either of the steps specified in paragraph (5)(a) and (b).

(7) Part 3, with the exception of regulation 25, and Parts 4 to 9 shall not apply to––

(a) powdered infant milk, infant food, or special foods required for medical reasons containing meat, meat products, milk, or milk products brought into Northern Ireland from a third country if they —

(i) are carried in the personal luggage of a traveller and are intended for his personal use or consumption, or for the use or consumption of a member of his family taking into account the nature of the product and the quantity of it that could reasonably be consumed by an individual;

(ii) do not require refrigeration before opening;

(iii) are packaged proprietary brand products for direct sale to the final consumer; and

(iv) are contained in unbroken packaging, unless they are in current use;

(b) meat, meat products, milk and milk products from the Faeroe Islands, Greenland, the Republic of Iceland, Liechtenstein or Switzerland brought into Northern Ireland from a third country if they—

(i) are carried in the personal luggage of a traveller, or are sent by post or carrier (otherwise than by way of trade or as a trade sample) and are addressed to a private individual in Northern Ireland;

(ii) are intended for the personal use or consumption of the traveller or the addressee; and

(iii) their combined total weight in any traveller’s personal luggage or in any consignment sent by post or carrier to a private individual does not exceed five kilograms;

(c) products brought into Northern Ireland in the personal luggage of a traveller if they are intended for his personal consumption or which are sent by post or carrier (otherwise than by way of trade or as a trade sample) and addressed to a private individual in Northern Ireland if they are intended for his personal consumption, and if they—

(i) are not meat, meat products, milk or milk products;

(ii) do not exceed one kilogram in weight;

(iii) either come from a third country or part of a third country that appears on a list of third countries or parts of third countries established by an instrument listed in Schedule 1 from which importation of the products concerned is permitted;

(iv) do not come from a third country or part of a third country from which importation of the products concerned is prohibited by any instrument listed in Schedule 1.

(8) In this regulation “meat”, “meat products”, “milk” and “milk products” mean products of those types listed in sections 01 - 04 under the heading 1.2, Title I in the Annex to Commission Decision 2002/349/EC.

PART 2 Enforcement

Enforcement authorities, exchange of information and powers to give directions

5.—(1) These Regulations must be enforced—

(a) By the Department at a border inspection post solely designated and approved for veterinary checks on products referred to in Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002;

(b) by the Agency at—

(i) any cutting plant, game-handling establishment or slaughterhouse; and

(ii) premises at which the Agency enforces the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006(16) by virtue of regulation 5 (2)(b) of those Regulations;

(c) subject to paragraph (2), by each district council within its area, including at any border inspection post in that area, except at a border inspection post referred to in sub-paragraph (a) and at premises referred to in sub-paragraph (b).

(2) At points of entry, regulation 16 must be enforced by the Department and not the district council.

(3) In cases where an officer of a district council, when exercising any statutory function, discovers at a point of entry a consignment or product that he considers may have been brought in breach of regulation 16, he shall notify an officer of Revenue and Customs and detain the consignment or product until an officer of Revenue and Customs takes charge of it.

(4) In cases where an officer of a district council who is not an authorised officer for the purposes of these Regulations, when exercising any statutory function, discovers at any place other than a point of entry or a border inspection post, a consignment or product—

(a) in relation to which he considers these Regulations may not have been complied with; or

(b) that he considers is from a third country and may present a risk to animal or public health,

he must notify an authorised officer and detain the consignment or product until an authorised officer takes charge of it.

(5) If the Department considers that a district council is failing or has failed to enforce these Regulations generally, or in any class of cases, or in an individual case, he may empower an authorised officer or the Agency to enforce them in place of that district council.

(6) The Department or Agency may recover from the district council concerned any expenses reasonably incurred by it under paragraph (5).

(7) The Department, the Agency and any district council may exchange information for the purposes of these Regulations, and may divulge information to the enforcement authorities in England, Scotland and Wales for the purposes of these Regulations or the equivalent Regulations in those jurisdictions.

(8) Paragraph (7) is without prejudice to any other power of the Department, the Agency or any district council to disclose information.

(9) No person, including a servant of the Crown may disclose any information received from the Department under paragraph (7) if—

(a) the information relates to a person whose identity—

(i) is specified in the disclosure; or

(ii) can be deducted from the disclosure;

(b) the disclosure is for a purpose other than the purposes specified in paragraph (7); and

(c) the Commissioners have not given their prior consent to the disclosure.

(10) In paragraph (1), the terms “cutting plant”, “game-handling establishment” and “slaughterhouse” have the same meaning that they bear in Regulation 5(6) of the Food Hygiene Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006.

(11) In this regulation, “point of entry” means any place where goods are subject to customs supervision under Articles 37 and 38 of the Customs Code, other than a border inspection post.

Appointment of official veterinary surgeons and authorised officers

6.—(1) The Department shall appoint—

(a) such veterinary surgeons who have participated in a special training programme referred to in Article 27 of Directive 97/78/EC to carry out the regulatory functions at any border inspection post solely designated and approved for veterinary checks referred to in Regulation (EC) No. 1774/2002; and

(b) such appropriately trained assistants for each official veterinary surgeon appointed under sub-paragraph (a)

as may be necessary for the proper and expeditious performance of the regulatory functions.

(2) A district council shall appoint—

(a) an authorised officer to carry out the regulatory functions in relation to fishery products at each border inspection post in its district; and

(b) such appropriately trained assistants for each authorised officer appointed under to paragraph (2)(a)

as may be necessary for the proper and expeditious performance of the regulatory functions.

Exercise of enforcement powers

7.—(1) An official veterinary surgeon, or an authorised officer may, at all reasonable hours and on producing, if so required, some duly authenticated document showing his authority, exercise the powers conferred by regulations 8 and 9 for the purpose of—

(a) enforcing these Regulations;

(b) enforcing any declaration made by the Department or the Agency under to regulation 60;

(c) ascertaining whether these Regulations are being or have been complied with; or

(d) verifying the identity, origin or destination of any product.

(2) In the case of an official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer appointed or authorised by a district council, the powers conferred by Regulations 8 and 9 shall be exercised—

(a) within the district of that district council; and

(b) outside the district of that district council for the purpose of ascertaining whether these Regulations are being or have been complied with within that district.

Powers of entry and inspection

8.—(1) An official veterinary surgeon, or authorised officer may—

(a) enter any border inspection post or other land or premises and inspect the same and anything in or on it, but admission to any premises used only as a dwelling-house shall not be demanded as of right unless 24 hours’ written notice of the intended entry has been given to the occupier;

(b) open any bundle, package, packing case, or item of personal luggage, or require any person in possession of or accompanying the same to open it;

(c) inspect the contents of any bundle, package, packing case or item of personal luggage opened under to sub-paragraph (b);

(d) inspect any product, including its packaging, seals, marking, labelling and presentation, and any plant or equipment used for or in connection with any product; and

(e) take samples of any product for laboratory tests, for checking against any relevant document relating to the product or otherwise for checking compliance with the import conditions.

(2) Where an official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer—

(a) has carried out any of the activities listed in paragraph (1); and

(b) is satisfied that further checks need to be carried out,

he may serve a notice in writing on the person appearing to him to have charge of the consignment, requiring that the consignment or part consignment be stored under the supervision of the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer, as the case may be, at such place and under such conditions as he may direct in the notice, until he serves a further notice in writing that the same be removed.

(3) The costs of storage referred to in paragraph (2) must be paid by the person responsible for the consignment.

(4) An official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer entering any land or premises under paragraph (1)(a) may take with him other persons acting under his instructions and unless he is entering premises used only as a dwelling-house —

(a) one or more representatives of the European Commission; and

(b) one or more representatives of the authorities of a third country, appointed and acting in accordance with the provisions of one of the equivalent decisions listed in Schedule 2.

Powers in relation to documents

9.  An official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer may—

(a) require any person appearing to him to have charge of a product, any person responsible for a product and any employee, servant or agent of any such persons, to produce any relevant document in his possession or under his control relating to the product, and to supply such additional information in his possession or under his control relating to the product as the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer may reasonably request;

(b) examine any relevant document relating to a product and, where it is kept by means of a computer, have access to and inspect and check the operation of any computer and associated apparatus or material which is or has been used in connection with that relevant document;

(c) make and retain such copies as he may think fit of any relevant document relating to a product; and

(d) seize and retain any relevant document relating to a product which the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings under these Regulations, and, where any such relevant document is kept by means of a computer, require it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away.

Protection of officials acting in good faith

10.—(1) No authorised officer, official veterinary surgeon or assistant appointed under regulation (6) is personally liable in respect of any act done by him in the performance or purported performance of the regulatory functions within the scope of his employment, if he did that act in the honest belief that his duty under these Regulations required or entitled him to do so.

(2) Nothing in paragraph (1) shall be construed as relieving the Department, the Agency or any district council from any liability in respect of acts of their officers.

Entry warrants

11.—(1) If a lay magistrate, on sworn complaint in writing, is satisfied that there is reasonable ground for entry into any land or premises by an official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer under regulation 8 for any of the purposes specified in regulation 7 and either—

(a) that entry has been refused, or a refusal is reasonably expected, and that the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer has given notice of his intention to apply for an entry warrant to the occupier; or

(b) that a request for entry, or the giving of such a notice, would defeat the object of entry, or that entry is urgently required, or that the land or premises are unoccupied, or the occupier is temporarily absent, and it would defeat the object of entry to await his return,

the lay magistrate may by warrant signed by him, and valid for one month, authorise the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer to enter the land or premises, if need be by reasonable force.

(2) An official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer leaving any unoccupied premises which he has entered by virtue of a warrant shall leave them as effectively secured against unauthorised entry as he found them.

District council returns

12.—(1) Each district council shall send to the Department in accordance with any determination made under paragraph (2) a return comprising the following information—

(a) the total number of consignments checked, categorised by groups of products and by country of origin;

(b) a list of consignments of which samples were taken and the results of any test or analysis of each sample; and

(c) a list of consignments required to be redispatched or disposed of under regulation 21 by an authorised officer, together with, in each case, their country of origin, establishment of origin (if known), a description of the product concerned and the reason for refusal.

(2) The Department shall determine how frequently the returns referred to in paragraph (1) are to be submitted and what period of time they are to cover.

Suspension of border inspection posts and inspection centres

13.—(1) This Regulation applies if the Department is satisfied that—

(a) the continued operation of a border inspection post presents a serious risk to public or animal health; or

(b) at a border inspection post there has been a serious breach of the requirements for the approval of border inspection posts laid down in Annex II to Directive 97/78/EC or in the Annex to Commission Decision 2001/812/EC laying down requirements for the approval of border inspection posts responsible for veterinary checks on products brought into the Community from third countries(17),

(2) For the purposes of this regulation and any notice served under it, “approval”, in relation to a border inspection post or an inspection centre, means the approval of the border inspection post or inspection centre, as the case may be, in accordance with Article 6(2) or 6(4) of Directive 97/78/EC.

(3) Where this regulation applies, the Department shall suspend the border inspection post’s approval either in full or in part in accordance with paragraph (4), (5) or (6).

(4) The Department may suspend the border inspection post’s approval in full by service—

(a) on the operator of the border inspection post; or

(b) where the border inspection post consists of more than one inspection centre, on the operator of each inspection centre (if they are different),

of a written notice stating that the approval of the premises as a border inspection post is suspended.

(5) If the Department is satisfied that the serious risk to public and animal health referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or the serious breach of the requirements referred to in paragraph (1)(b) arises only in connection with one or more (but not all) of the categories of products for which the border inspection post is approved (as specified in the Annex to Decision 2001/881/EC), it may suspend the border inspection post’s approval in relation to that category or those categories of products by service of a written notice—

(a) on the operator of the border inspection post; or

(b) where the category of products concerned is, or the categories of products are, handled by different inspection centres within the border inspection post, on the operator of each of those inspection centres (if they are different),

stating that the approval of the premises as a border inspection post is suspended for that category, or those categories, of products.

(6) If the Department is satisfied that the serious risk to public or animal health referred to in paragraph (1)(a) or the serious breach of the requirements referred to in paragraph (1)(b) arises only in connection with one inspection centre within the border inspection post, it may suspend the approval of the inspection centre by service of a written notice on the operator of the inspection centre stating that the approval of the premises as an inspection centre is suspended.

(7) Upon service of a notice under—

(a) Paragraph (4), the premises shall cease to be a border inspection centre within a border inspection post (as the case may be) until they are again so approved in accordance with Article 6(2)(a) of Directive 97/78/EC;

(b) Paragraph (5) the premises shall cease to be a border inspection post or an inspection centre within a border inspection post (as the case may be) approved for that category, or those categories, of products until they are again so approved in accordance with Article 6(2)(a) of Directive 97/78/EC; and

(c) Paragraph (6), the premises shall cease to be approved as an inspection centre within a border inspection post, until they are again so approved in accordance with Article 6(2)(a) of Directive 97/78/EC.

(8) The provisions of paragraph (7) apply in the case of a suspension effected under this regulation notwithstanding that Annex to Decision 2001/881/EC may not have been updated to reflect that suspension.

(9) In this regulation, “inspection centre” means a facility forming part of a border inspection post that is listed along with the name of the border inspection post itself in the Annex to Decision 2001/881/EC.

Regulatory functions of authorised officers

14.  In Parts 3 to 8 and Part 12, where a fishery product is concerned, any reference to an “official veterinary surgeon” or to an assistant appointed under regulation 6(1)(b) shall be construed as indicating respectively an authorised officer or an assistant appointed by a district council under regulation 6(2).

PART 3 Provisions Applicable to Products in General

Prohibition of non-conforming products

15.  No person shall bring a non-conforming product into Northern Ireland from a third country, or a non-conforming product originating in a third country into Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the relevant territories unless—

(a) it is a transit product;

(b) its destination establishment is a warehouse in a free zone, a free warehouse, a customs warehouse approved under to Article 12(4)(b) of Directive 97/78/EC, or a ships’ store complying with Article 13 of Directive 97/78/EC, located (in each case) outside the United Kingdom; or

(c) its destination establishment is a cross-border means of sea transport and it is intended to be delivered directly on board that means of sea transport for the purposes of consumption there by staff and passengers.

Presentation of products except at border inspection posts

16.—(1) A product shall not be brought into Northern Ireland from a third country except at a border inspection post designated and approved for veterinary checks on that product.

(2) Where an Article 9 product arrives at a border inspection post which is outside the United Kingdom and the border inspection post of destination is in Northern Ireland, that product shall not be brought into Northern Ireland except at a border inspection post designated and approved for veterinary checks on that product.

(3) For the purposes of the application of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979(18) to products brought in contravention of this regulation, the time of their introduction is the time of importation in accordance with section 5 of that Act.

Advance notice of introduction or presentation

17.—(1) No person shall—

(a) bring a product into Northern Ireland from a third country; or

(b) bring into Northern Ireland an Article 9 product whose border inspection post of destination is in Northern Ireland,

unless notice of its introduction has been given in accordance with this regulation to the official veterinary surgeon at a border inspection post designated and approved for veterinary checks on that product and a copy of it has been sent to the office of the Commissioners responsible for the area in which that border inspection post is situated.

(2) Where the border inspection post of introduction and the border inspection post of destination of an Article 9 product are both in Northern Ireland, no person shall present the product or consignment to a border inspection post unless notice of its presentation has been given in accordance with this regulation to the official veterinary surgeon at a border inspection post of destination designated and approved for veterinary checks on that product and a copy of it has been sent to the office of the Commissioners responsible for the area in which that border inspection post is situated.

(3) The notice referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2)—

(a) shall be in the form set out as Part 1 of the common veterinary entry document;

(b) may be supplied in electronic form;

(c) shall be in English and also in an official language of the country of destination in the relevant territories referred to in the notice, if other than the United Kingdom;

(d) shall arrive at the border inspection post before the product or consignment is unloaded from the means of transport that brought it to Northern Ireland; and

(e) in the case of a notice given to a border inspection post of destination, shall specify what checks have been carried out at the border inspection post of introduction.

Presentation of products at border inspection posts

18.—(1) Any person responsible for a product which is brought into Northern Ireland from a third country, or for an Article 9 product whose border inspection post of destination is in Northern Ireland, shall present the product and the required documents, or ensure that the same are presented, without delay to the official veterinary surgeon at the inspection facility of the border inspection post to which notice of the product’s introduction or presentation was given under to regulation 17.

(2) Where the border inspection post of introduction of an Article 9 product is in the United Kingdom and its border inspection post of destination is in Northern Ireland, any person responsible for the product after its removal from the border inspection post of introduction, shall present the product and the required documents, or ensure that the same are presented, without delay to the official veterinary surgeon at the inspection facility of the border inspection post of destination to which notice of the product’s presentation was given under to regulation 17.

(3) A person who presents a product, other than a transit product or a product to which Part 8 applies, under paragraph (1) or (2) shall present the required documents relating to that product drawn up in English.

(4) A person who, under paragraph (1) or (2), presents a transit product or a product to which Part 8 applies accompanied by a required document in a language other than English, shall present at the same time a translation of the required document into English, authenticated as accurate by an appropriately qualified expert.

Veterinary checks and official controls

19.—(1) Subject, in the case of transhipped products, to regulation 38, any person required by virtue of regulation 18 to present a product and its required documents, or to ensure that the same are presented to an official veterinary surgeon, shall permit the official veterinary surgeon, or an assistant appointed under to regulation 6(1)(b) or 6(2)(b), to carry out on the product or the required documents, as the case may be—

(a) a documentary check;

(b) an identity check; and

(c) subject to regulations 41, 46 and 52, a physical check,

(d) the official controls referred to in Article 14(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls performed to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare rules(19)

and shall render the official veterinary surgeon or assistant such assistance as he may reasonably request to enable him to carry out any of the said checks.

(2) Where a product is presented to an official veterinary surgeon under regulation 18, no person may remove it or cause it to be removed from the border inspection post at which it was presented until the official veterinary surgeon has authorised its removal by issuing Part 2 of the common veterinary document for the product or for the consignment which includes the product.

(3) Where a sample of a product is taken in the course of a physical check, pending removal of the product under paragraph (2) the person responsible for the consignment which includes the product must store it under the supervision of the official veterinary surgeon at such a place and under such conditions as the official veterinary surgeon may direct and must pay the costs of such storage.

(4) Where a product has been placed under official detention under Article 18 or 19 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004, no person shall remove it from its place of detention.

(5) Where a product has been placed under official detention under Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 and the official veterinary surgeon—

(a) has served a notice on the person responsible for the product under Article 19(1) of that Regulation; or

(b) considers that product to be injurious to human or animal health under Article 19(2) of that Regulation, the person responsible for the product shall comply with the notice if sub-paragraph (a) applies, or cooperate with the official veterinary surgeon in the destruction or redispatch of the product if sub-paragraph (b) applies.

(6) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision on a consignment made under Article 19 of Regulation (EC) No. 882/2004 may appeal within one month of the decision to a Magistrate’s Court by way of complaint for an order and the Magistrates’ Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(20) applies to the proceedings.

(7) Pending the determination of an appeal under paragraph (6), the person responsible for the product concerned shall ensure that it is stored under the supervision of the official veterinary surgeon at such a place and under such conditions as he may direct by notice.

Common veterinary entry document to accompany consignment

20.—(1) The person responsible for a consignment or part consignment of a consignment in respect of which Part 2 of the common veterinary entry document has been issued, and any carrier who has charge of it for the time being, shall ensure that the common veterinary entry document accompanies the consignment or part consignment—

(a) in the case of a consignment or part consignment intended for import, and subject to regulation 37(3), until the consignment or part consignment first reaches, after import, premises where products are stored, processed, handled, bought or sold; and

(b) in all other cases until the consignment or part consignment is no longer subject to supervision by the customs authorities, within the meaning of Article 4(13) of the Customs Code.

(2) The person who occupies for the purposes of his business the premises referred to in paragraph (1)(a) shall take possession of the common veterinary entry document referred to in paragraph (1) and retain the same at the premises for a period of one year commencing with the day following its arrival there.

Products which fail veterinary checks

21.—(1) This regulation is subject to regulation 22.

(2) Where, following a veterinary check at a border inspection post, the official veterinary surgeon there decides that—

(a) a product other than an excepted product, is a non-conforming product; or

(b) there is some other irregularity in relation to a product,

the official veterinary surgeon must comply with paragraph (3).

(3) The official veterinary surgeon must serve a notice in writing on the person responsible for the product requiring him either—

(a) to redispatch the product by the mode of transport by which it was brought into Northern Ireland from the border inspection post to a destination, agreed with the official veterinary surgeon, located in a third country within a period of sixty days commencing with the day following the service of the notice; or

(b) to dispose of the product in accordance with Regulation (EC) No.1774/2002 in the facilities provided for that purpose nearest to the border inspection post.

(4) Subject to paragraph (6), where, following a veterinary check on a product, other than an excepted product, located away from the border inspection post, an authorised officer decides that the product is a non- conforming product, the authorised officer must comply with paragraph (5).

(5) The authorised officer must serve a notice in writing on the person appearing to have charge of the product, requiring him either—

(a) to redispatch the product by the mode of transport by which it was brought into Northern Ireland from the border inspection post referred to in the notice to a destination, agreed with the authorised officer, located in a third country within a period of sixty days commencing with the day following the service of the notice; or

(b) to dispose of the product in accordance with Regulation (EC) No.1774/2002 in the facilities provided for that purpose nearest to the location of the product.

(6) The product must be disposed of in accordance with paragraph (3)(b) or 5(b) where—

(a) its redispatch is precluded on animal or public health grounds by—

(i) the results of a veterinary check, or

(ii) any animal or public health requirement laid down in a Community instrument in force on the date on which these Regulations are made, or

(iii) is otherwise impossible;

(b) the 60 day period referred to in paragraph (3)(a) or 5(a) has elapsed; or

(c) the person responsible for the product or, where paragraph (4) applies, the owner of the product, agrees immediately to its disposal.

(7) The person responsible for, or, if paragraph (4) applies, the owner of, a product in respect of which a notice has been served under paragraph (3) or (5) must ensure that the product is stored until redispatch or disposal under the supervision of the official veterinary surgeon or the authorised officer at such a place and under such conditions as he may direct in the notice.

(8) Any person who is aggrieved by a decision referred to in paragraph (2) or (4) may appeal within one month of the decision to a Magistrates’ court by way of complaint for an order and the Magistrates’ Court (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 applies to the proceedings.

(9) Pending the determination of an appeal under to paragraph (8), paragraph (7) applies to the storage of the product concerned.

(10) In this regulation—

(a) “excepted product” means a transit product which fulfils the requirements of Part 7 or a product whose destination establishment is referred to in regulation 15(b) or 15(c).

(b) “other irregularity”, in relation to a product, means—

(i) its introduction into Northern Ireland from a third country, or its presentation to a border inspection post of destination in Northern Ireland, without notice given under to regulation 17;

(ii) any false or misleading information contained in a notice given under to regulation 17;

(iii) any false or misleading information given under regulation 45 or 51;

(iv) any error, omission or false or misleading information in a required document, and any discrepancy between a required document and—

(aa) the notice of the product’s introduction or presentation given under to regulation 17; or

(bb) the product itself; or

(cc) the seals, stamps, marks or labels on the product, on the consignment which includes the product or on the container holding the product or the consignment;

(v) any defect in the product rendering it unfit for the purpose for which, according to the required documents, it is intended;

(vi) any defect in the seals, stamps, marks or labels referred to in paragraph (10)(b)(iv)(cc), including, in the case of a packaged product, any contravention of the labelling requirements laid down for that product in any Directive, Decision or Regulation listed in Schedule 1;

(vii) in the case of a product intended for import, any indication in the required documents that the product does not comply with the import conditions; and

(viii) in the case of a non-conforming product which is a transit product, or a product whose destination establishment is referred to in Regulation 15(b), or (c) any contravention of the requirements laid down for that non-conforming product in any Directive, Decision or Regulation listed in Schedule 1.

Treatment as animal by-products

22.—(1) If the official veterinary surgeon or authorised officer is of the opinion that a product to which regulation 21 applies presents no risk to animal or public health, he may authorise that the product be used in accordance with regulation 26 of the Animal By-Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003(21) notwithstanding paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of regulation 21.

(2) The authorisation shall be in writing, may be made subject to conditions, and may be amended, suspended or revoked in writing at any time.

(3) The authorisation may specify which of the uses in regulation 26 of the Animal By-Products Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 is permitted.

Products containing unauthorised substances and excess residues

23.—(1) In this regulation —

(a) “maximum residue limit” means a maximum residue limit listed in Annex I or Annex III to Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2377/90 laying down a Community procedure for the establishment of maximum residue limits of veterinary medicinal products in foodstuffs of animal origin(22);

(b) “unauthorised substance” has the same meaning as “unauthorised substance or product” in Council Directive 96/23/EC on measures to monitor certain substances and residues thereof in live animals and animal products and repealing Directives 85/358/EEC and 86/469/EEC and Decisions 89/187/EEC and 91/664/EEC(23).

(c) “establishment of origin in a third country”, means the establishment of origin in the third country of origin of the consignment, as set out in box 10 of the common veterinary entry document.

(2) This regulation applies where a veterinary check on a consignment from a particular establishment of origin in a third country reveals the presence of an unauthorised substance, or reveals that a maximum residue limit has been exceeded, but no Community measures have yet been adopted in response to this.

(3) In the circumstances described in paragraph (2), paragraphs (4), (5), (6) and (7) shall apply to those of the next ten consignments brought into the United Kingdom from that establishment which are brought into Northern Ireland.

(4) The official veterinary surgeon at the border inspection post at which any such consignment is brought shall, by notice in writing served on the person responsible for the consignment, take charge of it and check for unauthorised substances or their residues in the consignment by taking and analysing a representative sample of the products comprised in it.

(5) Upon service of a notice under paragraph (4), the person responsible for the consignment shall lodge with the official veterinary surgeon a deposit or guarantee sufficient to assure payment of all charges payable in accordance with Part 10 for veterinary checks carried out on the consignment, including the taking of samples, and any laboratory test or analysis carried out on any sample taken.

(6) If any veterinary check carried out on the consignment reveals the presence of unauthorised substances or their residues or reveals that a maximum residue limit has been exceeded, the official veterinary surgeon shall—

(a) redispatch the consignment, or such part of it as the official veterinary surgeon considers affected by the presence of unauthorised substances or their residues or by excess residues, accompanied by the required documents, to its third country of origin.

(b) endorse on the required documents relating to the consignment a clear indication of the reasons for redispatching it; and

(7) The cost of redispatching and transporting the consignment or part consignment to its third country of origin shall be paid by the consignor whose name appears on the notice of the consignment’s introduction given under regulation 17.

Consignments and products illegally brought in

24.—(1) This regulation applies—

(a) where a consignment or product is brought into Northern Ireland from a third country but is not presented at a border inspection post in accordance with Regulation 18;

(b) where a consignment or product originating in a third country has been brought into Northern Ireland from elsewhere in the relevant territories, but has not been presented at a border inspection post there;

(c) where the border inspection post of destination of a consignment of Article 9 products is in Northern Ireland but the consignment is not presented there in accordance with regulation 18(1); or