European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries) Regulations 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 656/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 1st January, 2021.

Arrangement of Regulations

Part 1 Preliminary and General 1. Citation 2. Interpretation 3. Exercise of certain functions Part 2 Border Control Posts and laboratories 4. Border Control Posts 5. National reference laboratories 6. Official laboratories 7. Remedial measures Part 3 Imports of animals and animal products 8. Restriction on import 9. Common Health Entry Document 10. Notification of import 11. Obligation to present 12. Removal from border control post 13. Provisions relating to transport Part 4 Official certificates, etc. 14. Official certificates 15. Official attestation 16. Splitting consignment 17. Provision of certain information 18. Facilities for official controls 19. Additional safeguard measures 20. Miscellaneous contraventions of European Regulation Part 5 Warehouse approval and licences 21. Warehouse approval 22. Import of certain invertebrates 23. Imports for research or scientific purposes Part 6 Enforcement 24 Functions of authorised officer 25. Assistance, etc. to authorised officer 26. Obstruction, etc. 27. Search warrant 28. Import control notice 29. Appeal against import control notice 30. Seizure and detention for non-compliance with notice 31. Service of import control notice Part 7 Offences and penalties, etc. 32. Offences and penalties 33. Offence by body corporate 34. Fixed payment notice 35. Evidence on certificate, etc. Part 8 Final and miscellaneous provisions 36. Fees and charges 37. Additional fees and charges 38. Data sharing 39. Revocations Schedule 1 Acts of the Institutions of the European Union Schedule 2 Border Control Posts Schedule 3 National Reference Laboratories Schedule 4 Official laboratories Schedule 5 Additional safeguard measures

I, CHARLIE MCCONALOGUE, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving full effect to the acts of the institutions of the European Union cited in Schedule 1 to these Regulations (to the extent that those acts apply to the import of animals and animal products from third countries), hereby make the following regulations:

Part 1

Preliminary and General

Citation

1. These are the European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries) Regulations 2020.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“accompanied” includes, in relation to a document in non-legible form, that document downloaded in legible form to an electronic device

“animal product” means—

(a) the carcass, meat or other food derived from an animal or anything that contains a food derived from an animal,

(b) the semen, egg, ovum, embryo or foetus of an animal,

(c) an animal by-product or anything containing an animal by-product,

(d) a sample derived from an animal, or

(e) anything derived from an animal or that consists of or contains an animal product;

“authorised officer” means—

(a) an authorised officer within the meaning of the Animal Health and Welfare Act 2013 , or

(b) an authorised officer within the meaning of the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020;

“border control post” means a place specified in Schedule 2;

“European Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 (as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/478 of 14 January 2019 and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2127 of 10 October 2019);

“Minister” means Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine;

“record” includes a memorandum, book, plan, map, drawing, diagram, pictorial or graphic work or other document, a photograph, film or recording (whether of sound or images or both), any form in which data are held, any other form (including machine-readable form) or thing in which information is held or stored manually, mechanically, electronically or optically and anything that is a part or a copy, in any form, of any of the foregoing or is a combination of 2 or more of the foregoing;

“search warrant” means a search warrant under Regulation 27;

“sell” includes offer, expose or keep for sale, invite an offer to buy, distribute, barter or exchange;

“supply” includes giving without payment.

(2) A word or expression that is used in these Regulations and that is also used in an act of the institutions of the European Union cited in Schedule 1 has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same meaning in these Regulations that it has in the act in which it is used.

(3) A reference in these Regulations to an official certificate, an official attestation, a Common Health Entry Document or any other record includes a reference to such record in non-legible, electronic form, provided it is capable of being reproduced in legible form.

(4) In these Regulations, a reference to animal product includes, where the context so requires or admits, a reference to hay and straw.

Exercise of certain functions

3. (1) The functions conferred on a Member State by Articles 28, 30, 31, 35, 39, 62, 63, 66 (5), 74 (1), 102, 104, 105 (1), 106 (1) and (3) and 107 of the European Regulation may be exercised by the Minister.

(2) The functions conferred on a liaison body by Article 103 of the European Regulation may be exercised by the Minister.

(3) The functions conferred on a competent authority by Article 36, 44, 66 (other than paragraph (5)), 68, 72 of the European Regulation may be exercised by an authorised officer.

(4) The functions conferred on the competent authority by Article 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2126 of 10 October 2019, may be exercised by the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority, for the purpose of that provision having full effect, a sea-fisheries protection officer may exercise any or all of the powers conferred on a sea-fisheries protection officer by the Sea Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006.

(5) This Regulation is without prejudice to the exercise of a function, whether under these Regulations, the European Regulation or an act of the institutions of the European Union mentioned in Schedule 1 by either the Minister or an authorised officer.

Part 2

Border Control Posts and Laboratories

Border Control Posts

4. A place mentioned in column (2) of Schedule 2 is designated for the purposes of Article 59 of the European Regulation as a border control post in respect of the animals and animal products mentioned at the appropriate reference number in column (3) of that Schedule opposite that mention.

National reference laboratories

5. The national reference laboratories designated for the purposes of Article 100 of the European Regulation are the laboratories set out in Schedule 3.

Official laboratories

6. (1) The official laboratories designated for the purposes of Article 37 of the European Regulation are the laboratories set out in Schedule 4.

(2) The Minister may, by instrument in writing, designate such and so many laboratories or a class of laboratories as he or she considers appropriate to be official laboratories for the purposes of some or all of the functions of an official laboratory as may be specified in the instrument.

(3) The Minister may terminate the designation of an official laboratory whether or not the appointment was for a fixed period.

(4) A designation as an official laboratory ceases—

(a) if terminated pursuant to paragraph (3),

(b) if for a fixed period, on the expiry of that period, or

(c) if for a particular purpose, on the completion of that purpose.

(5) Nothing in paragraph (3) prevents the Minister from designating as an approved laboratory a laboratory to which that paragraph relates.

Remedial measures

7. The period (referred to in Article 69 (1) of the European Regulation) for compliance with measures (specified in Article 66 (3) or 67 of the European Regulation) ordered by means of an import control notice is a period not exceeding 60 days, stated on the face of the notice requiring compliance by that date.

Part 3

Imports of animals and animal products

Restriction on import

8. (1) A person who imports an animal or animal product from a third country other than in accordance with the European Regulation and the other acts of the institutions of the European Union mentioned in Schedule 1, commits an offence.

(2) A person shall not have in his or her possession or under his or her control an animal or animal product that has been imported in contravention of paragraph (1) or Regulation 9.

Common Health Entry Document

9. A person who imports an animal or animal product that is required to be accompanied by a Common Health Entry Document that is not accompanied by a duly completed Common Health Entry Document, commits an offence.

Notification of import

10. (1) A person who fails to give prior notification of the intended import of an animal or animal product from a third country at the border control post where it is intended to import the animal or animal product no later than 24 hours before the intended time of arrival of the animal or product at the border control post, as required by Article 56 of the European Regulation and for the purposes of Article 1 (2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU 2019/1013 of 16 April 2019, commits an offence.

(2) The period of 24 hours mentioned in paragraph (1) is calculated by disregarding, unless the border control post operates on such day, any Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.

Obligation to present

11. (1) A person who—

(a) imports an animal or animal product mentioned in Article 47 (1) that has not undergone a...