Issue
1. Member States may issue personal ownership certificates to the legal owner of legally acquired live animals, held for personal non-commercial purposes, which meet either of the following criteria:
(a)
they were born and bred in captivity in accordance with Articles 54 and 55;
(b)
they were acquired in, or introduced into, the Community before the provisions relating to species listed in Appendices I, II or III to the Convention, or in Annex C to Regulation (EEC) No 3626/82, or in Annexes A, B and C to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 became applicable to them.
2. A personal ownership certificate shall cover only one specimen.
3. A continuation sheet shall be attached to the certificate for use in accordance with Article 42.
Use
Provided that the specimen covered by a personal ownership certificate is accompanied by its legal owner, the certificate may be used as follows:
(1)
as an import permit in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97;
(2)
as an export permit or re-export certificate in accordance with Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, where the country of destination so agrees.
Issuing authority
1. Where the specimen originates within the Community, the issuing authority for a personal ownership certificate shall be the management authority of the Member State in whose territory the specimen is located.
2. Where the specimen is introduced from a third country, the issuing authority for a personal ownership certificate shall be the management authority of the Member State of first destination and the issue of that certificate shall be based on the provision of an equivalent document, issued by that third country.
3. The personal ownership certificate shall include the following text in box 23 or in an appropriate annex to the certificate:
‘Valid for multiple cross-border movements where the specimen is accompanied by its owner. Legal owner to retain original form.
The specimen covered by this certificate may not be sold or otherwise transferred except in accordance with Article 43 of Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006. This certificate is non-transferable. If the specimen dies, is stolen, destroyed or lost, or if it is sold or if ownership of the specimen is otherwise transferred, this certificate must be immediately returned to the issuing management authority.
This certificate is not valid unless accompanied by a continuation sheet, which must be stamped and signed by a customs official at each border crossing.
This certificate shall in no way affect the right to adopt stricter national measures regarding restrictions or conditions for the holding/keeping of live animals.’
4. Where, during a stay in a Member State, an animal covered by a personal ownership certificate gives birth, the management authority of that State shall be notified and shall issue a permit or certificate as appropriate.
Requirements for specimens
1. Where a specimen is covered by a personal ownership certificate, the following requirements shall be met:
(a)
the specimen must be registered by the management authority of the Member State in which the owner has his usual residence;
(b)
the specimen must be returned to the Member State in which it is registered before the date of expiry of the certificate;
(c)
the specimen may not be used for commercial purposes except subject to the conditions provided for in Article 43;
(d)
the specimen must be uniquely and permanently marked in accordance with Article 66.
2. In the case of personal ownership certificates issued in accordance with Article 39(2), points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article shall not apply.
In such cases, the certificate shall include the following text in box 23:
‘This certificate is not valid unless accompanied by an original personal ownership certificate issued by a third country and unless the specimen to which it relates is accompanied by its owner.’
Applications
1. The applicant for a personal ownership certificate shall, where appropriate, complete boxes 1, 4 and 6 to 23 of the application form and boxes 1, 4 and 6 to 22 of the original and all copies.
Member States may, however, provide that only an application form is to be completed, in which case such an application may be for more than one certificate.
2. The duly completed form shall be submitted to a management authority of the Member State in which the specimens are located, or in the case referred to in Article 39(2), to the management authority of the Member State of first destination, together with the necessary information and the documentary evidence that that authority deems necessary so as to enable it to determine whether a certificate should be issued.
The omission of information from the application must be justified.
Where an application is made for a certificate relating to specimens for which such an application has previously been rejected, the applicant shall inform the management authority of that fact.
Documents to be surrendered by the holder to the customs office
1. In the case of the import, export or re-export of a specimen covered by a personal ownership certificate issued in accordance with Article 39(1), the holder of the certificate shall, for verification purposes, surrender the original of that certificate (form 1) and the original and a copy of the continuation sheet to a customs office designated in accordance with Article 12(1) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97.
The customs office shall, after completing the continuation sheet, return the original documents to the holder, endorse the copy of the continuation sheet and forward that endorsed copy to the relevant management authority in accordance with Article 45 of this Regulation.
2. In the case of a personal ownership certificate issued in accordance with Article 39(2), paragraph 1 of this Article shall apply, except that the holder shall also submit for verification purposes the original certificate issued by the third country.
The customs office shall, after completing both continuation sheets, return the original documents to the holder and forward an endorsed copy of the continuation sheet of the certificate issued by the Member State's management authority to that authority in accordance with Article 45.
Sales of specimens covered
Where the holder of a personal ownership certificate issued in accordance with Article 39(1) of this Regulation wishes to sell the specimen, he shall first surrender the certificate to the issuing management authority and, where the specimen belongs to a species listed in Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 338/97, shall apply to the competent authority for a certificate in accordance with Article 8(3) of that Regulation.
Replacement
A personal ownership certificate that has been lost, stolen or destroyed may be replaced only by the authority which issued it.
The replacement shall bear the same number, if possible, and the same date of validity as the original document, and shall include, in box 20, the following statement:
‘This certificate is a true copy of the original.’
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.
