Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564 of 10 March 2023 as regards the content and format of the records of plant protection products kept by professional users pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council (Text with EEA relevance)

• CELEX: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/564
• Articles: 6

Article 1 Content of the records

1.   Professional users of plant protection products shall provide in the records referred to in Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 (‘the records’) the information as set out in the Annex to this Regulation.

2.   Where the location of an area or facility where a plant protection product was used cannot be identified through the unit of land within the scope of the geospatial aid application of the integrated administration and control system as referred to in Article 8(3), point (b), of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173, or where pursuant to paragraph 1, this is not required for a type of use, Member States shall provide professional users with appropriate alternative identification methods. Such identification methods shall enable the identification of the location of the area, unit, or facility where the plant protection product was used, and, where relevant, its geospatial location.

3.   Member States shall make available to professional users common names of crops, situations or land uses corresponding to EPPO codes and of growth stages of crops, in accordance with the BBCH monograph for recording the use of plant protection products.

4.   The provisions in this Article are without prejudice to the possibility of Member States to require that professional users include other information outside the scope of Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 in the records.

Article 2 Format of the records

Professional users of plant protection products shall keep the records electronically using a machine-readable format as defined in Article 2(13) of Directive (EU) 2019/1024.

Article 3 Timing of recording and of transfer to electronic format

The professional user shall record each use of a plant protection product without undue delay.

Where the records are not initially created in the prescribed electronic format, they shall be transferred into such a format no later than 30 days from the date of use of the plant protection product. For uses of plant protection products on their territory, Member States may provide for shorter periods for the transfer into the prescribed electronic format.

For uses of plant protection products on their territory before 1 January 2030, Member States may allow for longer periods than those set out in the second paragraph, within which the records shall be transferred into the prescribed electronic format, as long as all records are available in the prescribed electronic format before 31 January of the year following the year of use of the plant protection product.

Article 4 Provision of information to the competent authorities and other natural or legal persons

When requested by the competent authority pursuant to Article 67(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 to provide information contained in the records, the professional user shall provide the information without undue delay.

When the competent authority explicitly requests information contained in the records created for uses of plant protection products in the prescribed electronic format as set out in Article 2 before the relevant period set out in Article 3, second and third paragraph, has expired, the professional user shall provide the information in the prescribed electronic format before the expiration of that period or within 10 working days, whichever comes first.

Professional users that act under contractual arrangements for another natural or legal person, shall provide access to or a copy of the records to that contracting person without undue delay or restrictions.

Article 5 Entry into force and application

This Regulation shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .

It shall apply from 1 January 2026.

Schedules & Appendices

ANNEX Information to be included in the records as provided for in Article 1

ANNEX

Information to be included in the records as provided for in Article 1

Type of use

Plant protection product used

Time of use

Dose of application  ( 1 )

Location or identification of treated area or unit  ( 2 )

Size or amount of treated area or unit  ( 3 )

Crop or situation/land use

Treatment of surface areas (such as agricultural fields, amenity areas, railway tracks, non-crop areas or greenhouses other than those referred to in the next row)

Product name and authorisation number

Date and where relevant  ( 4 ) start time (hour)

Amount in kilograms/litres of plant protection product applied per hectare

Where available, the unit of land within the scope of the geo-spatial aid application of the integrated administration and control system as referred in Article 8(3), point (b), of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1173.

Where the area cannot be identified within the scope of the geo-spatial aid application as referred above, identification method referred to in Article 1(2).

Number of hectares treated

Crop names, situations/land uses in line with the EPPO codes  ( 5 ) , where applicable and growth stage in line with BBCH monograph  ( 6 ) , where relevant  ( 7 )

Treatment of or in closed spaces (such as fogging/spraying storage facilities, empty grain storage rooms or permanent greenhouses as defined in Article 3(27) of Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009)

Product name and authorisation number

Date

Amount in kilograms/litres of plant protection product applied per cubic metre or per square meter

Store/greenhouse number and identification method referred to in Article 1(2).

Volume in cubic metres or surface area  ( 8 ) in square meters of the facility treated

Crop names, situations in line with the EPPO codes, where applicable and growth stage in line with BBCH monograph, where relevant

Treatment of seeds or plant reproductive material (such as seed potatoes)

Product name and authorisation number

Date

Amount in kilograms/litres of plant protection product applied per kilogram, tonne or number of seeds  ( 9 )

Identification method referred to in Article 1(2).

Amount treated in kilograms, tonnes or number of seeds

Crop names in line with the EPPO codes, where applicable and batch number, where applicable

( 1 )   Units for recording the amounts can be adjusted, where appropriate.

( 2 )   Indicated what fraction of the unit or area is treated, if appropriate.

( 3 )   Units for recording the area and volume can be adjusted, where appropriate.

( 4 )   e.g. when the use of plant protection product is restricted to specific times of the day or when the time of use is relevant in the context of the particular use.

( 5 )   https://gd.eppo.int/

( 6 )   Meier, Uwe, ed. Growth stages of mono- and dicotyledonous plants. BBCH Monograph. Quedlinburg 2018. Open Agrar Repositorium. doi: 10.5073/20180906-074619 ISBN: 978-3-95547-071-5.

( 7 )   e.g. when the use of plant protection product is restricted to particular growth stages or when the growth stage is relevant in the context of the particular use.

( 8 )   For multi-layered facilities, the total area treated should be recorded.

( 9 )   Units for recording the amounts treated can be adjusted, where appropriate.