Control system
Article 27
1. Member States shall set up a system of controls and designate one or more competent authorities responsible for controls in respect of the obligations established by this Regulation in conformity with Regulation (EC) No 882/2004. 2. In addition to the conditions laid down in Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, the control system set up under this Regulation shall comprise at least the application of precautionary and control measures to be adopted by the Commission in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 37(2). 3. In the context of this Regulation the nature and frequency of the controls shall be determined on the basis of an assessment of the risk of occurrence of irregularities and infringements as regards compliance with the requirements laid down in this Regulation. In any case, all operators with the exception of wholesalers dealing only with pre-packaged products and operators selling to the final consumer or user as described in Article 28(2), shall be subject to a verification of compliance at least once a year. 4. The competent authority may: (a) confer its control competences to one or more other control authorities. Control authorities shall offer adequate guarantees of objectivity and impartiality, and have at their disposal the qualified staff and resources necessary to carry out their functions; (b) delegate control tasks to one or more control bodies. In that case, the Member States shall designate authorities responsible for the approval and supervision of such bodies. 5. The competent authority may delegate control tasks to a particular control body only if the conditions laid down in Article 5(2) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004 are satisfied, and in particular where: (a) there is an accurate description of the tasks that the control body may carry out and of the conditions under which it may carry them out; (b) there is proof that the control body: (i) has the expertise, equipment and infrastructure required to carry out the tasks delegated to it; (iii) has a sufficient number of suitable qualified and experienced staff; and (iii) is impartial and free from any conflict of interest as regards the exercise of the tasks delegated to it; (c) the control body is accredited to the most recently notified version, by a publication in the C series of the Official Journal of the European Union , of European Standard EN 45011 or ISO Guide 65 (General requirements for bodies operating product certification systems), and is approved by the competent authorities; (d) the control body communicates the results of the controls carried out to the competent authority on a regular basis and whenever the competent authority so requests. If the results of the controls indicate non-compliance or point to the likelihood of non-compliance, the control body shall immediately inform the competent authority; (e) there is an effective coordination between the delegating competent authority and the control body. 6. In addition to the provisions of paragraph 5, the competent authority shall take into account the following criteria whilst approving a control body: (a) the standard control procedure to be followed, containing a detailed description of the control measures and precautions that the body undertakes to impose on operators subject to its control; (b) the measures that the control body intends to apply where irregularities and/or infringements are found. 7. The competent authorities may not delegate the following tasks to the control bodies; (a) the supervision and audit of other control bodies; (b) the competence to grant exceptions, as referred to in Article 22, unless this is provided for in the specific conditions laid down by the Commission in accordance with Article 22(3). 8. In accordance with Article 5(3) of Regulation (EC) No 882/2004, competent authorities delegating control tasks to control bodies shall organise audits or inspections of control bodies as necessary. If, as a result of an audit or an inspection, it appears that such bodies are failing to carry out properly the tasks delegated to them, the delegating competent authority may withdraw the delegation. It shall withdraw it without delay if the control body fails to take appropriate and timely remedial action. 9. In addition to the provisions of paragraph 8, the competent authority shall: (a) ensure that the controls carried out by the control body are objective and independent; (b) verify the effectiveness of its controls; (c) take cognisance of any irregularities or infringements found and corrective measures applied; (d) withdraw approval of that body where it fails to satisfy the requirements referred to in (a) and (b) or no longer fulfils the criteria indicated in paragraph 5, 6 or fails to satisfy the requirements laid down in paragraphs 11, 12 and 14. 10. Member States shall attribute a code number to each control authority or control body performing control tasks as referred to in paragraph 4. 11. Control authorities and control bodies shall give the competent authorities access to their offices and facilities and provide any information and assistance deemed necessary by the competent authorities for the fulfilment of their obligations according to this Article. 12. The control authorities and control bodies shall ensure that at least the precautionary and control measures referred to in paragraph 2 are applied to operators subject to their control. 13. Member States shall ensure that the control system as set up allows for the traceability of each product at all stages of production, preparation and distribution in accordance with Article 18 of Regulation (EC) No 178/2002, in particular, in order to give consumers guarantees that organic products have been produced in compliance with the requirements set out in this Regulation. 14. By 31 January each year at the latest the control authorities and control bodies shall transmit to the competent authorities a list of the operators which were subject to their controls on 31 December of the previous year. A summary report of the control activities carried out during the previous year shall be provided by 31 March each year.