Cooperation and administrative assistance
Article 48
1. Where non-compliance originates in, spreads to or affects more than one Member State, the competent authorities in those Member States shall cooperate with one another as well as provide one another with administrative assistance in order to ensure the correct application of the rules provided for in this Regulation. 2. The cooperation and administrative assistance provided for in paragraph 1 may include: (a) the reasoned request by a competent authority of a Member State (‘requesting competent authority’) for information from a competent authority of another Member State (‘requested competent authority’) that is needed in order to perform official controls or to follow them up; (b) in the case of a non-compliance which might have implications in other Member States, the notification of the competent authorities of those other Member States by the competent authority aware of the non-compliance; (c) the provision, by the requested competent authority, of necessary information and documents to the requesting competent authority, without undue delay when the relevant information and documents become available; (d) the performance of investigations or official controls by the requested competent authority that are necessary to: (i) provide the requesting competent authority with all necessary information and documents, including information concerning the results of such investigations or official controls and, where appropriate, the measures taken; (ii) verify, where necessary ‘on-the-spot’, compliance within their jurisdiction with the rules provided for in this Regulation; (e) by agreement between the competent authorities concerned, participation by a competent authority of a Member State in on-the-spot official controls that the competent authorities of another Member State perform. 3. Where official controls performed on breeding animals or their germinal products originating in another Member State show repeated instances of non-compliance with the rules provided for in this Regulation, the competent authority of the Member State that has performed those official controls shall inform the Commission and the competent authorities of the other Member States thereof without undue delay. 4. This Article shall apply without prejudice to national rules that are: (a) applicable to the release of documents that are the object of, or related to, judicial proceedings; (b) aimed at the protection of commercial interests vested in natural or legal persons. 5. All communications between competent authorities in accordance with this Article shall be in writing, either on paper or in electronic form.