Certification of Animals and Animal Products Rules, 2005

L.N. 384 of 2005

VETERINARY SERVICES ACT

(CAP. 437)

Certification of Animals and Animal Products Rules, 2005

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 17 of the Veterinary

Services Act, the Minister for Rural Affairs and the Environment has

made the following rules>-

(1) The title of these rules is the Certification of Animals Title, scope and

applicability.

and Animal Products.

(2) The scope of these rules is to implement the provisions

laid down under the European Union Council Directive 96#93#EEC.

(3) This Directive lays down the rules to be observed in

issuing the certificates required by veterinary laws.

Definitions.

(1) For the purposes of these rules -

“the competent authority” is the Veterinary Services as

established under article 2 of the Veterinary Services Act<

“certifying officer” means the official veterinarian or, in the

cases provided for in veterinary laws, any other person authorized

by the competent authority to sign the certificates required by those

laws.

“veterinary laws” means the laws listed in Annex A to

Directive 89#662#EEC and Annexes A and B to Directive

90#425#EEC<

(2) In addition to the definitions in sub-rule (1) hereof, the

definitions contained in Article 2 of Directives 89#662#EEC and

90#425#EEC shall mutatis mutandis apply.

(1) The competent authority shall ensure that certifying Rules regarding

certifying officers.

officers have a satisfactory knowledge of the veterinary laws as regards

the animals or products to be certified and, in general, are informed as

to the rules to be followed for drawing up and issuing the certificates

and, if necessary, as to the nature and extent of the enquiries, tests or

examinations which should be carried out before certification.

(2) Certifying officers shall not certify data of which they

have no personal knowledge or which cannot be ascertained by them.

(3) Certifying officers shall not sign blank or incomplete

certificates, or certificates relating to animals or products which they

have not inspected or which have passed out of their control. Where a

certificate is signed on the basis of another certificate or attestation, the

certifying officer shall be in possession of that document before signing.

(4) Nothing in this rule shall prevent an official veterinarian

from certifying data which have been -

(a) ascertained on the basis of sub-rules 3(1),(2) and (3) by

another person so authorized by the competent authority and acting

under the control of the official veterinarian, provided that such

veterinarian can verify the accuracy of the data<

(b) obtained, within the context of monitoring programmes,

by reference to officially recognized quality assurance schemes or

by means of an epidemiological surveillance system where this is

authorized under veterinary laws.

(5) Detailed rules for implementing this rule may be adopted

in accordance with the procedure laid down in rule 7.

(1) The competent authority shall take all necessary steps to

ensure the integrity of certification. In particular, they shall ensure that

certifying officers designated by them-

(a) have a status which ensures their impartiality and have

no direct commercial interest in the animals or products being

certified or in the holdings or establishments in which they

originate<

(b) are fully aware of the significance of the contents of

each certificate which they sign.

(2) Certificates shall be drawn up at least in a language

understood by the certifying officer and at least in one of the official

languages of the country of destination as provided for in Community

laws.

(3) Each competent authority shall be in a position to link

certificates with the relevant certifying officer and ensure that a copy of

all certificates issued is available for a period to be determined by it.

(1) Member States shall introduce such checks and have such Controls on the

certification.

control measures taken as are necessary to prevent the issuing of false

or misleading certification and the fraudulent production or use of

certificates purported to be issued for the purposes of veterinary laws.

(2) Without prejudice to any legal proceedings or penalties,

the competent authorities shall carry out investigations or checks and

take appropriate measures to penalize any instances of false or

misleading certification which are brought to their attention. Such

measures may include the temporary suspension of the certifying officers

from their duties until the investigation is over>

Provided that, in particular, if it is found in the course of the checks

that>

(a) a certifying officer has knowingly issued a fraudulent

certificate, the competent authority shall take all necessary steps

to ensure, as far as is possible, that the person concerned cannot

repeat the offence<

(b) an individual or an undertaking has made fraudulent use

of, or has altered an official certificate, the competent authority

shall take all necessary measures to ensure, as far as is possible,

that the individual or undertaking cannot repeat the offence. Such

measures may include a refusal subsequently to issue an official

certificate to the person or undertaking concerned.

In the context of the inspections provided for by Community Rules regarding

inspections.

veterinary laws and the audits to be carried out under the equivalence

agreements between the Community and third countries, the European

Union Commission shall ensure that the rules and principles applied by

third-country certifying officers offer guarantees at least equivalent to

those laid down in these rules>

Provided that should it emerge from these inspections and, or, audits

or from the checks provided for in European Union Council Directives

90#675#EEC and 91#496#EEC that third-country certifying officers have

not complied with these principles, additional guarantees or specific

requirements may be decided on in accordance with the procedure

provided for in Article 18 of European Union Council Directive

89#662#EEC.

Where reference is made to the procedure provided for in

Article 18 of European Union Council Directive 89#662#EEC, the

Standing Veterinary Committee set up by European Union Council

Decision 68#361#EEC shall act in accordance with the rules laid down

in Article 18 of European Union Council Directive 89#662#EEC.

Mitbug[ fl-Istamperija tal-Gvern — Printed at the Government Printing Press