S.L. 117.36 Art. 13Method of inspection.

(1) The competent authority shall publish in advance guidelines for specific arrangements for checking conformity at the point of retail or sale to the end consumer.

(2) The Inspectorate Unit may, at any time, and without giving any previous notice, except in cases of import and export, enter any premises for the purpose of inspection and of ensuring the carrying out of the provisions of these regulations or of any other law relating to the sale of fresh fruit and vegetables. For this purpose the Inspectorate Unit may request the assistance of the members of the Police Force.

(3) Where the Inspectorate Unit finds that the products conform with the marketing standards, the Inspectorate Unit shall make its recommendations to the competent authority. The competent authority shall then issue a conformity certificate in terms of regulation 12 on the form set out in Annex III of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No. 543/2011.

(4) (a) Where the products do not conform with the standards, the competent authority shall issue a finding of non-conformity for the attention of the traders or their representatives.

(b) Goods for which a finding of non-conformity has been issued may not be moved without the authorisation of the competent authority which issued that finding. That authorisation can be subject to the respect of conditions laid down by the competent authority.

(5) Traders may decide to bring all or some of the products into conformity. Products brought into conformity may not be marketed before the competent authority has ensured that the products have actually been brought into conformity.

(6) The competent authority shall issue, where applicable, a certificate of conformity on the form set out in Annex III of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 543/2011 for the lot of products or part thereof, only after such products have been brought into conformity.

(7) (a) If the competent authority accepts a trader’s wish to bring the goods into conformity in a Member State other than that where the check leading to a finding of non-conformity has been carried out, the trader shall notify the competent authority of the destination Member State of the non-conforming lot.

(b) The competent authority issuing the finding of non-conformity shall send a copy of that finding to the other Member States concerned including the Member State of destination of the non-conforming lot.

(8) In the case of products that can neither be brought into conformity nor be sent as animal feed, industrial processing or any other non-food use, the competent authority may, if necessary, request traders to take adequate measures, in order to ensure that the products concerned are not marketed.