(1)

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 establishes rules on the performance of official controls by the competent authorities of the Member States on animals and goods entering the Union in order to verify compliance with Union agri-food chain legislation.

(2)

As rules on the cases when, and the conditions under which, the CHED should accompany consignments in transit are to be laid down in a separate delegated act to be adopted pursuant to Article 51(1) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, this Regulation should only apply to consignments intended to be placed on the market in the Union.

(3)

Regulation (EU) 2017/625 provides that consignments of animals and goods entering the Union through designated border control posts are to be accompanied by the Common Health Entry Document (‘CHED’). Once the official controls have been performed and the CHED has been finalised, the consignments may be split into different parts, according to the commercial needs of the operator.

(4)

With a view to ensuring traceability of consignments and proper communication with the competent authority at the place of destination, rules should be established on the conditions and the practical arrangements under which the CHED should accompany consignments intended for placing on the market to their destination. In particular, it is appropriate to lay down detailed rules related to the CHED for the cases where consignments are split.

(5)

In order to ensure the traceability of consignments that are split at the border control post after official controls have been performed and the CHED has been finalised by the competent authority, it is appropriate to require that the operator responsible for the consignment also submits, through the information management system for official controls (‘IMSOC’) referred to in Article 131 of Regulation (EU) 2017/625, a CHED for each part of the split consignment, which should be finalised by the competent authorities of the border control post and should accompany each part of the split consignment to the destination declared in the respective CHED.

(6)

For the purposes of preventing the fraudulent reuse of the CHED, it is appropriate to require the customs authorities to communicate to the IMSOC the information on the quantity of the consignment stated in the customs declaration, so as to ensure that the quantities stated in such customs declaration are deducted from the total allowed quantity declared in the CHED. Customs authorities are required to exchange information using the customs electronic data-processing techniques referred to in Article 6(1) of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (2). Those electronic data-processing techniques should be used for the purposes of this Regulation. In order to allow the customs authorities sufficient time to set up those techniques, it is appropriate to provide that the obligation to communicate the information on the quantity of the consignments to the IMSOC applies in each Member State as from the date on which those techniques become operational in that Member State or from 1 March 2023, whichever is earlier.

(7)

Since Regulation (EU) 2017/625 applies from 14 December 2019, this Regulation, should also apply from that date,

(a)

the operator responsible for a consignment shall ensure that a copy, on paper or in electronic form, of the CHED accompanies the consignment to the place of destination and until it is released for free circulation in accordance with Article 57(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(b)

the operator responsible for the consignment shall indicate the reference number of the CHED in the customs declaration lodged with the customs authorities and shall keep a copy of that CHED at the disposal of the customs authorities in accordance with Article 163 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(c)

the customs authorities shall communicate to the IMSOC the information on the quantity of the consignment stated in the customs declaration and shall only allow the placing of the consignment under a customs procedure when the total quantity set out in the CHED is not exceeded. This requirement shall not apply where the consignment is to be placed under the customs procedures referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 210 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

(a)

the operator responsible for the consignment shall ensure that a copy, on paper or in electronic form, of the CHED accompanies each part of the split consignment until it is released for free circulation in accordance with Article 57(2)(b) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(b)

for each part of the split consignment, the operator responsible for the consignment shall indicate the reference number of the CHED in the customs declaration lodged with the customs authorities and shall keep a copy of that CHED at the disposal of the customs authorities in accordance with Article 163 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013;

(c)

for each part of the split consignment, the customs authorities shall communicate to the IMSOC the information on the quantity stated in the customs declaration for that part and shall only allow the placing of that part under a customs procedure where the total quantity set out in the CHED is not exceeded. This requirement shall not apply where the consignment is to be placed under the customs procedures referred to in points (a) and (b) of Article 210 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013.

(a)

point (c) of Article 4;

(b)

point (f) of Article 5(1);

(c)

point (c) of Article 6.