Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein

CHAPTER I

DEFINITIONS

Article 1

Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation, in addition to the definitions laid down in Article 2 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the following definitions shall apply:

(1) ‘date of acquisition’ means the date on which a specimen was taken from the wild, born in captivity or artificially propagated, or, if such date is unknown, the earliest provable date on which it was possessed by any person;

(2) ‘second-generation offspring (F2)’ and ‘subsequent generation offspring (F3, F4, and so on)’ means specimens produced in a controlled environment from parents that were also produced in a controlled environment, as distinct from specimens produced in a controlled environment from parents at least one of which was conceived in or taken from the wild (first-generation offspring (F1));

(3) ‘breeding stock’ means all the animals in a breeding operation that were or are used for reproduction;

(4) ‘controlled environment’ means an environment that is manipulated for the purpose of producing animals of a particular species, that has boundaries designed to prevent animals, eggs or gametes of the species from entering or leaving, and the general characteristics of which may include but are not limited to artificial housing, waste removal, health care, protection from predators and the artificial supply of food;

(4a) ‘cultivated parental stock’ means the ensemble of plants grown under controlled conditions that are used for reproduction, and which must have been, to the satisfaction of the competent management authority, in consultation with a competent scientific authority of the Member State concerned: (i) established in accordance with the provisions of CITES and relevant national laws and in a manner not detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild; and (ii) maintained in sufficient quantities for propagation so as to minimise or eliminate the need for augmentation from the wild, with such augmentation occurring only as an exception and limited to the amount necessary to maintain the vigour and productivity of the cultivated parental stock;

(4b) ‘hunting trophy’ means a whole animal, or a readily recognisable part or derivative of an animal, specified on any accompanying CITES permit or certificate that fulfils the following conditions: (i) is raw, processed or manufactured; (ii) was legally obtained by the hunter through hunting for the hunter's personal use; (iii) is being imported, exported or re-exported by or on behalf of the hunter, as part of the transfer from its country of origin, ultimately to the hunter's State of usual residence;

(5) ‘a person normally residing in the Community’ means a person who lives in the Community for at least 185 days in each calendar year because of occupational ties, or, in the case of a person with no occupational ties, because of personal ties which show close links between that person and the place where he is living;

(6) ‘travelling exhibition’ means a sample collection, circus, menagerie, plant exhibition, orchestra or museums exhibition that is used for commercial display for the public;

(7) ‘transaction-specific certificates’ means certificates issued in accordance with Article 48 that are valid only for one or more specified transactions;

(8) ‘specimen-specific certificates’ means certificates issued in accordance with Article 48, other than transaction-specific certificates;

(9) ‘sample collection’ means a collection of legally acquired dead specimens, parts and derivatives thereof, that are transported across borders for presentation purposes;

(10) ‘pre-Convention specimen’ means a specimen acquired before the species concerned was first included in the Appendices to the Convention.

CHAPTER II

FORMS AND TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

Article 4

Completion of forms

However, applications for import and export permits, for re-export certificates, for the certificates provided for in Articles 5(2)(b), 5(3), 5(4), 8(3) and 9(2)(b) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, for personal ownership certificates, for sample collection certificates, for musical instrument certificates and for travelling exhibition certificates as well as import notifications, continuation sheets and labels may be completed in manuscript, provided this is done legibly, in ink and in block capitals.

Article 5

Contents of permits, certificates and applications for the issue of such documents

Information and references in permits and certificates, as well as in applications for the issue of such documents, shall comply with the following requirements:

(1) the description of specimens must, where it is provided for, include one of the codes contained in Annex VII;

(2) for the indication of units of quantity and net mass, those contained in Annex VII must be used;

(3) the taxa to which the specimens belong must be indicated to species level except where the species is differentiated to subspecies level in accordance with the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 or where the Conference of the Parties to the Convention has decided that differentiation to a higher taxonomic level is sufficient;

(4) the standard references for nomenclature contained in Annex VIII to this Regulation must be used to indicate the scientific names of taxa;

(5) where required, the purpose of a transaction must be determined applying the criteria set out in Article 5c and indicated on the relevant permit or certificate, using one of the codes contained in point 1 of Annex IX to this Regulation;

(6) the source of specimens must be indicated using one of the codes contained in point 2 of Annex IX to this Regulation.

Where the use of the codes referred to in point (6) is subject to compliance with the criteria laid down in Regulation (EC) No 338/97 or in this Regulation, they must comply with those criteria.

Article 5a

Specific content of permits, certificates and applications for plant specimens

In case of plant specimens that cease to qualify for an exemption from the provisions of the Convention or Regulation (EC) No 338/97 in accordance with the ‘Notes on the interpretation of Annexes A, B, C and D’ in the Annex thereto, under which they were legally exported and imported, the country to be indicated in box 15 of the forms in Annexes I and III provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 792/2012, box 4 of the forms in Annex II provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 792/2012 and box 10 of the forms in Annex V provided for in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 792/2012 may be the country in which the specimens ceased to qualify for the exemption.

In those cases the box reserved for the entry of ‘special conditions’ in the permit or certificate shall include the statement ‘Legally imported under exemption from the provisions of CITES’ and shall specify to which exemption this refers.

Article 5b

Specific content of permits and certificates for live rhinoceros and live elephants

Permits and certificates issued under Article 4 or Article 5 of Regulation (EC) No 338/97 for import or re-export of live rhinoceroses or live elephants from populations included in Annex B to that Regulation shall contain a condition stating that horn or ivory from those animals or from their progeny may not enter commercial trade or commercial activities within the Union. In addition, live rhinoceroses or live elephants from those populations shall not be subject to trophy hunting outside of their historic range.

Article 5c

Purpose of transaction

Where non-commercial aspects of the transaction are clearly predominant, the code that best describes the nature of the transaction or the intended use shall be used.

The code shall indicate the reason why there is an exchange or movement of the specimen(s) from the exporter to the importer or from the re-exporter to the importer.

Article 6

Annexes to forms

If an annex attached to any of the forms referred to in Article 2 of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 792/2012 is an integral part of that form, that fact and the number of pages shall be clearly indicated on the permit or certificate concerned and each page of the annex shall include the following:

(a) the number of the permit or certificate and its date of issue;

(b) the signature and the stamp or seal of the management authority which issued the permit or certificate.

Article 7

Permits and certificates issued by third countries

CHAPTER III

ISSUE, USE AND VALIDITY OF DOCUMENTS

Article 8

Issue and use of documents

Documents shall be issued and used in accordance with the provisions and under the conditions laid down in this Regulation and in Regulation (EC) No 338/97, and in particular in Article 11(1) to (4) of the latter Regulation. Permits and certificates may be issued in paper format or in electronic format.

In order to ensure compliance with those Regulations and with the provisions of national law adopted for their implementation, the issuing management authority may impose stipulations, conditions and requirements, which shall be set out in the documents concerned.

Management authorities shall decide on the issue of permits and certificates within one month of the date of submission of a complete application.

However, where the issuing management authority consults third parties, such a decision may be taken only after the satisfactory completion of such consultation. Applicants shall be notified of significant delays in processing their applications.

Article 9

Shipments of specimens

Without prejudice to Articles 31, 38, 44b, 44i and 44p, a separate import permit, import notification, export permit or re-export certificate shall be issued for each shipment of specimens shipped together as part of one load.

Article 10

Validity of import and export permits, re-export certificates, travelling exhibition certificates, personal ownership certificates, sample collection certificates and musical instrument certificates

As regards caviar of sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes spp.) from shared stocks subject to export quotas, which is covered by an export permit, import permits referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be valid beyond the last day of the quota year in which the caviar was harvested and processed or the last day of the 12-month period referred to in the first subparagraph, whichever is the earlier.

As regards caviar of sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes spp.) covered by a re-export certificate, import permits referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be valid beyond the last day of the period of 18 months after the date of issuance of the relevant original export permit or the last day of the 12-month period referred to in the first subparagraph, whichever is the earlier.

As regards caviar of sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes spp.) from shared stocks subject to export quotas, export permits referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be valid beyond the last day of the quota year in which the caviar was harvested and processed or the last day of the six-month period referred to in the first subparagraph, whichever is the earlier.

As regards caviar of sturgeon species (Acipenseriformes spp.), re-export certificates referred to in the first subparagraph shall not be valid beyond the last day of the period of 18 months after the date of issuance of the relevant original export permit or the last day of the six-month period referred to in the first subparagraph, whichever is the earlier.

Article 11

Validity of used import permits and of the certificates referred to in Articles 47, 48, 49, 60 and 63

Copies for the holder of used import permits shall cease to be valid in the following cases:

(a) where live specimens referred to therein have died;

(b) where live animals referred to therein have escaped or have been released to the wild;

(c) where specimens referred to therein have been lost, destroyed or stolen;

(d) where any of the entries in boxes 3, 6 or 8 no longer reflects the actual situation.

The certificates referred to in Articles 47, 48, 49 and 63 shall cease to be valid in the following cases:

(a) where live specimens referred to therein have died;

(b) where live animals referred to therein have escaped or have been released to the wild;

(c) where specimens referred to therein have been lost, destroyed or stolen;

(d) where any of the entries in boxes 2 and 4 no longer reflects the actual situation;

(e) where any special conditions specified in box 20 are no longer fulfilled.

Certificates issued in accordance with Articles 48 and 63 shall be transaction-specific unless the specimens covered by such certificates are uniquely and permanently marked or, in the case of dead specimens which can not be marked, identified by other means.

The management authority of the Member State in which the specimen is located may also, in consultation with the relevant scientific authority, decide to issue transaction‐specific certificates where it is considered that there are other factors relating to the conservation of the species that militate against the issuance of a specimen-specific certificate.

Where a transaction specific certificate is issued for the purpose of allowing several transactions, it shall be valid only within the territory of the issuing Member State. Where transaction specific certificates are to be used in a Member State other than the issuing Member State, they shall be issued for one transaction only and their validity shall be limited to that transaction. It shall be indicated in box 20 whether the certificate is for one or more transactions and the Member State(s) in whose territory it is valid.

The certificates referred to in Article 48(1)(d) and Article 60 shall cease to be valid where the entry in box 1 no longer reflects the actual situation.

Article 12

Documents cancelled, lost, stolen, destroyed or expired

Article 13

Time of application for import and (re)-export documents and assignation to a customs procedure

Article 14

Validity of documents from third countries

In the case of the introduction of specimens into the Community, the requisite documents from third countries shall be considered valid only where they have been issued for export or re-export from that country and used for that purpose prior to their last day of validity and are used for introduction of specimens into the Community no later than six months from their date of issue.

However, certificates of origin for specimens of species listed in Annex C to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 may be used for the introduction of specimens into the Union until 12 months from their date of issue and travelling exhibition certificates, personal ownership certificates and musical instrument certificates may be used for the introduction of specimens into the Union and for the purpose of applying for respective certificates in accordance with Articles 30, 37 and 44h of this Regulation until three years from their date of issue.

Article 15

Retrospective issue of certain documents

As regards specimens imported or (re-)exported as personal and household effects, to which the provisions of Chapter XIV apply, as regards personally owned live animals, which are legally acquired and held for personal non-commercial purposes, and, in exceptional cases, as regards imported dead specimens listed in Annex B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 which are legally exported, the derogation provided for in paragraph 1 shall also apply where the competent management authority of the Member State, in consultation with the relevant enforcement authority, is satisfied that there is evidence that a genuine error has been made and that there was no attempt to deceive and the import or (re-)export of the specimens concerned otherwise complies with Regulation (EC) No 338/97, the Convention and the country of export’s relevant legislation. This derogation shall not apply if the importer or (re-)exporter has made a similar error before.

Documents issued pursuant to paragraph 1 shall clearly indicate that they have been issued retrospectively and the reasons for such issue.

In the case of Community import permits, Community export permits and Community re-export certificates, that information shall be indicated in box 23.

In the case of import permits issued pursuant to the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 for those personally owned live animals and for specimens of species listed in Annex A to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and referred to in Article 4(5)(b) thereof, the stipulation ‘by way of derogation to Article 8(3) or (5) of Regulation (EC) No 338/97, commercial activities, as laid down in Article 8(1) of that Regulation, shall be prohibited for at least two years from the date of issuance of this permit’ shall be included in box 23.

Article 16

Specimens in transit through the Community

Articles 14 and 15 of this Regulation shall apply mutatis mutandis to specimens of species listed in Annexes A and B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 which are in transit through the Community where that transit is otherwise in accordance with the latter Regulation.

Article 17

Phytosanitary certificates

In the case of artificially propagated plants of the species listed in Annexes B and C to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and of artificially propagated hybrids produced from the unannotated species listed in Annex A thereto, the following shall apply:

(a) Member States may decide that a phytosanitary certificate is to be issued instead of an export permit;

(b) phytosanitary certificates issued by third countries shall be accepted instead of an export permit.

Where a phytosanitary certificate as referred to in paragraph 1 is issued, it shall include the scientific name at the species level or, if this is impossible for those taxa included by family in the Annexes to Regulation (EC) No 338/97, at the generic level.

However, artificially propagated orchids and cacti listed in Annex B to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 may be referred to as such.

Phytosanitary certificates shall also include the type and quantity of specimens and bear a stamp, seal or other specific indication stating that ‘the specimens are artificially propagated as defined by CITES’.

Article 18

Simplified procedures with regard to certain trade in biological samples

In the case of trade that will have no impact on the conservation of the species concerned or only a negligible impact, simplified procedures on the basis of pre‐issued permits and certificates may be used for biological samples of the type and size specified in Annex XI, where those samples are urgently required to be used in the manner specified in that Annex and provided that the following conditions are satisfied:

(a) each Member State must establish and maintain a register of the persons and bodies that may benefit from simplified procedures, hereinafter ‘registered persons and bodies’, as well as of the species that they may trade under such procedures, and must ensure that the register is reviewed by the management authority every five years;

(b) Member States must provide registered persons and bodies with partially completed permits and certificates;