Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2238 of 22 August 2022 amending Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 as regards the transitional provisions for certificates of inspection and extracts thereof and as regards the transitional provisions for certificates of inspection issued in Ukraine (Text with EEA relevance)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 ¹, and in particular Article 38(8), point (a)(ii), Article 46(7), point (b), and Article 57(3) thereof,

Whereas:

• (1) Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 ² lays down rules on the official controls in respect of organic products and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union and on the certificate of inspection.

• (2) In accordance with Articles 5(3), first subparagraph, and 6(3), second subparagraph, of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306, the certificate of inspection is to be issued and endorsed in the Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) with a qualified electronic seal. Articles 6(6) and 7(4) of that Regulation provide respectively for the endorsement of a part of a consignment as organic and the endorsement of extracts of certificates of inspection in TRACES by a qualified electronic seal.

• (3) The transitional provisions laid down in Article 11, paragraphs (1) and (2), of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 already provide that, until 30 June 2022, the certificate of inspection may be issued on paper after being completed in TRACES and printed and, if issued on paper, this certificate should be endorsed on paper. In case the certificate of inspection is issued in TRACES and bears a qualified electronic seal, it may be endorsed on paper.

• (4) The transitional provisions laid down in Article 11(5) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 provide that, until 30 June 2022, the extract of the certificate of inspection may also be endorsed on paper after being completed in TRACES and printed.

• (5) The process for the enrolment of competent authorities in the Member States and in third countries as well as of control authorities and control bodies for the qualified electronic seal is ongoing. The enrolment process took longer than expected and it was not finalised before 30 June 2022.

• (6) It is therefore necessary to extend the transitional provisions for paper certificates of inspection and extracts thereof provided in Article 11 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 in order to allow all actors concerned to finalise the enrolment for the qualified electronic seal.

• (7) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022 constitutes an exceptional and unprecedented challenge for the control authorities and control bodies that have been recognised for the purpose of the export of organic and in-conversion products from Ukraine to the Union. In Ukraine, the postal services are also disrupted.

• (8) In accordance with Article 11(1a) of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306, and by way of derogation from Article 5(3), first subparagraph, of that Regulation, until 30 June 2022, an authorised person located in Ukraine of a control authority or a control body which is not equipped with a qualified electronic seal may produce and submit in TRACES the certificate of inspection in electronic format without the application of a qualified electronic seal in box 18 thereof. In the light of the unpredictable duration of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, it is also necessary to prolong that derogation.

• (9) Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 should therefore be amended accordingly.

• (10) Due to the expiry of the transitional period for paper certificates and of the derogation for Ukraine on 30 June 2022, this Regulation should apply retroactively from 1 July 2022,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:

Article 1

Article 11 of Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 is amended as follows:

• (1) in paragraph 1, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

‘By way of derogation from Article 5(3), first subparagraph, until 30 November 2022, the certificate of inspection may be issued on paper after being completed in TRACES and printed. That paper certificate shall meet the following requirements:’;

• (2) paragraph 1a is replaced by the following:

‘1a.   By way of derogation from Article 5(3), first subparagraph, until 30 November 2022, an authorised person located in Ukraine of a control authority or a control body which is not equipped with a qualified electronic seal may produce and submit in TRACES the certificate of inspection in electronic format without the application of a qualified electronic seal in box 18 thereof. Such certificate shall be issued before the consignment to which it relates leaves Ukraine.’;

• (3) in paragraph 2, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

‘By way of derogation from Article 6(3), until 30 November 2022, the following shall apply:’;

• (4) in paragraph 5, the introductory phrase is replaced by the following:

‘By way of derogation from Articles 6(6) and 7(4), until 30 November 2022, the extract of the certificate of inspection may be endorsed on paper, after being completed in TRACES and printed. That paper extract of certificate shall meet the following requirements:’.

Article 2

This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.

It shall apply from 1 July 2022.

This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.

Done at Brussels, 22 August 2022.

For the Commission

The President

Ursula VON DER LEYEN