Regulations regarding Importation of Food not Subject to Veterinary Control from the Third Countries and Procedures for Control at State Border Control Points, in Free Zones, Free Warehouses and Customs Warehouses

Issued pursuant to
Section 21, Paragraph four of
the Law On the Supervision of the Handling of Food

1. These Regulations prescribe the requirements for importation of such food from the third countries, which is not subject to veterinary control (hereinafter - food), as well as the procedures for control at State border control points, in free zones, free warehouses and customs warehouses.

2. The Sanitary Border Inspection of the Food and Veterinary Service (hereinafter - Sanitary Border Inspection) shall control food:

2.1. in importing it from the third countries if the food is intended for distribution in the European Union; and

2.2. in exporting it if the country of destination requests the food control or it has been specified in regulatory enactments regarding the handling and supervision of food products.

3. The Sanitary Border Inspection shall control the conformity of food products with the requirements specified in legal acts of the European Union and regulatory enactments of Latvia regarding quality, classification, labelling of food products, food safety and food hygiene (hereinafter - regulatory enactments regulating the handling and supervision of food products) and shall draw up a border inspection document (Annex). The results of the control of food products imported from the third countries shall be indicated in the food border inspection document and it shall be delivered to the final consignee together with the food consignment.

4. A consignment of food products subject to control is a set of food products, which is transported by one vehicle from one consignor to one consignee.

5. The Sanitary Border Inspection shall not control food products if:

5.1. food products are a part of the personal luggage of a traveller, and they are intended for personal consumption (weight does not exceed 10 kg); or

5.2. a private person sends food products in an international post parcel, which is not intended for commercial purposes (weight does not exceed 1 kg).

6. An owner of a food consignment, his or her authorised person or a carrier of a food consignment (hereinafter - representative of food consignment) shall be any natural person or legal person who presents the consignment for control at a border control point, in a free zone, a free warehouse or a customs warehouse. The representative of a food consignment shall ensure the conformity of food products with the requirements of regulatory enactments regulating the handling and supervision of food products.

7. During control an official of the Sanitary Border Inspection shall inspect accompanying documents of the food consignment, identify the food consignment and perform physical checking of the food consignment. An accompanying document of the food consignment shall conform to the requirements specified in Article 1 of Council Regulation No. 339/93 of 8 February 1993 on checks for conformity with the rules on product safety in the case of products imported from third countries.

8. The representative of a food consignment shall ensure transportation of food products in accordance with the requirements specified in Chapter IV of Regulation No. 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the hygiene of foodstuffs.

9. Control of accompanying documents of a food consignment shall be the control of accompanying documents of food products. During control the Sanitary Border Inspection shall ascertain whether accompanying documents of the food consignment and information indicated therein conforms to the requirements of regulatory enactments regulating the handling and supervision of food products.

10. Identification of a food consignment shall be the checking of the customs seal (sealing device, stamp) and food labelling, as well as visual survey of the food consignment. The food consignment shall be identified in order to ascertain that:

10.1. information indicated in the accompanying documents is true;

10.2. seals are untouched and information indicated on them corresponds to the information indicated in the accompanying documents;

10.3. a means of transport, which carries food products, conforms to the requirements of legal acts of the European Union regarding food hygiene;

10.4. food labelling conforms to the requirements of regulatory enactments regarding labelling and the protection of consumers' rights;

10.5. the regime for transportation and storage of food products specified by the producer is complied with; and

10.6. there are no obvious signs of food spoilage.

11. Physical control of a food consignment shall be performed if non-conformity of samples with the requirements of regulatory enactments regulating the handling and supervision of food products has been detected during the inspection of documents or in a previous consignment or if the Sanitary Border Inspection has justified suspicions regarding such non-conformity. Physical control of a food consignment shall include:

11.1. sample-taking for the performance of subsequent examinations;

11.2. organoleptic (sensory) assessment;

11.3. measurement of the temperature of the product; and

11.4. conducting of laboratory examinations.

12. A representative of a food consignment shall send information requested in the first part of the border inspection document "Description of food consignment", using an electronic mail or fax, at least 24 hours prior to the planned presentation of the food consignment for checking to the Sanitary Border Inspection Post, through which importation of the consignment is intended. Information shall be provided in Latvian.

13. The first part of the border inspection document "Description of food consignment" shall be filled in by an official of the Sanitary Border Inspection on the basis of information submitted by the representative of the food consignment. The representative of a food consignment shall be responsible for the veracity of the indicated information and authenticity of appended documents, as well as presenting of food products to the official of the Sanitary Border Inspection so that he or she could perform checking.

14. An official of the Sanitary Border Inspection shall enter the results of checking in the border inspection document. The document shall be filled out in three copies, numbered, all copies shall be signed and sealed with a stamp of the official and the seal of the Sanitary Border Inspection Post.

15. After filling out of the border inspection document:

15.1. the official of the Sanitary Border Inspection shall submit one copy to the customs authority of the border inspection Post;

15.2. the official of the Sanitary Border Inspection shall issue the second copy to the representative of the food consignment. The representative of the food consignment shall do the following activities involving the second copy:

15.2.1. append it to the accompanying document of the food consignment and deliver to the final consignee together with the food consignment if the food consignment is intended for distribution in the territory of the European Union;

15.2.2. submit it to the Sanitary Border Inspection Post, which supervises the relevant territory, if it is intended to store the food consignment in the free zone, the free warehouse or the customs warehouse;

15.3. the third copy and copies of the accompanying documents of food products shall be stored at the Sanitary Border Inspection Post for three years.

16. A customs official shall apply the relevant customs clearance regime to a food consignment pursuant to the decision indicated in the second part of the food border inspection document.

Prime Minister A. Kalvītis

Minister for Agriculture M. Roze

Annex
Cabinet Regulation No. 352
2 May 2006

Pārtikas robežkontroles dokuments
Border inspection document of food products

Robežkontroles dokuments nav derīgs, ja tajā ir izdarīti labojumi, kurus nav apliecinājis tā sagatavotājs

Border inspection document is invalid if it contains corrections not confirmed by signature of a responsible person

I daļa. Pārtikas kravas apraksts

I Description of food consignment

II daļa. Kravas kontroles rezultāti
II Result of checking

19. Veiktas pārbaudes

19. Checks performed

Dokumentu Identifikācijas Fiziskā Documentary   Identification Physical Laboratorijas izmeklējumu rezultāti _________________________ Results of laboratory examination			Paraugu svars ______ Weight of samples Paraugu skaits ______ Number of samples
Paraugi nosūtīti papildu izmeklēšanai Samples sent to laboratory for additional examination			Paraugu svars _______ Weight of samples Paraugu skaits _______ Number of samples
	(izmeklējuma veids, laboratorijas nosaukums) (type of examination, name of laboratory)

20. Atļauts ievest: 20. Entry permitted	21. Atļauts ievest muitas uzraudzībā: 21. Entry permitted under customs surveillance
Brīvai izmantošanai For free circulation	Nosūtīt uzglabāšanai noliktavā brīvajā zonā To warehouse in free zone
	(nosaukums, adrese) (name,address)
	Nosūtīt uzglabāšanai muitas noliktavā To customs warehouse
Cits izmantošanas veids Other type of use	(nosaukums, adrese) (name, address)
	Cits iemesls Other causes
(norādīt to) (specify it)
	(norādīt iemeslu) (specify reason)

25. Kravas nodrošinājuma Nr. ________________

25. No. of seal

Minister for Agriculture M. Roze

Translation © 2008 Tulkošanas un terminoloģijas centrs (Translation and Terminology Centre)