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1. Any natural or legal person may lodge a written complaint with the competent authorities concerning a potential infringement of this Regulation by an operator, undertaking, mine operator or importer.

2. The complaint shall be duly substantiated and contain sufficient evidence of the alleged infringement.

3. Where it becomes apparent that the complaint does not provide sufficient evidence to justify an investigation, the competent authorities shall inform the complainant within a reasonable time but not later than 2 months from receipt of the complaint, of the reasons for their decision not to open an investigation. This paragraph shall not apply where complaints that are not sufficiently substantiated are repeatedly lodged and for that reason deemed abusive by the competent authorities.

4. Without prejudice to paragraph 3 and the applicable national law, the competent authorities shall keep the complainant informed of the steps taken in the procedure and, where applicable, inform the complainant of appropriate alternative forms of redress, such as recourse to national courts or any other national or international complaints procedure.

5. Without prejudice to the applicable national law and on the basis of comparable procedures, the competent authorities shall establish and make publicly available indicative periods to take a decision on complaints.