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Specific rules for consignments of seed potatoes

1. The entry into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom of consignments of seed potatoes for placing on the market shall be subject to specific rules and a plant health label requirement only where all of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) those consignments are dispatched by professional operators who have been authorised and registered by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom for the purpose of guaranteeing that those consignments are dispatched in accordance with this Regulation in other parts of the United Kingdom for reception by professional operators in Northern Ireland;

(b) each consignment of seed potatoes bears a plant health label in accordance with paragraph 2;

(c) the seed potatoes comply with requirements of the implementing act adopted in accordance with paragraph 3, concerning the entry of seed potatoes into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom and placing on the market in Northern Ireland;

(d) the seed potatoes, following their entry into Northern Ireland, are solely intended to be placed on the market and used in the United Kingdom and are not subsequently to be moved to a Member State;

(e) the seed potatoes are presented for official controls at SPS Inspection Facilities of first arrival in Northern Ireland in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625;

(f) written guarantees have been provided by the United Kingdom that a process of registration and authorisation of professional operators is in place, including official procedures to ensure compliance with this Regulation and address non-compliance, and that official controls on consignments of seed potatoes at SPS Inspection Facilities of first arrival in Northern Ireland, that comply with the requirements set out in Annex II to this Regulation, are carried out in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2017/625, and that official controls and surveillance measures are carried out covering the movements of those consignments from the SPS Inspection Facilities of first arrival in Northern Ireland to the place of destination in Northern Ireland to ensure that those consignments will not subsequently be moved to a Member State; those written guarantees thereby provide assurance to the Union that the specific rules laid down in this Article do not increase the risk to plant health on the island of Ireland, do not adversely affect the SPS status of the island of Ireland, and do not increase the risk to plant health in the internal market or affect its integrity;

(g) the Commission has adopted an implementing act in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article and has not suspended the application of the specific rules referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article in accordance with paragraph 4 of this Article or in accordance with Article 14.

2. The plant health label referred to in paragraph 1 shall be issued by the competent authorities of the United Kingdom, following systematic and physical official inspections, and shall be printed either by those competent authorities or by the professional operators under the official supervision of those competent authorities. It shall attest that the consignments of seed potatoes comply with the requirements referred to in paragraph 1, points (a), (c) and (d), and the rules in an implementing act adopted in accordance with paragraph 3.

3. Where the conditions concerning the written guarantees laid down in paragraph 1, point (f), are fulfilled, the Commission may, by means of implementing acts, lay down rules on:

(a) the requirements for the entry of seed potatoes into Northern Ireland from other parts of the United Kingdom, and their use in Northern Ireland;

(b) the model form of the plant health label referred to in paragraph 1. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 18(2) and (3).

4. The Commission shall monitor the application by the United Kingdom of the conditions referred to in paragraphs 1 and 3 concerning the consignments of seed potatoes, and the plant health label. Where there is evidence, such as a Union inspection report, an audit or a notification under IMSOC, that the United Kingdom does not take appropriate measures to tackle serious or repeated infringements of the conditions referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f), the Commission shall, after having duly informed and consulted with the United Kingdom, adopt an implementing act laying down appropriate special conditions and measures, including temporary or permanent restrictions on the application of the specific rules relating to certain consignments or operators, or amending the implementing acts adopted in accordance with paragraph 3 of this Article. Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 18(2) and (3).