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1. Exploitation of a natural mineral water spring shall be subject to permission from the responsible authority of the country where the water has been extracted, after it has been established that the water in question complies with the provisions laid down in Annex I, Section I.

2. Equipment for exploiting the water shall be so installed as to avoid any possibility of contamination and to preserve the properties, corresponding to those ascribed to it, which the water possesses at source. To that end, in particular:

(a) the spring or outlet shall be protected against the risks of pollution;

(b) the catchment, pipes and reservoirs shall be of materials suitable for water and so built as to prevent any chemical, physico-chemical or microbiological alteration of the water;

(c) the conditions of exploitation, particularly the washing and bottling equipment, shall meet hygiene requirements; in particular, the containers shall be so treated or manufactured as to avoid adverse effects on the microbiological and chemical characteristics of the natural mineral water;

(d) the transport of natural mineral water in containers other than those authorised for distribution to the ultimate consumer shall be prohibited. However, point (d) need not be applied to mineral waters extracted, exploited and marketed in the territory of a Member State if, in that Member State on 17 July 1980, transport of the natural mineral water in tanks from the spring to the bottling plant was authorised. Similarly, point (d) need not be applied to spring waters extracted, exploited and marketed in the territory of a Member State if, in that Member State on 13 December 1996, transport of the spring water in tanks from the spring to the bottling plant was authorised.

3. Where it is found during exploitation that the natural mineral water is polluted and no longer presents the microbiological characteristics laid down in Article 5, the person exploiting the spring shall forthwith suspend all exploitation, particularly the bottling process, until the cause of pollution is eradicated and the water complies with the provisions of Article 5.

4. The responsible authority in the country of origin shall carry out periodic checks to see whether:

(a) the natural mineral water in respect of which exploitation of the spring has been authorised complies with the provisions of Annex I, Section I;

(b) the provisions of points 2 and 3 are being applied by the person exploiting the spring.