Importing organic products

Instruction 819/04.02.00.01/2022

Importing organic produts

An operator importing products from outside the EU must be in the Finnish Food Authority’s or Valvira’s control of organic production.

In these guidelines, ‘import’ means the import of organic products from countries outside the EU.
‘Internal market’ means free movement of products from other EU member countries – this is not import.
The ‘importer’ is a natural or legal person operating within the EU who submits the consignment for release into free circulation within the EU, either themselves or through their representative.
The ‘first consignee’ is the natural or legal person that a consignment imported to the union is sent to, and who receives it for the purpose of preparation and/or marketing.
The importer and the first consignee can be the same operator.

1 Definitions

Import

‘Import of organic products’ means the import into the Union from countries outside of the EU, from what are known as third countries. The free movement of goods to Finland from other EU member countries is not import, but rather internal market trade. The rules for organic import are not implemented for the internal market business actions. Organic products brought from third countries that are not intended to be released for free circulation within the EU as such or after processing (goods in transit, internal processing under a suspensive customs procedure) are not considered import.

Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway are members of the European Economic Area (EEA), and therefore the provisions for the import of organic products into the EU do not apply. The import provisions are not applied either to certain products imported duty free (for example, low value product samples).

An operator who runs a business in the organic sector and imports organic products from outside the EU has to submit their business to the control system for organic production before marketing the products. The first consignees of the products to be imported also have to be submitted to the control system. If the import activities are contracted out to a third party (subcontracting), the control system has to be applied also to those activities carried out by the third party.

Importer and first consignee

An importer is a natural or legal person operating within the EU, who submits the consignment for release into free circulation within the EU, either themselves or through their representative. The first consignee is the natural or legal person that a consignment imported to the union is sent to, and who receives it for the purpose of preparation and/or marketing. The importer and the first consignee can be the same operator.

Certificate of inspection

‘Certificate of inspection’ is the certificate of inspection referred to in Article 45.1.iii) of the Regulation (EC) No 2018/848 and in article 5 of the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2306 covering one consignment which has been issued by a control authority or control body in the country of export. The certificate of inspection must be issued in the Traces system and it has to include an approved electronic stamp. In exceptional circumstances, the certificate of inspection may be a printout of the electronic inspection certificate in the Traces system that is signed manually. The manually signed printout has to fully equate to the information recorded in the Traces system.

Consigment

A quantity of products under one or more Combined Nomenclature codes, covered by a single certificate of inspection, conveyed by the same means of transport and imported from the same third country.

Verification of a consigment

Official controls carried out by the relevant authorities of the Member States (Customs in Finland), including the verification of the certificate of inspection and other documents, as well as the verification of the consignment to ensure compliance with the Regulation (EC) 2018/848 and the Commission Delegated Regulation 2021/2306 Art. 6. Sampling may also be included if the authorities consider it appropriate.

Traces (Trade Control and Expert System)

An electronic system operated by the EU Commission where certificates of inspection for organic import pass between authorities. Further information: https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/en/companies/import-and-export/traces/.

Product categories and abbreviations used

Unprocessed plant products
Live animals or unprocessed animal products
Unprocessed aquaculture products and algae
Processed agricultural products for use as food
Processed agricultural products for use as feed
Vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.

Organic

Derived from or connected with organic production.

Organic products

Live and unprocessed agricultural products from organic production, aquaculture products and seaweed, processed agricultural products for use as food, feed and vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.

Non organic

Is not derived from or does not relate to production in accordance with the organic regulation or the implementing regulation, other than organic.

Operator

A natural or legal person responsible for ensuring that the requirements of the regulations for organic production are met within the organic business under their control.

Border Control Post/Bcp

Products subject to specific legislation (such as animals, food of animal origin and combination foodstuffs, certain food and feed) or products subject to intensive organic control must be imported into the EU via designated border control posts. Organic products are not primarily such products subject to intensive control, so their import is not limited to designated border control posts. In section 10 in the certificate of inspection, the border control post/BCP used in the Traces system is as follows: Finnish Customs. For products subject to intensive control: Vuosaari, Helsinki Airport or Vaalimaa. Further information on the subject is available on the website of the Finnish Food Authority: https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/yritykset/tuonti-ja-vienti/eu-maat-norja-ja-sveitsi/elintarvikkeet/elaimista-saatavat-ja-yhdistelmaelintarvikkeet/ (in Finnish and Swedish) and the website of the Finnish Customs: https://tulli.fi/en/businesses/import/new/controls-regulation/approved-border-control-point-bcp.

Intensive control

Certain foodstuffs (of plant and animal origin), animals and feed are subject to more specific legislation on intensive control. The importer must verify whether the imported organic product must also comply with these intensive control regulations, e.g. the CHED form in the Traces system.

2 Legislation

EU legislation: eurlex.europa.eu
National legislation: finlex.fi
Organic import frameworks in the Organic Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (latest consolidated version)
Consolidated version in legislation means that the commission has added any changes to the original legislation (regulation, directive, decision). Note! The latest changes may not have been added to the consolidated version!

Organic production is especially regulated by

Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and the Council on organic production and labelling of organic products and repealing the Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 (Organic Regulation); and

Import

Commission Delegated Regulation (EC) No 2021/2306 supplementing the Organic Regulation with rules on official controls as regards to consignments of organic products and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union and as regards to the certificate of inspection

and import procedures

Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) No 2021/2305 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 with rules on the cases and conditions for exempting organic products and in-conversion products from official controls at border control posts, on the place where official controls on such products are carried out, and amending Commission Delegated Regulations (EU) 2019/2123 and (EU) 2019/2124
Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2307 laying down rules on the documentation and notifications required for organic and in-conversion products intended for import into the Union

and the approval of inspection bodies

Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325 establishing the list of third countries and the list of control authorities and control bodies in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848 of the European Parliament and the Council for which an authorisation has been granted for the import into the Union of organic products pursuant to Article 33 (2) or (3) of Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007, thus replacing Annexes III and IV to Regulation (EC) No 1235/2008.
Commission Delegated Regulation (EC) No 2021/1697 on the approval of control bodies pursuant to Article 46.

The minimum requirements for the import into the EU of organically produced agricultural products and foodstuffs to be marketed within the EU are set out in the legislation.

The regulations on organic products are valid legislation as such in all of the EU member countries. The legislation of the European Union can be read and printed out from the EUR-Lex internet pages of the European Union at the address www.eur-lex.europa.eu. EUR-Lex offers direct and free access to the law of the European Union. On EUR-Lex you can read the official journal of the European Union and it contains amongst other things the treaties, the legislation, the case law and the preparatory acts.

Almost all of the regulations, directives and decisions are also published as a consolidated version which includes the changes in the legislation. It is worth noting that the consolidated version is not always necessarily up to date, so for example the updates from the latest amending regulation may be missing. The original legislation and the consolidated versions are easy to find with the help of the simple search function.

National legislation regulating the control of organic products

The act on organic production 1330/2021. Pursuant to this Act, the provisions of the Council Regulation on the control of organic production have been implemented in Finland.
The Decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 7/2022 on organic production.

The act on organic production 1330/2021 contains the rules for the division of labour between the authorities when it comes to the controls of organic production. The Act and Decree are available on the Internet (in Finnish and Swedish) at www.finlex.fi.

In addition to the decree by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the controls are also regulated by the Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and the Council on official controls carried out to ensure the verification of compliance with feed and food law, animal health and animal welfare.

3 Controlling import

The importer and the first consignee have to be submitted to the control system for organic production under the authority covering those products (Finnish Food Authority, Valvira) they wish to import.

As to controlling import of organic products, the importer and the first consignee must

allow the inspector to inspect all aspects of the manufacturing or importing unit, together with the records and accompanying documents
provide the inspector with all the information the inspector deems necessary to carry out the inspection
provide the inspector, on request, with the results of his own quality assurance programmes.

An operator who imports organic products from outside the EU has to submit their business to the control system for organic production before marketing the products. The first consignees of the products to be imported also have to be submitted to the control system. A business also has to be submitted to the control system when the import activities are contracted out to third parties (subcontracting). The control system will then cover the activities carried out by the subcontractor.

If a business is starting to import organic products and is already submitted to the control system for organic production, the intended changes have to be reported to the Finnish Food Authority in good time and the plan for organic production has to be updated accordingly. The form for notifying of changes can be found on the Finnish Food Authority’s website at www.ruokavirasto.fi.

The controls ensure fair competition between the operators, proper functioning of the internal market and most of all consumer confidence in organic foodstuffs on the EU market.

Control systems and authorities are

agricultural production (Finnish Food Authority, ELY Centres)
seeds and plant material (Finnish Food Authority, ELY Centres)
feed (Finnish Food Authority)
foodstuffs (Finnish Food Authority) and
control systems for alcoholic beverages (National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira).

When submitting to the control system for organic production, the importer undertakes to perform the operations in accordance with the EU legislation on organic production, to accept the consequences of any irregularities or infringements set out in that legislation and to contact the buyers of the products in writing if the product does not fulfil the legislated requirements. The importer is also bound to allow the control authority/control body to inspect all of the storage facilities used for the import of the products, even when they are situated in another member state. There is more detailed information on joining the control system in the chapter on control of organic production.

4 Plan for organic production (see the general part of the guidelines with the minimum requirements of the plan for organic production)

The importer and the first consignee must include the following in their plan for import of organic products:

a full description of the premises used and import operations performed and of the receipts made, where the importer is also the first consignee;
all practical measures that the business takes to ensure that the organic regulations are complied with;
precautions to be taken by the business to ensure that there are no mix-ups or exchanges with non-authorised products or substances;
the cleaning measures to be carried out at the storage sites; and
in addition, information on the business’s Traces administrator and a description of the first acceptance checks and entries into the Traces system.

When requesting inclusion in the control system, the importer and the first consignee have to attach a plan for organic production regarding the import activities and the reception of the consignments. The organic production plan describes amongst other things the critical control points where there is a risk that organic products could be mixed or exchanged with non-organic products. Questions of hygiene, for example, are not covered by the plan.

It is the duty of all who request to be included in and who are submitted to the control system for organic production to draw up, update and follow an organic production plan. An operator who is responsible for imports has to inform the control authority in reasonable time about any changes to the plan. Even the operators for which a self-check plan as covered by the food act is not required have to draw up a plan for the organic operation. The plan for import of organic products can be included as a part of the organic production plan, quality handbook or self-check plan for the rest of the organic operation (production, processing, storage and transport).

The plan for organic production has to include:

4.1 A full description of the import (importer)

When a business is involved in the importation of organic products, on its own account or as a subcontractor, the full description of the unit’s activities shall indicate the points of entry of the products into the Union and any other facilities the importer intends to use for storage of the imported products pending their delivery to the first consignee.

4.2 Full description of the reception of the products (first consignee)

In the case of the first consignee for the products to be imported (also a consignee who operates on account of someone else), the full description has to include the premises used for the reception and storage of the goods.

4.3 Full descriptions of the subcontracting used

When a business is contracting out their import operations in part or in full (e.g. customs clearance, transportation and storage of the goods carried out by a forwarding agency) or use a third party to receive the goods, the full description of the business has to include

a list of the subcontractors and a description of the contracted operations;
information on details of the control bodies and authorities that the subcontractors will be supervised by;
a written agreement by the subcontractors accepting the control system in accordance with the provision laid down in the legislation on organic production (Regulation (EC) 2018/848); and
all the practical measures, including an appropriate system of documentary accounts, to be taken at the level of the unit to ensure that the products placed on the market can be traced to, as appropriate, their suppliers, sellers, consignees and buyers.

4.4 Precautionary and practical measures

The organic production plan shall explain which precautionary and practical measures are adhered to in order to ensure that the products are organic at all stages of the import activities and the reception of the products. The organic production plan for the imports is based on highlighting the critical points and how they are controlled. These control points are all those stages of storage, transport and reception of organic products where there is a risk that a non-organic product could get mixed up with organic products or that a non-organic product could be labelled as organic.

The organic production plan has to include a description of the measures the operator will take if suspecting that the imported/received organic products do not fulfil the requirements in the organic regulation. The indications referring to the organic production method then have to be removed from the labelling, advertising and accompanying documents, or they can only be marketed with labelling indicating organic production once the doubt has been eliminated.

4.5 Cleaning measures

The organic production plan has to describe all cleaning measures taken to ensure that there are no mix-ups or exchanges with non-organic products in storage and other premises used for the import.

The description shall explain, for example, how the shelves on the storage premises are emptied of non-organic products before storing organic products and how the cleaning and the assessment of its adequacy are recorded. Cleaning measures in the organic production plan do not refer to how hygiene requirements are to be adhered to.

5 Control authorities

Finnish Food Authority

The Finnish Food Authority plans, directs and develops the controls of the imports of organic agricultural products, organic seeds and propagation materials, organic feed and foodstuffs and organic aquaculture products and seaweeds in accordance with Annex I to Regulation (EC) 2018/848.

The Finnish Food Authority is also the national administrator for the Traces system as to the import of organic products. The Finnish Food Authority always takes the official samples for analysis of salmonella in imported batches of protein feed of plant origin that are classified as particularly risk prone. Importing into the EU organic foodstuffs derived from animals and of live animals in organic production is only permitted via approved veterinary border inspection posts at the external borders of the Union. In Finland, samples of organic foodstuffs derived from animals are taken at an approved veterinary border inspection post in conjunction with the veterinary border control. The Veterinary Border Control and Intra-Union Trade Section at the Finnish Food Authority is responsible for the analysis of the samples.

In the case of alcoholic products, the Finnish Food Authority controls organic alcoholic beverages containing a maximum of 2.8% alcohol by volume, but also all solid alcoholic foodstuffs.

Valvira

The National Supervisory Authority for Welfare and Health, Valvira, www.valvira.fi (hereinafter Valvira), is in charge of the controls of alcohol in organic production. Valvira controls organic alcoholic beverages containing more than 2.8% alcohol by volume.

Customs

Customs is in charge of the controls of organic products imported from third countries outside the EU. When organic foodstuffs of non-animal origin enter into Finland from other EU member states, Customs checks in conjunction with the unloading and storage that the batch fulfils the requirements. Any samples taken of organic foods in conjunction with the entry controls that are of non-animal origin are analysed by the Customs Laboratory.

The National Board of Customs carries out binding tariff information analyses on application by the operators. Binding Tariff Information (BTI) is a decision in writing on the coding to be applied to the goods in conjunction with the import (TARIC Nomenclature). The decision is free of charge, it is binding for the customs authorities and it applies within the entire EU. Based on the TARIC Nomenclature, customs determines, e.g., the customs duties for the product to be imported. The website of Customs can be found at www.tulli.fi.

Controls on Åland

The imports of organic products (with the exception of organic alcohol) to Åland are controlled by Ålands landskapsregering, www.regeringen.ax.

6 Import system

Control of organic import in the EU

All EU member states are bound by the same conditions for import of organic products
The importer must be submitted to the control system for organic production
Customs inspect every batch of organic products to be imported
If a batch of organic products has not been presented to Customs for inspection in conjunction with the import, the product can be placed on the market as a non-organic product, but not as organic
It is not possible to present the consignment to Customs in retrospect.

The steps of the import

Ensuring that the imported product is organic and clarifying the import procedure
Reporting an incoming consignment to Customs and to the Finnish Food Authority or to Valvira for alcoholic drinks
Using the document code C644 in the customs declaration and presenting the original certificate of inspection and the transport documents to Customs in conjunction with the import
Acceptance inspection carried out by the first consignee and recording the inspection result in the Traces system
For risk products, the CHED declaration and the selection of the correct border control post /BCP: Vuosaari, Helsinki Airport or Vaalimaa,
Border Control Post/BCP: Finnish Customs, if there is no CHED requirement for the import.

The importer can begin to import organic products after having joined Finnish Food Authority’s, or, in case of alcoholic beverages Valvira’s, control system for organic products. The importer also has to apply for the user codes for the Traces system maintained by the EU Commission, in order to be able to provide the EU border customs with the required electronic certificate of inspection. Finnish Food Authority manages the user codes of the Traces system in Finland.

Organic products can only be imported from outside the EU in packaging and containers closed in such a manner that substitution of the content cannot be achieved. The packaging and containers have to be provided with identification of the exporter and with any other markings and numbers serving to identify the lot to be imported with the original certificate of inspection.

The products have to be cleared by Customs before they can be released for free circulation within the EU. The customs clearance can be carried out in any EU member state or in Finland. The Finnish Customs inspects the imports in Finland.

The import procedures for organic products are described in table 1.

6.1 Import procedures

Organic products can be imported from outside the EU if the product and the operator have been controlled by an inspection body approved by the EU Commission and the importer in the EU is subject to organic control.

The organic product must be covered by the Organic Regulation (EU). These include:

Unprocessed plant products
Live animals or unprocessed animal products
Unprocessed aquaculture products and algae
Processed agricultural products for use as food
Processed agricultural products for use as feed
Vegetative propagating material and seeds for cultivation.

In addition, in a third country, the requirements of the organic regulation of the European Commission must be applied to the product, either directly or in accordance with trade agreements. During the transitional period, the organic product may also comply with the corresponding production and control rules of the third country approved in accordance with the previous Organic Regulation 834/2007.

The Commission has several ways of recognising third countries as well as the control bodies operating in them. As a rule, organic control in a third country must comply with the Organic Regulation (EU), i.e., the product and the producers, and the exporter must be controlled according to one of the following procedures, and the operator in the third country must have an organic certificate to verify this.

Approved control body or control authority (Article 46)

acts and controls in accordance with 2018/848, i.e., the products comply with EU’s organic regulations.

A third country approved under a trade agreement (Article 47)

acts and controls in accordance with country-specific trade agreements approved by the Commission, the product is considered to be in compliance with EU’s organic rules
the Commission has compiled these countries and their control bodies on its website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/trade/agreements-trade-organic-products_en.

Approved third countries (Article 48) and control bodies (Article 57) recognised under the former organic regulation 834/2007 (the transitional period for this procedure expires at the end of 2026, the date by which recognition has been transferred to the abovementioned procedures under Article 46 or 47)

approved third countries: 31 December 2026 (Article 48)
- acts and controls in accordance with country-specific trade agreements approved by the Commission, the product is considered to be in compliance with EU’s organic rules
approved control bodies: 31 December 2024 (Article 57)
- acts and controls in accordance with inspection body-specific rules approved by the Commission, the product is considered to be in compliance with EU’s organic rules.

6.2 Import procedures and specific requirements

It is advisable for an operator who plans to import from third countries to clarify which procedures are required for importing organic products from outside the EU before starting the operation. Currently, the four procedures described above are in use, and of them, the “approved third country” procedure and the “approved control body” procedures are in accordance with the previous organic regulation. Both procedures help ensure the equivalence of the imported organic products with the EU legislation on organic products. Procedures under the new organic regulation are third countries approved under a trade agreement and control bodies complying with the new organic regulation.

Annex I (approved third countries) and Annex II (approved control bodies) to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325 contain the conditions based on which the importer has to ensure which import procedures can be used. The correct procedure is selected by first clarifying whether an organic product can be imported from an approved third country or whether the exporter is under the supervision of an approved control body in the export country.

If the exporting country is not found in Annex I of the import regulation or in the new list of approved third countries under trade agreement, or if the exporter is not subjected to a control body recognised in Annex II or if the product due to any other reason, such as the product category, the control body the exporter is subjected to or a rule for that particular product category (e.g., for wine), prohibits the product from being imported, it cannot be imported into the EU as an organic product.

The following list can be used to work out the correct procedure: (Note! The references below refer directly to Annexes I and II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) 2021/2325 or to the Commission’s website on trade agreements: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/trade/agreements-trade-organic-products_en).

Export country: Is the export country on the list of approved third countries or is it one of the approved third countries under trade agreement, or is it found in the list of an approved control body.
Authority/control body the exporter is subjected to: Does the authority/control body have the right to operate in the third country in question and has the control body the exporter is subjected to prohibited the exporter from, for example, marketing the organic product in question. The information on the internet pages of the mentioned authorities and control bodies is found in the annexes.
Product category: Does the organic product belong to a product category that can be imported from an approved third country, from an approved third country under a trade agreement or does one of the approved control bodies control the product category in the third country in question? The product categories are found below every approved third country and every approved control body.
Origin: Are there exclusions as to the origin of the organic product to be imported? In point 2 of the list of approved third countries, the restrictions on the origin of products and on trade agreements are grouped under the product categories.
Possible exceptions: The exceptions related to the product categories are found in the list of approved third countries as restrictions or as footnotes to the product categories and in the list of approved control bodies in point 4 for each control body. Wine is an example that is still an exception for some control bodies. In that case, the control body cannot supervise the export of organic wine from the third country.
Duration of inclusion in the list: Is the third country or the control body included in the list at the time of export (point 7 in the list of third countries and point 5 in the list of approved control bodies), or the entry into force of the trade agreements on the Commission’s website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/trade/agreements-trade-organic-products_en.

6.3 Procedures for approved third countries (products controlled under the previous Organic Regulation 834/2007 during the transitional period until the end of 2026)

The list of approved countries currently includes Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United States, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea.

The Commission has confirmed that the production rules and control system for organic products applied in these countries are equivalent to the requirements in the EU legislation on organic products. Organic products may be imported from those countries if they are products listed in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325 and fulfil the conditions specified for each country. If the organic product does not fulfil the conditions set out in the Annex for the country concerned (e.g., if the product is under the control of a control body other than those listed in the Annex), the importer should make sure that the exporter in the third country is controlled by an approved control body within the meaning of Annex II to Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325 or by a third country approved under a trade agreement. If that is not the case, it is not possible to import the product as organic.

Up-to-date list of approved third countries is found in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325. Importers should note that the Annex is frequently amended by the Commission and the latest changes are not always reflected in consolidated legislation. The latest change can be confirmed by checking the bibliographic notices of the regulation in EUR-Lex.

6.4 Procedure with a recognised control body (products controlled under the previous Organic Regulation 834/2007 during the transitional period until the end of 2024)

Organic products can also be imported from third countries other than those recognised by the Commission if the exporter in the third country is subjected to a control authority or control body that is recognised by the Commission and the conditions mentioned in Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325 are fulfilled.

The Commission has ensured that these control authorities and control bodies function in accordance with the EU legislation on organic products and has granted them the competence to carry out controls and to issue certificates of inspection in the third countries that are listed in Annex II of the import regulation. The products listed in Annex II of the import regulation can be imported from exporters in third countries that are supervised by these control authorities or control bodies, if they fulfil the mentioned criteria for the control body in question. If an organic product does not fulfil the conditions mentioned in Annex II (if, for example, a product does not belong to a product category that the control body is authorised to supervise), it is not possible to import the product as organic.

An up-to-date list of approved control authorities/control bodies can be found in Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No 2021/2325. The importer should note that the Commission makes changes to the Annex often, and the latest changes are not always found in the consolidated legislation. The latest change can be confirmed by checking the bibliographic notices of the regulation in EUR-Lex.

6.5 Approved third countries under a trade agreement

To replace the approved third country procedure, the new organic regulation has introduced the possibility of importing organic products from third countries with which the EU has a trade agreement. The Commission maintains on its website a list of these trade agreements and the conditions they contain. Currently on the list are: Chile, Switzerland and the UK. On this page, the importer can check whether the conditions of that procedure are met: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/trade/agreements-trade-organic-products_en.

6.6 Approved organic control bodies and authorities

The Commission will start recognising those control bodies in third countries that are directly compliant with the EU’s organic regulation. In this case, the production methods and products correspond directly to the new organic regulation 2018/848, and as an indication of this, the operator in a third country has a certificate in the Traces system. No such control body has yet been approved.

6.7 Certificate of Inspection = COI; fi. Tarkastussertifikaatti, sv. Kontrollintyg) and the Traces system

When applying for a permit to release the consignment for free circulation in the Community, the importer has to present the customs authority with the original certificate of inspection (Kontrollintyg in Swedish, Tarkastussertifikaatti in Finnish) in Traces. The certificate of inspection shall also be presented to the customs authorities before any potential preparation is carried out on a consignment in the customs warehousing. In practice, this means attaching the COI number that the document has received in the Traces system to the prior notification. Only under exceptional circumstances can the certificate of inspection be presented on paper.

An exception is import of organic products from Switzerland for which a certificate of inspection does not need to be presented.

The certificate of inspection has to be drawn up on the basis of the model and the notes set out in Annex to Regulation (EU) 2021/2306. The document may be drawn up in any of the official languages of the Community. Traces gives instructions on how to draw up the document, and the document is displayed in the language of the user’s choice in the Traces system.

If the certificate of inspection is only on paper, the control authority has the right to request a translation of the certificate of inspection into Finnish or Swedish. The translation has to be carried out by a sworn translator, and the importer is responsible for the costs incurred by the translation. However, EU legislation requires that the information contained in the certificate of inspection submitted in a paper format should be entered in the Traces system as soon as possible and that the information in the paper version should match the information in the Traces system.

A certificate of inspection may be issued only by the control bodies listed in the Annexes to the Regulation 2021/2325:

A control body recognised by the Commission for Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Israel, Japan, Tunisia, the United States, New Zealand and the Republic of Korea. The products to be imported also have to fulfil the specific conditions set by the Commission (see Annex I to the Regulation 2021/2325).
A control authority/control body recognised by the Commission with the right to function in the third country that is the country of export. The products to be imported also have to fulfil the specific conditions set by the Commission (see Annex II to the Regulation 2021/2325)

The control bodies that function in accordance with the EU legislation (Regulation (EU) 2018/848 Article 46; none of which has yet been approved) or the control bodies recognised under a trade agreement (Article 47), of which the Commission maintains a website: https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/trade/agreements-trade-organic-products_en.

The control authority/control body in question has been responsible for the documents related to the consignment and the inspection of the consignment in the exporting country and the certificate of inspection has been issued based on the performed inspection.

There can be only one original of the certificate of inspection in the Traces system.

Before presenting the original certificate of inspection to customs, it is advisable that the importer ensures that the product to be imported and the certificate of inspection are equivalent and that the document has been filled in correctly up to box 18. The importer must also ensure that all necessary attachments, such as transport documents, have been added to the certificate of inspection. The rest of the certificate of inspection will be completed during the import procedure.

If a printout of the certificate of inspection has been taken from the Traces system, the printout has to be fully equivalent to the original certificate of inspection in the system. After it has been released for free circulation, the original certificate of inspection has to “accompany” the product in the Traces system to the first consignee. After the inspection, the first consignee returns the document to the importer by acknowledging in the Traces system that the inspection has been carried out. The importer has to keep the certificate available for the control authority for not less than two years. The transfer of the certificate of inspection as described above takes place automatically in Traces after every acknowledgment carried out in the system.

The customs authorities may accept corrections to clerical errors in the certificate of inspection if the corrections have been made in the Traces system by replacing the original certificate of inspection and it has been approved by the control body of the third country.

The certificates of inspection can be filed in electronic format in the operator’s own files, but they have to be available during the inspection. The importer should note that Traces is not an electronic archive for certificates of inspection.

6.8 Prior notification of the import

The importer has to notify Customs and Finnish Food Authority in advance of all the consignments to be imported into the Community. Notifications are made by email to the following addresses:

The notification has to include

the number of the certificate of inspection, or a copy of the certificate, as an attachment
estimated time of arrival
a copy of the commercial documents, in so far as they do not appear in the Traces system
the name and address of the first consignee
other required documents and, for example, the number of the CHED declaration in the case of risk products.

Before making a notification, the importer should check that the certificate of inspection is correct and appropriate. The notifications of organically produced alcohol are to be directed to Valvira.

If the first consignee operates in another member state, e.g. Estonia, the importer has to send the notification on the import to the control authority or control body that the first consignee is subjected to in that member state. The names and code numbers of the authorities and control bodies responsible for controls of organic production in all member states are available on the website maintained by the European Commission: https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/ofis_public/r8/ctrl_r8.cfm?targetUrl=home and “Organic Farming / EU Commission” https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming_en.

Further information: https://www.ruokavirasto.fi/yritykset/tuonti-ja-vienti/tuonti-eun-ulkopuolelta/luomutuotteet/ennakkoilmoitus/ (in Finnish and Swedish).

6.9 Information on transport arrangements

On request, the importer has to send customs details on the transport arrangements from the exporter in the third country to the first consignee. The transport documents can be attached directly to the certificate of inspection for the batch in the Traces system. The importer also has to include the details on transport arrangements in the documentary accounts, so that they can be also inspected by the inspectors carrying out the organic control.

The first consignee shall include the information on the transport arrangements from the premises/storage of the first consignee to the consignees in the European Community in their documentary records.

On request, the importer/first consignee has to be able to present the inspector with the routes and means of transport used (transport documents; a continuous route), the locations of the storage premises used and the arrangements for keeping organic and nonorganic products separate.

6.10 Presentation of goods to Customs

Only the importer recorded on the certificate of inspection or a representative for the importer can present the consignment to customs for release for free circulation or for moving it to customs storage for preparation or splitting into batches.

For every consignment to be imported or released for free circulation within the Community it is required that the importer

is registered in the control system for organic production for the product to be imported
presents to the customs authority the original certificate of inspection for the consignment in the Traces system and uses the code C644 in the customs declaration;

and that the customs authority

carries out an inspection of the consignment
endorses the certificate of inspection in the Traces system.

If the whole consignment or any of the products to be imported is prepared for sale or the products are split into batches in the customs warehousing before the batches are released for free circulation, a customs inspection also has to be carried out before carrying out these measures. Before any measures are taken, the original consignment always has to be presented to customs for inspection in order to be able to release the product for free circulation after the measures are carried out. The certificate of inspection is endorsed exceptionally before the release for free circulation in order to be able to, for example, ensure that the data on the certificate of inspection and the exporter’s data plus the labels and numbering on the products to be imported match.

The customs authority endorses box 30 of the original certificate of inspection based on the inspection carried out.

A. Customs declaration and confirmation that the importer is submitted to the control system for organic production

The importer has to ensure that it is clearly stated on the customs declaration, the invoices and other commercial documents that the products are organic. The electronic customs declaration has to state the code for organic produce (C644) and specify the number of the certificate of inspection. If the products are not marked as organic in the customs declaration, customs will treat the products as non-organic and will not inspect the products and the import operation in accordance with the requirements set in the legislation on organic production. If the products were cleared as non-organic, the importer can no longer prepare and/or market the products as organic, even if the importer could present the original certificate of inspection for the consignment in retrospect. It is up to the importer to ensure that the products are recorded as organic on the customs declaration and that the documents required for the import are presented to the customs authority.

The importer has to present to customs the original certificate of inspection in Traces for all the consignments to be imported in order to be able to release the products for free circulation within the Community.

An exception is import of organic products from Switzerland for which a certificate of inspection does not need to be presented.

In addition, at the time of the customs declaration, customs ensures that the importer is registered in the control system for organic production, i.e. that the importer holds a valid organic certificate.

B. Inspection of the consignment and endorsement of the certificate of inspection

The customs authority checks the consignment by comparing the information on the certificate of inspection with the products in the consignment and also that the information supplied on the certificate of inspection are correct and that it fulfils the requirements. The customs authority can also take samples from the products to be imported to ensure that they are organic.

Customs endorses the inspection in box 30 on the original certificate of inspection, if they can verify that the importer is subjected to the control system for organic production for the product to be imported, the whole consignment and all products correspond to the information given on the certificate of inspection and the information is correct and the samples taken of the products are confirmed to be organic (if any samples have been taken).

If any of the conditions mentioned above are not fulfilled, the certificate of inspection will not be endorsed and the products will not be released for free circulation as organic into the Community.

C. Release of a consignment for free circulation

A consignment can be released for free circulation in the Community as organic after customs have inspected the consignment and based on the inspection endorsed the original certificate of inspection in box 30.

If it is found that the whole consignment or a product in the consignment does not fulfil the requirements in the organic legislation, the consignment/product can be released for free circulation on a case-by-case basis and only as non-organic. The references to organic production have to be removed from the labelling, advertising and accompanying documents (also from the certificate of inspection) of such a consignment/product. After this, the operator cannot market these products as organic within the Community.

After releasing the goods for free circulation, the original certificate of inspection endorsed by customs will automatically follow the consignment in Traces to the first consignee or be returned to the importer, if the importer and the first consignee are the same operator.

D. Release for free circulation after preparatory procedures or splitting into batches has been carried out in customs warehousing

Preparatory procedures in customs warehousing

If preparatory procedures are required or if such procedures have to be carried out in accordance with legislation before the goods are released for free circulation, this has to be performed under customs control in customs warehousing. The preparatory procedures can be, for example:

packaging or repackaging and
adding labelling concerning the presentation of the organic production method.

There is more detailed information on the specific requirements for the labelling of the organic product to be imported in the guidelines on organic production for the product. The guidelines are available on the Finnish Food Authority’s internet pages. If the product is, for example, a pre-packaged foodstuff aimed at consumers or mass caterers, the labelling has to be changed so that it also fulfils the general labelling requirements.

The processing and storage procedures under customs control are explained in more detail on the custom authority’s internet pages.

A customs inspection of the consignment always has to be carried out before any preparation. The customs authority is presented with the original certificate of inspection, and endorses box 30 based on the inspection carried out. After the preparatory procedures have been carried out, the original certificate of inspection has to accompany the consignment. The original certificate of inspection is not yet to be returned to the importer at this stage.

An exception is import of organic products from Switzerland for which a certificate of inspection does not need to be presented.

The document is again presented to the customs authority in conjunction with the release of the consignment for free circulation. This is to ensure that the importer presented the consignment to customs before the preparatory procedures were carried out so that customs were able to inspect the original consignment.

Splitting the consignment into batches in customs warehousing

If the consignment is to be split into batches before it is released for free circulation, it has to be done under customs control in customs warehousing. A customs inspection of the consignment always has to be carried out before any splitting operation. The customs authority is presented with the original certificate of inspection, and endorses box 30 based on the inspection carried out.

The importer has to draw up a separate extract of the certificate of inspection in the Traces system for every batch the original consignment has been split into. The model and notes for the extract are found in the Traces system. The certificate of inspection for the original consignment endorsed by customs and the extract are presented to the customs authority for approval of the extract. The customs authority approves the extract in box 12 if they can confirm that the batch has been split from the original consignment. After the approval of the split and the extract, the original of each extract has to accompany the batch in question.

The importer has to take copies of the extracts after they are approved by customs and keep the copies together with the original certificate of inspection.

The consignee of the batch fills in box 13 of the original extract after checking that

the packaging of the product or the container is closed and has not been substituted with another product and
the extract of the certificate of inspection and the identification of the product and other markings and numbers match.

The consignee has to keep the original extract of the certificate of inspection available for the control authorities for not less than 2 years.

Receipt of the products onto the premises of the first consignee

At the reception of the consignment, the first consignee to whom the imported consignment is sent for preparation and/or marketing, has to check that:

the packaging of the product or the container is closed and has not been substituted with another product and
the certificate of inspection and the information on the exporter’s identification and other markings and numbers on the products match.

The first consignee enters the result of the acceptance inspection in the Traces system in box 31 of the certificate of inspection.

The original certificate of inspection is automatically returned to the importer in the Traces system after the inspection has been signed off as approved. It is advisable to attach a copy of the original certificate of inspection returned to the importer in the documentary accounts of the first consignee.

Further preparation of imported organic products

The first consignee can prepare an imported organic product and/or market the product as organic if it fulfilled the requirements set for it at the reception of the consignment.

If the product does not fulfil the requirements and/or it is unclear whether the product is organic, the product cannot be prepared or marketed before the ambiguity has been eliminated. Such preparation procedures are:

preserving/processing (including slaughter and cutting for livestock products),
packaging/repackaging,
the use of labelling referring to organic production or changing the labels.

7 Record keeping and dokuments

In order to enable efficient controls, it is worth either keeping the records on organic products completely separate or clearly noting that the documents refer to organic products.
The importer and the first consignee must have the following documents at hand for the inspector during a control: all certificates of inspection, transport documents and the results of the inspections done on reception.

Records have to be kept on the imports of organic products and the documentary accounts are to be verified with the correct receipts. The objective of record keeping is to ensure that the organic products are traceable and makes it possible to control that the number of organic products that are delivered to a unit and are stored there equates to the number of products leaving the unit.

In order to ensure effective controls, the documentation on organic products has to be easy to find in the documentary accounts (“organic” can be written on the documents, for example). Stock and financial records have to be kept in the unit or on the operator’s premises so that the operator and the control authority can verify that the production rules are being adhered to. If the importer and the first consignee do not operate in the same unit, the operators have to keep separate records.

The accounts must demonstrate the balance between the input and the output. The records must also show the losses generated during different stages of the operations.

7.1 Transports

The importer must include detailed information in their documentary records of the transport arrangements from the exporter to the first consignee.

7.2 Reception controls

The first consignee has to include the results from the reception controls in their documentary records. It is also good to add a copy of the original certificate of inspection sent to the importer in the Traces system, if the importer and the first consignee are not the same operator.

8 Charges

Public and commercial services related to Finnish Food Authority’s controls of organic production are subject to a charge. The charges for the services are aimed at covering the costs caused by the controls. The charges are determined by the decree of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the costs for Finnish Food Authority’s services (1193/2021) and in the price list for business services. The price lists are also available on the website of the Finnish Food Authority.

Customs charges fees for their inspections and laboratory analyses in accordance with the valid decree on the Custom Authority’s services.