Council Directive of 26 June 1990 concerning veterinary checks applicable in intra-Union trade in certain live animals and products with a view to the completion of the internal market (90/425/EEC)

Member States shall ensure that only the animals and products referred to in Article 1 that fulfil the following conditions may be the subject of trade:

1. the animals and products referred to in Annex A must satisfy the requirements of the relevant Directives listed in the said Annex and the animals and products referred to in Annex B must fulfil the animal health requirements of the Member State of destination;

2. they must come from holdings, centres or organizations which are subject to regular official veterinary checks in accordance with paragraph 3;

3. they must, on the one hand, be identified in accordance with the requirements of Community rules and, on the other hand, be registered in such a way that the original or transit holding, centre or organization can be traced; national identification or registration systems must be notified to the Commission within three months of the date of notification of this Directive.

   Before 1 January 1993, Member States must take appropriate measures to guarantee that the identification and registration systems applicable to intra-Community trade are extended to the movement of animals within their territory;

4. they must, when transported, be accompanied by health certificates and/or any other documents as provided for in the Directives referred to in Annex A and, for the other animals and products, by the rules of the Member State of destination;

   Those certificates or documents, issued by the official veterinarian responsible for the holding, centre or organisation of origin must accompany the animals and products to their destination;

5. susceptible animals, or products of susceptible animals, must not originate:

   1. from holdings, centres or organizations, areas or regions which are subject to restrictions determined in accordance with Community rules, where applicable, for the animals concerned or products from the animals concerned because of the suspicion, outbreak or existence of a disease referred to in Annex C or because of the application of safeguard measures;

   2. from a holding, centre, organization, area or region which is the subject of official restrictions because of the suspicion, outbreak or existence of a disease other than those referred to in Annex C or of the application of safeguard measures;

   3. in cases where they are intended for holdings, centres or organizations situated in the Member States which have obtained the guarantees pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 64/432/EEC or other equivalent Community rules which have been or will be adopted or in a State recognized, by Community legislation, as free, in all or part of its territory, of a disease, from a holding which does not provide the guarantees which may be required by that Member State with respect to diseases other than those listed in Annex C;

   4. when they are intended for a Member State or part of the territory of a Member State which has benefited from the additional guarantees pursuant to Article 9 of Directive 64/432/EEC or other equivalent Community rules which have been or will be adopted, from a holding, centre or organization and, should the case arise, from a part of the territory which does not offer the additional guarantees provided for.

      The competent authority of the country of origin shall ensure, before issuing the certificate or accompanying document, that the holdings, centres or organizations comply with the requirements provided for in this point;

6. where the transport operation involves several places of destination, animals and products must be grouped together in as many consignments as there are places of destination. Each consignment must be accompanied by the certificates and/or documents referred to in (d);

7. where animals and products covered by the Directives referred to in Annex A which comply with Community rules are intended for export to a third country through the territory of another Member State, the transport operation must — except in cases of urgent need duly authorized by the competent authority in order to ensure the welfare of the animals — remain under customs supervision up to the point of exit from Community territory, in accordance with detailed arrangements to be drawn up by the Commission, acting under the procedure laid down in Article 18 or, where appropriate, in Article 19.

   Moreover, in the cases of animals and products not complying with Community rules or animals and products referred to in Annex B, transit may take place only if it has been expressly authorized by the competent authority of the Member State of transit.

Member States shall also ensure that:

• the animals and products referred to in Article 1 which might have to be slaughtered under a national programme for the eradication of diseases not referred to in Annex C are not dispatched to the territory of another Member State;

• the animals and products referred to in Annex A or the animals and products referred to in Annex B are not dispatched to the territory of another Member State if they cannot be marketed on their own territory for health or animal health reasons justified by Article 36 of the Treaty.

Without prejudice to the monitoring duties assigned to the official veterinarian under Community legislation, the competent authority shall carry out checks on holdings, approved markets and assembly centres, centres or organizations in order to satisfy itself that animals and products intended for trade comply with Community requirements and in particular fulfil the conditions laid down in paragraph 1 (c) and (d) with regard to identification.

Where there are grounds for suspecting that Community requirements are not being met, the competent authority shall carry out the necessary checks and, if the suspicion is confirmed, take the appropriate measures, which may include isolation of the holding, centre or organization concerned.

Under the procedure laid down in Article 18 or, where appropriate, in Article 19, the Commission may adopt detailed rules for the application of this Article, in particular to take account of the species concerned.

Member States of dispatch shall take the necessary measures to ensure that:

1. the holders of livestock and products referred to in Article 1 comply with the national or Union health requirements referred to in this Directive at all stages of production and marketing;

2. the animals and products referred to in Annex A are checked at least as carefully, from a veterinary viewpoint, as if they were intended for the national market, unless specifically provided otherwise by Community rules;

3. animals are transported in suitable means of transport which satisfy hygiene rules.

The competent authority of the Member State of origin which issued the certificate or document accompanying the animals and products shall communicate, on the day on which they were issued and by means of the computerized system provided for in Article 20, to the central competent authority of the Member State of destination and to the competent authority of the place of destination, data to be determined by the Commission, according to the procedure provided for in Article 18.

Member States of dispatch shall take the appropriate measures to penalise any infringement of veterinary legislation by natural or legal persons where it is found that Union rules have been infringed, and in particular where it is found that certificates, documents or identification marks do not correspond to the status of the animals or to their holdings of origin or to the actual characteristics of the products.