Regulation (EC) No 2003/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 relating to fertilisers (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance

This Regulation shall apply to products which are placed on the market as fertilisers designated ‘EC fertiliser’.

For the purposes of this Regulation the following definitions shall apply:

1. ‘Fertiliser’ means material, the main function of which is to provide nutrients for plants.

2. ‘Primary nutrient’ means the elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium only.

3. ‘Secondary nutrient’ means the elements calcium, magnesium, sodium and sulphur.

4. ‘Micro-nutrients’ means the elements boron, cobalt, copper, iron, manganese, molybdenum and zinc, essential for plant growth in quantities that are small compared with those of primary and secondary nutrients.

5. ‘Inorganic fertiliser’ means a fertiliser in which the declared nutrients are in the form of minerals obtained by extraction or by physical and/or chemical industrial processes. Calcium cyanamide, urea and its condensation and association products, and fertilisers containing chelated or complexed micro-nutrients may, by convention, be classed as inorganic fertilisers.

6. ‘Chelated micro-nutrient’ means a micro-nutrient that is held by one of the organic molecules listed in section E.3.1 of Annex I.

7. ‘Complexed micro-nutrient’ means a micro-nutrient that is held by one of the molecules listed in section E.3.2 of Annex I.

8. ‘Type of fertilisers’ means fertilisers with a common type designation as indicated in Annex I.

9. ‘Straight fertiliser’ means a nitrogenous, phosphatic or potassic fertiliser having a declarable content of only one of the primary nutrients.

10. ‘Compound fertiliser’ means a fertiliser having a declarable content of at least two of the primary nutrients and obtained chemically or by blending or by a combination of both.

11. ‘Complex fertiliser’ means a compound fertiliser, obtained by chemical reaction, by solution, or in its solid state by granulation, having a declarable content of at least two of the primary nutrients. In its solid state each granule contains all the nutrients in their declared composition.

12. ‘Blended fertiliser’ means a fertiliser obtained by dry mixing of several fertilisers, with no chemical reaction.

13. ‘Foliar fertiliser’ means a fertiliser suitable for application to and nutrient uptake by the foliage of a crop.

14. ‘Fluid fertiliser’ means a fertiliser in suspension or solution.

15. ‘Solution fertiliser’ means a fluid fertiliser that is free of solid particles.

16. ‘Suspension fertiliser’ means a two-phase fertiliser in which solid particles are maintained in suspension in the liquid phase.

17. ‘Declaration’ means a statement of the amount of nutrients, including their forms and solubility, guaranteed within specified tolerances.

18. ‘Declared content’ means the content of an element, or its oxide, which, in accordance with Community legislation, is given on a label of an EC fertiliser or on the relevant accompanying document.

19. ‘Tolerance’ means the permitted deviation of the measured value of a nutrient content from its declared value.

20. ‘European Standard’ means CEN (European Committee for Standardisation) standards, which have been officially recognised by the Community and whose reference has been published in the Official Journal of the European Communities.

21. ‘Package’ means a sealable receptacle used to hold, protect, handle, and distribute fertilisers and holding not more than 1 000 kg.

22. ‘Bulk’ means a fertiliser not packaged as prescribed by this Regulation.

23. ‘Placing on the market’ means the supply of fertiliser, whether in return for payment or free of charge, or storage for the purpose of supply. Importation of a fertiliser into the customs territory of the European Community shall be deemed to constitute placing on the market.

24. ‘Manufacturer’ means the natural or legal person responsible for placing a fertiliser on the market; in particular a producer, an importer, a packager working for its own account, or any person changing the characteristics of a fertiliser, shall be deemed to be a manufacturer. However, a distributor who does not change the characteristics of the fertiliser shall not be deemed to be a manufacturer.