Regulation (EU) No 995/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 October 2010 laying down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the market (Text with EEA relevance)Text with EEA relevance

This Regulation lays down the obligations of operators who place timber and timber products on the internal market for the first time, as well as the obligations of traders.

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

1. ‘timber and timber products’ means the timber and timber products set out in the Annex, with the exception of timber products or components of such products manufactured from timber or timber products that have completed their lifecycle and would otherwise be disposed of as waste, as defined in Article 3(1) of Directive 2008/98/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 November 2008 on waste⁽¹⁾,

2. ‘placing on the market’ means the supply by any means, irrespective of the selling technique used, of timber or timber products for the first time on the internal market for distribution or use in the course of a commercial activity, whether in return for payment or free of charge. It also includes the supply by means of distance communication as defined in Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 1997 on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts⁽²⁾. The supply on the internal market of timber products derived from timber or timber products already placed on the internal market shall not constitute ‘placing on the market’;

3. ‘operator’ means any natural or legal person that places timber or timber products on the market;

4. ‘trader’ means any natural or legal person who, in the course of a commercial activity, sells or buys on the internal market timber or timber products already placed on the internal market;

5. ‘country of harvest’ means the country or territory where the timber or the timber embedded in the timber products was harvested;

6. ‘legally harvested’ means harvested in accordance with the applicable legislation in the country of harvest;

7. ‘illegally harvested’ means harvested in contravention of the applicable legislation in the country of harvest;

8. ‘applicable legislation’ means the legislation in force in the country of harvest covering the following matters:

   • rights to harvest timber within legally gazetted boundaries,

   • payments for harvest rights and timber including duties related to timber harvesting,

   • timber harvesting, including environmental and forest legislation including forest management and biodiversity conservation, where directly related to timber harvesting,

   • third parties’ legal rights concerning use and tenure that are affected by timber harvesting, and

   • trade and customs, in so far as the forest sector is concerned.

Timber embedded in timber products listed in Annexes II and III to Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 which originate in partner countries listed in Annex I to that Regulation and which comply with that Regulation and its implementing provisions shall be considered to have been legally harvested for the purposes of this Regulation.

Timber of species listed in Annex A, B or C to Regulation (EC) No 338/97 and which complies with that Regulation and its implementing provisions shall be considered to have been legally harvested for the purposes of this Regulation.

Traders shall, throughout the supply chain, be able to identify:

1. the operators or the traders who have supplied the timber and timber products; and

2. where applicable, the traders to whom they have supplied timber and timber products.

Traders shall keep the information referred to in the first paragraph for at least five years and shall provide that information to competent authorities if they so request.