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EU Timber Regulation
The EU Timber Regulation makes it illegal to place illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market. In this section CPET provide information, details and updates on this new legislation.
A new EU Timber Regulation which entered into force on 2 December 2010 will, as of 3 March 2013, make it illegal to place illegally harvested timber and timber products on the EU market. The legislation will require that due diligence is applied to all timber first placed on the EU market and also that traders, further down the supply chain, keep track of who timber or timber products were bought from, and where applicable, who they were sold to.
The UK will seek to ensure implementation of the regulation is robust and proportionate, that it contains appropriate sanctions for illegal operators, but also ensures that those who trade in legal timber have an open, fair and environmentally sustainable market for their products. A competent authority will be appointed to carry out the checks to verify that the law is complied with
Penalties for not complying with the law have not been decided yet but may include fines, seizure of the timber and immediate suspension of authorisation to trade.
The information in this section is based on the finalised Regulation text. Further legislation with more detailed guidance on the obligations set out in the parent regulation are yet to be developed. CPET will provide further details and updates here in due course. Please scroll down for definitions and useful links.
How to ensure compliance
To ensure compliance with the Timber Regulation the following requirements have to be met:
If you are a Trader, buying or selling timber or timber products in the EU, you have to be able to identify:
(a) who you bought the timber and timber products from; and
(b) where applicable, who you have sold the timber and timber products to.
This information shall be kept for at least five years and be provided for checks if requested.
If you are an Operator ‘placing timber or timber products on the market’ i.e. if you buy timber or timber products directly from a supplier outside the EU or if you are producing timber in the EU you will have to conduct your due diligence.
A Due Diligence system involves:
Providing information on your supply of timber products, including description of species, volume, country of harvest and where applicable concession of harvest, name and address of your supplier and most importantly evidence of compliance with applicable legislation. The system also requires risk assessment of your supply and, where high risk is identified, mitigation to eliminate any potentially illegal timber. Read more about the Due Diligence system here.
Control and Penalties
Monitoring Organisations will be created to establish and evaluate Due Diligence systems, but Operators can also set up their own Due Diligence Systems.
Competent authorities will carry out checks to verify if Monitoring Organisations, Operators and Traders comply with the requirements set out in the Regulation.
The Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of the provisions of this Regulation and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. They must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive and may include, inter alia:
(a) fines proportionate to the environmental damage, the value of the timber or timber products concerned and the tax losses and economic detriment resulting from the infringement;
(b) seizure of the timber and timber products concerned;
(c) immediate suspension of authorisation to trade.
The EU Timber Regulation and the Government's Timber Procurement Policy
The Timber Regulation is also good news for public buyers. It will make it easier to implement the UK Government’s timber procurement policy and request evidence of compliance with the policy from suppliers and contractors.
The EU legislation is not designed to ensure sustainability as required to ensure compliance with the Government’s timber procurement policy; it is, however, expected to create strong incentives for suppliers and contractors to ensure that illegal timber is excluded and to increase sustainable timber in their purchases and traceability of the timber.
CPET can help and guide you also on the new legislation. The detailed requirements of the EU legislation are yet to be developed and CPET will provide further details and update this section in due course. For a recent press article on the upcoming regulation please see here.
Definitions |
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EU Timber Regulation Briefing Note Proforest, March 2011
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (Annex 1)
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 (20 Oct 2010).
Drafts and position papers from the Parliament and Council.
European Commission website on the Timber Regulation
Briefing Note: EU Timber Regulation (Defra, 23 February 2011). The UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) sets out the key points in the EU Timber Regulation.
Video: Fighting Illegal Logging: The New EU Regulation produced on behalf of the EU FLEGT Facility.
Options and best practices for the use and recognition of third party organisations entrusted with certain responsibilities in the framework of EUTR legislation Stakeholder Consultation on 21 March in Brussels.
European Forest Institute. Here you can find the website of the implemented Stakeholder Consultation on “Options and best practices for the use and recognition of third party organisations entrusted with certain responsibilities in the framework of EUTR legislation” . For the proceedings, see here.
