1.Member States shall ensure that suppliers take all the necessary measures to guarantee compliance with the standards set by this Directive at all stages of the production and marketing of vegetable propagating and planting material.
2.For the purposes of paragraph 1, the said suppliers shall either carry out themselves, or have carried out by an accredited supplier or a responsible official body, checks based on the following principles:
identification of critical points in their production process on the basis of the production methods used,
establishment and implementation of methods for monitoring and checking the critical points referred to in the first indent,
taking samples for analysis in a laboratory accredited by the responsible official body for the purpose of checking compliance with the standards established by this Directive,
keeping a written record or a record registered in an indelible fashion of the data referred to in the first, second and third indents, as well as records on production and marketing of propagating and planting material, to be held at the disposal of the responsible official body. These documents and records shall be kept for a period of at least one year.
However, suppliers whose activity in this connection is confined merely to the distribution of vegetable propagating and planting material produced and packaged on premises other than their own shall be required only to keep a written record or a record registered in an indelible fashion of the buying and selling and/or delivery of such products.
This paragraph shall not apply to suppliers whose activity in this connection is confined to the supply of small quantities of vegetable propagating and planting material to non-professional final consumers.
3.If the result of their own checks or any information at the disposal of the suppliers referred to in paragraph 1 reveals the presence of one or more of the harmful organisms referred to in Directive 2000/29/EC or, in quantities greater than those normally allowed for in order to meet the standards, of those specified in the relevant schedules established pursuant to Article 4 of this Directive, the suppliers shall immediately report this to the responsible official body and shall take the measures indicated by that body or any other measure necessary to reduce the risk of such harmful organisms from spreading. The supplier shall keep records of all occurrences of harmful organisms on his premises and of all measures taken in relation to such occurrences.
4.Detailed rules for the application of the second subparagraph of paragraph 2 shall be established in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 21(2).