CHAPTER II

PROTECTED DESIGNATIONS OF ORIGIN AND GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
SECTION 2

Commission examination procedure

Receipt of the application
Article 9
1
The application shall be submitted to the Commission in paper or electronic form. The date of submission of an application to the Commission shall be the date on which the application is entered in the Commission's mail registry. This date is made available to the public by appropriate means.
2
The Commission shall mark the documents making up the application with the date of receipt and the file number allocated to the application.
The Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question shall receive an acknowledgement of receipt indicating at least the following:
a
the file number;
b
the name to be registered;
c
the number of pages received; and
d
the date of receipt of the application.

Submission of a trans-border application
Article 10
1
In the case of a trans-border request, a joint application may be submitted for a name designating a trans-border geographical area by more than one group of producers representing that area.
2
Where only Member States are concerned, the preliminary national procedure referred to in Article 38 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 applies in all the Member States concerned.
For the purposes of application of Article 38(5) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, a trans-border application shall be forwarded to the Commission by one Member State on behalf of the others, and shall include an authorisation from each of the other Member States concerned authorising the Member State forwarding the application to act on its behalf.
3
Where a trans-border application involves only third countries, the application shall be forwarded to the Commission either by one of the applicant groups on behalf of the others or by one of the third countries on behalf of the others and shall include:
a
the elements proving that the conditions laid down in Articles 34 and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 are fulfilled;
b
the proof of protection in the third countries concerned; and
c
an authorisation as referred to in paragraph 2 from each of the other third countries concerned.
4
Where a trans-border application involves at least one Member State and at least one third country, the preliminary national procedure referred to in Article 38 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 applies in all the Member States concerned. The application shall be forwarded to the Commission by one of the Member States or third countries or by one of the third-country applicant groups and shall include:
a
the elements proving that the conditions laid down in Articles 34 and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008 are fulfilled;
b
the proof of protection in the third countries concerned; and
c
an authorisation as referred to in paragraph 2 from each of the other Member States or third countries concerned.
5
The Member State, third countries or groups of producers established in third countries which forwards to the Commission a trans-border application as referred to in paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article, becomes the consignee of any notification or decision issued by the Commission.

Admissibility
Article 11
1
For the purposes of determining whether an application for protection is admissible, the Commission shall verify that the application for registration set out in Annex I has been completed and that the supporting documents have been attached to the application.
2
Any application for registration that is deemed admissible shall be notified to the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question.
If the application has not been completed or has only been partially completed, or if the supporting documents referred to in paragraph 1 have not been produced at the same time as the application for registration or some are missing, the Commission shall inform the applicant accordingly and shall invite him to remedy the deficiencies noted within a period of two months. If the deficiencies are not remedied before the time limit expires, the Commission shall reject the application as inadmissible. The decision on inadmissibility shall be notified to the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question.

Scrutiny of the conditions of validity
Article 12
1
If an admissible application for the protection of a designation of origin or geographical indication does not meet the requirements laid down in Articles 34 and 35 of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008, the Commission shall inform the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question of the grounds for refusal, setting a deadline for the withdrawal or amendment of the application or for the submission of comments.
2
If the obstacles to registration are not remedied by the Member State or third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question within the deadline, the Commission shall reject the application in accordance with Article 39(3) of Regulation (EC) No 479/2008.
3
Any decision to reject the designation of origin or geographical indication concerned shall be taken by the Commission on the basis of the documents and information available to it. Such decision on rejection shall be notified to the Member State or the third-country authorities or the applicant established in the third country in question.