Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER II U.K. AUTHENTICATION OF EURO COINS

Article 3 U.K. Authentication of euro coins

1. Institutions shall ensure that euro coins which they have received and which they intend to put back into circulation are subject to an authentication procedure. They shall implement that obligation by means of:

(a) coin-processing machines included in the list of coin-processing machines, referred to in Article 5(2); or

(b) personnel trained in accordance with modalities defined by Member States.

2. Following authentication all suspected counterfeit coins and euro coins unfit for circulation shall be submitted to the designated national authority.

3. Counterfeit euro coins handed over to the competent national authorities in accordance with Article 6 of Regulation (EC) No 1338/2001 shall not be subject to handling or other fees. As regards euro coins unfit for circulation, Chapter III of this Regulation shall apply.

Article 4 U.K. Testing requirement and coin-processing machines

1. When implementing Article 3(1)(a), institutions shall use only the types of coin-processing machines that have successfully passed a detection test carried out by the designated national authority or by the ETSC and that were listed on the website referred to in Article 5(2) at the time of their purchase. Institutions shall ensure that those machines are regularly adjusted to maintain their detection capability, taking into consideration the modifications introduced in the list referred to in Article 5(2). The detection test shall be designed to ensure that a coin-processing machine is capable of rejecting the known types of counterfeit euro coins and, in the process, euro coins unfit for circulation and all other coin-like objects that do not comply with the specifications of genuine euro coins.

2. For a transitional period until 31 December 2014, Member States may provide for specific derogations from the first sentence of paragraph 1 for coin-processing machines that were in use on 11 January 2011 and that have proved capable of detecting counterfeit euro coins, euro coins unfit for circulation and other coin-like objects that do not comply with the specifications of genuine euro coins, even if those machines are not included in the list referred to in Article 5(2). Such derogations shall be adopted after consulting the CCEG.

Article 5 U.K. Adjustment of coin-processing machines

1. With a view to enabling manufacturers of coin-processing machines to obtain the specifications necessary for the adjustment of their machines to detect counterfeit euro coins, testing in accordance with Article 4 may be carried out at the designated national authority, the ETSC or, following bilateral agreement, on the manufacturer’s premises. Following the successful testing of a coin-processing machine, a detection test report summary shall be issued for the attention of the manufacturer of the machine and copied to the ETSC.

2. The Commission shall publish on its website a consolidated list of all coin-processing machines, for which a positive and valid detection test report summary is received or prepared by the ETSC.

Article 6 U.K. Controls by Member States

1. Member States shall put in place the controls provided for in this Article.

2. Member States shall perform annual on-the-spot controls in institutions with a view to verifying, through detection tests, the proper functioning of a representative number of coin-processing machines used. Where personnel of the institutions is expected to check manually the authenticity of euro coins to be put back into circulation, Member States shall obtain an assurance from the institutions that their personnel are duly trained for that purpose.

3. The number of coin-processing machines to be checked annually in each Member State shall be such that the volume of euro coins processed by those machines during that year represents at least 25 % of the total cumulated net volume of coins issued by that Member State from the introduction of euro coins until the end of the previous year. The number of coin-processing machines to be checked shall be calculated on the basis of the volume of the three highest denominations of euro coins intended for circulation. Member States shall endeavour to ensure that coin-processing machines are checked on a rotating basis.

4. In the event that the number of coin-processing machines to be checked annually in accordance with paragraph 3 is higher than the number of machines operating in a particular Member State, all the coin-processing machines operating in that Member State shall be checked annually.

5. For a transitional period until 31 December 2014, Member States may decide, after notifying the Commission, that the number of coin-processing machines to be checked annually shall be such that the volume of euro coins processed by those machines during that year represents at least 10 % of the total cumulated net volume of coins issued by that Member State from the introduction of the euro coins until the end of the previous year.

6. As part of the annual controls, Member States shall monitor the capacity of institutions to authenticate euro coins on the basis of:

(a) the existence of a written policy providing instructions relating either to the use of automatic coin-processing equipment or to manual sorting, as appropriate;

(b) the allocation of appropriate human resources;

(c) the existence of a written maintenance plan intended to keep coin-processing machines at their appropriate performance level;

(d) the existence of written procedures for submitting counterfeit euro coins, euro coins unfit for circulation and other coin-like objects that do not comply with the specifications of genuine euro coins to the designated national authority; and

(e) the existence of internal control procedures describing the modalities and the frequency of the controls to be carried out by institutions to ensure that their sorting centres and their personnel follow the instructions set out in this paragraph.

7. Where a Member State detects non-compliance with this Regulation, the institution concerned shall take the measures to ensure that the non-compliance is rectified promptly.

Article 7 U.K. Technical provisions

The Commission shall ensure that the ETSC define, within a reasonable time frame and after consulting the CCEG, the technical specifications for the detection test, and other practical implementation provisions, such as training practices, the period of validity of the detection test report summary, the information to be included in the list referred to in Article 5(2), the guidelines related to controls, checks and auditing by Member States, the rules for the rectification of non-compliance, and the relevant thresholds for accepting genuine coins.