Article 40Prohibition of the introduction of plants, plant products and other objects into the Union territory
1.Certain plants, plant products or other objects shall not be introduced into the Union territory if they originate from all or certain third countries or territories.
2.The Commission shall, by means of implementing acts, adopt a list containing the plants, plant products and other objects referred to in paragraph 1 which are prohibited from being introduced into the territory of the Union, together with the third countries, groups of third countries or specific areas of third countries to which the prohibition applies.
The first of those implementing acts shall include the plants, plant products and other objects as well as their countries of origin as listed in Part A of Annex III to Directive 2000/29/EC.
Those implementing acts shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2) of this Regulation.
In the list established by those implementing acts, the plants, plant products and other objects shall also be identified by their respective code in accordance with the classification in the Combined Nomenclature as laid down in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87(1) (‘CN code’) where that code is available. Other codes laid down by Union legislation shall, in addition, be referred to where they specify further the applicable CN code for a specific plant, plant product or other object.
3.Where a plant, plant product or other object originating in or being dispatched from a third country poses a pest risk of an unacceptable level due to the likelihood that it hosts a Union quarantine pest, and that pest risk cannot be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall amend the implementing act referred to in paragraph 2 accordingly to include in it that plant, plant product or other object and the third countries, groups of third countries or specific areas of third countries concerned.
Where a plant, plant product or other object included in that implementing act does not pose a pest risk of an unacceptable level, or it poses such a risk but that risk can be reduced to an acceptable level by applying one or more of the measures set out in points 2 and 3 of Section 1 of Annex II, the Commission shall amend that implementing act accordingly.
The acceptability of the level of that pest risk shall be assessed in accordance with the principles set out in Section 2 of Annex II, where appropriate with regard to one or more specific third countries.
Those amendments shall be adopted in accordance with the examination procedure referred to in Article 107(2).
On duly justified imperative grounds of urgency to address a serious pest risk, the Commission shall adopt those amendments by immediately applicable implementing acts, in accordance with the procedure referred to in Article 107(3).
4.Member States shall notify, through the electronic notification system referred to in Article 103, the Commission and other Member States where plants, plant products or other objects have been introduced into the Union territory in violation of paragraph 1.
That notification shall also be made to the third country from which the plants, plant products or other objects were introduced into the Union territory.
Council Regulation (EEC) No 2658/87 of 23 July 1987 on the tariff and statistical nomenclature and on the Common Customs Tariff (OJ L 256, 7.9.1987, p. 1).