(1)

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 (3) entered into force on 15 August 2020. Since that date, certain Member States and professional operators have interpreted and applied the term ‘storage’, contained in paragraph 2 of Article 7 of that Regulation, in a diverging manner.

(2)

For practical reasons and as the seeds of Solanum lycopersicum L. and Capsicum spp. (‘the specified seeds’) that have been harvested before 15 August 2020 cannot fulfil the requirement for their mother plants to be produced in a production site where the specified pest is known not to occur, on the basis of official inspections carried out at the appropriate time to detect the specified pest, such seeds should be exempted from the condition under Article 7(1)(a) of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191.

(3)

Paragraph 2 of Article 7 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 should be amended to clarify that the specified seeds that have been harvested prior to 15 August 2020 should be sampled and tested for the presence of the specified pest by the competent authority or by professional operators under official supervision of the competent authority before their first movement within the Union. Such derogation from paragraph 2 of Article 7 of that Regulation should allow seeds already accompanied by a plant passport to circulate in the Union territory without being further tested.

(4)

The specified seeds moved for the first time within the Union from 1 April 2021 onwards, and which have been tested before 30 September 2020 with the ELISA method, should be tested again with a testing method, other than ELISA, as referred to in point 3 of the Annex.

(5)

As the specified seeds, originating from third countries and harvested before 15 August 2020 cannot fulfil the condition for their mother plants to be produced in a production site where the specified pest is known not to occur, on the basis of official inspections carried out at the appropriate time to detect the specified pest, such seeds to be introduced into the Union, should be exempted from the requirement under point (a)(i) of Article 9(1).

(6)

The Commission was informed by the seed industry sector and by the Member States that the requirement to include the name of the registered production site in the phytosanitary certificate in accordance with Article 9 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191 is causing delays and practical difficulties to the exporters, as for them it is difficult to identify the concrete production site. For the purpose of facilitating the identification of the registered production site by the competent authorities and professional operators of third countries, that requirement should be replaced by a requirement for submitting information on the traceability of the production site of the mother plants.

(7)

The specified seeds originating from third countries should be tested using the sampling and testing methods as referred in the Annex of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1191. To take into account that some specified seeds may have been tested months before they are actually certified for export, it is proportionate from 1 April 2021 onwards to require carrying out of mandatory molecular testing, and give third countries time to adapt to this requirement.

(8)

In order to avoid unnecessary trade restrictions for the specified seeds harvested before 15 August 2020, this Regulation should become applicable within the shortest possible time. Therefore, this Regulation should enter into force on the third day following that of its publication.

(9)

The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food and Feed,

(1)

Article 7 is amended as follows:

(2)

Article 9 is amended as follows: