Important explanatory notes on the terms used in the EUTR
1. Illegal timber
Timber is described as being illegal if it does not comply with the
applicable statutory provisions. The term of statutory provisions
is to be broadly interpreted. It encompasses provisions which
directly allow or prohibit the felling of trees, general provisions
on land use, tariffs or customs regulations. The illegality of timber
or timber products is determined by whether the timber in the
country of origin has been harvested unlawfully or not.
2. Timber and timber products
All products which fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) No.
995/20106: These include, for example, wood in the rough, sawmilling by-products, sawn timber, particle board, plywood, furniture, pulp and paper products, wood chips, fuel wood, pellets (not
conclusive).
3. Obligation to exercise due diligence (Due diligence
system (DDS))
The essence of the term ‘obligation to exercise due diligence’ is
represented in the obligation of the operator to manage risks in
order to mitigate as far as possible the risk of placing on the market timber and timber products sourced from illegal logging. The
three key elements of the ‘obligation to exercise due diligence’
are: Information, risk management, risk mitigation.
4. Monitoring organisation
Operators are entitled to develop and apply their own DDS or
make use of the services of a monitoring organisation. These
must fulfil certain criteria within the scope of a validation process and be officially recognised by the European Commission as
a monitoring organisation.
5. Competent authorities for checks in Germany
Each Member State of the EU shall designate one or more competent authorities responsible for the application of this regulation.
In Germany the Federal Office for Agriculture and Food (BLE) is
designated. It is supported by the competent authorities according to the respective regional legislation and by the customs authorities. They are entitled to check the DDS, monitor importer
documents and take whatever action is required in the case of a
breach of the law or regulations.
Publisher
Publishing details
German Wood Council (DHWR)
Dorotheenstr. 54, 10117 Berlin
Telephone +49 30 / 7202043886, Fax +49 30 / 22320489
Email mail@dhwr.de, www.dhwr.de
Registry court: Berlin-Charlottenburg
Register number: VR 32023
Authorised representative: Hubertus Flötotto
Editor-in-chief: Dr. Denny Ohnesorge, see above for address
VAT ID No.: DE 114103514
Editorial: Working Group of the Association of Rawwood processing industry (AGR),
German Sawmill Industry (DeSH), German Pulp and Paper Association (VDP)
Photography: Uwe Röder, for Rettenmeier Holding
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linked pages.
European
Timber Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010 dated 20.10.2010:
www.eur-lex.europa.eu, http://bit.ly/YmGFuq
2 C ouncil Regulation (EC) No. 2173/2005: www.eur-lex.europa.eu, http://bit.ly/WJHkAY
3 B ill on the German Act on Trade of Illegally Felled Timber (HolzSiG):
www.bundestag.de, http://bit.ly/1478821
4 F LEGT Action Plan – background information: www.bmz.de, http://bit.ly/TkmRGx
5 G uidance Document: www.ec.europa.eu, http://bit.ly/SAbbOi
6 T imber and timber products within the scope of Regulation (EU) 995/2010:
www.ble.de, http://bit.ly/144N9yu
1
Status: 24.07.2013
European Timber Regulation
Introduction
The regulation is being implemented on a national level through
amendments of the member states of the EU; e.g. to the German
Act on Trade of Illegally Felled Timber (HolzSiG)3 effective as of
3 March 2013. It is one of a great number of measures adopted
within the framework of the EU Action Plan (FLEGT – Forest Law
Enforcement, Governance and Trade)4 for better control over timber imports. In addition, the EU has already concluded a number
of Voluntary Partnership Agreements with third countries, under
which they are obliged to set up a monitoring system in order to
guarantee the legality of the timber products exported.
The EU Timber Regulation applies to timber and timber products
from whatever source being placed for the first time on the European Market. The import of illegally harvested timber is essentially prohibited. As of 3 March 2013 anyone breaching the laws
or regulations is subject to penalties imposed by national enforcement authorities.
A Guidance Document5 is currently being drawn up by the EU
Commission and the Member States, the purpose of which is to
offer comprehensible explanations on the various aspects of the
EUTR and the related implementing provisions.
Penalties for
breach of the law
or regulations
This Flyer provides a preliminary overview of the EUTR requirements.
For further information visit also the official website of the
European Commission:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/eutr2013/index_en.htm
Trader
is anyone who places timber and timber products on the EU
market in the course of a commercial activity, e.g.:
Importers who buy timber in a third country and import it
into the EU
Forest owners or other companies if they harvest the forest
timber in the EU in order to process and sell it in the course
of a commercial activity
Operators are obliged to implement a due diligence system.
Exception: The operator holds a FLEGT licence or CITES
certificate
is anyone who buys or sells in the course of a commercial
activity timber and timber products already placed on the
market, e.g.:
Forest owners who do not harvest the timber themselves
but sell the right to harvest it
All companies or individuals who sell/trade in products
made of already marketed timber
General Obligations
What obligations do I have?
The aim of the European Timber Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010
(EUTR) adopted on 20 October 2010 is to combat the trade in
illegally harvested timber. The first step was taken initially by
implementing Council regulation (EC) No. 2173/20052 in 2011.
This was only applicable to the trade in timber products sourced
from those countries with which a Voluntary Partnership Agreement (VPA) had been concluded. As a second step, the EU Timber
Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010 is now being transposed into national legislation.
Which category of market
player am I?
Operator
1
Every market player – operators and traders – shall, throughout the supply chain, be able to identify their suppliers and customers
to whom they have supplied the timber and timber products.
Duty for every market player:
Documentation of all necessary information (Name and address of supplier and customer)
Disclosure of contracting partner to regulatory agency
Retaining this information for a period of five years
Additional obligations to exercise due diligence - due diligence system (DDS) of the operator
Information
Operators must guarantee access to:
Description of the timber and timber
products and the species of timber
used
country (and, where applicable,
sub-national region and concession)
where the timber was harvested)
Quantity (volume/weight/number
of units)
All other information indicating
compliance with national statutory
provisions
Risk assessment
Assessment on the basis of all the
information of how high the risk is
that illegally harvested timber enters
the supply chain:
Is illegal timber harvesting taking
place in the country of origin?
How high is the risk of corruption
in the country of origin/supply
country?
How complex is the supply chain,
i.e. how many processors and middlemen are there?
Imprisonment
Fine
Risk mitigation
The risk can be assessed, for example by procuring additional information and documents or, if appropriate, through third party verification
(auditors or certification).
Disciplinary Warning