Issuance of export permits and certificates

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MARKET ACCESS DATABASE (MADB)  (http://madb.europa.eu)

The market Access Database (MADB), available on the European Commission's website, was developed with the main purpose of supporting European Union economic operators exporting to third countries. 

It provides information on both the duties required by the country of destination and the corresponding restrictions and prohibitions.

The exporter may search for the type of certificates, attestations or other supporting documents that may be required by the third country, using the following methods: criteria the country of destination and the Combined Nomenclature code of the goods exported.   

 

CERTIFICATES

In application of Article 95, par. 3 of presidential decree 111/2014, Government Gazette 178 / a / 2014, GCSL issues opinions, certificates and attestations. The issuance of these documents by the services of the GCSL also applies to the export of goods, with the aim of assisting organizations, enterprises and individuals, facilitating exporters and promoting exports. 

 

1. Inspection or export certificates

The certificates issued by the CCSL are called 'inspection certificates' or 'export certificates'. The use of the above terms is made in order to differentiate them from the "certificates" issued by the certification bodies during the certification of products.

Where appropriate, specialized terms may be combined with the term "certificate", indicating the compliance of the product with specific legislation, e.g. 'Certificate of suitability for food contact materials'

Certificates are not themselves examination reports but separate documents, which are characterized by the following:

  1. They are inextricably linked and in absolute correspondence with the product or commodity to which they refer.
  2. They are issued after examining the sample (chemical, physical, mechanical, microbiological, molecular , organoleptic or other examination).
  3. The values of the laboratory results are not quoted, but their compliance with specific limits of the legislation and/or the technical specifications of standards.
  4. They are primarily based on correct sampling, since the sampling and subsequent examination of the sample result in conclusions about the goods/consignment / lot respectively. Sampling must be carried out by an official authority. Sampling by a GCSL chemist is recommended and in cases where certificates are issued for export products of production units inspected by GCSL. The types of goods provided for a specific way of sampling by ISO standards, other standards, provisions, community directives, etc., this procedure should be observed and indicated in the certificate.
  5. Refer to examination reports or chemical analysis reports
  6. A solemn declaration by the exporter as to the suitability of the goods for a particular use shall be required for the issue of a certificate.
  7. They are characterized by a unique code, with the following fields : (a) certificate serial number (b) year (C) GCSL Service Code (D) department code.
  8. They have a specific time validity. For non-perishable / perishable products this time is six (6) months. For fragile/ perishable products, the validity period of the certificate is determined by the Chemical Service, but cannot exceed two (2) months.
     

2. Free sale certificate and Statement of Conformity

In addition to inspection or export certificates, some importing countries require formal assurance, usually from a government agency, "that the products exported to them are in accordance with the legislation of the exporting country and circulate freely on its market" this assurance may also be requested from a Chamber of Commerce, but this depends on the type of product exported and the country to which it is intended to be exported.

Such certificates or attestations are normally requested by certain countries in a preliminary procedure in order to finally accept the products of the exporting country. In other words, first of all, a written assurance is required that the products comply with the legislation of the exporting country and that they move freely in it and are then accepted for import.

The above certificates are normally requested for the export of certain processed foods or products to be added to foods (e.g. odoriferous substances).

The written assurance shall be requested on a case-by-case basis either as a "free sale certificate" or as an "attestation of conformity". These two types of documents are equivalent, but their title varies depending on the country requesting it. In addition, it is noted that:

  • They are documents that do not refer to a certain lot of the goods to be exported. They generally refer to the merchandise.
  • The validity of the attestations lasts until the change in the composition of the product or the legal provisions in force.
  • As a rule, a laboratory examination of the sample is not required for their issuance. Only the conformity of the composition deposited with the applicable legislation shall be examined, after taking into account the exporter's solemn declaration and the literature, if appropriate.
  • A solemn declaration is required by the exporter stating that he undertakes (a) the origin and composition of his product , (B) that the product is manufactured in accordance with the requirements of the legislation of the exporting country as well as its "free movement" in the exporting country.
  • Depending on the destination country. additional information may be requested. These data usually refer to "risks" that are current at the time, e.g. data on the absence of dioxins were requested from some countries of destination.
     

3. Form of certificates and attestations

To facilitate exporters and speed up procedures certificates and attestations (par. 1 and 2) written in Greek and if requested by the exporter and in English
 

4.  Financial compensation

For inspection/export certificates, certificates of free movement/sale and certificates of conformity, compensation shall be paid by the person concerned in accordance with applicable law.
 

5.  Templates (Greek):

6. Templates (English):