Regulation-antidote to shortages with fines up to 100,000 euros for food businesses

By George Lampiris

The obligation to declare the quantities of the goods that move through a special subsection that operates for this purpose, the access to which is made through the platform gov.gr, have the companies that deal with the production chain, the import, the trade, the sale and wider food handling in Greece. This obligation arises from an amendment of the Ministry of Environment included in the draft law “Modernization of the operating framework of the Hellenic Capital Market Commission – Public contribution program to vulnerable debtors until the transfer of their residence to the acquisition and re-leasing body” and other regulations provided therein.

Which products must be declared

In particular, food businesses must declare the following goods in order to avoid creating shortages on the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores:

(a) raw materials for the production of fertilizers;

b) fertilizers,

c) animal feed,

(d) raw cereals of all kinds, in particular wheat or rye, rye, barley, oats, maize, edible buckwheat;

(e) flour and in particular wheat or semolina flour and cereal flour;

f) sunflower, and

(g) vegetable oils, other than olive oil, in particular sunflower oil (sunflower oil), palm oil and maize oil “.

Businesses retain the obligation to submit the following information:

– Quantity of stocks in kilos for solids and liquids

– Quantity in pieces where appropriate

-The country of origin of the products

– The storage location of the stocks, the address and the postal code

– The contact details of the company (name and distinctive title, telephone number, e-mail address and details of the legal representative)

How the declaration of moving goods is submitted

The statement is submitted electronically through a special link located on the main website of the Ministry of Development and Investment, which is accessible through gov.gr. The entrance to the platform is done with the passwords in Taxis.

Penalties for violators

In case of non-compliance with the provisions of the amendment, specific sanctions are provided.

Particularly:

Seizure of products, to the extent that they have or have not been incorrectly declared

– Administrative fine ranging from 1,000 to 100,000 euros, depending on the seriousness of the violation

The control for the observance of the specific procedure is undertaken by the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, the General Secretariat of Trade and Consumer Protection and the Inter-Service Market Control Unit of the Ministry of Development and Investment, as well as EFET.

Valid for a period of three months

It should be noted that the obligations arising from this provision are valid for a period of three months from the moment it entered into force. However, by decision of the Minister of Rural Development and Food, the period of three months can be extended for an additional three months at a time.