[
    "minimising the Union’s contribution to deforestation and forest degradation worldwide, and thereby contributing to a reduction in global deforestation",
    "reducing the Union’s contribution to greenhouse gas emissions and global biodiversity loss.",
    "Relevant commodities and relevant products shall not be placed or made available on the market or exported, unless all the following conditions are fulfilled:(a)they are deforestation-free;(b)they have been produced in accordance with the relevant legislation of the country of production; and(c)they are covered by a due diligence statement.",
    "Operators shall exercise due diligence in accordance with Article 8 prior to placing relevant products on the market or exporting them in order to prove that the relevant products comply with Article 3.",
    "Operators shall not place relevant products on the market or export them where one or more of the following cases apply:(a)the relevant products are non-compliant;(b)the exercise of due diligence has revealed a non-negligible risk that the relevant products are non-compliant;(c)the operator was unable to fulfil the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.",
    "By making available the due diligence statement to competent authorities, the operator shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the relevant product with Article 3. ",
    "Operators shall keep a record of the due diligence statements for five years from the date the statement is submitted through the information system referred to in Article 33.",
    "By way of derogation from paragraph 1 of this Article, operators that are SMEs (‘SME operators’) shall not be required to exercise due diligence for relevant products contained in or made from relevant products that have already been subject to due diligence in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article and for which a due diligence statement has already been submitted in accordance with Article 33.",
    " For parts of relevant products that have not been subject to due diligence, non-SME operators shall exercise due diligence in accordance with paragraph 1 of this Article.",
    "SME traders shall keep the information referred to in paragraph 3 for at least five years from the date of the making available on the market and shall provide that information to the competent authorities upon request.",
    "Traders, whether or not they are SMEs, shall offer all necessary assistance to the competent authorities to facilitate the carrying out of the checks under Articles 18 and 19, including access to premises and the making available of documentation and records.",
    " Operators or traders may mandate an authorised representative to submit the due diligence statement pursuant to Article 4(2) on their behalf. ",
    "In such cases, the operator or trader shall retain responsibility for the compliance of the relevant product with Article 3.",
    "The authorised representative shall, upon request, provide a copy of the mandate in an official language of the Union to the competent authorities and a copy in an official language of the Member State in which the due diligence statement is handled or, where that is not possible, in English.",
    "The due diligence shall include:(a)the collection of information, data and documents needed to fulfil the requirements set out in Article 9;(b)risk assessment measures as referred to in Article 10;(c)risk mitigation measures as referred to in Article 11.",
    "The operator shall make available to the competent authorities upon request the information, documents and data collected under this Article.",
    "Operators shall verify and analyse the information collected in accordance with Article 9 and any other relevant documentation. ",
    "On the basis of that information and documentation, the operators shall carry out a risk assessment to establish whether there is a risk that the relevant products intended to be placed on the market or exported are non-compliant. ",
    "Operators shall not place the relevant products on the market or export them, except where the risk assessment reveals no or only a negligible risk that the relevant products are non-compliant.",
    "Wood products which fall within the scope of Regulation (EC) No 2173/2005 that are covered by a valid FLEGT license from an operational licensing scheme shall be deemed to comply with Article 3, point (b), of this Regulation.",
    "The operators shall document and review the risk assessments at least on an annual basis and make them available to the competent authorities upon request. ",
    "Operators shall be able to demonstrate how the information gathered was checked against the risk assessment criteria set out in paragraph 2 and how they determined the degree of risk.",
    "Operators shall have in place adequate and proportionate policies, controls and procedures to mitigate and manage effectively the risks of non-compliance of relevant products identified. ",
    "The decisions on risk mitigation procedures and measures shall be documented, reviewed at least on an annual basis and made available by the operators to the competent authorities upon request. ",
    "Operators shall be able to demonstrate how decisions on risk mitigation procedures and measures were taken.",
    "Where operators become aware of new developments which could influence the due diligence system, they shall update the due diligence system to take account of those developments.",
    "Operators shall keep a record of such updates in their due diligence systems for five years",
    "Operators who do not fall within the categories of SMEs, including microenterprises, or natural persons shall, on an annual basis, publicly report as widely as possible, including via the internet, on their due diligence system, including on the steps taken by them to fulfil their obligations as set out in Article 8. ",
    "Member States shall designate one or more competent authorities responsible for fulfilling the obligations arising from this Regulation.",
    "By 30 December 2023 at the latest, Member States shall inform the Commission of the names, addresses and contact details of the competent authorities referred to in paragraph 1. ",
    "The Commission shall make the list of the competent authorities publicly available on its website without undue delay. ",
    "Member States shall ensure that the competent authorities have adequate powers, functional independence and the resources to fulfil the obligations set out in this Chapter.",
    "Without prejudice to the operators’ obligation to exercise due diligence as set out in Article 8, Member States may provide technical and other assistance and guidance to operators.",
    "The Commission, in collaboration with Member States, may also provide, where necessary, guidance to operators and competent authorities. ",
    "Member States shall facilitate the exchange and dissemination of relevant information, in particular with a view to assisting operators in risk assessment as set out in Article 10, and on best practices regarding the implementation of this Regulation.",
    "The competent authorities and the Commission shall continuously monitor and exchange information on any significant change in the pattern of trade of relevant products that can lead to the circumvention of this Regulation.",
    "Assistance shall be provided in a manner which does not compromise the independence, legal obligations or responsibilities of competent authorities in enforcing this Regulation.",
    "The Commission may facilitate the harmonised implementation of this Regulation, by issuing relevant guidelines and by promoting adequate exchange of information, coordination and cooperation between competent authorities, between competent authorities and customs authorities, and between competent authorities and the Commission.",
    "The competent authorities shall carry out checks within their territory to establish whether operators and traders established in the Union comply with this Regulation.",
    "The checks referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall be carried out in accordance with Articles 18 and 19.",
    "The Commission shall, where appropriate, establish and regularly review and update indicative risk criteria at Union level, in accordance with paragraph 3, and communicate them to competent authorities.",
    "The annual review of the plans by the competent authorities shall systematically build upon the results of the checks and the experience on implementation of the plans referred to in paragraph 5 in order to improve their effectiveness.",
    "Competent authorities shall communicate their plans of checks, as well as updates thereto, to other competent authorities and the Commission. ",
    "Checks shall be carried out without prior warning of the operator or trader, except where prior notification of the operator or trader is necessary in order to ensure the effectiveness of the checks.",
    "The competent authorities shall keep records of the checks, indicating in particular their nature and results, as well as on the measures taken in the event of non-compliance. ",
    "Records of all checks shall be kept for at least 10 years.",
    "The checks on SME traders may also include, where appropriate, in particular where the examinations referred to in paragraph 1 have raised questions, spot checks, including field audits.",
    "Member States may authorise their competent authorities to reclaim from the operators or traders the totality of the costs of their activities with respect to instances of non-compliance.",
    "Competent authorities shall establish administrative arrangements with the Commission concerning the transmission of information on investigations and the conduct of investigations.",
    "At the request of a competent authority, Member States shall provide it with the information necessary to ensure compliance with this Regulation."
]