S.I. No. 97/2026 - European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries)(Amendment) Regulations 2026

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 20th March, 2026.

I, Martin Heydon, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), for the purpose of giving effect to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017¹ (as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/478 of 14 January 2019² , Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2127 of 10 October 2019³ , Regulation (EU) 2021/1756 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2021⁴ and Regulation (EU) 2024/3115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024⁵ ), and the European Commission implementing and delegated acts referred to in the following regulations adopted thereunder, (to the extent that those acts apply to the import of animals and animal products from third countries), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries)(Amendment) Regulations 2026.

Definitions

2. In these Regulations “principal Regulations” means The European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. No. 656 of 2020 ).

Amendment of Regulation 2

3. The principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 2–

(a) in the definition of “authorised officer”, by substituting for “or

(b) an authorised officer within the meaning of the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020;” the following:

“(b) an authorised officer within the meaning of the European Union (Food and Feed Hygiene) Regulations 2020, or

(c) a person appointed under Regulation 23A;”,

(b) by substituting for the definition of “European Regulation” the following:

“‘European Regulation’ means Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 March 2017 (as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/478 of 14 January 2019, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2127 of 10 October 2019, Regulation (EU) 2021/1756 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 October 2021 and Regulation (EU) 2024/3115 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 November 2024);”

(c) in the definition of “record”, by substituting “optically (including cloud storage)” for “optically”,

(d) in the definition of “supply”, by substituting for “payment.” the following

“payment;

‘vehicle’ means any conveyance in or by which any person or thing, or both, is or are, as the case may be, transported which is designed for use on land, in water or in the air, or in more than one of those ways, and includes—

(a) a part of a vehicle,

(b) an article designed as a vehicle but not capable of functioning as a vehicle, and

(c) any container, trailer, tank or any other thing which is or may be used for the storage of goods in the course of carriage and is designed or constructed to be placed on, in, or attached to, any vehicle.” and

(e) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following paragraph:

“(5) For the avoidance of doubt, a reference in these Regulations to ”other thing“ includes reference to passengers’ personal luggage and goods sent to persons.”.

Amendment of Regulation 9

4. The principal Regulations are amended by substituting for Regulation 9 the following–

“9. A person who imports, or causes to be imported, an animal or animal product that is required to be accompanied by a Common Health Entry Document that is not accompanied by a duly completed Common Health Entry Document to the place of destination indicated on the Common Health Entry Document, commits an offence.”.

Amendment of Regulation 11

5. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 11–

(a) in paragraph (1), by substituting for subparagraph (b) the following:

“(b) fails to present an animal or animal product referred to in paragraph (a)–

(i) at the border control post to which notification under Article 56 of the European Regulation relates, or

(ii) at the time of first arrival on European Union territory, or”, and

(b) by inserting the following paragraph after paragraph (1):

“(1A) Notwithstanding paragraph (1)(a), a person may import an animal or animal product mentioned in Article 47 (1) that is exempted from official controls at a border control post by the following delegated acts adopted in accordance with Article 48 of the European Regulation if that animal or animal product is imported in accordance with that Delegated Regulation, in particular–

(a) Articles 3, 4, 6, 7, 10 or 11 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2122,

(b) Articles 3, 4 or 5 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/2126, or

(c) Article 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/630 of 16 February 2021.”.

Amendment of Regulation 12

6. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 12 by inserting the following after “permitting such removal”:

“where official controls at the BCP are applicable”.

Amendment of Regulation 13

7. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 13(2) by inserting the following after “paragraph (1) (a)”:

“other than at the place of destination”.

Amendment of Regulation 14

8. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 14–

(a) in paragraph (3), by substituting for “Article 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/628 of 6 April 2019” the following:

“Article 6 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 of 16 December 2020”, and

(b) by substituting for paragraph (4) the following:

“(4) A person who, in respect of an official certificate to which Article 4(2) of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 of 16 December 2020 applies–

(a) fails to complete the certificate,

(b) completes the certificate other than in accordance with that provision, or

(c) fails to provide information on consignments in accordance with Article 4(3) of that Regulation,

commits an offence.”.

Amendment of Regulation 20

9. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 20(b) by substituting “other than in compliance with the conditions set out in” for “in contravention of”.

Insertion of Regulation 23A

10. The Principal Regulations are amended by inserting after Regulation 23, but in Part 6, the following:

“Appointment of authorised officer

23A. (1) The Minister may appoint in writing such persons or classes of persons as he or she considers appropriate to be authorised officers for the exercise of all or any of the functions conferred on an authorised officer under these Regulations, as specified in the appointment.

(2) The Minister may terminate the appointment of an authorised officer appointed by him or her, whether or not the appointment was for a fixed period or specified purpose.

(3) An appointment as an authorised officer ceases—

(a) if it is terminated pursuant to paragraph (2),

(b) if it is for a fixed period, on the expiry of that period,

(c) if it is for a specified purpose, on the completion of that purpose, or

(d) if the person appointed is an officer of the Minister or member of a class of person, upon the person ceasing to be such an officer or member.

(4) Nothing in paragraph (3) is to be construed so as to prevent the Minister from reappointing as an authorised officer a person to whom that paragraph relates.

(5) An authorised officer appointed under this Regulation shall be furnished with a warrant of his or her appointment and, when exercising a power conferred on him or her, an authorised officer within the meaning of these Regulations shall, if requested by a person affected, produce the warrant or evidence that he or she is such an officer to the person.”.

Amendment of Regulation 28

11. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 28–

(a) by substituting in paragraph (1)(i) “land or vehicle” for “land”, and

(b) by inserting after paragraph (8) the following:

“(9) An import control notice shall include an address for service of an appeal under Regulation 29.”.

Amendment of Regulation 29

12. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 29 by substituting for paragraph (2) the following:

“(2) Notice of an appeal shall contain a statement of the grounds upon which it is alleged that the notice or any of the terms of the notice are unreasonable and shall be served on the authorised officer who served the compliance notice at the address included on the notice in accordance with Regulation 28 not later than 48 hours prior to the hearing of the appeal.”.

Amendment of Regulation 32

13. The Principal Regulations are amended in Regulation 32(1)–

(a) by substituting for paragraph (1) the following:

“32. (1) A person who contravenes Regulation 8 (2), 21 (1) or (10), 22 (1) or (11), 23 (1) or (11), 25 (1) or (2), 28 (5) or 31 (3) commits an offence.”, and

(b) in paragraph (2) by inserting after “Regulation 10 (1),” the following: “ 11(1)(b),”.

Amendment of Schedule 1

14. The Principal Regulations are amended in Schedule 1–

(a) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 1 but before the semicolon the following:

“and Regulation (EU) 2021/1756 Of The European Parliament And Of The Council of 6 October 2021⁶ ”,

(b) by substituting for the matter set out at reference No. 2 the following:

“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/405 of 24 March 2021⁷ as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/606 of 14 April 2021⁸ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1327 of 10 August 2021⁹ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1469 of 10 September 2021¹⁰ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/34 of 22 December 2021¹¹ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/363 of 2 March 2022¹² , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1389 of 2 August 2022¹³ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2293 of 18 November 2022¹⁴ and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/514 of 8 March 2023¹⁵ ;”,

(c) by substituting for the matter set out at reference No. 3 the following:

“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2235 of 16 December 2020¹⁶ as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/617 of 14 April 2021¹⁷ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/619 of 15 April 2021¹⁸ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1329 of 10 August 2021¹⁹ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1469 of 10 September 2021²⁰ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1471 of 18 August 2021²¹ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/7 of 5 January 2022²² , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/36 of 11 January 2022²³ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/854 of 31 May 2022²⁴ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1219 of 14 July 2022²⁵ , Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2504 of 19 December 2022²⁶ and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/636 of 25 March 2025²⁷ ;”,

(d) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 5 but before the semicolon the following:

“as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/547 of 29 March 2021²⁸ ”,

(e) by substituting for the matter set out at reference No. 8 the following:

“Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/632 of 13 April 2021²⁹ as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/176 of 9 February 2022³⁰ and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/1322 of 25 July 2022³¹ ;”,

(f) by deleting the matter set out at reference No. 10 and 11,

(g) by substituting for the matter set out at reference No. 12 the following:

“Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2292 of 6 September 2022³² as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1149 of 5 April 2023³³ , Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2652 of 15 September 2023³⁴ and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/637 of 29 January 2025³⁵ ”,

(h) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 18 but before the semicolon the following:

“as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2089 of 21 September 2021³⁶ ”,

(i) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 19 but before the semicolon the following:

“as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2089 of 21 September 2021, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/887 of 28 March 2022, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/182 of 23 November 2022³⁷ and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1674 of 19 June 2023”,

(j) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 20 but before the semicolon the following:

“as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/2190 of 29 October 2020³⁸ and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2305 of 21 October 2021³⁹ ”,

(k) by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 22 but before the full stop the following:

“as amended by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/2141 of 3 December 2021⁴⁰ ;”,

(l) by inserting after the entry at reference number 22 but before the full stop the following entries:

“23. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/2236 of 16 December 2020⁴¹ ;

24. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1641 of 5 November 2020⁴² ;

25. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/630 of 16 February 2021⁴³ as amended by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/887 of 28 March 2022⁴⁴ , Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/1674 of 19 June 2023⁴⁵ and Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2652 of 15 September 2023⁴⁶ ;

26. Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2022/575 of 6 April 2022⁴⁷ ;

27. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/2598 of 4 October 2024⁴⁸ ”;

28. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/403 of 24 March 2021⁴⁹ .

Amendment of Schedule 4

15. The Principal Regulations are amended in Schedule 4, by inserting after the matter set out at reference No. 12 the following:

“13 Eurofins Food Testing Ireland Limited, Unit D13 North City Business Park, North Road, Dublin 11, Finglas

14 Eurofins Scientific, Neulander Kamp 1, 21079 Hamburg, GERMANY

15 CER Groupe, Novalis Science ParkRue de la Science 8 - 6900 Aye, Belgium

16 Wageningen Food Safety Research (WFSR), part of Wageningen University & Research, PO Box 230, 6700 AE Wageningen, The Netherlands”.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

5 February, 2026.

MARTIN HEYDON,

Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations amend the European Union (Imports of Animals and Animal Products from Third Countries) Regulations 2020 ( S.I. No. 656 of 2020 ). The Regulations update certain provisions of the principal Regulations to reflect developments in European Union legislation governing official controls and the import of animals and animal products from third countries, and provide for the appointment of authorised officers, amend provisions relating to import controls and update approved laboratories.

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3 OJ L 321, 12.12.2019, p. 111

4 OJ L 357, 8.10.2021, p. 27

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9 OJ L 288, 11.8.2021, p. 28

10 OJ L 321, 13.9.2021, p. 21

11 OJ L 8, 13.1.2022, p. 1

12 OJ L 69, 4.3.2022, p. 40

13 OJ L 210, 11.8.2022, p. 1

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20 OJ L 321, 13.9.2021, p. 21

21 OJ L 326, 15.9.2021, p. 1

22 OJ L 2, 6.1.2022, p. 1

23 OJ L 8, 13.1.2022, p. 36

24 OJ L 150, 1.6.2022, p. 69

25 OJ L 188, 15.7.2022, p. 75

26 OJ L 325, 20.12.2022, p. 62

27 OJ L, 2025/636, 30.4.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2025/636/oj

28 OJ L 109, 30.3.2021, p. 60

29 OJ L 132, 19.4.2021, p. 24

30 OJ L 29, 10.2.2022, p. 4

31 OJ L 200, 29.7.2022, p. 25

32 OJ L 304, 24.11.2022, p. 1

33 OJ L 152, 13.6.2023, p. 1

34 OJ L, 2023/2652, 28.11.2023, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2023/2652/oj

35 OJ L, 2025/637, 29.4.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2025/637/oj

36 OJ L 427, 30.11.2021, p. 149

37 OJ L 26, 30.1.2023, p. 5

38 OJ L 434, 23.12.2020, p. 3

39 OJ L 461, 27.12.2021, p. 5

40 OJ L 433, 6.12.2021, p. 5

41 OJ L 442, 30.12.2020, p. 410

42 OJ L 370, 6.11.2020, p. 4

43 OJ L 132, 19.4.2021, p. 17

44 OJ L 154, 7.6.2022, p. 23

45 OJ L 216, 1.9.2023, p. 1

46 OJ L, 2023/2652, 28.11.2023, p. 1

47 OJ L 109, 08/04/2022, p. 69

48 OJ L, 2024/2598, 7.10.2024, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2024/2598/oj

49 OJ L 113, 31.3.2021, p. 1