| Legislative： |
1. Full text of 9 rules was promulgated by the Council of
Agriculture on June 6, 2019 per Order Nung-Liang-Tzu-Tze
1081069451A. |
| Content： |
1. These Rules have been established by the Council of
Agriculture, Executive Yuan (hereinafter referred to as
the COA) to review and assess countries or members of
World Trade Organization (WTO) in organic equivalence in
accordance with Article 9 of the Enforcement Rules for
Organic Agriculture Promotion Act.
2. Any country or WTO member who applies for review of organic
equivalence (hereinafter collectively referred to as the
Applicant) shall file applications with the following
documents, to the COA:
(1) A letter of application, specifying the scope of the
products applied for review and the information of contact
persons;
(2) A comparison of the laws and regulations for management of
organic agriculture between the Applicant and the ROC;
(3) Status of organic agriculture, which shall include the
amount of certification bodies, the amount of certified
farmlands and processing factories and the area of cultivation
certified organic; and
(4) Management framework and measures for organic products,
which shall include product testing, examination of labeling and
disposal of violation cases, among other matters.
3. To conduct the review indicated in the previous article,
the COA may invite relevant government authorities, experts,
scholars, industries or institutions and organizations which
have interests involved on a case-by-case basis to form the
organic equivalence review team (hereinafter referred to
as the Review Team), which shall participate in the review.
The COA may require the Applicant to cooperate for on-site
assessment, if necessary.
4. For conducting the on-site assessment in the previous
article, except for competent staff designated by the COA,
the COA may also appoint at least one person respectively
from accreditation bodies, the Review Team and the experts
or scholars in the field of relevant technologies, to form
the assessment team, which shall participate in on-site
assessment operation.
5. Targets to be assessed on-site by the assessment team are
listed below and may be expanded if necessary.
(1) Accreditation bodies, or conformity assessment institutions
with equivalent functions;
(2) Certification bodies: Preferably, two certification bodies
shall be assessed (headquarters assessment). The number of
certification bodies to be assessed may be increased or reduced,
if necessary.
(3) Operators: Two of the operators that have been certified by
the certification body shall be assessed (witness assessment).
The number of operators to be assessed may be increased, if
necessary.
6. An on-site assessment schedule for the assessment team
shall be prepared and submitted by the Applicant to
the COA and shall be followed only with the consent of
the COA. Local transportation and translation expenses
incurred during the assessment period shall be borne by the
Applicant. Expenses of flight tickets to/from the applying
country or area, meals, accommodations and relevant matters
shall be borne by the COA.
7. From the arrival of the assessment team members at the
airport in the territory of the Applicant, the Applicant
shall arrange staff to provide pick-up and drop-off services
and shall also designate a person or persons to accompany
the assessment team all the way throughout the assessment
so as to ensure the successful completion of the assessment
schedule and the safety of the assessment personnel.
8. Preferably, the assessment team shall conduct on-site
assessment in Chinese. In a non-Chinese speaking country,
the Applicant shall arrange a person who is proficient
in the local language and Chinese to interpret for the
assessment team.
9. The assessment team shall submit an assessment report in
Chinese to the COA after returning to the ROC. The COA shall
have it translated into English and then deliver an English
copy to the Applicant in writing.
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