SOIVRE: Customs Documents for Agro-Alimentary Products

Objectives:

• To facilitate trade under fair conditions
• To keep products of unsatisfactory quality out of the market
• To guide production to meet consumer demand
• To guarantee a high quality level of inspections with independence, integrity, and high efficiency
• To support Spanish exports

Benefits of Having SOIVRE Certification:

• Provides confidence to products that obtain it
• Makes products more trustworthy in front of buyers
• In many cases, products with SOIVRE certification will not have to pass through an inspection to enter certain territories

What SOIVRE Checks:

• If the lot is compliant with EU marketing standards
• Documents (identity/marking: origin, classification, amount, dispatcher)
• Physical check according to risk analysis
• Reduced inspection for goods from third countries with approved inspection services
• Re-inspection after rejections

Re-inspection:

When a company disagrees with a SOIVRE inspector's report, the head inspector must be informed. A new inspection will be performed based on the marked samples of the first inspection and a new sample to obtain higher accuracy.

SOIVRE's Five Different Types of Activities:

1) Agro-Alimentary Products Control:

• Food products: agricultural, fish, olive oil, canned food, and similar products contained in a closed list
• Inspection
• Control
• Provision of a conformity certificate of commercial quality

2) Industrial Security Items Control:

• Toys
• Protective equipment
• Electrical equipment
• Clothes
• Shoes
• Inspection
• Control
• Provision of a conformity certificate of commercial quality

3) Voluntary Certificates:

• Required by a private company to demonstrate the quality of its products
• As a result of agreements subscribed with third countries to ease the commerce of certain products

4) Technical Assistance to Traders:

• Provides SOIVRE with added value
• SOIVRE not only performs inspections and provides certificates but also provides support and helps solve problems that arise as a consequence of exports
• Attends consultations
• Makes comparative studies
• Works with entities located at destination countries to avoid inspections at destination

5) Management of CITES Duties in Spain:

• CITES: United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
• SOIVRE's role in CITES:
• Provides information for CITES international operations to importers and exporters of CITES species
• Inspects the import and export of CITES species
• Legalizes CITES species
• Controls the captive breeding and artificial reproduction of CITES species for animals and plants