Changes in shipment after consent

If any changes are made to the details and/or conditions of a consented shipment, including quantity, route, routing, date of shipment or carriers, the notifier shall inform the competent authorities concerned and the consignee immediately and, where possible, before shipments commence.  Therefore, in order to allow sufficient processing time, the ERA requires that a formal amendment request in writing (through e-mail), including all details and giving appropriate reasons, is lodged at least five full-working days prior to any planned shipments. Copies of the original amendment documents approved by the ERA including accompanying documentation shall be sent to all competent authorities concerned for their information by the notifier according to Article 17 of the Regulation. Evidence of this transmission shall be forwarded to the ERA in writing (through e-mail). The ERA shall not be held responsible for any delays or cancellation of shipments due to late, invalid or incomplete requests.

 Expiry of notification

A Notification shall be considered expired if:

  • The consent indicated in Block 20 of the Notification Form has elapsed, or
  • All waste shipments allowed under the Notification have been utilized before the expiry date, or
  • The maximum quantity of waste allowed under the Notification is exceeded before the expiry date, or
  • If any of the competent authorities concerned withdraw their consent.

Interim operations

Shipments of waste can undergo interim operations in an interim facility prior to transport to a non-interim facility for final non-interim operations. Most often interim operations consist of pre-processing or temporary storage of waste. For shipments of waste destined for interim operations, the notifier needs to complete an additional Movement Tracking Document which shall accompany the Movement Form throughout its route. Templates of this document are available from the ERA upon request.

Third party insurance requirements (Annex II No. 21 of Regulation (EC) 1013/2006 on shipments of waste)

When signing the declaration in Block 17 of the Notification document kindly be reminded that you are also confirming that appropriate insurance against liability for damage to third parties is in place for shipping the waste. The insurance must be in place when you make the notification. Any competent authority concerned may also ask for a copy of the insurance arrangements. This requirement is separate from the requirement of a financial guarantee or equivalent insurance pursuant to Article 6 of WSR.

Language

The official languages of the Authority are Maltese and English. A sworn translation from the original language can be requested by the Authority for documents or communications received in other languages at expense of the applicant.

Pre-consented facilities

Competent authorities may decide to issue a pre-consent to certain treatment facilities under their jurisdiction. Exports to pre-consented facilities can be covered by Notifications for up to three years while standard consented facilities are covered by a maximum period of one year. Therefore, interested individuals are kindly requested to verify whether the intended treatment facility is pre-consented or not.

Time periods for consent

  • For shipments of waste destined for recovery or disposal within the Community the competent authorities of destination, dispatch and transit shall have 30-days following the transmission of the acknowledgement from the competent authority of destination to submit their consent/refusal and any imposed conditions to the notifier, copying all competent authorities. Tacit consent by the competent authority of transit may be assumed if no objection is lodged within the 30-day time limit.
  • For shipments of waste destined for disposal within the Community with transit via one or more third countries the competent authority of dispatch shall ask the competent authority of third countries whether they wish to send their written consent to the planned shipment. In case of parties to the Basel Convention, within 60-days following the transmission of the acknowledgement from the competent authority of destination, unless it has waived this right in accordance with the terms of that Convention or in the case of countries not parties to the Basel Convention, within a period agreed between the competent authorities.
  • For shipments of waste destined for recovery within the Community with transit via one or more third countries to which the OECD Decision does not apply, Article 31 of the WSR shall apply. However, when a shipment of waste takes place within the Community, including shipments between localities in the same Member State, with transit via one or more third countries to which the OECD Decision applies, and the waste is destined for recovery, the consent referred to in Article 9 may be provided tacitly. Therefore, if no objection is lodged or no conditions have been specified, the shipment may start 30-days following the transmission of the acknowledgement from the competent authority of destination.

Last updated: 24/09/2020