Procedure for confirming special knowledge of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production

APPROVED
Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine

of 2 June 2022 No. 326

Registered with the Ministry
of Justice of Ukraine
16 June 2022
No. 669/38005

PROCEDURE
for confirming special knowledge of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production

1. General provisions
2. This Procedure establishes the procedure for confirming special knowledge of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production by way of passing a qualifying examination and obtaining a certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products.
3. For the purposes of this Procedure the following definitions shall apply:

applicant shall mean an individual intending to take the qualifying examination;

qualifying examination shall mean a written examination conducted to test and confirm that the applicant has special knowledge in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products, which involves testing theoretical knowledge of the general requirements of the legislation of Ukraine in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products and special knowledge in the relevant branch(es) of organic production selected by the applicant;

certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall mean a document that determines competency of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products to carry out the types of work specified therein to verify compliance of production and/or circulation of products with the requirements of the legislation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products;

repeated serious breach of legal requirements by an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall mean breach of legislation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products while verifying compliance of production and/or circulation of organic products with the requirements of the legislation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products, which cannot be remedied and which has occurred two or more times within one calendar year.

Other terms shall be used in the meanings set out in the Law of Ukraine “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labelling of Organic Products.”

1. Requirements to the applicant
2. The applicant shall meet the requirements as follows:

have at least the first (bachelor degree) level of education in the field of agricultural sciences, at least three years of working experience in the agricultural sector and/or in the food (processing) industry, and possess special knowledge in the field of organic production, or

have the first (bachelor degree) level of education, at least five years of working experience in an agricultural sector and/or in the food or processing industry, and possess special knowledge in the field of organic production.

To acquire special knowledge in the field of organic production, the applicant shall be trained (instructed) on organic production, circulation, labelling of organic products and certification in this field

2. An inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products may not be an individual who is employed in the public service, has labour and/or civil law relations with operators and/or executive authorities that carry out state administration and regulation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products.

III. Board responsible for preparing and conducting the qualifying examination

1. To arrange preparation and conduction of the qualifying examinations, a board for preparation and conduction of the qualifying examination (hereinafter referred to as the Board) shall be established, and its personnel, including its head, deputy head and secretary, shall be approved by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

Head of the Board is an authorised person of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.

The Board shall comprise representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, State Fisheries Agency, State Forest Resources Agency, NGOs in the field of organic production (subject to consent).

The Board shall consist of at least 6 but not more than 12 persons.

A Board meeting shall be deemed valid if at least 2/3 of its total members are present.

In case of absence of the Board head their functions shall be undertaken by the Board deputy head.

In case of absence of the Board secretary their functions shall be undertaken by the Board deputy head or, upon instruction of the Board head, by another Board member.

2. The procedure of arrangement for each qualifying examination shall establish the absence/presence of potential conflict of interest of the Board members in relation to the applicants, guarantee confidentiality of the content of the examination tests, their further proper checking, impartial and objective treatment of all applicants, and prevention of any form of preference to individual applicants.
3. In case of any potential conflict of interests with regard to any applicant the respective Board member may not participate in arranging and conducting the qualifying examination.
4. The applicant willing to take the qualifying examination shall submit to the Board documents as follows in accordance with the established procedure:

an application for taking a qualifying examination to confirm special knowledge in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products (hereinafter — the application) in the form according to Annex 1 to this Procedure;

a copy of the passport;

a copy of the document on higher education;

a copy of the document confirming the length of work experience in the agricultural sector and/or the food (processing) industry;

a copy of the document confirming training (instruction) on organic production, circulation, labelling of organic products and certification in this field.

Copies of documents relating to the applicant shall be certified by the applicant personally by affixing the personal signature of the person certifying the copy, the applicant’s initials and name, with the mark “In accordance with the original”, and the date when the copy was certified.

Copies of documents made at companies, institutions and organisations shall be certified by an authorised person of such company, institution or organisation.

5. The decision to admit or refuse to admit an applicant to the qualifying examination shall be taken by the Board. The secretary of the Board shall make appropriate notes in the applicant’s application.

The grounds for taking a decision to deny an applicant admission to the qualifying examination shall be as follows:

detection of inaccurate information in the submitted documents;

non-compliance with the requirements for the applicant, defined by the section II;

existence of at least one restriction and/or prohibition related to a court decision on limitation of legal capacity or recognition of an individual as incapacitated, and/or conditions established by part three of Article 30 of the Law of Ukraine “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labelling of Organic Products.”

failure to submit or submission of improperly executed documents provided for in clause 4 of this section.

1. Conducting the qualifying examination
2. The qualifying examination procedure shall comprise three stages as follows:

arrangements for the qualifying examination;

conducting the qualifying examination;

assessing the applicants’ knowledge and summarising the results of the qualifying examination.

Arrangements for the qualifying examination shall be made by the Board Secretary.

2. In order to arrange and conduct the qualifying examination, the Board shall, not later than 10 days prior to the date of the qualifying examination, determine:

day, time and place of the qualifying examination;

duration of the qualifying examination;

list of questions to be offered at the qualifying examination;

examination tests;

list of applicants pre-qualified and/or not admitted to the qualifying examination.

3. The decision of the Board on arrangements for the qualifying examination shall be documented in a protocol signed by all Board members.

Information on the matters referred to in paragraphs two to four of clause 2 of this section shall be published on the official website of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy no later than the next business day after the day of the decision.

Information on the matters referred to in paragraphs two and three of clause 2 of this section shall be sent to each applicant pre-qualified to take the qualifying examination to the e-mail address specified in their application no later than the next business day after the day of the decision.

Each applicant not admitted to the qualifying examination shall be sent an extract from the protocol to the email address specified in their application no later than the next business day after the day of the decision.

4. The qualifying examination shall be conducted in the form of testing (examination tests).

From the list of questions to be submitted for the qualifying examination, the Board shall formulate:

an examination test to check theoretical knowledge of the general requirements of Ukrainian legislation in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products (hereinafter — the general test);

examination tests to check special knowledge in the branches of organic production in accordance with Article 13 of the Law of Ukraine “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labelling of Organic Products” (hereinafter — the branch-specific tests).

The qualifying examination includes passing the general test and one or more branch-specific tests chosen by the applicant.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy shall stamp each sheet of the examination test.

5. The qualifying examination shall be conducted simultaneously for all pre-qualified applicants. If the number of applicants exceeds 30 persons, the applicants shall be divided into groups and the qualifying examination shall be held in accordance with the date and time of the qualifying examination set by the Board.
6. Applicants who arrive at the exam must present a passport or other identity document. In case of failure to present it, the applicant shall not be allowed to take the qualifying examination.
7. Prior to the qualifying examination, the secretary of the Board shall inform the applicants about duration and conditions of the examination.

The Board secretary shall make sure that all applicants have understood the conditions of the qualifying examination and, if necessary, provide additional explanations. Any disputes shall be resolved by the Board by voting. In the event of an equal distribution of votes, the vote of the Board head or the Board deputy head acting as such shall be decisive.

8. The premises and places for taking the qualifying examination shall be convenient, the placement of seats shall make it impossible for the applicants to communicate with each other and ensure individual preparation of answers to the questions of the examination tests. The applicants may not leave the premises without permission until the end of the qualifying examination.
9. The test envelopes shall be opened during the qualifying examination in the presence of the applicants.
10. The qualifying examination shall be held in the state language.
11. The applicant shall indicate his/her name, first name and patronymic (if available), and the date of the examination on each sheet of the examination test.
12. After the expiry of the time allocated for the qualifying examination, the applicants’ examination tests shall be submitted to the Board for checking and grading.
13. The examination tests of the applicants shall be checked by the Board.
14. The applicant shall be awarded one point for each correct answer.
15. The result shall be calculated by determining the percentage of correct answers out of the total number of questions in the examination test.
16. The percentage of correct answers to the applicant’s examination test shall be indicated on the applicant’s answer sheet and entered into the examination record of the qualifying examination.
17. An applicant shall be deemed to have successfully passed the qualifying examination if he or she has scored at least 70 per cent of the maximum score on the general test and one or more branch-specific tests.

An applicant shall be deemed to have failed the qualifying examination if he/she:

has scored less than 70 per cent of the maximum score in the general test (such an applicant shall not be allowed to take the branch-specific test(s));

has scored less than 70 per cent of the maximum score in the branch-specific test, provided that he/she has taken only one branch-specific test.

18. Based on the results of the qualifying examination, the Board shall decide to issue or refuse to issue the certificates of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products. The decision of the Board shall be documented in a protocol signed by all Board members.
19. The results of the qualifying examination for each applicant shall be sent to each of them at the email address specified in the application within three business days after the examination.
20. The applicant who has successfully passed the qualifying examination shall be granted a certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the form according to Annex 2to this Procedure. The certificate shall include only those areas of organic production in which the applicant has scored at least 70 per cent of the maximum score in the branch-specific test.
21. The applicant who has failed the qualification exam may be admitted to retake it no earlier than after two months.
22. The certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products and its duplicate
23. The certificate shall indicate:

the name of the central executive authority that issued the certificate;

number and date of issue;

name, first name, patronymic (if available) of the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products;

number and date of the Board’s protocol;

branches of organic production in which the certificate holder has special knowledge to perform the functions of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products;

position title, name, initials and signature of the authorised person of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy (head of the Board).

The certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall be issued by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy no later than 15 working days from the date of the qualifying examination. The certificate shall be valid for five years.

2. Should the certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products become unusable due to its damage or loss, the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall submit to the Ministry of Agrarian Policy an application for issuance of a duplicate certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in any form.
3. Based on the received application for duplicate issuance, a duplicate certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall be issued within 15 working days after the application has been received.

The validity period of a duplicate certificate may not exceed the validity period specified in the certificate that was lost or damaged.

4. The certificate of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products shall be revoked by the Board:

upon request of the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products;

by a court decision, including limiting the legal capacity of an individual who is an inspector of organic production and/or circulation of organic products, declaring him/her incapacitated or missing;

in case the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection has established the fact of systematic gross violation of the requirements of the legislation by the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products;

on the basis of a death certificate.

1. Appeal against the results of the qualifying examination
2. The Board’s decision can be challenged at the Ministry of Agrarian Policy or in a judicial procedure.
3. In case of disagreement with the results of the qualification examination, the applicant may file an appeal with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy (hereinafter referred to as the appeal), which shall be considered with the view to check the objectivity of the assessment and may not result in retaking the qualifying examination and/or any part thereof.
4. A board of appeal shall be established to resolve appeals against the results of the qualifying examination.
5. The board of appeal shall comprise representatives of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy, State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection, State Fisheries Agency, State Forest Resources Agency, NGOs in the field of organic production (subject to consent).

The staff of the board of appeal, including its head, deputy head and secretary, shall be approved in accordance with the procedure established by clause 1 of section III of this Procedure. The members of the board of appeal may not be members of the Board.

5. The procedure of the qualifying examination results review shall establish the absence/presence of potential conflict of interest of the members of the board of appeal in relation to the applicants, guarantee proper checking of the examination tests, impartial and objective treatment of all appealing applicants, and prevention of any form of preference to individual applicants.
6. An appeal in any form shall be filed with the Board no later than the next business day after the day the applicant receives the results of the qualifying examination.

The Board shall not accept appeals filed later than the deadline set forth in this clause.

7. Submission of an appeal by an applicant shall not nullify the results of the qualifying examination and the decision of the Board to issue or refuse to issue certificates of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products.

The appeal shall nullify the respective results of the applicant’s qualifying examination. Based on the results of the appeal, the applicant’s examination tests shall be re-evaluated.

8. The appeal shall be considered on the day and time set by the head of the board of appeal, but no later than three business days after the appeal has been received.
9. The decision of the board of appeal shall be documented in a protocol signed by all members of the board of appeal.
10. An extract from the protocol shall be sent to the appealing applicant no later than the next business day after the day of the decision to the email address specified in his/her application.

APPLICATION
for taking a qualifying examination to confirm special knowledge in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products

CERTIFICATE
of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products

Annex 1
to the Procedure for confirming special knowledge of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production
(clause 4 section ІІІ)

APPLICATION
for taking a qualifying examination to confirm special knowledge in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products

(the applicant shall fill in the form typing or writing in printed letters; the application can be typed on one or both sides of the sheet)

I hereby request to be admitted to the qualifying examination in the branches of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products as follows, in order to test and confirm the level of my special knowledge in the field of organic production, circulation and labelling of organic products (mark as necessary with › or › or Ö):

› organic crop production (including production of seeds and planting material);

› organic livestock production (including production of poultry; beekeeping);

› organic mushroom production (including organic yeast production);

› organic aquaculture;

› organic seaweed production;

› organic foodstuff production (including organic winemaking);

› organic fodder production;

› preparation of organic wild plant products.

Personal details

Consent to personal data processing

(to be filled in by the Board secretary; mark as necessary with › or › or Ö and fill in the necessary data)

____________________
*  Indicate the type of premises — apartment, room, study or office, etc.

Annex 2
to the Procedure for confirming special knowledge of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production
(clause 20 section IV)

UKRAINE

_____________________________________________________________________________

(name of the central executive authority issuing the certificate)

CERTIFICATE
of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products

No.__________

Kyiv                                                                                                         «____» ____________ 20___

issued by __________________________________________________________________________
(name of the central executive authority issuing the certificate)

____________________________________________________________________________________

(name, first name, patronymic (if available) of the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products)

based on the results of successful confirmation of special knowledge of the inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the field of organic production and on the basis of the Law of Ukraine “On Basic Principles and Requirements for Organic Production, Circulation and Labelling of Organic Products”, the protocol of the board for preparing and conducting the qualifying examination dated  ____ ____________ 20___  № _______.

This certificate confirms that the holder thereof possesses special knowledge to carry out the functions of an inspector for organic production and/or circulation of organic products in the following branches of organic production:

_____________________________________________________________________________________