Schemes for placing fertilizers on the market
Overview and description of the 4 existing schemes:
There are several schemes for the placing on the market of fertilizers, soil improvers, plant biostimulants and substrates (hereinafter referred to as fertilizers) in the Czech Republic:
1. Registration - according to § 3 of Act No. 156/1998 Coll.
2. Notification - according to Section 3a of Act No. 156/1998 Coll.
3. CE fertilizing product - according to Regulation (EC) No. 2019/1009 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
4. Mutual Recognition - according to Regulation (EC) No. 2019/515 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
By Decree No. 474/2000 Coll. the type products that can be notified or registered without testing are determined.
All 4 marketing schemes exist side by side. We can therefore encounter the same product in the distribution, once marketed on the basis of national rules (registration or notification under the law), once on the basis of the legal rules of the European Union.
However, the CE fertilizing product must meet all the requirements of either the Regulation or the Czech law, it is not possible to combine the requirements of both standards in any way, e.g. by using the existing label of a registered fertilizer and adding the CE marking. A product labelled as CE fertilizing product can be placed on the markets of all EU countries without any further obstacles (labelled in the national languages of the respective countries), whereas registration or notification allows placing on the market only in the Czech Republic.
For all the fertilizers mentioned above, ÚKZÚZ carries out official controls, i.e. it takes control samples at the manufacturers and in the distribution and trade network and supervises whether these products are properly packaged, labelled, but also stored and used in accordance with the requirements of the law or regulation.
If the applicant does not make use of the notification option, a type fertilizer can also be registered. If the fertilizer does not correspond to the types, the ÚKZÚZ shall carry out an examination or assessment of its properties via biological tests, or it shall accept the result of the examination or assessment carried out by other expert bodies. In such cases, the time limit for registration is 6 months (no tests), 18 months (tests in containers) or 36 months (tests in the field). The registration of fertilizers is subject to a fee of CZK 10 000 and the applicant pays the costs of sample analysis or biological tests, if carried out by the ÚKZÚZ. The application for registration can be downloaded here.
Notified fertilizers may be placed on the market by the notifier with the written consent of the Institute. If the notifier has not received such consent within 30 days of the date on which the notification was received by the Institute, nor has it received a prohibition on placing on the market within that period, the Institute shall be deemed to have granted consent. The notification of fertilizers shall be free of charge. The electronic notification form can be downloaded here.
Products certified as CE fertilizing product do not need to be registered nor notified in the Czech Republic. They can be directly placed on the market if the requirements of the Regulation are met. The inclusion of a product in the list of CE fertilizing product is free of charge, the application can be downloaded here.
The possibility of so-called mutual recognition is based on Regulation (EC) 2019/515 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the mutual recognition of goods lawfully placed on the market in another Member State. This concerns the free circulation of goods within the EU, in the case of fertilizers, so-called non-harmonised products. The inclusion of a product in the list of mutually recognised products is also free of charge, the application can be downloaded here.