The European Timber Regulation (EUTR) entered into force on 3rd March 2013 and prohibits the placing of illegally logged timber and derived products on the EU market. It covers timber and timber products originating in the EU as well as in third countries. Link to the website of the EU Timber Regulation

PROCEDURES

There are two competent authorities (CAs): 1) Operators importing products from third countries, traders within the EU and monitoring organisations are checked by the Federal Forest Office. 2) Operators harvesting and trading timber within Austria are checked by the District Forestry Authorities.

OPERATORS

An operator is defined as any natural or legal person that places timber or timber products on the internal market for the first time, against payment as well as free of charge, for certain purposes: 1) Timber harvested within the EU for the purpose of processing or for distribution to commercial or non-commercial consumers 2) Timber and timber products imported into the EU for the purpose of processing or for distribution to commercial or non-commercial consumers 3) Timber harvested within the EU or timber and timber products imported into the EU exclusively for their own operational use

Please note:
- Operators don’t have to register in Austria. The operator’s data is available through the customs data.
- Online traders are operators as soon as the timber is placed on the EU market.

An operator is obliged to set up and maintain a due diligence system to minimize the risk of importing illegally logged timber and derived products (Article 6 of the EUTR).


  List of regulated goods



TRADERS

Traders are persons or enterprises that sell or buy timber or timber products that have already been placed on the internal market for commercial purposes. They are obliged to keep records and information about their suppliers and buyers for at least five years to ensure the traceability of the traded products.

MONITORING ORGANISATIONS

Monitoring organisations are enterprises or organisations that support operators on their behalf in setting up and maintaining their due diligence system.

According to article 8 of the EUTR a monitoring organisation shall:
1) maintain and regularly evaluate a due diligence system as set out in Article 6 and grant operators the right to use it;
2) verify the proper use of its due diligence system by such operators;
3) take appropriate action in the event of failure by an operator to properly use its due diligence system, including notification of competent authorities in the event of significant or repeated failure by the operator.

Monitoring organisations are recognized by the European Commission and checked regularly by the competent authorities of the member states.

List of recognized monitoring organisations in the EU


Contact us by e-mail: legal.timber(at)bfw.gv.at

Dipl.-Ing. Jasmin Putz   Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8, 1131 Wien Tel.: +43 1 87838 1132

Dipl.-Ing. Hannes Krehan   Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8, 1131 Wien Tel.: +43 1 87838 1128

Mag. Stefanie Wieser   Seckendorff-Gudent-Weg 8, 1131 Wien Tel.: +43 1 87838 1262