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Law 12/2013, 2 August, Measures To Improve The Functioning Of The Food Chain.

Original Language Title: Ley 12/2013, de 2 de agosto, de medidas para mejorar el funcionamiento de la cadena alimentaria.

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TEXT

JOHN CARLOS I

KING OF SPAIN

To all who present it and understand it.

Sabed: That the General Courts have approved and I come to sanction the following law.

PREAMBLE

I

Food in Spain is a sign of identity that arises from the great variety and richness of this country's agro-food production that is a consequence of the diversity of its lands, seas, ecosystems and traditions.

The importance, therefore, of everything related to food, does not derive only from the need to satisfy a primary function of every human being, but to the intrinsic relationship that food has traditionally been maintaining with society, the economy and the rural environment in Spain.

This inexorable link has been consolidating over time and generating a sector of vital importance, which has as its ultimate goal not only to meet the demands of consumers, but to generate wealth and contribute significantly to the economic growth and development and progress of the Spanish rural environment.

The agri-food sector in Spain has an undeniable strategic value for the national economy, as evidenced by the economic measures on its share of GDP, in the trade balance, its size, the the number of jobs it generates or its production costs, which place it as the first manufacturing sector and one of those with the highest international projection.

However, it is a vulnerable sector as a whole by its own characteristics, as it integrates a wide range of actors from the production, processing and distribution sectors, which in turn are limited. individually for their idiosyncrasies.

In general, the agricultural sector is affected by a high level of atomisation, in which the majority of small-scale enterprises are integrated. The rigidity of demand, the seasonality and the atomization of supply, the territorial dispersion or the generation of jobs linked to the rural environment, are specific characteristics of the agricultural sector that clearly distinguish it from other sectors. This is the way it shows the treatment it has received in the Treaty establishing the European Union through the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

For its part, the agri-food industry is mainly made up of small and medium-sized enterprises, along with large Spanish and international industrial groups.

The food distribution sector is divided into two types of sales channels. The organised sales channel which is highly concentrated in companies with medium and large selling areas offering a wide range of products which, normally, belong to large retail distribution groups that concentrate demand of the various points of sale, which gives them a great deal of bargaining power vis-à-vis suppliers. The other sales channel is that of the specialized trade, consisting of companies with sales surfaces to the small family size, located in municipal markets, commercial galleries or own sales facilities.

This heterogeneity has undoubtedly conditioned the functioning and relations of the agents operating along the food chain, evidencing deficiencies that have been aggravated in the context of the current crisis. Global economic. The volatility of prices perceived by producers, the high cost of inputs and the instability of international markets, are short-term factors that have reduced the competitiveness and profitability of the agri-food sector.

An analysis of the current situation of the value chain shows the existence of clear asymmetries in the bargaining power that can derive, and sometimes derive, in a lack of transparency in the formation of prices and in potentially unfair commercial practices and anti-competitive practices that distort the market and have a negative effect on the competitiveness of the entire agri-food sector.

The proper functioning of the food supply chain is essential to ensure sustainable added value for all operators that contributes to increasing their global competitiveness and also reverses consumers. It is therefore essential to tackle this problem from a joint perspective which will reach all the players involved in the food chain in such a way as to ensure that the market unit is able to agri-food can fully develop and deploy its full potential.

The guarantee of the market unit in the field of the food chain is a key factor of competitiveness that will allow greater use of economies of scale, division of labor and intensity of the competition, which will reduce production costs, improve productivity and enable higher levels of employment and welfare to be achieved.

II

The Spanish and European society, as well as the national and Community institutions, have not remained beyond the situation affecting the entire agri-food sector resulting from the imbalances between the various links in the chain.

Since the European Commission published its "Communication on improving the functioning of the agri-food chain" in 2009, the initiatives that have been deepening in the analysis and identification of the real problems that are affecting your development.

The various initiatives of the Commission have been joined by other Community institutions: the Councils of Ministers for Competitiveness and Agriculture, the European Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee, which, by means of declarations, Resolutions and reports have highlighted the seriousness and global extent of this problem, underlining the need for States to take measures to address this social and economic problem.

The establishment of the High Level Forum on the Improvement of the Functioning of the Food Chain, at the end of 2011, is the latest step taken by the European Union to seek solutions to ensure greater transparency. of prices, to improve competition, to prevent abuse of power in negotiation and procurement, to prohibit speculation and to promote self-regulation.

In Spain, the Congress of Deputies has carried out several initiatives to urge the government to promote policies aimed at getting value chain operators, especially farmers and (a) to obtain a sufficient benefit for their activity, and to receive sufficient consideration. In compliance with this proposal, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Food Price Observatory was created to create a new environment to help provide more transparency to the markets.

These discussions and analyses of the situation affecting the food chain have also been extended at internal level in most Member States, where various measures of varying scope are implemented but which they share the same purpose.

The common objective of all these Community and national initiatives mentioned in the preceding paragraphs is to achieve the balance of the food chain and to ensure fair, fair and effective competition by maintaining a appropriate level of pricing and informing consumers in an appropriate manner.

III

In the above framework, this law aims to improve the functioning and vertebrate of the food chain in a way that increases the efficiency and competitiveness of the Spanish agri-food sector and reduces the imbalance in trade relations between the different operators of the value chain, in the context of fair competition which is in the interests not only of the sector but also of consumers.

To meet this goal, the law is structured as follows:

A Title I of "General Provisions" seeks the purpose and scope of the Law, its purposes, some definitions and the collaboration that will have to govern the relations of the competent public administrations in the exercise of the actions they perform in the framework of the provisions of this Law.

The scope of the Law extends to commercial relations between all lopers involved in the food chain from production to the distribution of food or food products.

Product deliveries to be made to agri-food cooperatives or associative entities, by the partners of the same, shall be excluded from the application of this law.

However, it will also be commercial operations subject to the provisions of this law, which are carried out between operators of the agri-food chain in the processes of packaging, processing or collection for their subsequent use. marketing, and in any case, purchases of live animals, feed and all raw materials and ingredients used for animal feed. This law will therefore not apply to trade relations affecting the other agri-food inputs.

Also, the scope of Chapter I of Title II of this Law is limited to the commercial relations of operators engaged in commercial, continuous or periodic transactions, the price of which is higher than 2,500 euros, provided that they are in some of the following situations of imbalance:

a) That one of the operators has the condition of the SME and the other is not.

(b) Where, in the case of the placing on the market of unprocessed agricultural products, perishables and food inputs, one of the operators has the status of primary agricultural, livestock, fishing or forestry producer or group of the same and the other does not have it.

c) That one of the operators has a situation of economic dependence with respect to the other operator, understanding for such dependence, that the billing of the product of that respect is at least 30% of the product of the first in the previous year.

Finally, according to the definition of food chain included in Article 5, transport activities, as well as commercial relations with companies, are excluded from the scope of the law. which operate in the hospitality channel, such as retail outlets or retail establishments such as hotels, restaurants, bars and cafes.

In this Title it is important to highlight Article 6, which is dedicated to the collaboration between the Public Administrations, which will be decisive in order to guarantee the proper fulfillment of the content of this law and the principle of market unit.

A Title II with a Chapter I that regulates food contracts that are signed between food chain operators. The most significant novelty, in order to guarantee legal certainty and equity in commercial relations, is the establishment of the obligation to formalize them in writing which will affect the supply contract, the contract of sale and the integration. It is also established that the essential elements of these contracts are expressly included in these written contracts (identification of the parties, object, price, conditions of payment, delivery of products, rights and obligations, the duration and causes and effects of the extinction) agreed freely by the parties in accordance with the guiding principles of this Law. In no case, the requirement of a required form is the existence and validity of the contract.

Finally, electronic auctions and the obligation to maintain documents by operators for a period of two years for the purposes of the relevant controls are also regulated.

The regulation of food contracts is also intended to achieve greater transparency (an outcropping of the shadow economy) in the commercial relations of the food chain.

In Chapter II, abusive business practices are regulated. Amendments to the contractual conditions laid down in the contract are prohibited unless they are made by mutual agreement of the parties. Food contracts shall contain the relevant clauses providing for the procedure for their possible modification and, where appropriate, for the determination of their retroactive effectiveness.

With regard to so-called commercial payments, all additional payments beyond the agreed price are prohibited, except in two specific cases and under restrictive conditions.

In relation to sensitive business information, no other operator may be required to provide information about its products beyond that which is justified in the context of its business relationship. In addition, the information obtained may only be used for the purposes for which it was provided, respecting the confidentiality of the information.

Finally, a precept on brand management that establishes the obligation of operators to manage the brands of food products that offer the consumer, both their own and those of other operators, is included. avoiding practices which are contrary to free competition or which constitute acts of unfair competition in accordance with the provisions of Law 15/2007 of 3 July of the Defence of Competition and Law 3/1991 of 10 January of Unfair Competition, as acts of unlawful advertising in accordance with Law 34/1988 of 11 November, General de Advertising.

Furthermore, the improper use by an operator and in the own benefit of the business initiative of others is prohibited, as well as those that constitute illegal advertising for being disloyal through the use, either in packaging, in the presentation or in the advertising of the product or service of any distinctive elements that cause risk of association or confusion with those of another operator or with trade marks or names of another operator in the terms (a) the provisions of Law 17/2001, of 7 December of Marks and without prejudice to the provisions of the Articles 11 and 12 of the Unfair Competition Act.

In Title III, it regulates good practices in food procurement. Chapter I focuses on the regulation of the Code of Good Business Practices in Food Procurement that would be promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, together with the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness, the Autonomous Communities and organizations and associations representing production, processing, industry or distribution, whose membership will be voluntary by the operators of the chain.

For these purposes, a State Register has been envisaged as a public instrument that would group all food chain operators under the Code mentioned above.

It is also expected that the registration of the operators in the Register will be taken into account in the regulatory regulations of the aids and subsidies that in relation to the food and the food chain will be promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

For its part, Chapter II provides for the possibility of other codes of good commercial practice being promoted by the chain's own operators, which could also be registered, as well as their operators, in the Record.

Following is the regulation of Title IV of the Law in which the Observatory of the Food Chain is created, as a collegiate body attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment. This new body replaces the Food Price Observatory whose rules of creation are repealed by this law, to assume new functions related to the functioning of the food chain and continue to exercise the related to food prices.

The monitoring, advice, consultation, information and study of the functioning of the food chain and food prices will be the functions of the Observatory of the Food Chain. It will also inform the proposal of the Code of Good Practices in the Food Contract regulated in this Law, it will facilitate its knowledge among the operators of the chain and will promote its adhesion and will know of the results of the application of the same in order, where appropriate, to propose the necessary upgrading or upgrading measures. Finally, it may also transfer to the competent authority those breaches of the law which it has detected in the performance of its duties.

Its composition and functioning will be developed regulatively.

In Title V, the sanctioning authority shall be regulated, which shall be applied for the failure to comply with the provisions of this law, making the infringements and penalties punishable and delimiting the competent authorities which, in each case, correspond exercise such power.

It should be noted, in relation to the liability for failure to comply with the obligation to formalise the contracts, that the presumption, which admits proof to the contrary, has been included, of the authorship of the operators who find in a position of greater economic strength in the contractual relationship for breaches of non-compliance with the obligations to formalise the contracts in writing and not to include the ends which they must contain at least.

In order to guarantee a uniform application throughout the territory of the State of the sanctioning regime provided for in this law, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment is expected to promote, through the A sectoral conference which corresponds to the subject matter, the elaboration and approval of common guidelines.

Title VI includes measures to improve the vertebrate of the food chain by promoting integration and other measures to help improve the competitiveness of its operators.

Also, four additional provisions are included.

The additional provision first comes to the modification of the autonomous agency for the Olive Oil which will be renamed the Food and Information Agency, assuming in addition to the functions that it has exercising, those new related to the control of compliance with the provisions of this Law.

The second provision provides for the official control of the agri-food laboratories for the official control of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and establishes the rate that may be required by the provision of their services.

The additional third provision expressly states that the provisions of this law shall be made with the material and personal means for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and its agencies. dependent, without a net increase in expenditure, in particular in relation to staff expenditure.

Two regulatory modification final provisions are also included.

The final provision, first, proceeds to the reform of Law 38/1994, of 30 December, Regulatory of the Agro-Food Interprofessional Organizations. With the new wording, the recent problems of the non-payment of the extension of the norm of interprofessionals of regional scope and of quality figures have been solved. New tasks are also included (including the possibility of making statistical forecasts, regulation of supply and collective bargaining of prices) which must in any event be subject to the provisions of national competition law and Community. Finally, it updates the system of violations and penalties.

With regard to the Second Final Disposition, it amends Law 2/2000, of 7 January, on the Regulatory of the Contract-Type of Agri-Food Products. This amendment responds to the need to improve these instruments essential in the construction of a competitive, efficient and transparent agri-food sector. For this reason, it is necessary to update the system of type contracts in the agri-food field, in order to provide greater stability to the markets, adapting the production in quantity and quality to the demands of the external and internal markets and improving market transparency and competition.

The main changes to the text of this law relate to the possibility of taking into account, where appropriate, the price, price indicators or costs, where in any case the price to be collected as well as the indicators to be applied, freely fixed between the parties. These indicators should be objective, transparent and verifiable, and should not be manipulated and set out in the light of competition rules. It is also appropriate to update the applicable infringements and penalties for non-compliance with the provisions of the law.

TITLE I

General provisions

Article 1. Object.

This Law aims to establish measures to improve the functioning of the food chain in order to achieve the aims set out in Article 3.

Article 2. Scope.

1. This law applies to commercial relations that occur between operators involved in the food chain from production to the distribution of food or food.

For the purposes of this Law, they will not have the consideration of commercial relations and, therefore, they are excluded from their scope, the deliveries of product to agricultural cooperatives and other associative entities, on the part of their members, provided that, by virtue of their statutes, they are obliged to carry out them.

2. They shall also be commercial operations in addition to those provided for in the previous paragraph, those carried out between operators of the agri-food chain in the processes of packaging, processing or collection for subsequent marketing, and in all case, purchases of live animals, feed and all raw materials and ingredients used for animal feed.

3. The scope of Chapter I of Title II of this Law is limited to the commercial relations of traders carrying out commercial transactions whose price is greater than EUR 2,500, provided that they are in some of the the following imbalance situations:

a) That one of the operators has the condition of the SME and the other is not.

(b) Where, in the case of the placing on the market of unprocessed agricultural products, perishables and food inputs, one of the operators has the status of primary agricultural, livestock, fishing or forestry producer or group of the same and the other does not have it.

c) That one of the operators has a situation of economic dependence with respect to the other operator, understanding for such dependence, that the billing of the product of that respect is at least 30% of the product of the first in the previous year.

4. The existence of a written contract in the case of future-sale or deferred-price transactions shall be compulsory, except in cases where, on the basis of a prior assessment, the price of the contract may be estimated to be in any case less than 2,500 euros.

Article 3. Finnish.

These are the purposes of the Law:

(a) Increase, for the benefit of society and consumers, the effectiveness and competitiveness of the food sector as a whole, as well as promoting the creation or improvement of employment, given its importance for the whole of society, the rural environment and the national economy.

b) Improving the functioning and the vertebrate of the food chain, to the benefit of both consumers and operators involved, while ensuring a sustainable distribution of added value, the length of the sectors that integrate it.

c) Promote the introduction of innovation and information and communication technologies in the chain and the development of new distribution channels for food products.

d) To achieve greater balance and transparency in trade relations between different operators, improving access to information and traceability of the food chain, regulating trade practices and promoting codes of good business practice between operators.

e) Strengthen the producer sector and enhance the activities of the agro-food interprofessional organizations.

f) Improving the competitiveness, efficiency and innovation capacity of agricultural production, industry and food processing.

g) To promote the development of the tasks that correspond to the companies of the distribution, in a framework of competitiveness and of respect to the norms of competition.

(h) Contribute to ensuring consumer rights as regards the improvement of comprehensive and effective food and quality information, transparency in the functioning of the supply chain, as well as the availability of sufficient and quality food.

i) Ensuring the market unit for improving the competitiveness of the food chain.

j) To promote the generalization of the culture of sustainability in the food chain as a factor of business social commitment, increase of competitiveness and contribution to the improvement of the quality of production agri-food.

Article 4. Guiding principles.

The commercial relations subject to this Law will be governed by the principles of balance and fair reciprocity between the parties, freedom of pacts, good faith, mutual interest, equitable distribution of risks and responsibilities, cooperation, transparency and respect for free competition on the market.

Article 5. Definitions.

For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions are set:

(a) Food Chain: It is the set of activities carried out by the various operators involved in the production, processing and distribution of food or food products, excluding the activities of transport and hospitality and catering.

b) Food sector: The agricultural, livestock, forestry and fisheries sectors as a whole, as well as the processing and distribution of their products.

(c) Operator: The natural or legal person in the food sector, including a pool, central or joint venture or sale undertaking, which carries out some economic activity in the food chain. Final consumers will not have the status of food chain operators.

(d) Primary producer: A natural or legal person whose principal activity is in agricultural, livestock, forestry or fisheries production.

e) Food or food: Any substance or product intended to be ingested by humans or with a reasonable probability of being ingested, whether or not they have been processed whole or in part. Includes drinks, chewing gum and any substance, including water, voluntarily incorporated into the food during manufacture, preparation or treatment.

(f) Food contract: The person in which one of the parties is obliged to the other for the sale of food or food and food supplies mentioned above, for a certain price, whether it is a sale or a continuous supply. The exception is those that take place with end consumers.

g) Integration Contract: This is the form of a food contract in which one of the parties, called integrator, is obliged to the other party called integrated, to provide all or part of the products, raw materials and inputs necessary for the production of the contract, as well as, where appropriate, to exercise the technical direction and take charge of production at the end of the production cycle. For its part, the integrated is obliged to the integrator, to contribute the grounds, the spaces and the facilities, as well as the means and complementary services that are necessary in order to complete the production and once obtained it, to its delivery to the integrator.

h) Sensitive commercial information: This is a set of technical knowledge that is not in the public domain, which are related to the nature, characteristics or purposes of a product, to the methods or processes for its production, or to the means or forms for distribution or marketing, and the knowledge of which is necessary for the manufacture or marketing of the product.

i) Foreseeable Traceability: The stages of production, processing and distribution of a food or food product that fall within normal forecasts.

Article 6. Collaboration between Public Administrations.

1. The various competent public administrations will adjust the actions they carry out in the framework of what is foreseen in this Law to the principles of mutual information, cooperation and collaboration.

2. In addition, the competent public authorities shall ensure in the application of this law compliance with the current rules on the guarantee of the market unit, by adopting the regulatory, cooperation and cooperation which is necessary in the exercise of its own powers.

3. Where an operator considers that there is an action in the field of application of this law which may be contrary to the principle of market unity, it may use the protection mechanisms and, where appropriate, of challenge, provided for in the legislation in the case of a market unit guarantee.

Article 7. Defending the competition.

The content of the relations governed by this Law, as well as the applicability of the guiding principles in the execution and interpretation of such relations, will be subject to the rules of defense of the competition, without prejudice to the provisions of Community legislation.

TITLE II

Abusive trading practices and practices

CHAPTER I

Food Contracts

Article 8. Formalisation of food contracts.

1. Food contracts must be formalised in writing. Such formalisation must be carried out before the start of the benefits which originate in them.

2. In no case, the requirement of a required form is the existence and validity of the contract.

3. However, in relations between operators in the food chain where the payment of the price is made against the delivery of the foodstuffs, it is not necessary to enter into a food contract, with the parties concerned. the obligation to identify themselves as operators and to document such commercial relations by issuing the corresponding invoice with the requirements laid down in Royal Decree 1619/2012 of 30 November 2000 approving the Regulation on which the duties of invoicing are regulated.

Article 9. Contractual terms.

1. Food contracts covered by this Chapter shall contain at least the following:

a) Identification of Contracting Parties.

b) Contract object.

c) Price of the contract, with express indication of all payments, including applicable discounts, to be determined at fixed or variable level. In the latter case, it will be determined on the basis of objective, verifiable, non-manipulable and expressly established factors in the contract, such as the evolution of the market situation, the volume delivered and the quality or composition of the product, among others.

d) Payment conditions.

e) Delivery and delivery conditions for the products.

(f) Rights and obligations of the contracting parties.

g) Information to be provided by the parties in accordance with the provisions of Article 13 of this Law.

h) Duration of the contract, as well as the conditions of renewal and modification of the contract.

i) Causes, formalization, and effects of contract extinction.

2. The content and scope of the terms and conditions of the contract shall be freely agreed by the parties, taking into account the guiding principles set out in Article 4 of this Law.

Article 10. Conduct of electronic auctions.

1. Food chain operators may enter into public procurement tenders for the purchase or sale of food products, in accordance with the terms established by the rules on the information society among their participants.

The organisation of electronic auctions shall be subject to the principles of transparency, free access and non-discrimination.

2. The auction organisers shall make public the general conditions of access to the auction, the possible participation costs and the award mechanisms.

3. The organisers of each auction shall make public, after the award, the social reason for the successful tenderer. There shall be an obligation to buy or sell by the organizer and for sale or purchase by which he is awarded the whole of the product awarded, under the general conditions of access and unless there is in the conditions the mention at a reserve price, below which the purchase or sale would not be made.

Article 11. Obligation to preserve documents.

1. Food chain operators shall keep all correspondence, documentation and supporting documents, in electronic or paper support, related to food contracts which they conclude within the framework of the provisions of this Agreement. law, for a period of two years.

2. The organisers of electronic auctions will be obliged to maintain for two years a documentary or electronic archive of all the auctions carried out, including information on the identity of the contestants, their offers and formalisation. of the food contract.

CHAPTER II

Abusive business practices

Article 12. Unilateral modifications and unforeseen commercial payments.

1. Amendments to the contractual conditions laid down in the contract are prohibited unless they are made by mutual agreement of the parties. Food contracts shall contain the relevant clauses providing for the procedure for their possible modification and, where appropriate, for the determination of their retroactive effectiveness.

2. Additional payments, on the agreed price, are prohibited unless they relate to the reasonable risk of referring a new product or to the partial financing of a commercial promotion of a product reflected in the unit price for sale to the public and have been agreed upon and expressly included in the relevant written contract, together with the description of the consideration to which such payments are associated.

3. The contract shall establish the mechanisms for the repayment of previous payments which have been paid, where the consideration or promotion activities or similar activities linked thereto have not been implemented within the time-limits and conditions. agreed.

Article 13. Provision of sensitive business information.

1. In the case of food contracts, the information to be provided by the parties for the effective fulfilment of their contractual obligations, as well as the time limit for the delivery of such information, must be specified in writing. the case shall be proportionate and justified on objective grounds relating to the subject-matter of the contract, without prejudice to the application of the rules on the defence of competition.

2. In no case may an operator require another operator of the chain to provide sensitive commercial information about its products, nor may it require documents to verify such information, unless it is included in the written contract in accordance with the terms of the contract. provided in the previous section.

3. Commercially sensitive information obtained in the process of negotiation or execution of a food contract shall be exclusively for the purposes for which it was provided, respecting at all times the confidentiality of the information transmitted or stored.

4. Operators shall not be required to disclose or disclose sensitive commercial information about other operators and, in particular, documents to verify such commercial information.

Article 14. Brand management.

1. Operators shall manage the trade marks of food products which offer the consumer, both their own and other operators, avoiding anti-competitive practices or which constitute acts of unfair competition in accordance with the provisions of the provided for in Law 15/2007 of 3 July of the Defense of Competition and Law 3/1991 of 10 January of Unfair Competition, as well as acts of unlawful advertising in accordance with Law 34/1988 of 11 November, General Advertising.

2. It is prohibited to take advantage of an operator and for the benefit of the business enterprise, as well as those which constitute unlawful advertising for being disloyal by using, either in the packaging, in the the presentation or advertising of the product or service of any distinctive elements that cause risk of association or confusion with those of another operator or with trade marks or names of another operator in the terms defined in the Law 17/2001, of 7 December of Marks and without prejudice to the provisions of Articles 11 and 12 of the Law of Unfair Competition.

TITLE III

Good Practices in Food Procurement

CHAPTER I

Code of Good Practices in the Food Contract

Article 15. Purpose, scope and elaboration.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and the organizations and associations of a higher level than an autonomous community, representative of the operators of the production, the industry or the distribution, will agree a Code of Good Practices in the Food Contract. The Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the Autonomous Communities will also participate in the agreement with the objective of promoting a uniform application code throughout the territory of the State.

2. The Code shall lay down the principles on which commercial relations between the various operators involved in the chain must be based, in order to facilitate the development of their contractual relations, the observance of best practices in the development of such relations and their suitability for the rules and principles referred to in Article 4 of this law.

The Code will also detail commercial practices that foster fair, balanced and loyal relationships among food chain operators.

3. Accession to the Code of Good Trade Practices shall be voluntary by operators in the various areas of the food chain referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article.

4. Since accession to the Code, operators shall be obliged to ensure that their trade relations conform to the principles and rules contained therein and to the use of the systems for the resolution of disputes which may arise in such relationships, following the procedures set out therein.

Article 16. Content.

1. The Code of Good Practice in the Food Contract shall contain the set of principles referred to in Article 15 (2) and, in particular, the obligation of operators who voluntarily adhere to the Code of submit the resolution of any problems that may arise in its relations with other operators to the dispute resolution system that has been expressly designated therein.

It will also include the obligation of operators to record in all contracts that they subscribe in the field of their commercial relations the said commitment to submit the resolution of their conflicts to the system that has was established in the Code to that effect.

In any case, the food chain operators who decide to adhere to the Code undertake to provide the information required to analyze the conflict.

In addition, by the time no agreement has been reached between producer organisations and purchasers in the price of food contracts which have for the purpose of non-processed agricultural products, in their first sale, the include the ability to request mediation by either party. The mediation will be carried out in the terms, under the conditions and with the effects that will be regulated, guaranteeing in any case a neutral, impartial procedure and where the parties intervene with full equality of opportunity. The content of such mediation shall not be binding on the parties unless it has been expressly agreed upon by the parties.

2. The Code may contain, if deemed necessary, specific agreements, at sectoral level, in order to be able to provide more detailed consideration of the specific aspects of those sectors that require it.

3. In order to keep the content of the Code up to date, the Constitution of a Monitoring Committee, consisting of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, the Ministry of Economy and Competitividady, will be set up. representatives of the organisations and associations representing the different operators of the food chain.

To this end, the Commission will take care of the results obtained in the application of the Code and propose, if necessary, the modifications to be introduced for its adaptation to the reality of the moment or the introduction of new commitments not previously mentioned.

4. The content of the Code shall, in any event, respect the rules of defence of the competition and shall be given sufficient publicity for its due knowledge by the set of operators involved.

Article 17. State Registration.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment creates the State Register of Good Practices in the Food Contract as a public instrument that will bring together all those operators that intervene in the chain. Food, voluntarily adhere to the Code referred to in Article 15.

2. Operators who voluntarily adhere to the Code must inform the Food Industry Directorate-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment that they will register.

Once enrolled, operators will be able to use the mention of "Welcome to the Code of Good Practices in the Food Contract".

3. The operators listed in the Register shall be given regular publicity at the electronic headquarters of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and in the Official Gazette of the State.

In addition, the Ministry will periodically carry out state promotion campaigns to inform consumers of the importance and significance of the signing of the Code by the various operators in the chain. agri-food that underwrite it.

4. The procedure for the cancellation of registration in the Register shall be regulated.

5. The registration of operators in the Register shall be taken into account in the rules governing aid and subsidies that are promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Food in relation to food and food chain. Environment.

CHAPTER II

Other codes of good business practices

Article 18. Subscription and promotion of other codes.

1. By way of derogation from the foregoing Articles of this Title, food chain operators may subscribe to other codes of good commercial practice in food procurement with a higher level of demand for food. operators who subscribe to them as established in the Code of Good Practice in the Food Contract. Also, entities representing the interests of the food chain, may promote the elaboration of such codes for companies that operate exclusively or mainly in their territorial scope. In both cases, these codes must comply with the provisions of Title I and II of this Law, as well as in the rest of the legal system, especially in the rules of the defence of competition.

2. The procedure and the requirements to be met by these other codes of good practice, at national or supra-regional level, shall be established so that they can be included in the State Register established pursuant to Article 17. Operators who subscribe to these codes will also be included.

TITLE IV

Food Chain Observatory

Article 19. Creation.

The Food Chain Observatory is created as a collegiate body, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, through the Department's Food Industry Directorate-General.

Article 20. Functions.

1. In general, monitoring, advice, consultation, information and study of the functioning of the food chain and food prices shall be the role of the Food Chain Observatory.

In addition to the above, the Observatory will have the following functions:

a) Inform the proposed Code of Good Practices in the Food Contract regulated in this Law.

b) Inform proposals of other codes of good commercial practices, which are submitted for incorporation into the State Register.

c) To know the outcome of the work carried out by the monitoring committee of the Code, referred to in Article 16 (3), and to propose to it those issues which are considered to be of interest to the improvement and updating of the commitments referred to in the Code.

d) Facilitate knowledge of the Code among chain operators and promote their adherence to the Code.

e) Carry out the monitoring and evaluation of the commercial practices employed by the operators of the chain, by conducting surveys or other market analysis systems, as well as the publication of reports and recommendations.

In the event that breaches of the provisions of the law are detected, as a result of the results of the work carried out, it shall be transferred to the competent authority. It shall also carry out explanatory reports and studies, where appropriate, of the imbalance situations arising in the markets of origin and destination of the food concerned, in particular by analysing the various factors contributing to the the formation of prices for seasonal products.

f) To analyse the basic structure of prices and the factors causing their evolution, in foods of greatest relative importance in production and consumption, in the various steps of their training.

g) Encourage the adoption of good practices and agile conflict resolution systems in the negotiation of contracts related to the first purchase of perishable products.

(h) Conduct regular studies aimed at establishing a systematic monitoring of the formation of final food prices.

(i) Promoting dialogue and intercommunication between representatives of the producer sector, industry, commercial distribution and consumers, with each other and with public administrations, in order to provide the largest rational and transparent the process of food price formation, compatible with the market economy framework, in a system of openness to competition, to the benefit of society as a whole.

j) Develop proposals for action by the competent authorities and recommendations to the various economic operators, public or private companies and institutions designed to maintain the necessary stability in a development framework open to competition and a balance in food prices, compatible with Community law.

k) Develop the food price reports that are demanded of you by the Ministers of Agriculture, Food and Environment and the Economy and Competitiveness.

l) Analyze and continuously study the basic structure of costs and prices perceived and paid as well as the factors causing their evolution, in products of greater strategic importance for the sector Spanish agri-food.

2. Each year the Food Chain Observatory shall draw up a report assessing the progress made and the results achieved in improving the functioning of the food supply chain and the effectiveness of the actions carried out. will be referred to the General Courts.

Article 21. Composition and operation.

The composition, operation and, where appropriate, the deletion of the Food Chain Observatory will be determined by regulating the inclusion of the most representative organizations and associations in their composition. the food chain from the producer to the final consumer.

TITLE V

sanctioning power

CHAPTER I

General provisions

Article 22. General principles.

1. For the purposes of this law, it is considered minor, serious and very serious administrative violations that are typified in the following articles.

2. The criminal proceedings before the Courts of Justice or the opening of the case for infringement of the rules of defence of competition shall suspend the processing of the administrative file of penalties which has been initiated by the courts. same facts.

3. The rules and principles of penalties contained in Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure, shall apply to the infringements contained in this Law.

4. Under no circumstances may two or more penalties be imposed for the same facts and on the basis of the same protected public interests, but other responsibilities should be required to be deducted from other events or concurrent infringements.

5. Persons of any legal nature who have or have an obligation to have information or documentation which could contribute to the clarification of the commission of the offences established in this law or to the determination of the The Committee on Regional Development and the Committee on Development and Development has the task of collaborating with the competent authorities in the field of trade management. To this end, within the time limits laid down, they shall provide the information and documents required by the competent authority in the performance of their duties.

CHAPTER II

Violations and penalties

Article 23. Infringements in the field of food procurement.

1. These are minor violations of food procurement, the following:

(a) Not formalize in writing the food contracts referred to in this Law.

b) Do not include the ends that must contain at least the food contracts.

c) Failure to meet the conditions and requirements set for the conduct of electronic auctions.

d) Incompliance with document preservation obligations.

e) Make modifications to contractual conditions that are not expressly agreed by the parties.

f) Require additional payments, on the price agreed in the contract, except in the cases provided for in this law.

g) Require or disclose sensitive business information from other operators, that has been obtained in the process of negotiation or execution of a food contract, in breach of the duty of confidentiality, as well as use such information for purposes other than those expressly agreed in the contract.

h) Failure to comply with the obligation to provide the information required by the competent authority in the performance of its duties.

2. Serious infringements are considered to have been repeated by the commission of two or more minor offences within two years from the final decision on the administrative basis of the first of them.

The non-compliance with payment deadlines in the commercial operations of food or food products, in accordance with the provisions of Law 15/2010 of 5 July, of modification of the Law 3/2004, of 29 December, establishing measures to combat late payment in commercial transactions.

3. The commission of two or more serious infringements of two or more serious infringements within a period of two years from the time of the final decision on the administrative basis of the first of these offences is considered to be very serious.

4. Unless otherwise proved, they are the authors of the offences referred to in points (a) and (b) of paragraph 1 of this Article, operators who do not have the status of SMEs, those who do not have the status of primary agricultural producer, livestock, fishing or forestry or the grouping thereof and the operators in respect of which the other operator involved in the relationship is in a situation of economic dependence, where any of them relates to other operators who have the status of an SME or a primary producer or a group of SMEs, or are located in economic dependency situation.

5. Where, as a result of the failure to comply with the obligations laid down in this law, the effective competition of the markets is affected, the provisions of Law 15/2007 of 3 July of the Defence of the Competence.

Article 24. Penalties.

1. The food procurement offences provided for in this standard shall be subject to fines in accordance with the following graduation:

a) Minor infractions, up to 3,000 euros.

b) Serious infractions, between EUR 3,001 and EUR 100,000.

c) Very serious infractions, between 100,001 and 1,000,000 euros.

2. The public administration competent for the imposition of the main sanction may, as an ancillary sanction, agree to the publicity of the penalties imposed for very serious infringements which have become final on a judicial basis, as well as the names, the name, name or social name of the natural or legal persons responsible and the nature and nature of the infringements.

Article 25. Graduation of sanctions.

The penalties will be graded especially according to the degree of intentionality or the nature of the damage caused.

Article 26. Competence.

1. It is for the General Administration of the State to exercise the power of sanction provided for in this law, in the following cases:

(a) When the contracting parties have their respective principal social venues in different Autonomous Communities.

(b) Where the contract affects an area higher than that of an Autonomous Community for the foreseeable traceability of most of the food or food product covered by the contract.

2. It shall be for the competent bodies of the Autonomous Communities to exercise the power of sanction provided for in this law, in the other cases.

3. The following bodies shall be responsible for the imposition of sanctions on food procurement in the field of the General Administration of the State:

(a) The Director General of the Food Industry, where the total amount of the sanction proposed by the instructor of the file does not exceed EUR 100,000.

(b) The Secretary-General of Agriculture and Food, where the amount exceeds EUR 100 000 and does not exceed EUR 300 000.

(c) The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, where the amount exceeds EUR 300,000 and does not exceed EUR 600,000.

(d) The Council of Ministers, where the amount exceeds EUR 600,000.

4. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment will promote the elaboration and approval of guidelines to ensure the uniform application of the system through the Sectoral Conference, which corresponds to the subject matter. sanctioning throughout the territory of the State.

TITLE VI

Improving the vertebrate of the food chain

Article 27. Promotion of the integration and development of value chain development.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, in accordance with its budgetary resources, with the requirements and conditions to be established, will work together with the Autonomous Communities to promote greater integration of the operators involved in the food chain, in order to facilitate greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness in the various sectors that make up the food chain.

2. In collaboration with other departments and with the organizations of the producer sector involved and the Autonomous Communities, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment will work to identify and promote development and implementation. new channels for the internal and external marketing of food or food products, which will make it possible to generate more efficiency in the operations of the value chain. Initiatives to facilitate the introduction of innovation and information and communication technologies in the chain, as well as those aimed at the development of short marketing channels, will be encouraged to allow for greater the impact of added value on producers and processors.

3. In order to improve the competitiveness of agricultural production, it will also support the development of measures and programmes to promote quality, improve the logistics efficiency and promote the innovation and use of new technologies. technologies.

4. The participation of the Consumer Associations in the actions provided for in this Article shall be encouraged.

Additional disposition first. The Food Control and Information Agency.

1. The Agency for Food Information and Control is hereby established, with the nature of an autonomous body, in accordance with the provisions of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State, with personality (a) a differentiated and full capacity to act, which shall be governed by the provisions of this law and the other implementing rules.

The Food Control and Information Agency replaces the Agency for Olive Oil in the exercise of its functions. As a result, the indications that the current regulations make to the Agency for Olive Oil will be understood as references to the Food and Information Agency. In addition, the Food Control and Information Agency shall be subrogated in all conventions, rights, obligations and other legal business relating to or underwritten by the Agency for Olive Oil.

2. The Food Control and Information Agency, through the General Secretariat of Agriculture and Food, is attached to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment to which its strategic direction and the evaluation and the control of the results of your activity.

3. The Agency, within the scope of its powers, is responsible for exercising administrative powers for the fulfilment of its purposes in accordance with applicable law.

4. In the exercise of its public functions, the Agency shall act in accordance with the provisions of Law 30/1992 of 26 November 1992 on the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and the Common Administrative Procedure.

5. The general purpose of the Agency shall be the management of the information and control systems of the olive, dairy and other markets which are regulated as well as the control of compliance with the provisions of this law. for the improvement of the functioning of the food chain.

6. For the purposes set out in the previous paragraph, the Agency shall carry out the following tasks:

a) Manage and maintain the information systems, monitoring and analysis of the olive markets (olive oils and table olives) and dairy and the analysis and dissemination of their results. For food sectors or markets that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment considers to be particularly sensitive and/or strategic, a specific information, monitoring and analysis system will be created.

b) Establish and develop the control system necessary to verify compliance with the obligations of the operators in the sectors or markets referred to in the preceding letter, in order to ensure accuracy and the integrity of the data that is incorporated into the market information systems and to determine the origin, destination and characteristics of the raw materials and products, including through the corresponding sampling and determinations analytical, at any stage of the chain; as well as the monitoring and control of the application or final destruction of the by-products that do not have food use.

(c) Transfer to the competent authorities the facts about alleged breaches detected in the control actions referred to in the previous letter, accompanying the necessary documentation on the facts found and their technical and legal assessment.

(d) to initiate and instruct, according to their own regime, the case of penalties for non-compliance in the payment of the compulsory contributions to the interprofessional or producer organisations, recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment in the products or sectors referred to in point (a), making the appropriate proposals for resolution to the competent authorities.

e) Establish and develop the control regime necessary to check compliance with the provisions of this law to improve the operation of the chain.

f) Carry out the checks corresponding to the complaints for breaches of the provisions of this law that are presented to them and instruct the corresponding sanctioning procedure to formulate the motion for a resolution to the competent authority of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, or to transfer them to the National Competition Commission together with the actions taken.

g) Initiate of office the sanctioning procedure which corresponds to the irregularities found in the exercise of his functions which assume non-compliance with the provisions of this law and, after the corresponding instruction, to propose to the competent authority the resolution to be taken or, where appropriate, to report to the National Commission on Competition duly documented.

(h) To cooperate with the Food Chain Observatory in carrying out the work, studies and reports which, on the products, markets and sectors referred to in paragraph 5, are necessary for the exercise of the tasks assigned to it by the Centre.

i) Manage and maintain the State Register of Good Practices in Food Procurement.

j) Establish relationships of collaboration with other organs of the General Administration of the State and with the Autonomous Communities in matters of their competence and in actions to control the quality and promotion of the products, markets or sectors referred to in paragraph 5.

k) Collaborate with industry, producer and interbranch organizations related to the issues of their competence.

l) Other functions that you regulate are assigned to you for the fulfillment of your general purposes.

7. The control and inspection measures carried out by the Agency shall be carried out by public officials who, in the performance of their duties, shall have the status of officials of the authority.

The minutes raised by the inspectors of the Agency shall be of a public document and, unless otherwise proven, shall provide evidence of the facts of the proceedings.

8. The officials of the Food Control and Information Agency, which are duly accredited by its Director, shall carry out the inspection and control measures to the entities and operators which it orders them, and shall have the following actions: following faculties:

(a) Access any premises, land, installation or means of transport used by natural or legal persons under control.

b) Verify the stock of its warehouses, the products obtained, the processes they apply and the facilities, machinery and equipment used.

(c) Access to the books and documents relating to the activity of the entity, whatever its material support, and in particular to all those who credit the origin of their purchases and the destination of their sales and their respective prices and values, as well as obtaining copies or extracts, in any format and support, of such books and documents.

(d) Hold for a maximum of five days the books or documents referred to in point (c) of this paragraph. The originals shall exceptionally be delivered when no authenticated copy of the originals can be delivered.

e) Precise warehouses, facilities, depots, equipment, vehicles, books or documents and other assets of the entity over time and to the extent necessary for the inspection.

(f) Requiring any representative or member of staff at the service of the person to be checked, any explanations deemed necessary concerning the activities, processes, materials or documents relating to the object and purpose of the inspection and to record their responses.

g) Take samples of raw materials, intermediate and finished products to determine their composition and characteristics, as well as the by-products generated.

h) Raise the minutes in which the actions taken are reflected, the information required and the information obtained and the facts established.

The exercise of the powers described in (a) and (e) shall require the prior express consent of the concerned or, failing that, the corresponding judicial authorisation.

At any time in the procedure, it may be ordered, on its own initiative or at the request of a party, to keep the data or documents that are considered confidential to be kept secret, forming with them separate part.

9. All who take part in the proceedings for the control, inspection or processing of the sanctioning files shall be kept secret of the facts and of any information of a confidential nature. They shall also keep secret about such actions, which are known to them by reason of their profession, position or intervention as part, even after they have ceased their duties.

10. Any natural or legal person is subject to the duty of collaboration with the Food Control and Information Agency and is obliged to provide, at the request of the Agency and in time, any kind of data and information available to it and which may necessary for the purpose and purpose of the inspection. That period shall be ten days, unless the nature of the request and the circumstances of the case provide for a different period of time.

11. The Staff Regulations of the Agency shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article 47.1 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

12. The Agency's economic resources may come from any of the resources listed in Article 65 (1) of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

13. In the field of procurement, procurement and disposal, the Agency is governed by the general rules for the procurement of public administrations.

14. The assets regime of the Food Control and Information Agency shall be in accordance with the provisions of Article 48 of Law 6/1997 of 14 April of the Organization and the Functioning of the General Administration of the State.

Additional provision second. Agro-food laboratories for the official control of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment.

One. Agri-food laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

The agri-food laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, in order to homogenize the criteria applied in carrying out the official analytical controls and improve the quality of the results, coordinate, collaborate and cooperate with the agri-food laboratories designated by the competent authorities of the autonomous communities to carry out the analysis of the samples taken in those controls, mainly the following functions:

-Harmonize the criteria for the adoption of analytical methods in the official laboratories and propose their modification, extinction or establishment of new ones.

-Facilitate the transfer of analytical methods between the agro-food laboratories of the Autonomous Communities and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and disseminate the offer and analytical capacity of these laboratories.

-Organize and develop the operation of the Sectoral Working Groups, involving technical representatives of the different public administrations and the sector.

-Facilitate the training of technical staff in laboratories responsible for the analysis of agri-food products.

-Establish a common institutional relationship framework between the laboratories and the National Accreditation Entity.

The designation by the competent authorities of the autonomous communities of the laboratories to carry out official analytical control shall be valid for the entire territory of the State and the designated laboratories. be part of the Agro-Food Laboratory Network of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, which will allow for more effective coordination of the analytical support of official control. This support shall be carried out by accredited laboratories which have established quality control systems in accordance with the requirements of Community legislation, so that the results of the analyses are of high quality and uniformity.

Two. Network of Agro-food Laboratories.

The Network of Agro-food Laboratories to be coordinated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment aims to share and encourage the accreditation of test laboratories and analytical methods for monitoring official. The laboratories, public or private, shall be part of that network, participating in official control works by the designation of the competent authorities of the Autonomous Communities or the General Administration of the State. The competent authorities shall provide the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment with the information relating to these laboratories and their portfolio of services. The operation of the network shall be established in a regulatory manner.

Three. Coordination of the Working Groups.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment will coordinate the working groups established within the network for their development.

Four. Specialization in accredited techniques.

In collaboration with the Autonomous Communities and in order to optimize the available resources, the specialization of the laboratories will be promoted in certain specific accredited techniques, so that they can carry out the the analysis requested by all the public administrations which so require in the exercise of their official control powers.

Five. Designation of reference laboratories.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, in coordination with the Autonomous Communities, shall designate the national reference laboratories in the agri-food and feed field, the character of which shall be necessarily public.

Six. Fee for official analysis services conducted by the food laboratories of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

1. The rate for the performance of official analysis services of samples performed by the food laboratories that are functionally dependent of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, shall be governed by this Law and by the other regulatory sources provided for in Article 9 of Law 8/1989, of 13 April, of Public Fees and Prices.

2. It is the taxable fact, the carrying out of official sample analysis services by food laboratories that are functionally dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment. This rate shall not be payable in cases of studies, characterization of agri-food products or development of analytical methods.

3. Taxable persons, natural or legal persons, public or private, who request the provision of any of the services constituting the taxable event.

4. They shall be exempt from the payment of the fee, the General Administration of the State and those other Public Administrations with which, subject to reciprocity, this shall be agreed.

5. The accrual shall take place at the time the application is submitted for the commencement of the provision of the services.

6. The amount of the fees for the performance of sample analysis services of the food laboratories that are functionally dependent on the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, shall be as follows:

a) Analysis consisting of direct measurements with simple instruments, qualitative reactions, arithmetic calculations and physical determinations. For each sample: 15 euros.

b) Preparation of samples:

1. º For analysis with basic operations or quantification of analyses, consisting of conventional laboratory operations (extractions, distillations, mineralizations). For each sample and each determination: 10 euros.

2. For intermediate processes of greater complexity: 25 euros for each sample.

c) Preparation of a sample for isotopic analysis: 36 euros.

d) Identification and/or quantification of a substance using non-instrumental techniques: EUR 15.

e) Identification and/or quantification of a substance by means of enzymatic kits and spectrophotometric techniques (visible ultraviolet, infrared, atomic flame absorption or with graphite chamber or by hydride generation or by Cold steam): 29 euros.

f) Identification and/or quantification of a group of elements by optical PCI or mass PCI:

1. One item 20 euros, up to 4 items 40 euros and more than 4 items: 100 euros.

2. In the case of the "Br", "Rb", "Sr" and "I", for each item and displays 32 euros.

g) Determination and quantification of Hg by atomic absorption spectrometry with direct analyser: EUR 28.

(h) Identification and/or quantification of a substance, or group of substances, by means of separative instrumental techniques (gas chromatography, liquids, capillary electrophoresis): For a substance 30 euros, between two and fifteen EUR 40, and more than 15 substances EUR 65.

i) Identification and/or quantification of a substance, or groups of substances, by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and/or liquid/mass chromatography: 80 euros.

j) Identification and/or quantification of pesticide residues:

1. º Organophosphorados, organochlorates and other groups 45 euros.

2. º Confirmation of the compounds of paragraph (a) by means of gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry and/or mass liquid chromatography 35 euros.

3. Specific methods for a pesticide 50 euros.

k) isotopic measurements by mass spectrometry of 13C, 18O and 2H, for each isotope: 60 euros.

l) isotopic measurements of the D/H ratio by nuclear magnetic resonance: 100 euros.

m) Measure by liquid scintillation of 14C and/or 3H, for each sample: 100 euros.

n) Sensorial analysis, the result of which is obtained by the opinion of a tasting panel. For each sample: 75 euros.

o) Polynomic analysis and other micrographic analyses: For each sample: 70 euros.

p) Mohs and yeasts by Howard: For each sample: 15 euros.

q) Biological antiferment test, for each sample: 15 euros.

r) Determination of a substance by specific kits for radioimmunoassay: EUR 57.

s) Determinations made by immunoassay (ELISA): EUR 80.

t) Determination of the content of gluten in food by Western immunoshooting: 50 euros.

u) Identification and/or quantification of substances by means of the concurrency of techniques defined in the different headings: it will be assessed by the sum of the same.

v) Microbiological analysis:

1. º Count of a species of microorganisms: 25 euros.

2. Isolation and identification of microorganisms by species: 25 euros.

3. Microbiological Test for Bacterial Growth Inhibitor Screening: 15 Euros.

4. Microbiological Analysis by PCR: 70 euros.

5. Serological studies of pathogens: 50 euros.

w) PCR Analysis of Genetically Modified Organisms:

1. Screening Analysis (detection of internal plant controls, and regulatory or selection sequences) per gene analyzed: 50 euros.

2. A real-time PCR detection and identification analysis of specific sequences per gene analyzed: 60 euros.

3. The quantitative analysis by real-time PCR: by OMG (the operations described in 1 and 2 are included): 180 euros.

x) Certificate issue on a practiced analysis: 8 euros.

and) Report on a practiced analysis: 36 euros/hour or fraction.

7. The fees shall be subject to self-settlement by the taxable person on the terms which they regulate.

8. The management of the levy is the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Additional provision third. No increase in expenditure.

The execution of the provisions of this law shall be carried out with the material and personal means for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment and its dependent organisms, without any net increase of the expenditure, in particular in relation to staff expenditure.

Additional provision fourth. Conduct and dissemination of comparative studies and analyses.

1. Where, at the initiative of any natural or legal person, comparative studies and analyses are carried out on foodstuffs prepared for sale to the final consumer and the results of which are intended for dissemination, the principles of veracity, technical and analytical rigour and comply with all the guarantees referred to in the national or Community rules on analysis.

2. All the tests or analyses on which the studies, reports and analyses are based shall be carried out by a laboratory which has an accreditation equivalent to that required of the laboratories authorised to intervene in the official control of the food.

3. Once the result of the test has been obtained, it shall be communicated to the manufacturer or holder of the establishment, in accordance with the procedure to be established. Where the result of the analysis is a legal non-compliance, the manufacturer or, packer or responsible for the product, the name of which appears on the label, may carry out a contradictory analysis. In case of discrepancy between the results of the two analyses, a third analysis will be carried out. The procedure in both cases will be developed regulatively.

The procedure to which the studies, reports or analyses will have to be adjusted, in relation to the technical information sheet, the procedure for the purchase of the products to be analysed, the requirements applicable to the sampling and the procedure for communicating results to those affected.

4. Studies, reports and analyses shall not mislead the consumer as regards the safety, quality of the products or the compliance with the food law applicable to it.

5. Failure to comply with the principles and requirements applicable to studies, reports and analyses carried out by public or private entities intended for public dissemination, contained in this Disposition, may be considered as a conduct objectively contrary to the requirements of good faith, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter II of Law 3/1991 of 10 January of Unfair Competition.

First transient disposition. Pre-existing contracts.

This Law shall apply to contracts which have been completed after entry into force, as well as to renewals, extensions and novations of previously completed contracts, the effects of which are after the entry into force of this law.

Second transient disposition. Agri-food Professional Organisations.

Will be exempt from the novelties introduced in this law on the requirement for the recognition of agro-food interprofessional organizations to credit that they represent, in their territorial scope and in their sector at least 51 per 100 of the productions affected in each and every professional branch, those agro-food organizations that are already recognized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment Environment.

Single repeal provision. Regulatory repeal.

Any provisions of equal or lower rank that are or are incompatible with the provisions of this Law shall be repealed and in particular:

-Law 28/1987 of 11 December establishing the Agency for Olive Oil, and

-Royal Decree 509/2000 of 14 April, establishing the Food Price Observatory.

Final disposition first. Amendment of Law 38/1994, of 30 December, Regulatory of the Interprofessional Organizations Agri-Food.

Law 38/1994, of December 30, is amended, regulating the agro-food interprofessional organizations, in the form shown below.

One. New wording is given to Article 2.

" Article 2. Concept of agro-food interprofessional organizations.

An agri-food interbranch organization shall mean, for the purposes of this Law, that of a state or superior to that of an Autonomous Community, which is constituted by any representative organization. it is the business legal nature of its represented, the production, processing and in its case of agricultural marketing and distribution. "

Two. Article 3 is reworded.

" Article 3. The purpose of the agri-food interbranch organisations.

Interprofessional agri-food organizations will be formed with all or some of the following purposes:

(a) To ensure the proper functioning of the food chain and to promote good practices in the relationships between its partners as they are members of the value chain.

b) Carry out actions to improve the knowledge, efficiency and transparency of markets, in particular by pooling information and studies that are of interest to their partners.

c) Develop methods and instruments to improve the quality of products at all stages of production, processing, marketing and distribution.

d) Promote research and development programs that will boost innovation processes in the sector and improve the incorporation of technology, both in production processes and in the competitiveness of sectors involved.

e) Contribute to improving the coordination of the different operators involved in the processes of placing new products on the market, in particular by carrying out research and market studies.

f) Conduct campaigns to disseminate and promote food production, as well as to carry out actions to provide adequate information to consumers about them.

g) Provide information and carry out the studies and actions needed to streamline, improve and target agri-food production to market needs and consumer demands.

h) Protect and promote organic farming, integrated production and any other environmentally friendly production method, as well as designations of origin, protected geographical indications and any other form of differentiated quality protection.

i) Elaboration of agri-food contracts compatible with national and Community competition rules.

j) Promote the adoption of measures to regulate supply, in accordance with the provisions of national and Community competition rules.

k) Collective price negotiation where there are binding contracts in terms of the terms laid down in Community legislation.

l) Develop methods to control and rationalize the use of veterinary and phytosanitary products and other factors of production to ensure the quality of products and environmental protection.

m) Performing actions that aim to better protect the environment.

n) Promote efficiency in the different links in the food chain through actions that aim to improve energy efficiency, reduce environmental impact, manage waste responsibly and by by-products or reduce food losses along the chain.

n) Design and implementation of training actions of all the members of the chain to ensure the competitiveness of agricultural holdings, companies and workers, as well as the incorporation into the youth chain qualified.

o) The performance of studies on sustainable production methods and market developments, including price indices and objective, transparent, verifiable and non-manipulable costs, which can be used as a reference in the fixing of the price freely agreed in the contracts, always taking into account the provisions of the Community sectoral legislation.

p) Develop and implement the necessary training for the improvement of the professional qualification and employability of the professionals in the agri-food sectors.

q) Any other that is attributed to you by the Community regulations. "

Three. Article 4 (2) (b) and (a) and (c) are reworded.

" Article 4. Recognition of agri-food interprofessional organisations.

1.

(b) Accredited to represent at least 51 per 100 of the productions concerned in each and every professional branch in its territorial area and in its sector.

2.

(a) Regulate the modalities of membership and withdrawal of the members that make up them, ensuring that they belong to the same representative of any representative national organization that is committed to the fulfillment of the same, provided that they represent at least 10 per 100 of the professional branch to which you belong.

In addition, its presence will be guaranteed by any organization of a regional level that accredit to represent at least 50 per 100 of the professional branch corresponding to its territorial scope, provided that the sector or product at least 3 per 100 of the final agricultural or agri-food production at national level, or 8 per 100 of the final agricultural production at the Autonomous Community level.

They shall also regulate, the duration of the period of representativeness of the member organisations, the procedures for their renewal and a forecast on the status of such representativeness, in the absence of an agreement between its members exceeded that period.

(c) They shall regulate joint participation in the management of the agro-food interprofessional organization of the producer sector of one party, and of the processing and marketing sector of another. Depending on the representation of interests and the social object for which they have been incorporated, the agricultural cooperatives ' organisations may be involved in the production, processing and marketing sectors, or in the all of them simultaneously. "

Four. Article 5 (1) and (2) are reworded.

" Article 5. Number of agri-food interprofessional organisations.

1. Only a single agri-food interbranch organisation shall be recognised by sector or product, except as provided for in the following paragraphs of this Article.

2. Agricultural and food products entitled to the use of differentiated quality protection figures may, for the purposes of this Article, be regarded as distinct sectors or products of the general character in question. previous paragraph, or others of equal or similar nature. "

Five. Article 6 (2) is reworded.

" 2. The agri-food organisations shall forward to the Register of Agricultural and Food Organisations of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, before 30 April each year, the annual report of the activities of the previous year, the state of representativeness at the end of the financial year, the annual accounts and the liquidation of the last duly audited financial year and the annual revenue and expenditure budget for the current financial year. '

Six. The first paragraph of Article 7 is amended.

" Article 7. Agreements of the agri-food organisations.

Agri-food organizations shall adjust, for the adoption of their agreements and in their operation, the rules and principles laid down in the national and Community competition rules. "

Seven. Article 8 is reworded.

" Article 8. Extension of rules.

1. Adopted an agreement in the agri-food interbranch organization, will be submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment for the approval, if any, by ministerial order of the proposal of extension of all or some of its rules to the total set of producers and operators in the sector or product.

The proposed extension of rules should refer to activities related to those defined in Article 3 as the purposes of the agro-food interprofessional organizations, as well as any other that I attribute to you. the Community rules.

2. Only the extension of the rule set out in the preceding paragraph may be requested within an inter-branch organisation, under the conditions laid down by regulation, where:

a) The agreement is supported by at least 50% of each of the professional branches involved and,

(b) the agri-food interbranch organisation represents at least 75% of the production concerned.

3. The monitoring and monitoring mechanisms for compliance with the rules extension agreements shall be established.

4. The content of this article is, in any case, without prejudice to the application of the provisions contained in the current rules of defence of competition and in Community legislation.

5. In the case of a number of recognised agri-food interbranch organisations within a given sector, they shall be linked to the approved and published standard extension agreements of another inter-branch organisation. recognised agri-food for the same general and state sector or product, in which they are sectorially included.

6. The relevant regulatory order shall fix the duration of the agreements, not exceeding five years or campaigns, for which the extension of the rules is requested on the basis of national and Community legislation.

7. In the procedure for the elaboration of the Order of Extension, which will be in accordance with the provisions of article 24 of Law 50/1997 of 27 November of the Government, the public participation of the potential recipients will be credited, for a period of not less than 15 days. "

Eight. Article 9 shall be worded as follows:

" Article 9. Financial contribution in case of extension of rules.

When, under the terms set out in the previous article, rules are extended to all producers and operators involved, the Agro-Food Interprofessional Organisations may propose to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, for its approval, where appropriate, the economic contribution by those who are not integrated in them, in accordance with the principles of proportionality in the amount of the costs of the actions and non-discrimination with regard to the members of the organisations Agri-food Interprofessionals.

No operating expenses of the Interprofessional Agro-Food Organization that do not correspond to the cost of the actions may be passed. "

Nine. Article 10 is deleted.

Ten. A new wording is given to Article 11.

" Article 11. Revocation of recognition of agri-food interprofessional organisations.

1. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment will revoke the recognition of all those interprofessional organizations that cease to comply with any of the conditions set out in Article 4 of this Law.

2. The recognition of such agro-food interbranch organisations which have remained inactive, without developing any of the purposes set out in Article 3 of this Law, may be revoked for a period of time. Three years uninterrupted.

3. The revocation of recognition shall be made after hearing from the agri-food organisations concerned and shall be entered in the Register governed by Article 14 of this Law. '

Once. Article 12 is reworded.

" Article 12. Criminalization of violations.

1. The administrative offences referred to in this Law shall be classified as minor, serious and very serious.

2. The following shall be minor infringements:

(a) The unjustified delay in the submission to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of any of the documents referred to in Articles 6 and 7 on documentation and agreements of the Organizations Agri-Food Interprofessionals of this Law.

(b) Failure to comply with the obligation to pay the compulsory financial contribution or the fees in which it is broken down, in the case of an extension of rule approved by the competent authority, where the amount does not exceed 6,000 euro.

3. The following shall constitute serious infringements:

(a) The commission, within one year, of more than two minor infractions, when it has been declared by firm resolution.

(b) The non-referral to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, by the Agro-Food Interprofessional Organisations of the agreements adopted within it.

(c) The non-referral to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the annual accounts and the liquidation of the last duly audited financial year, by the agri-food interbranch organisations, Where, over the annual period, they have received compulsory economic contributions from the entire sector under a rule extension order approved by the competent authority.

(d) Failure to comply with the obligation to pay the compulsory financial contribution or the fees in which it is broken down, in the case of an extension of rule approved by the competent authority, where the amount exceeds 6,000 euro and does not exceed EUR 60,000.

4. They will constitute very serious infringements:

(a) The commission, within one year, of more than one serious infringement of the same nature, where it has been declared by firm resolution.

b) The development of actions whose purpose is contrary to those established in Article 3 of this Law.

(c) Failure to comply with any of the requirements established for the recognition of the agri-food organizations in Article 4 of this Law.

(d) Refusal of accession as a member of the agri-food interbranch organisations of those sectoral organisations at national or regional level which demonstrate that they have the minimum representativeness established Article 4.2 (a) of this Law.

e) The application of the system of economic contributions by extension of the rules of this Law in terms other than those contained in the corresponding Ministerial Order.

(f) Failure to comply with the obligation to pay the compulsory financial contribution or the fees in which it is broken down, in the case of an extension of rule approved by the competent authority, where the amount exceeds 60 000 euro.

5. In the case of infringements relating to non-compliance with the payment of the compulsory economic contribution or of the instalments in which the payment is broken down, in the case of an extension of rule approved by the competent authority, the non-payment shall be reported by the interprofessional organisation with the competent authority, accompanying the documentation proving to have required the payment to the debtors, as well as the admission to proceedings of the corresponding judicial claim or, where appropriate, the application for an award arbitration.

However, where the unpaid economic contribution or the contributions in which it is broken down are calculated on data included in official declarations to the competent administration or established in its control actions, it shall not be necessary to demonstrate the presentation of the documentation referred to in the preceding paragraph. "

Twelve. Article 13 is reworded.

" Article 13. Penalties.

1. The administrative offences listed in the previous Article shall be punishable:

(a) Mild violations with warning or fine of up to 3,000 euros.

(b) Serious infringements with a fine of between EUR 3,001 and EUR 150 000.

In addition, the temporary suspension of the recognition of the agri-food interprofessional organisation may be ordered, for the purposes of this Law, no longer than one year.

(c) Very serious infringements with a fine of between EUR 150,001 and EUR 3,000,000.

In addition, the temporary suspension of the recognition of the agri-food interprofessional organisation may be ordered, for the purposes of this Law, for a period of one year and one day and three years.

The final withdrawal of recognition of the agri-food interprofessional organisation may also be ordered for the purposes provided for in this Law.

2. The criteria for the graduation of the penalty to be applied will be those determined by Law 30/1992, of November 26, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure.

3. The resolution of the sanctioning procedure shall be:

(a) The Director General of the Food Industry, where the total amount of the sanction proposed by the instructor of the file does not exceed EUR 100,000.

(b) The Secretary-General of Agriculture and Food, where the amount exceeds EUR 100 000 and does not exceed EUR 300 000.

(c) The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, where the amount exceeds EUR 300,000 and does not exceed EUR 600,000.

(d) The Council of Ministers, where the amount exceeds EUR 600,000 or when the temporary or final suspension of recognition of the agri-food interbranch organisation is proposed as a sanction. "

Thirteen. Article 15 (2) is reworded.

" Article 15. General Council of Agro-food Interprofessional Organisations.

2. The General Council of Agro-Food Interprofessional Organisations shall act in plenary and in the Standing Committee. The plenary session shall be chaired by the Secretary-General for Agriculture and Food and shall be composed of representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, the Economic and Social Committee, and representatives of the Ministries of Agriculture, Food and Agriculture. Competitiveness and Health, Social Services and Equality, of the Autonomous Communities, of the agricultural professional organizations, organizations of agricultural and fisheries cooperatives, organizations of recognized fishing producers, organizations of the food industry and trade and organizations of the consumers. "

Final disposition second. Amendment of Law 2/2000, of 7 January, Regulatory of contracts-type of agri-food products.

Law 2/2000, of 7 January, is amended to regulate the type of counter-food products, in the form that follows:

One. Article 2 (2) is reworded.

" Article 2. Agri-food type-contract.

2. It is understood by the agri-food system, for the purposes of this Law, that the agricultural, livestock, forestry and fishing sectors as a whole, as well as the processing and marketing of their products. "

Two. A new wording is given to Article 3 (d):

" Article 3. Content of the contracts.

d) Prices and conditions of payment. The price to be collected and the criteria for updating it shall be freely fixed by the contracting parties of the contract, which may take into account, where appropriate, price or cost indicators. These indicators must be objective, transparent and verifiable, and not manipulated. The fixing of prices and conditions of payment shall take account of the requirements of the Community sectoral rules. "

Three. Article 8 is deleted.

Four. The second paragraph of Article 10 is reworded.

" Article 10. Controversies.

If the monitoring committee, within the time limit and the way it is regulated, does not reach a solution to the conflict, or in the discrepancy with the proposed solution, the parties may resort to arbitration procedures. "

Five. Article 11 is reworded.

" Article 11. Infringements and penalties.

1. Minor infractions are considered:

(a) The non-referral to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the results of the external audit within the prescribed time limit.

b) The non-referral to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the data referred to in Article 4.1 of this Law.

2. Serious violations are considered:

(a) The non-constitution by the proposers of the approved type contract of the monitoring committee within the prescribed period of time.

b) Non-compliance with all or any of the purposes of the monitoring commission.

c) The non-performance of the external audit established in this Law.

(d) the non-referral of information, or the referral of false data to the competent authority within the time limit set.

e) The recidivism in a minor infringement of the same nature in the same year counted from the sanction by firm resolution on the administrative route of the previous infringement.

3. They are considered very serious infringements.

(a) The application of economic contributions to destinations other than those contained in the supplementary memory referred to in Article 5.3 of this Law.

b) Agreed or engage in profit-making activities by the monitoring committee.

c) The absolute refusal of the performance of the public inspection services.

d) Reoffending in a serious infringement of the same nature in the same year counted from the sanction by firm resolution on the administrative path of the previous infringement.

4. The offences listed in the preceding paragraphs shall be sanctioned:

(a) Mild violations with warning or fine of up to 3,000 euros.

(b) Serious infringements with a fine of between EUR 3 000 and 150 000.

(c) Very serious infringements with a fine of between EUR 150 000 and EUR 3,000,000.

5. The criteria for the graduation of the sanction to be applied shall be those determined by Law 30/1992, of 26 November, of the Legal Regime of Public Administrations and of the Common Administrative Procedure. "

Six. Article 12 is reworded.

" Article 12. Competent bodies.

The resolution of the sanctioning procedure will be a matter of:

(a) The Director General of the Food Industry, where the total amount of the sanction proposed by the instructor of the file does not exceed EUR 100,000.

(b) The Secretary-General of Agriculture and Food, where the amount exceeds EUR 100 000 and does not exceed EUR 300 000.

(c) The Minister of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, where the amount exceeds EUR 300,000 and does not exceed EUR 600,000.

(d) The Council of Ministers, where the amount exceeds EUR 600,000. "

Final disposition third. Competitive titles.

This Law is dictated by the provisions of Article 149.1.13. of the Constitution, which attributes to the State competence on the basis and coordination of the general planning of economic activity.

The provisions of Article 5 (f) and (g), Title II and the first transitional provision, which are covered by Rules 6 and 8 (a) of Article 149.1, which confer on the State the jurisdiction of the State, are exempted from the foregoing. exclusive on commercial law and civil law.

Final disposition fourth. Faculty of development.

The Government is enabled to dictate how many provisions are needed for the development and implementation of this law.

Final disposition fifth. Entry into force.

This law shall enter into force five months after its publication in the "Official Gazette of the State".

Therefore,

I command all Spaniards, individuals and authorities, to keep and keep this law.

Madrid, 2 August 2013.

JOHN CARLOS R.

The President of the Government,

MARIANO RAJOY BREY