Policy and Operational Guide

Completion of Sales notes

Policy and Operational Guide

Version 4

November 2008

CONTENTS

Part 1 : Introduction and summary of general requirements / Pages
3
Part 2 : Detailed requirements
Paper Sales Notes
Electronic Sales Notes
Part 3 : Electronic Reporting System Website
Annex 1: Buyers sales note
Annex 2: Sellers sales note
Annex 3: Codes for use in sales notes
Annex 4: List of Local Sea Fishery Offices / 6
7
8
9
13
16
33

PART 1

INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY OF GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

INTRODUCTION

These instructions take immediate effect and replace previous guidance issued by the Fisheries Departments on sales notes. They are not exhaustive nor should they be regarded as a definitive statement of the law. They should be read in conjunction with Council Regulation 2847/93 (as amended) (“the Control Regulation”), Article 22(2) of Council Regulation 2371/2002 and Council Regulation 1566/07.

For the purposes of this guidance document a Registered Seller is an auction trader (an individual, partnership, company or corporate body) who sells first sale fish by competitive bidding at a designated auction site in the UK. A Registered Buyer is someone (an individual, partnership, company or corporate body) who buys first sale fish direct from a vessel or agent (i.e. other than by competitive bidding from a registered seller in a designated auction site).

If you are not currently a registered buyer or seller, there is information on how to register at www.mfa.gov.uk or by contacting your local fishery office.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

Sales notes are required in respect of first sales of fish and fishery products. For the purposes of these requirements first sale fish is defined as fish being marketed for the first time. Sales notes provide an essential aid in cross checking the quantities of fish recorded in logbooks and on landing declarations as well as providing information about market prices and compliance with the Community’s grading and price regulations.

Sales notes for first sales of fish must be submitted within 48 hours of sale by either:

· those selling fish at a designated auction centre (i.e. the registered seller); or

· by the buyer of the fish in all other cases.

EC Regulation No 1566/07 requires that from the 1st of January 2009, if you are a registered buyer or seller and your annual turnover of fishery products is more than €400,000 (approx £274,000 as of September 2008) you will be required to record and submit your records of first sales of fish to us by electronic means. You will no longer have to submit paper copies of sales notes.

You may also submit your sales notes electronically even if your turnover in fisheries products is below €400,000. If you choose to do this you will not have to submit paper copies to us. If you decide to continue to submit paper sales notes, details on requirements can be found in section 2.

Take over declarations: Under current EU regulation, where fish is landed but is not offered for sale or is intended for sale at a later date, the owner of the fish or their agent (‘the holder’) must complete and submit a take-over declaration. This document must contain similar information to the sales note information (except for price) and must also indicate the place where the products are stored. Take over declarations must be submitted by electronic means by the ‘holder’ of the fish if your annual turnover of first sale fishing products exceeds €400,000 per annum.

SUBMISSION OF SALENOTES

A sales note must be submitted for all first sales of fish in respect of landings made into the UK regardless of the species or quantities involved unless it is first sale of fish in quantities of less than 25kg per day which are sold direct to the public for their own consumption.

For fish which has been landed in another Member State or 3rd Country but imported into the UK for first sale the first seller of the fish must complete and submit a sales note(s) to the local Fishery Office (paper or electronic depending on turnover of company). The Fisheries Departments will send a copy of the sales note to the competent authorities of the Member State or 3rd Country in which the fish was landed.

Responsibility for the completion and submission of sales notes rests with:

* the SELLER (i.e. the registered Seller) when the fish is sold at auction by competitive bidding; or

* the BUYER when the fish is sold in any other way.

The person submitting the sales note is responsible for the accuracy of all the information provided in accordance with Article 9 of the Control Regulation.

All sales notes must be submitted within 48 hours of the completion of the sale. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, paper sales notes should be submitted to your local Fishery Office. In Scotland, sellers should submit their sales notes to their local Fishery Office. Buyers should submit their sales notes to Aberdeen Fishery Office.

Where fish is transported from the port of landing for sale at another port or location it must be accompanied by a transport document. Responsibility for this rests with the transporter - see separate guidance notes for the transportation of fish.

Further advice may be obtained by contacting your local Fishery office or by contacting the appropriate helpdesk number provided in Annex 4. A full list of all Fishery Offices is also provided in Annex 4.

PART 2

DETAILED REQUIREMENTS

Paper Sales Notes

All paper sales notes submitted must contain the following information:

· the relevant name of each species (see annex 3) and its geographical area of origin (Note: if the ICES Division is not known then for all fish caught in Community waters North of 48º North, it is sufficient to record 27 on the sales note as the area of origin);

· for all species, where appropriate, the individual size or weight, grade, presentation and freshness (see annex 3);

· the price at first sale of each species sold, where appropriate, on an individual size or weight, grade, presentation and freshness basis;

· where appropriate, the species, amount and destination of any fish withdrawn from the market;

· the name of the seller and buyer;

· the place and date of sale;

· where possible, the reference number of the sales contract;

· the external identification (Port Letters and Numbers) and name of the fishing vessel landing the fish sold;

· Voyage Identifier/Landing Declaration number (currently optional);

· the name of the vessel owner or master;

· the port and date of landing;

· where applicable, reference to a transport document or take-over declaration.

All information entered on sales notes must be legible and indelible. An example of a completed Buyers sales note is provided at annex 1, along with a blank version for buyers to use. An example of a completed Sellers sales note is provided at annex 2, along with a blank version for sellers to use. Blank copies can also be downloaded from the ERS website. For a full list of codes used for the information required above, visit www.fishregister.gov.uk.

Electronic Sales Notes

Options for submission of data

A secure web-based Electronic Reporting System (ERS) www.fishregister.gov.uk has been introduced to enable you as a Registered buyer or seller to enter and submit individual sales notes electronically. To register as a user you will first be required to complete an RBS5 form (available from the website) and send the completed form to the appropriate UK Fisheries Department for processing. Once your application has been processed and you have been provided with your user credentials, you will be able to submit data either on-line or send data in via email using one of the prescribed formats detailed below. You will also be able to view all records you have submitted.

Please note that all electronic sales notes are required to contain the same information that is required on paper sale notes. As outlined in part 1, if you are required to, or choose to submit sales notes to UK Fisheries Departments electronically you will need to decide which of the methods outlined below are best for you:

· Email multiple sales notes using supplied file (for example, .csv file);

· API (Application Programming Interface), accessible as a web service for the ERS system (This API will allow third parties to develop applications that can read and write information to the ERS over an internet connection. Our supplier will provide demo applications and will be available to support companies wishing to make use of the API);

· Online data entry: Single eSales Note;

· eForm - off-line data entry and submit via e-mail.

In making your decision on which of the methods is preferable to you please visit www.fishregister.gov.uk or contact the appropriate UK Fisheries Department Helpline (see annex 4) who will be able to offer further advice on the format for submission, as well the codes that you will need to use in order to submit information to us.

PART 3

ELECTRONIC REPORTING SYSTEM WEBSITE

As outlined in part 2 of this guidance booklet, a secure website has been set up by the UK Fisheries Departments to enable registered buyers and sellers of first sale fish to submit their sales notes electronically.

All visitors to the website are able to browse information for Buyers and Sellers by Registration Number, Name, Company, Town, Area and Country. In addition, visitors to the website will be able to browse fishing vessel information as well as view and download codes required in the submission of sales notes. Potential new buyers and sellers will also be able to download the appropriate forms to enable them to register as a buyer or seller. It is also envisaged that there will be an option to register on line in the near future.

All registered buyers and sellers who wish to use this site and submit sales notes electronically will first be required to register as a user on-line; this can be done by visiting www.fishregister.gov.uk and following the on-line instructions. Please note you will need your registered buyer or seller number to hand to enable you to register on-line.

Once you are registered as a user, you will be able to set up and control access for other users within your organisation if you so wish; please note that it is your responsibility to ensure that the list of users you have granted access to is maintained at all times.

Registered users of the system will be able to browse and run reports on all their sales note data submitted to the on-line system.

REGISTERED BUYER PAPER SALES NOTE Annex 1

THIS FORM SHOULD BE USED FOR ALL SALES OF FISH DIRECT FROM A VESSEL OR AGENT (I.E. SALES NOT BY COMPETITIVE BIDDING AT A DESIGNATED AUCTION SITE) AND MUST BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR LOCAL FISHERY OFFICE OR ABERDEEN FISHERY OFFICE (SCOTLAND ONLY) WITHIN 48 HOURS OF ACCQUIRING ALL THE INFORMATION REQUIRED.

1a. BUYERS NAME / John Robin / 5a. NAME OF VESSEL / Saucy Sue
1b. BUYERS ADDRESS / 10 Brook Road, Plymouth / 5b. VESSEL PLN / OB44
2a. BUYERS REGISTRATION NUMBER / 100001 / 6. MASTER / OWNER NAME / Willie Smith
2b. SALES CONTRACT REFERENCE NUMBER / ROB010908a / 7a. DATE OF LANDING / 31/08/2008
3. DATE OF PURCHASE / 01/09/2008 / 7b. PORT OF LANDING / GB PLY - PLYMOUTH
4. LANDING DEC / VOYAGE ID (optional) / GBR1234567
8. SPECIES / 9. FISH AREA / 10. ICES/NAFO ZONE (optional) / 11. FRESHNESS / GRADE / 12. SIZE / 13. PRESENTATION / 14. STATE / 15. WEIGHT (KG) / 16. VALUE (GBP)
COD / 27 / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 64 / 100
ANF / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / TAL / FRE / 35 / 120
ANF / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / WHL / FRE / 20 / 50
LEZ / 27 / VIIE / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 50 / 50
LIN / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / GUT / FRE / 150 / 100
POK / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / GUT / FRE / 200 / 100
HKE / 27 / VIIE / E / 5 / GUT / FRE / 30 / 150
SQU / 27 / U / 9 / WHL / FRE / 300 / 500
SYC / 27 / VIIE / A / 9 / WHL / FRE / 100 / 30
BLL / 27 / VIIE / A / 9 / GUT / FRE / 50 / 600
PLE / 27 / VIIE / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 52 / 78
CRE / 27 / U / 1 / WHL / FRE / 200 / 200
17. BUYERS SIGNATURE (optional) / DATE
OFFICIAL USE ONLY
TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED / YES / NO / NOT APPLICABLE
TAKE-OVER DECLARATION SUBMITTED / YES / NO / NOT APPLICABLE

REGISTERED BUYER PAPER SALES NOTE Annex 1 cont.

1a. BUYERS NAME / 5a. NAME OF VESSEL
1b. BUYERS ADDRESS / 5b. VESSEL PLN
2. BUYERS REGISTRATION NUMBER / 6. MASTER/OWNER NAME
2b. SALES CONTRACT REFERENCE NUMBER / 7a. DATE OF LANDING
3. DATE OF PURCHASE / 7b. PORT OF LANDING
4. LANDING DEC / VOYAGE ID (optional)
8. SPECIES / 9. FISHING AREA / 10. ICES/NAFO ZONE / 11. FRESHNESS / GRADE / 12. SIZE / 13. PRESENTATION / 14. STATE / 15. WEIGHT (KG) / 16.VALUE (GBP)
17. BUYERS SIGNATURE (optional) / DATE
OFFICIAL USE ONLY
TRANSPORT DOCUMENTS SUBMITTED / YES / NO / NOT APPLICABLE
TAKE-OVER DECLARATION SUBMITTED / YES / NO / NOT APPLICABLE

Notes for completion of buyers paper sales notes

1. a) Buyers Name and b) Buyers Address: Enter the name and address of the buyer;