Article 18Checks on operators and non-SME traders

1. The checks on operators and non-SME traders shall include:

(a)

examination of their due diligence system, including risk assessment and risk mitigation procedures, and of documentation and records that demonstrate the proper functioning of the due diligence system;

(b)

examination of documentation and records that demonstrate that a specific relevant product that the operator has placed or intends to place on the market or intends to export or that the non-SME trader has made available or intends to make available on the market complies with this Regulation, including, when applicable, through risk mitigation measures, as well as examination of the relevant due diligence statements.

2. The checks on operators and non-SME traders may also include, where appropriate, in particular where the examinations referred to in paragraph 1 have raised questions:

(a)

on-the-ground examination of relevant commodities or of the relevant products with a view to ascertaining their correspondence with the documentation used for exercising due diligence;

(b)

examination of corrective measures taken under Article 24;

(c)

any technical and scientific means adequate to determine the species or the exact place where the relevant commodity or relevant product was produced, including anatomical, chemical or DNA analysis;

(d)

any technical and scientific means adequate to determine whether the relevant products are deforestation-free, including Earth observation data such as from the Copernicus programme and tools or from other publicly or privately available relevant sources; and

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