Article 4Obligations of operators

the relevant products are non-compliant;

the exercise of due diligence has revealed a non-negligible risk that the relevant products are non-compliant;

the operator was unable to fulfil the obligations referred to in paragraphs 1 and 2.

1. Operators shall exercise due diligence in accordance with Article 8 prior to placing relevant products on the market or exporting them in order to prove that the relevant products comply with Article 3.

2. Operators shall not place relevant products on the market or export them without prior submission of a due diligence statement. Operators who, on the basis of the due diligence exercised in accordance with Article 8, conclude that the relevant products comply with Article 3 shall, before placing the relevant products on the market or exporting them, make available a due diligence statement to the competent authorities through the information system referred to in Article 33. Such electronically available and transmittable due diligence statement shall contain the information set out in Annex II for the relevant products and a declaration by the operator that the operator exercised due diligence and that no or only a negligible risk was found.

3. By making the due diligence statement available to competent authorities or, in the case of micro or small primary operators, by submitting the simplified declaration referred to in Article 4a, the operator shall assume responsibility for the compliance of the relevant product with Article 3. Operators shall keep a record of the due diligence statements for five years from the date the statement is submitted through the information system referred to in Article 33.

4. Operators shall not place relevant products on the market or export them where one or more of the following cases apply: (a) the relevant products are non-compliant;

5. Operators that obtain or are made aware of relevant new information, including substantiated concerns, indicating that a relevant product that they have placed on the market is at risk of not complying with this Regulation shall immediately inform the competent authorities of the Member States in which they placed the relevant product on the market, as well as downstream operators and traders to whom they supplied the relevant product. In the case of exports, the operators shall inform the competent authority of the Member State which is the country of production.

6. Operators shall offer all necessary assistance to the competent authorities to facilitate the carrying out of the checks under Article 18, including access to premises and the making available of documentation and records.

7. Operators shall communicate to downstream operators and to traders further down the supply chain of the relevant products they placed on the market or exported the reference numbers of the due diligence statements or, if applicable, the declaration identifiers associated to those products.