Policy and Operational Guide

Completion of Sales Notes

Policy and Operational Guide

July 2013

CONTENTS

Part 1 : Introduction and summary of general requirements / Pages
4
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 LocalSea Fishery Offices / 6
7
8
9
12
15
32

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 (“the CFP Basic Regulation”) Council Regulation 1966/2006 (“Electronic recording and reporting of fishing activities Regulation”) and Commission Regulation 1077/2008 (“Detailed rules on the implementation of Council Regulation 1966/2006”).

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 or you can contact your local fishery office.

SUMMARY OF REQUIREMENTS

SALES NOTES

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

the buyer of the fish in all other cases.

EC Council Regulation No 1224/2009 requires that from the 20th November 2009, registered buyers or sellers with an annual turnover of first sale fish of more than €200,000 will be required to record and submit records of first sales of fish by electronic means and will no longer have to submit paper copies of sales notes.

Registered buyers and sellers may choose to submit sales notes electronically even if their turnover in first sale fish is below €200,000. If you choose to do this you will not have to submit paper copies. If you decide to continue to submit paper sales notes, details on requirements can be found in section 2.

TAKEOVER 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 takeover 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. Takeover declarations must be submitted by the ‘holder’ of the fish using the website provided.

SUBMISSION OF SALES NOTES

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. However if the total weight of first sale fish sold is in quantities of less than 25kg per buyer per day and is sold direct to the public for their own consumption no sales note would be required.

For fish which has been landed in another Member State or 3rd Country but imported into the UK for first sale the first buyer or 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). We will send a copy of the sales note to the competent authorities of the MemberState 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,such as direct from a vessel or a vessel agent.

The person submitting the sales note is responsible for the accuracy of all the information provided in accordance with Article 62 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 sales notes to their local Fishery Office and buyers 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. Please refer to local port office for further information.

For fish which has been landed in the UK but transported to another MemberState for first sale, the buyer or seller must comply with the regulations and procedures pertaining within that MemberState.

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); NB only if fish is genuinely ungraded should it be classed as such.

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 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;

Landing Declaration / Voyage Identification – requiredfor landings into the UK by UK vessels required to complete Logbooks(currently optional);

the name of the vessel owner or master;

the port, country and date of landing;

where applicable, reference to a transport document or takeover 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 (Electronic Reporting System) website. For a full list of codes to use for the information required above, visit

Electronic Sales Notes

A secure web-based Electronic Reporting System (ERS) has been introduced to enable registered buyers or sellers to enter and submit individual sales notes electronically. Please note that all electronic sales notes are required to contain the same information that is required on paper sale notes. One of the benefits of submitting records electronically will be the ability to access and download all records you have submitted to us via the website. In order for you to be able to submit your sales notes to the UK Fisheries Departments electronically you will need to decide which of the five methods outlined below are best for you:

Email of a file containing multiple sales notes using standard file formats (for example, .csv file);

API (Application Programming Interface), providing access to a web service on the ERS web site for downloading sales notes from an existing database. This API will allow third parties to develop applications that can read data from your database and send it to the ERS over an internet connection. Our supplier, Bluefinger Ltd can provide demo applications and will be available to support companies wishing to make use of the API method;

Online data entry: Completion of a Web form on the ERS site for each sales note;

eForm - off-line data entry of a single sales note and its submission via email.

UKFD designed Excel spreadsheet containing relevant data items preloaded. Additional fields included for own business purposes. Benefits of this option include the ability to create multiple vessel spreadsheets, automatic .csv file creation, providing users with their own database of all sales undertaken.

Further information and guidance on the formats required on each of the methods described above is available at: If after reading the guidance on the website you still require further advice on the methods available please contact the appropriate UK Fisheries Department Helpline (see Annex 4) who will be able to offer advice on the formats for submission, as well the codes that you will need to use in order to submit information to us. Bluefinger Ltd also have a helpline available for all technical queries. For contact details for this helpline please refer to the website.

In order for you to be able to submit your sales notes electronically to us you will first need to register as a user on the website. To do this you will need to complete an RBS5 form (available on the public area of the website) and send the completed form to the appropriate UK Fisheries Department for processing. Once your application has been processed you will be provided with user credentials for initial login to the website.

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 on the register of 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. We are also planning to introduce an option to register as a buyer or seller online 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 by completing an RBS5 form which is available for download on the public area of the website. Once you have completed the form you will need to send it to the appropriate UK Fisheries Department for processing. Contact details are available on the form. You will then receive your initial login information via email.

Once you are registered as a user and have carried out your initial login to the website, you will be able to set up and control access for other users within your organisation. 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 their sales note data submitted to the online 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 ACQUIRING ALL THE INFORMATION REQUIRED.

1a. BUYER’S NAME / John Robin / 5a. NAME OF VESSEL / Saucy Sue
1b. BUYER’S ADDRESS / 10 Brook Road, Plymouth / 5b. VESSEL PLN / OB44
2a. BUYER’S 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. COUNTRY OF LANDING / GBR
4. LANDING DEC/VOYAGE ID / GBR1234567 / 7c. PORT OF LANDING / PLY-PLYMOUTH
8. SPECIES / 9. FISHING AREA / 10. ICES/NAFO ZONE / 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 / U / 9 / WHL / FRE / 100 / 30
BLL / 27 / VIIE / U / 9 / GUT / FRE / 50 / 600
PLE / 27 / VIIE / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 52 / 78
CRE / 27 / U / 1 / WHL / FRE / 200 / 200
17. BUYER’S SIGNATURE / 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. BUYER’S NAME / 5a. NAME OF VESSEL
1b. BUYER’S ADDRESS / 5b. VESSEL PLN
2a. BUYER’S REGISTRATION NUMBER / 6. MASTER/OWNER NAME
2b. SALES CONTRACT REFERENCE NUMBER / 7a. DATE OF LANDING
3. DATE OF PURCHASE / 7b. COUNTRY OF LANDING
4. LANDING DEC / VOYAGE ID / 7c. PORT OF LANDING
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. BUYER’S SIGNATURE / 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) Buyer’s Name and b)Buyer’s Address: Enter the name and address of the buyer;

2.a) Buyer’s Registration Number (optional): Enter the registration number of the registered buyer;

b) Sales Contract Reference Number: Enter your reference number for the sale where appropriate.

3.Date of Purchase: Enter the date the purchase took place;

4.Landing Declaration / Voyage Identification (currently optional): requiredfor landings into the UK by UK vessels required to complete Logbooks;

5.a) Name of Vessel and b)Vessel PLN: Enter the name and port letters and numbers (PLN) of the vessel which caught the fish;

6.Master/Owner Name: Enter the name of the master or owner of the vessel that landed the fish;

7.a) Date of Landing, b) Country of Landing and c) Port of Landing: Enter the date, country code* and port code* where the landing took place;

8.Species: Enter thespecies codes* for each species sold. A new line must be used for each grade, size, presentation and state of the same species sold;

9.Fishing Area: Enter the FAO area code* in which the fish was caught (Note that all fish caught in the North East Atlantic to be recorded as area 27.)

10.ICES/NAFO Zone (optional): Please enter the code* (e.g. VIIE) for the ICES/NAFO zone in which the fish was caught. (Note: if the ICES Division is not known then leave blank);

11.Freshness/Grade:Where appropriate enter the code* for freshness / grade or U to indicate the fish was ungraded. Further details on community grading rules are available from your local Fishery Office;

12.Size: Enter the appropriate size range code*;

13.Presentation: Enter an appropriate code* against each species sold;

14.State: Enter appropriate code* for state of each species sold;

15. Weight: Enter the weight in kg;

16. Value (GBP): Enter the value paid in Pounds Sterling;

17. Buyer’s Signature and Date (optional).

Please refer to code lists provided in Annex 3.

REGISTERED SELLER PAPER SALES NOTE Annex 2

THIS DOCUMENT SHOULD BE USED FOR ALL SALES OF FISH MADE AT AN AUTHORISED AUCTION CENTRE AND MUST BE SUBMITTED TO YOUR LOCAL FISHERY OFFICE WITHIN 48 HOURS OF THE SALE TAKING PLACE.

1a. SELLER’S NAME / L. G. Auctioneers / 6a. NAME OF VESSEL / SAUCY SUE
1b. SELLER’S ADDRESS / The Market The Quay Plymouth PL4 0LH / 6b. VESSEL PLN / OB44
2. SELLER’S REGISTRATION NUMBER / 100001 / 7. MASTER/OWNER NAME / WILLIE SMITH
3. DATE OF SALE / 01/09/2008 / 8a. DATE OF LANDING / 31/08/2008
4. PLACE OF SALE (AUCTION CENTRE NUMBER) / 100007 / 8b. COUNTRY OF LANDING / GBR
5 LANDING DEC/VOYAGE ID / GBR1234567 / 8c. PORT OF LANDING / PLY-PLYMOUTH
9. SPECIES / 10. FISHING AREA / 11. ICES/NAFO ZONE / 12. DISPOSAL / 13. FRESHNESS/GRADE / 14. SIZE / 15. PRESENTATION / 16.STATE / 17. WEIGHT (KG) / 18. VALUE (GBP) / 19. DESTINATION OF WITHDRAWN PRODUCTS / 20. BUYER’S NAME / 21. BUYER’S ADDRESS / 22. BUYER’S REGISTRATION NUMBER (IF KNOWN) / 23. SALES CONTRACT REFERENCE NUMBER
ANF / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / TAL / FRE / 35 / 120 / - / Mr Firth / 34 Castle Market / 100531 / FRI001
ANF / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / WHL / FRE / 20 / 50 / - / Mr Blackshaw / 1 Glenhurst cottages / 100552 / BLA0109a
LEZ / 27 / VIIE / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 50 / 50 / - / Mr White / Exeter / 100200 / WHI0987
LIN / 27 / VIIE / A / 2 / GUT / FRE / 150 / 100 / - / Mr Turner / Plymouth / 100400 / TUN01a
WHG / 27 / VIIE / WDR / C / 2 / GUT / FRE / 200 / 100 / FFD
HKE / 27 / VIIE / E / 5 / GUT / FRE / 30 / 150 / - / Mr Ceytes / Paignton / 100012 / CEY0827
SQU / 27 / 2 / U / 9 / WHL / FRE / 300 / 500 / - / Mr Wood / Plymouth / 100411 / WOO172
BLL / 27 / VIIE / U / 9 / GUT / FRE / 50 / 600 / - / McCusker and Sons / Plymouth / 100100 / MCC112
PLE / 27 / VIIE / A / 3 / GUT / FRE / 52 / 78 / - / Slater and Co / Brixham / 100245 / SLA83
CRE / 27 / 2 / U / 1 / WHL / FRE / 200 / 200 / Princes Deli / Dartmouth / 100555 / PRI71
24. SELLER’S SIGNATURE / DATE

REGISTERED SELLER PAPER SALES NOTE Annex 2 cont.