S.L. 545.45 Art. 5Verification of compliance with the sustainability andgreenhousegas emissions saving criteria.         S.L. 545.43.       S.L. 545.43.

(1) Where renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels are to be counted towards the targets referred to in regulation 3(1)(a), economic operators are required to show, by means of mandatory independent and transparent audits, in accordance with the implementing act adopted pursuant to paragraph 8 of Article 30 of the Directive, that the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in regulation 3(6) to (13) and regulation 4 for renewable fuels and recycled-carbon fuels have been fulfilled and to that end, economic operators are required to use a mass balance system which: (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

(a) allows consignments of raw material or fuels with differing sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics to be mixed for instance in a container, processing or logistical facility, transmission and distribution infrastructure or site;

(b) allows consignments of raw material with differing energy content to be mixed for the purposes of further processing, provided that the size of consignments is adjusted according to their energy content;

(c) requires information about the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics and sizes of the consignments referred to in paragraph (a) to remain assigned to the mixture; and

(d) provides for the sum of all consignments withdrawn from the mixture to be described as having the same sustainability characteristics, in the same quantities, as the sum of all consignments added to the mixture and requires that this balance be achieved over an appropriate period of time.

(2) The mass balance system referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall ensure that each consignment is counted only once when calculating the gross final consumption of electricity from renewable sources, the gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the heating and cooling sector and the final consumption of energy from renewable sources in the transport sector, for the purposes of calculating the gross final consumption of energy from renewable sources, and shall include information on whether support has been provided for the production of such consignment, and in that case, on the type of support scheme.

(3) Where a consignment is processed, information on the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics of the consignment shall be adjusted and assigned to the output in accordance with the following rules:

(a) when the processing of a consignment of raw material yields only one (1) output that is intended for the production of biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels, the size of the consignment and the related quantities of sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving characteristics shall be adjusted applying a conversion factor representing the ratio between the mass of the output that is intended for such production and the mass of the raw material entering the process;

(b) when the processing of a consignment of raw material yields more than one (1) output that is intended for the production of biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels, for each output a separate conversion factor shall be applied and a separate mass balance shall be used.

(4) Economic operators shall submit reliable information to the Regulator regarding the compliance with the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in regulation 3(6) to (13) and regulation 4 and shall make available to the Regulator when so requested, and to any competent authority within any relevant Member State, as the case may be, and upon request, the data used to develop such information:

Provided that the Regulator may require the availability of this information on behalf of such other competent authority.

(5) Economic operators are required to arrange for an adequate standard of independent auditing of the information submitted, and to provide evidence to the Regulator that this has been carried out:

Provided that in order to comply with paragraphs (a), (b),

(d) and (e) of regulation 3(7), with paragraph (a) of regulation 3(8), with regulation 3(9), with paragraph (a) of regulation 3(10), and with paragraph (a) of regulation 3(11), the first or second party auditing may be used up to the first gathering point of the forest biomass.

(6) The auditing referred to in sub-regulation (5) shall verify that the systems used by economic operators are accurate, reliable and protected against fraud, including verification ensuring that materials are not intentionally modified or discarded to allow the consignment or part thereof to become a waste or residue, and shall furthermore also evaluate the frequency and methodology of sampling and the robustness of the data.

(7) The auditing referred to in sub-regulation (5) is to conform with the following:

(a) economic operators who are producers of biofuels, bioliquids or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels shall ensure that auditing and verification is to be compiled:

(i) under voluntary national or international schemes approved by the European Commission; or

(ii) under national schemes which may be set up pursuant to sub-regulation (12); and

(b) economic operators importing biofuels, bioliquids (SUSTAINABILITY CRITERIA)

or biomass fuels, renewable fuels of non-biological origin, or recycled carbon fuels shall ensure that such auditing and verification shall be compiled:

(i) under voluntary national or international schemes approved by the European Commission; or

(ii) under national schemes approved by Member States which comply with the sustainability criteria contained in the Directive.

(8) The obligations stipulated in sub-regulations (4) to (7) shall apply regardless of whether renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels are produced within or are imported into the Union.

(9) Economic operators and suppliers shall make the information about the geographic origin and feedstock type of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels available to consumers in an up-to-date, easily accessible, and user-friendly manner on their websites and shall update such information on an annual basis.

(10) The Regulator shall submit to the Minister, in aggregated form, the information referred to in sub-regulation (4), for transmission to the European Commission.

(11) Any voluntary national scheme setting standards for the production of renewable fuels and recycled carbon fuels, shall comply with requests by the European Commission to provide accurate data on greenhouse gas emissions savings for the purposes of regulations 3(12)

and (13) and regulation 4, to demonstrate compliance with sub-

regulations (3) to (5) of regulation 16 of the Promotion of Energy from

Renewable Sources Regulations, with sub-regulations (6) to (8) of regulation 7 and with regulation 8, or to demonstrate that consignments of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels comply with the sustainability criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (6) to (11) of regulation 3:

Provided that when demonstrating that the criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (10) and (11) of regulation 3 are satisfied, the operators may provide the required evidence directly at sourcing area level.

(12) A national scheme may be established where compliance with the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria stipulated in sub-regulations (6) to (13) of regulation 3 and in regulation 4, in accordance with the methodology developed under Article 29a(3) of the Directive, is verified throughout the entire chain of custody involving competent authorities.

(13) The scheme described in sub-regulation (12) may also be used to verify the accuracy and completeness of the information included by economic operators in the Union database, to demonstrate compliance with sub-regulations (3) to (5) of regulation 16 of the

Promotion of Energy from Renewable Sources Regulations and for the certification of biofuels, bioliquids and biomass fuels with low indirect land-use change-risk.

(14) The Minister may notify a national scheme as described in sub-regulation (12) to the Commission for assessment.

(15) Any national scheme established in Malta which has been recognised by the European Commission shall, with regards to verification of compliance with the criteria for which it has been recognised, mutually recognise any other Member States’ national schemes found upon assessment by the European Commission to comply with conditions stipulated in the Directive.

(16) A simplified national verification scheme for installations producing electricity, heating and cooling with a total rated thermal input between seven point five and twenty megawatts (7.5 - 20 MW) may be established to ensure the fulfilment of the sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria established in sub-regulations (6) to (13) of regulation 3:

Provided that such schemes shall comply with any uniform conditions which may be established by the European Commission through implementing acts adopted for the purpose of ensuring the fulfilment of the necessary sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions saving criteria.

(17) Where an economic operator provides evidence or data obtained in accordance with a scheme that has been the subject of a decision of the European Commission, the Regulator shall not require the economic operator to provide further evidence of compliance with the elements covered by the scheme, for which the scheme has been recognised by the European Commission.