{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151/article-53",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151/article-53.json",
  "legislation": "eur/2012/1151",
  "legislation_title": "Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 November 2012 on quality schemes for agricultural products and foodstuffs",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/eu-regulation-2012-1151",
  "path": "article/53",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "53",
  "heading": "Amendment to a product specification",
  "text": "1. A group having a legitimate interest may apply for approval of an amendment to a product specification.\nApplications shall describe and give reasons for the amendments requested.\n2. Where the amendment involves one or more amendments to the specification that are not minor, the amendment application shall follow the procedure laid down in Articles 49 to 52.\nHowever, if the proposed amendments are minor, the Secretary of State shall approve or reject the application. In the event of the approval of amendments implying a modification of the elements referred to in Article 50(2), the Secretary of State shall publish those elements in such manner as appears appropriate to the Secretary of State from time to time.\nFor an amendment to be regarded as minor in the case of the quality scheme described in Title II, it shall not:\n(a) relate to the essential characteristics of the product;\n(b) alter the link referred to in point (f)(i) or (ii) of Article 7(1);\n(c) include a change to the name, or to any part of the name of the product;\n(d) affect the defined geographical area; or\n(e) represent an increase in restrictions on trade in the product or its raw materials.\nFor an amendment to be regarded as minor in the case of the quality scheme described in Title III, it shall not:\n(a) relate to the essential characteristics of the product;\n(b) introduce essential changes to the production method; or\n(c) include a change to the name, or to any part of the name of the product.\nThe scrutiny of the application shall focus on the proposed amendment.\n3. In order to facilitate the administrative process of an amendment application, including where the amendment does not involve any change to the single document and where it concerns a temporary change in the specification resulting from the imposition of obligatory sanitary or phytosanitary measures by the public authorities, the Secretary of State may make regulations complementing the rules of the amendment application process.\nThe Secretary of State may make regulations laying down detailed rules on procedures, form and presentation of an amendment application. ...\n(4.) An implementing act to which paragraph 5 applies is revoked.\n(5.) This paragraph applies to an implementing act:\n(a) concerning a decision of the European Commission relating to an application to amend a product specification for a designation of origin, geographical indication or traditional speciality guaranteed protected in the European Union at the time the application was submitted,\n(b) adopted by the European Commission pursuant to Article 53(2) of EU Regulation 1151/2012 following the appropriate procedure referred to in that paragraph, and\n(c) incorporated into domestic law by section 3(1) of the EUWA.",
  "extent": "E+W+S+N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Words in Art. 53(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(a)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F2",
      "text": "Words in Art. 53(2) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(a)(ii)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F3",
      "text": "Words in Art. 53(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(b)(i)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F4",
      "text": "Words in Art. 53(3) substituted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(b)(ii)(aa)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F5",
      "text": "Words in Art. 53(3) omitted (31.12.2020) by virtue of The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(b)(ii)(bb)"
    },
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F6",
      "text": "Art. 53(4)(5) inserted (31.12.2020) by The Agricultural Products, Food and Drink (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/1637), regs. 1(7), 18(51)(c)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2012/1151/article/53",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-01T14:48:59.044275+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}