Prague, March 21 (CTK) – The Czech Chamber of Deputies speedily passed on Wednesday softer terms of use for foreign explosives that had been tested in another EU member state.
Entrepreneurs would not have to present the instructions for use of such explosives to a local authority to assess its compliance with the Czech law.
The currently effective obligation might be at variance with a provision of an EU regulation that does not allow member states to ban, limit, or prevent supplies of explosives to their markets if the explosives meet the mandatory requirements, the cabinet said in an explanation of the amendment to the mining law.
The bill, which drops the almost two-million crown sanction for the breach of the obligation, is yet to go through the Senate and it is to be signed into law by the president.
Trade and Industry Minister Tomas Huner points to the fact that Germany has lost a similar case at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding practically the same obligation for explosive products. This is why he wants to prevent similar proceedings with the Czech Republic.
Importers of explosives could save roughly 57,000 crowns a year if the mandatory assessment is dropped.
Although the cabinet admits the trust of distributors and users in the instructions for these products could drop, it wants to ensure their protection through more frequent checks.
The mandatory assessment of harmony of instructions for use with the country’s legislation was introduced ten years ago due to insufficient protection of life, health and property when handling explosives. They were lacking expolsive classification according to their danger level.
