Compulsory declarations in the milk and milk products sector

First purchasers of milk and other actors involved (small producers and manufacturers of dairy products) are obliged to communicate certain information to the Member States on a regular basis.

The purpose of these obligations is to enable the European Commission to monitor market developments through timely information on the volumes of raw milk delivered

Who are the actors involved in the milk market?

FIRST BUYERS

These are companies or associations that buy milk directly from producers, to process it, cool it, store it and process it, or resell it to other companies that process or process it.

What do they have to do?

They must be previously recognised by the Region or Autonomous Province where they have their registered office.

They must declare, by the 20th day of each month, the quantity of milk and semi-finished products collected in the previous month. To this end, they must register in the SIAN database, signing it with a digital signature, the identification details of their deliverers and the addresses of the origin establishments or production companies.

If the first purchaser is also a manufacturer of dairy products, by the 20th day of the months of January, April, July and October, they must register and digitally sign, in the SIAN database, the declaration of the quantities of each product manufactured and of each product sold in the previous quarter and also the relevant stocks updated to the last day of the month preceding the declaration.

Below is the link to the register of approved first buyers:

https://www.sian.it/portale/servizi/catalogo-servizi/albo-degli-acquirenti-riconosciuti

MANUFACTURERS

These are companies (single or associated) that produce dairy products.

What must they do?

They must register in the SIAN portal through the Region where their registered office is located.

By the 20th day of the months of January, April, July and October, they must register and digitally sign, in the SIAN database, the declaration of the quantities of each product manufactured and each product sold in the previous quarter, and also the relevant stocks updated to the last day of the month preceding the declaration.

SMALL PRODUCERS

A 'small producer' is defined as a milk producer who carries out the processing and subsequent direct sale of his own milk, excluding milk delivered to first purchasers, and of milk products obtained exclusively from milk from his own farm.

Farmers who purchase milk even occasionally from other farmers (in which case they must apply for approval as first purchasers) or who purchase milk even occasionally from other suppliers (in which case they must register as manufacturers) are therefore not considered "small producers".

What must they do?

they must have set up a valid farm file in the SIAN database, in which there must be at least one herd corresponding to the type of production with an adequate livestock size and a similar position in the BDN (National Data Bank) with an associated milk registration number

By 20 January of each year, they are obliged to record in the SIAN database, the quantities of each product manufactured and each product sold in the previous calendar year, as well as the quantities of milk sold, excluding that delivered to the first purchasers, and the quantities of milk used to manufacture dairy products sold in the previous year. By the same deadline, small producers are also obliged to register in the SIAN database the stocks of each manufactured product updated to 31 December of the previous year.

Please note that the reference national and Community regulations do not provide for minimum thresholds for exemption from the obligation to declare.

The quantities of milk declared must be expressed in kilograms, as must those referring to derived products for which the use of the number of wheels as a unit of measurement is not foreseen.

All declarations entered in the SIAN must be digitally signed.

How are declarations made and who checks?

All obliged parties (first purchasers, manufacturers and small producers) must make their declarations via the SIAN portal, managed by AGEA, which also sets out how to access and use the system. Instructions can be found at www.sian.it.

The Agricultural Service of the Autonomous Province of Trento is responsible for:

Recognising or revoking the status of first purchaser of milk (both bovine and sheep and goat),

Registering milk producers and farms on the SIAN,

Check that declarations are made punctually, correctly and completely

Beware of penalties!

If the compulsory declarations (those made via SIAN)

• are not sent
• are sent late
• are sent incorrectly, even if on time,

you risk an administrative penalty, as provided for by law (Art. 3, paragraph 4 of Decree-Law 27/2019).

The obligation is considered fulfilled only if the declaration registered in the SIAN is:

• is made on time,
• correct and complete.

Therefore, if the declaration is made on time but contains errors or incomplete data, the obligation is not considered fulfilled and you may still be sanctioned.

In the case of irregularities (late and/or incorrect and/or incomplete declarations), the Regions or Autonomous Provinces send all the documentation to the ICQRF (the Department of the Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Fraud Repression of Agri-Food Products), territorially competent with proof of the disputes and notifications that have taken place, for the imposition of the sanction that amounts from a minimum of €. 1,000.00 to a maximum of €. 6,000.00.