Published on June, 08 2026 on our platform
SquareCo gained access to a new leaked draft on the IR rules to verify sustainability repealing COM IR 2022/996.
Last March we covered the draft rules on the Commission’s implementing regulation (IR) on rules to verify sustainability and repealing COM IR 2022/996, and we deep dived into the specific topic for intermediate crops. Now, following a newly leaked document, we summarise the key changes:
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TOPIC |
CHANGE ANALYSIS |
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ON-SITE AUDIT |
The new draft changes the wording to samples of “each feedstock, raw materials and fuels stored within the sites” and adds the requirement of analysis by an independent accredited laboratory meeting EN ISO/IEC 17025.
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CERTIFICATATION |
The six month certificate cap now applies to a collecting point or trader handling both virgin biomass and waste/residues. Separately, the three-consecutive-year limit on the same certification body now applies to the same collecting point or trader.
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PRODUCTION DEVIATION MARGIN |
The threshold for seeking an independent expert opinion is lowered from >10% to >5% above the specified yield range. The new version also adds technical specifications for audits and plausibility checks in cases of capacity expansion.
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BROWN GREASE GROUP AUDITING EXCLUSION |
The consolidated draft directly excludes group auditing for POME, PFAD, SBE, soap stock, animal fat, sewage sludge and brown grease, without the previous “only brown grease” qualifier.
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MAIN CROP DEFINITION |
The “any one condition” remains, but the criteria are revised to:
The “two crops occupying the land longest” test is removed.
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SINGLE HARVEST REGION |
Actual cultivation practices in the region are added as an acceptable data source alongside the FAO multiple cropping map. The draft also states that intermediate crops may only be certified where agro-climatic conditions allow no more than one food/feed crop to reach maturity per vegetation period. Otherwise, no crop qualifies as an intermediate crop just by being non-main.
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NO ADDITIONAL LAND CONTIDITION |
The two cumulative conditions remain: the intermediate crop must not be grown during a period when a main crop could have been grown, and it must not reduce the main crop’s yield. The new draft adds “grown to maturity”, which may matter where a main crop could germinate or partially grow but not reach maturity.
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INTERMEDIATE CROP 9A V 9B CLASS |
The new draft still determines classification at final fuel production, but now says the relevant condition is where the biofuel “qualifies as a drop-in fuel manufactured for direct use by aircraft”. The new wording is more output-focused rather than process capability. A HEFA-capable facility producing road HVO from camelina oil would no longer clearly default to 9A.
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UDB RETROACTIVE POS ANNULMENT MECHANISM |
The old version required annulment of affected (fraud/error) PoS declarations and UDB marking. The new Article 39 specifies the implementation mechanism. The UDB manager must identify PoS unique identifiers issued in the “period affected by” the non-compliance, “activate a technical procedure” to annul them, prevent traded but not yet consumed identifiers from further trade, require stock adjustments, and flag consumed identifiers in Member State accounts.
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UDB REPORTING TIMING |
The new version adds detailed UDB transaction mechanics:
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BIOMETHANE TRACEABILITY |
Newly detailed rules for biomethane injected into and withdrawn from interconnected gas infrastructure, including monthly volume entry, Member State verification, transfer of PoS numbers, and cancellation of guarantees of origin.
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IMPORTS / CUSTOM CLEARANCE |
The latest draft reinforces the customs clearance rule through the UDB. Import transactions require customs-clearance documents to be uploaded, and the UDB only allows the buyer to accept the transaction after the evidence has been provided.
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Note: UBD concerning topics might have been available in the separate package we did not posses before.
