The Police officers called by VMVT employees urged to allow the VMVT employees to carry out the planned state control, but even then they refused to do so.
The representatives of the company said that they should have been informed about the inspection in the evening, and rudely demanded permission to take the certificates of VMVT employees with the aim of making copies of them.
This particularly puzzled the inspector. The official control carried out by VMVT is carried out without prior notice, this is required by the Official Control Regulation.
As VMVT officials could not assess the conditions of the ongoing activity, according to the established procedure, a decision was made to stop the company’s activities.
Similar cases have been recorded in other entities before, so due to the obstruction of VMVT officials from performing the functions assigned to them, lawsuits have been initiated against the representatives of the entities.
“Rotary inspections reveal new information all the time. It is hard to believe such brazen behavior and attempts to influence the decisions and work of officials by various means. Entities must cooperate with the control body, only in this way it will be possible to ensure food safety and animal welfare and their health. If company representatives have questions about how we work, we are ready to explain and advise. However, disclosing to the entity about the planned inspection is already a corrupt act.
It can’t be. This is prohibited by the legislation of the European Union, on the basis of which we perform official control. Only very specific and narrow exceptions are possible. I really hope that we will achieve that all entities will equally respect the work of public officials and allow them to do it. We will not tolerate disrespectful behavior towards the inspectors of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and we will use all means to ensure that employees are protected and feel all kinds of support while performing their functions for the state,” said Deputy Director of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Paulius Bušauskas.
European Union (EU) Regulation (EC) No. 2017/625 obliges official controls to be carried out without prior notice.
In Lithuania, there are also rules for inspections of business entities, which also confirm that official state control inspections are carried out without prior notice, except for some limited exceptions.
However, EU legislation is considered to have priority over national legislation. This principle was developed in the practice of the Court of Justice of the European Union.
Its main purpose is to ensure that EU law is applied equally in all EU member states.
“If you have nothing to hide, you must be calm when you are being judged. This case is truly exceptional. When an entity is convinced by all means that a check is being conducted legally, and even with calls from law enforcement officials to allow the check to be carried out, serious suspicions arise. Why is it trying to avoid verification? We cannot risk the health of consumers. The inspectors could not make sure that food safety and hygiene were observed in the company, so we had to take measures to protect against a possible threat.
By obtaining a permit, the business entity undertakes to ensure the safety and quality of the manufactured product at all times, not only during the evaluation. We hope for understanding and better cooperation in the future in order to protect consumers”, said Gediminas Gvazdaitis, director of the Supervision Department of the State Transport and Tourism Administration.
2024-08-27 11:35:29