Executive Instructions of the Organic Agriculture Law issued by Resolution No. 247/T of 2012.

These Instructions consisting of 49 articles concern the institutional framework for organic production, the internal rules for the procedures of the Syrian Committee for Organic Production, the rules for formulating and approving the organic production plan and organizing records, and they show the role and tasks of the Organic Production Office.
The Syrian Committee for Organic Production exercises the following main tasks (i) providing data and participating in the formulation of the organic production plan at the request of the Organic Production Office; (ii) suggesting amendments to the rules and policies governing organic production; (iii) requesting the organic production office for information about the implementation of the organic production plan; (iv) presenting recommendations to the office on amending the Syrian organic standards and the list of allowed substances; (v) approval of amendments to the regulations and the list of materials as regulated by this law; (vi) strengthening coordination among the bodies represented in the committee to achieve the goals of organic production; (vii) proposing and studying everything that would develop the organic agriculture sector.
The Organic Production Office performs the following tasks (i) monitoring the application and implementation of the organic production law; (ii) preparing the organic production plan and following up on its implementation; (iii) granting the license to the certification bodies, and assigning them a specific code; (iv) performing data analysis and archiving, including production by categories, awarding certificates, penalties, complaints, results of analyzes, annual reports of certification bodies; (v) gathering the necessary statistical information; (vi) defining evaluation criteria; (vii) encouraging operators to produce organically; (viii) promoting the trade of organic products by providing assistance and support to exporters to facilitate the marketing of Syrian organic products; (ix) keeping records established under the Organic Production Law, at least the Register of Organic Operators, and the Register of Certification Bodies; (x) updating the lists of permitted, non-permissible, and conditionally permitted substances and ensuring their conformity with international reference standards; (xi) facilitating the registration and entry of organic production requirements of pest management and soil fertility materials that are not subject to the current laws and regulations in force; (xii) keeping a list of monitoring bodies and granting certificates to carry out the task of ensuring oversight and granting certificates in other countries in the absence of an equivalence agreement with them; (xiii) implementing a control plan for the certification bodies. The Office is committed to the confidentiality of work information and other data provided by certification bodies.
The organic production plan aims to (i) define the objectives, directions, and programs of organic production activities and the role and responsibilities of the relevant public and private entities; (ii) develop organic production by encouraging policies and supportive activities in rural development programs, including awareness campaigns, capacity building activities, incentives, compensation funds, low-interest loans, training programs, field data for farmers, and facilitation of organic pasture land management; (iii) strengthen initiatives for recognition of the Syrian organic production law; (iv) encourage specific research programs; (v) facilitate access to the local and international organic market; (vi) encourage and enable certification of organic products.
Syrian organic standards and the list of allowed substances are the subjects of Chapter III. The Chapter dealing with the certification bodies concerns the rules and procedures for awarding certificates, including licensing of certification bodies, monitoring the certification bodies, certification procedures for organic production, and minimum inspection requirements for certification of organic production. Operators who wish to obtain certification under the Organic Production Act must (i) maintain traceability systems for agricultural products throughout the entire production chain; (ii) keep records for all production processes, and written records to enable the tracking of farm animals and beehives within the system at all times, especially for inspection or for commercial purposes; (iii) maintain restrictions on the production inputs used; (iv) maintain restrictions on all sales, including type, quantity, and purchaser, as well as stored products; (v) request a license from the certification body; (vi) pay the applicable annual fees; (vii) submit an annual detailed production plan and submit any subsequent amendment to the annual production plan promptly; (viii) immediately notify the certification body of any application or dissemination (including transmission from the vicinity) of non permitted material, a change in the production system, a change in the process for granting the certificate that threatens its conformity. The operator who markets products of a unit that has been certified as “organic” must request the certification body to issue a product certification that includes the information detailed in article 32