How can I check the status of my file?

Preliminary reminder : the review process will give priority to handling additional information, added carriers or the lifting of financial guarantees.

This being said, in light of the various stages described below, the PNTTD strongly advises notifiers to plan ahead and submit their files at least 2 months before the planned date of the first transport operation.

1. Stages of the review process

When a new file is submitted in GISTRID (export) or arrives at the PNTTD (import), it is allocated a case reviewer who will analyse the information in Annex 1A and the accompanying documents.

Wherever possible, this analysis will be carried out within 3 (working) days of receipt/submission of the file. The file and the reviewer’s comments are then transmitted to a “verifier”, whose role is to ensure that all files are processed in the same way.

After this two-step verification, there are two possible outcomes :

a) the file is complete and no further information is required

=> FOR EXPORTS

• hard copy file(s) should be sent to the PNTTD (see point 2 below),
• a letter will be sent by the PNTTD indicating that the file has been duly completed,
• at this point, the file is sent to the competent authorities in the destination and transit countries. Once the competent authority issues a confirmation of receipt of the file (which they have 30 days to send, or 60 days for non-OECD countries), the PNTTD can then issue its approval,
• the competent authorities (in the transit and destination countries) will then carry out their own review of the file. If they approve the file, they will issue a “proof of receipt” indicating that they too have found it to contain all the necessary information
• it is only upon receipt of this proof of receipt that the PNTTD may issue its approval.

NB : The notifier must await the approval of all competent authorities involved before carrying out waste movement operations.

=> FOR IMPORTS

• the PNTTD receives the file submitted by the competent authority in the country of dispatch,
• a proof of receipt is sent by mail,
• approval may then be issued in the following days.

b) the file requires additional information

Requests for additional information may be made :
– either before the file is deemed “duly completed” (export) or the proof of receipt is issued (import)
– or before approval can be issued.

=> FOR EXPORTS

• these requests are made in GISTRID (in the “additional information” tab), which is used as the primary means of communication with notifiers
• an automatically-generated email is then sent to the notifier (sender = “robot-gistrid.csso”) to alert them that the request has been made. Please note : this email will be sent to the address indicated in section 1 of Annex 1A.
  NB : Responses to these requests are processed once all required information has been provided.
• once all the necessary responses have been provided, the file can be considered complete (see above).

=> FOR IMPORTS

These requests are issued via email, in English where necessary.

2. Hard copy files : what should be sent, and when?

a) What hard copy documents need to be sent?

The hard-copy documents to be sent to the PNTTD (2 rue Augustin Fresnel - CS 95038 - FR-57071 Metz Cedex 3) are as follows :
– for the PNTTD : Annex 1A (notification document, signed), template of Annex 1B (movement document) and the original financial guarantee. It is not necessary to send supporting documents, as these are stored in GISTRID.
– for authorities in the transit and destination countries : as many hard copies of the file as there are authorities involved in the movement. Example : transfer dispatched from France to Germany via Switzerland -> 2 hard copy files will be required : one for Germany including an original Annex 1A, and another for Switzerland (a copy of Annex 1A is sufficient for the authority in the transit country).

Below you will find a table summarising the hard-copy documents required for each authority (reminder : these documents are sent to the authorities by the PNTTD) :

For more information, see the section on documents to be submitted.

b) When should these items be sent?

The notifier should only send the hard-copy documents cited above once the reviewer has validated the file and closed all additional information requests in GISTRID. If an incomplete file is sent, the file may be returned to the sender, who will have to complete and re-submit the file (leading to significant loss of time and efficiency).

c) Particular circumstances

– Some authorities accept files in paperless format (e.g. OVAM in Belgium). When additional information is requested, the reviewer will specify this information to the notifier, as the latter will still have to submit at least the signed original hard copy of Annex 1A to be forwarded to the authority in the destination country.

– For waste transfers from French Overseas Departments, the notifier may have to send files directly to the competent authority in order to save time. This point should be discussed with the reviewer (to determine who should send the files), as the PNTTD must first send a letter indicating receipt of the file to the authorities involved before the notifier sends their hard copy documents.

3. Checking the case file status

It is wholly counter-productive to send emails inquiring about the status of the file. Notifiers can log into GISTRID to see if any existing information requests have been closed or remain open :

• an additional request that is closed has been processed,
• when the additional request remains open, the file is still being reviewed.