The structure of the European Union Timber Regulation (EUTR), instigated by the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the National Measurement Office (NMO), has now been finalised and set to come into force on 3 March.

The new legislation criminalises placing illegal timber products on the EU market and requires those trading in products such as pulp and paper to exercise ‘due diligence’ with regards to their sourcing.

‘Operators’ – classed as those placing timber products on the EU market for the first time – and ‘traders’ – those dealing in EU timber products – will now be required to keep five-year records of their supply chain.

This must consist of descriptive information about the product, including country of harvest, species, quantity and details of the supplier, all of which NMO enforcement project manager Michael Kearney said are easily accessible on the product invoice.

Businesses’ are also asked to conduct risk assessments on products using the previously mentioned information and exercise mitigation if there is some concern about the legality of the product by demanding additional information and verification from the supplier.

The NMO will be applying a "mixed application" of enforcement, according to Kearney, including random spot checks through asking for snapshots of businesses’ EUTR records via email or written communication. The EUTR now also enables the NMO to spontaneously visit businesses’ to ensure that records are being kept.

Kearney added that the starting point for investigation would be from cases that are flagged up from intelligence from non-government organisations (NGO) such as Greenpeace, which has long campaigned against illegal logging.

Failure to comply with EUTR will incur maximum £5,000 fines or up to two years imprisonment for deliberate negligence and repeated failure to comply.

The EUTR aims to reduce the prevalence of illegal logging by diminishing the economic incentives for operators.

Environment Minister Richard Benyon said: "These tough new laws will force the minority of timber importers who bring in illegally harvested wood to think again or risk imprisonment.

"Illegally harvested timber destroys wildlife habitats and forces reputable traders out of business. This practice has to stop."

Kearney added that illegal timber trading is a business in which "everyone loses out" and does not only incur negative environmental effects.

He said: "We have to ensure that the timber has been harvested lawfully and that the fees have been paid to make sure there are no issues with the rights of indigenous people’s concession.

"There have been situations in the past where people have obtained logging concessions through illicit means such as bribery and the rights of those who live and rely on the forests for their livelihoods have been overlooked."