The Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) is a body of public administration subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. It has been established by the Act No. 146/2002 Coll. on the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority, as amended.

CAFIA is responsible, within the scope of the assigned responsibilities, for official inspections of natural and legal persons who place on the market agriculture products, foodstuffs or raw materials for their production or tobacco products. Within the legal framework, Act on Foodstuffs and its implementing Decrees are the most important pieces of legislation. The concept and implementation of inspections is coherent with the principles of food control in the European Union.

CAFIA Director General

CAFIA is headed by Director General who is appointed, controlled and recalled by the Minister of Agriculture of the CR. Director General acts and makes decisions on behalf of CAFIA, unless stated otherwise. He is responsible for overall management of the Authority and all CAFIA obligations arising from applicable laws, in particular Act No. 146/2002 Coll., as amended.

Director General manages directly:

• Director of the Authority Office Department
• Director of the Control, Laboratories and Certification Department
• Director of the Law and Foreign Affairs Department
• Director of the Personnel and Techno-Economic Department
• Directors of the Regional Inspectorates
• Internal Auditor

Spokesperson

Spokesperson is responsible for external communication of the Authority, preparation of press releases and further relevant agenda.

Internal Auditor (IA)

Internal auditor is directly subordinate to the Director General and within CAFIA he carries out internal audits and further tasks laid down by Act No. 320/2001 Coll., on Financial Control, as amended.

Authority Office Department (AOD)

Authority Office Department is consisted of following units:

• Unit of Administrative Assistance
• Unit of Public Tenders and Contracts
• Communication Unit
• IT Unit 

The AOD is responsible for:

• operation of the record management system within the Headquarters and its methodical management within the whole Authority
• operation and technical maintenance of all information systems (in co-operation with guarantors of single IS) within the whole Authority and methodical management of network administrators within Inspectorates
• communication with the public, in particular with consumers and its methodical management within the whole Authority including all electronic communication tools; external communication of the Authority, preparation of press releases and further relevant agenda.
• internal communication and its methodical management within the whole Authority
• ensuring compliance with requirements laid down by Act No. 106/1999 Coll., on Free Access to Information, as amended and methodical management of this process within the whole Authority
• agenda related to public tenders and contracts within the Headquarters and methodical management of this process within the whole Authority excluding foreign language contracts related to international co-operation within international projects and agreements on co-operation with other bodies of public administration
• agenda related to Quality Management System, namely within the whole Authority in compliance with the Quality Manual of the QMS of CAFIA
• further responsibilities laid down by CAFIA internal regulations

Department of Control, Laboratories and Certification (DCLC)

The DCLC is divided into:

• Control Unit I
• Control Unit II
• Unit of National Contact Points 
• Laboratory Unit

The department is responsible for:

• methodical management of CAFIA control and laboratory activities within the whole Authority
• formation and co-ordination of the main course of control and laboratory activities
• unification of control actions and approaches 
• agenda in the area of co-operation agreements with other bodies of public administration in  the field of inspection, laboratory and certification activities
• operation of the National Contact Point for the RASFF
• operation of the National Contact Point for the AACS
• communication with the expert public related to results of inspection activities of the Authority
• further responsibilities laid down by CAFIA internal regulations

Law and Foreign Affairs Department (LFAD)

• Law and Legislation Unit I
• Law and Legislation Unit II
• Law and Legislation Unit III

The department performs following tasks:

• methodical management of legislative and legal activities and related management of lawyers at the Inspectorates in the area of administrative law
• agenda in the area of administrative law with exception of Act on Civil Service
• drafting new legislation with national scope in the area of administrative law
• drafting, formulation and comprehensive assessment of draft legislation with national scope within administrative law
• provision of legal interpretation & opinions and setting up general procedures within administrative law
• agenda related to foreign language contracts with foreign partners relevant for co-operation within international projects
• international relations agenda
• translations
• co-ordination of active participation in Working Groups of the Commission and EU Council
• drafting project proposals financed from EU budgets
• co-ordination of CAFIA obligations stemming from international treaties and memberships in international organizations
• approval and evaluation of foreign business trips 
• agenda of complaints
• further responsibilities laid down by CAFIA internal regulations

Personnel and Techno-Economic Department (PTED)

This department is divided into 3 sub-units:

• Personnel unit
• Economic unit
• Technical unit

The department is responsible for:

• methodical management in the area of human resources, financial processes and further processes related to purchasing and property administration
• agenda related to personnel law including salary matters
• systemization
• trade union negotiations
• conceptual activities in the area of training and organisation of education according to various demands
• organisation of foreign business trips
• financing of CAFIA activities
• budget administration
• management, organisation and co-ordination of investment building projects
• co-ordination of CAFIA buildings administration, ensuring operation of the CAFIA Headquarters including emergency service
• keeping records on the property of the CAFIA Headquarters
• methodical management and ensuring CAFIA tasks in the field of occupational safety, fire protection and civil protection
• further responsibilities laid down by CAFIA internal regulations

Regional Inspectorates (RI)

Regional Inspectorate is headed by Director of Regional Inspectorate who is appointed, controlled and recalled by the Director General. Director of RI is responsible for management, control and operation of RI.

Director of RI is responsible for:

• acting on behalf of CAFIA in administrative procedure matters as the body of first instance, in commercial law agreements and contractual relations
• signing contracts to ensure CAFIA activities within allocated funds
• co-operation with relevant local government authorities and professional associations
• compliance with occupational safety regulations and fire protection
• keeping commercial secrets and confidentiality in professional matters
• issuing internal regulations binding for all employees of the Inspectorate to be dealt with in accordance with regulations issued by the Director General
• management of the property and financial resources allocated to the inspectorate

Regional competencies of CAFIA inspectorates:

• Regional Inspectorate in Prague – operating in the Region of Central Bohemia and the capital city of Prague;
• Regional Inspectorate in Tábor – operating in the Region of South Bohemia and Vysočina;
• Regional Inspectorate in Plzeň – operating in the Regions of Plzeň and Karlovy Vary; 
• Regional Inspectorate in Ústí nad Labem – operating in the Regions of Ústí nad Labem and Liberec;
• Regional Inspectorate in Hradec Králové – operating in the Regions of Hradec Králové and Pardubice; 
• Regional Inspectorate in Brno – operating in the Regions of South Moravia and Zlín;
• Regional Inspectorate in Olomouc – operating in the Regions of Olomouc and Moravia-Silesia.