1. The competent authority of the home Member State shall, within one month, verify the authenticity and validity of the supporting documents in the IMI file for the purpose of issuing a European Professional Card for establishment or for the temporary and occasional provision of services under Article 7(4). That time period shall start upon receipt of the missing documents referred to in the first subparagraph of Article 4b(3) or, if no further documents were requested, upon the expiry of the one-week period referred to in that subparagraph. It shall then transmit the application immediately to the competent authority of the host Member State. The home Member State shall inform the applicant of the status of the application at the same time as it transmits the application to the host Member State.
2. In the cases referred to in Articles 16, 21, 49a and 49b, a host Member State shall decide whether to issue a European Professional Card under paragraph 1 within one month of receipt of the application transmitted by the home Member State. In the event of duly justified doubts, the host Member State may request additional information from, or the inclusion of a certified copy of a document by, the home Member State, which the latter shall provide no later than two weeks after the submission of the request. Subject to the second subparagraph of paragraph 5, the period of one month shall apply, notwithstanding any such request.