‘Plant’ means a living plant (including a fungus or tree) or a living part of a plant (including a living part of a fungus or shrub), at any stage of growth.
‘Plant product’ means products of plant origin, unprocessed or having undergone simple preparation, in so far as these are not plants, including wood and bark.
Instructions are issued by DEFRA and APHA for Great Britain (England, Wales and Scotland) – here.
We await the instructions for Northern Ireland.
Importing plants and plant products from the EU from 1 January 2021
High-priority plants and plant products from the EU must have:
• a phytosanitary certificate (PC)
• a pre-notification submitted by the importer in England, Scotland or Wales
• documentary and identity checks
• a physical inspection
The importer will pay for these services.
High-priority plants and plant products from the EU that will need a PC from 1 January 2021 include:
• all plants for planting
• ware potatoes
• some seed and timber
• used agricultural or forestry machinery
The importer must pre-notify for imports of solid fuel wood that aren’t regulated. A PC is not required for these imports.
Importing plants and plant products from 1 April 2021
The importer must use the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS) to notify the Animal Plant Health Agency (APHA) or the Forestry Commission that regulated plants and plant products will be imported.
All regulated plants and plant products imported to England, Scotland or Wales from the EU must have phytosanitary certificates (PCs).
APHA will inspect the PCs in England and Wales. The Scottish Government will inspect PCs in Scotland.
Regulated plants and plant products include:
• all plants for planting
• root and tubercle vegetables
• some common fruits other than fruit preserves by deep freezing
• some cut flowers
• some seeds and grains
• leafy vegetables other than vegetables preserved by deep freezing
• potatoes from some countries
• machinery or vehicles which have been operated for agricultural or forestry purposes
Importing plants and plant products from 1 July 2021
Regulated plants and plant products will have extra documentary checks and physical inspections.
The importer must use IPAFFS to notify APHA or the Forestry Commission of the import of regulated plants and plant products.
Movement of wood packaging material
Wood packaging material (WPM) moving between the UK and the rest of the EU can currently move freely without checks or controls.
WPM includes:
• pallets
• crates
• boxes
• cable drums
• spools
• dunnage
From 1 January 2021 all WPM moving between the UK and the EU must meet ISPM15 international standards by undergoing heat treatment and marking. All WPM may be subject to official checks either upon or after entry to the EU.
Checks on WPM will continue to be carried out in the UK on a risk-targeted basis only. The plant health risk from WPM imported from the EU is not expected to change from 1 January 2021.
The above is not a full list, please read the entire webpage with its links – here.
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