The Plant Health (Official Controls and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2020

Measures to be taken on non-compliant Schedule 1 consignments

15.—(1) Where a plant health inspector is of the opinion that a Schedule 1 consignment has been brought into Northern Ireland in contravention of a domestic import rule or that it does not otherwise comply with a domestic import rule relating to the controlled material in the consignment, the plant health inspector must—

(a) place the consignment under official detention and refuse its entry into Northern Ireland;

(b) where it is not necessary to take action immediately to respond to the risk to plant health posed by the consignment, consult the responsible operator in relation to the measures to be taken to deal with the non-compliance;

(c) without delay, serve a notice on the responsible operator ordering the operator to—

(i) destroy the consignment or, where appropriate, particular lots in the consignment;

(ii) re-dispatch the consignment to a third country; or

(iii) treat the controlled material in the consignment in a manner that ensures that the risk to plant health arising from the controlled material is eliminated and that it otherwise complies with the domestic import rules relating to the controlled material; or

(iv) take any other measures which are necessary to ensure that the domestic import rules relating to the controlled material in the consignment are met; and

(d) invalidate the phytosanitary certificate or transit declaration accompanying the consignment (as the case may be).

(2) A plant health inspector may only serve a notice pursuant to sub-paragraph (1)(c) ordering the operator responsible for the consignment to re-dispatch the consignment to a third country if the proposed destination has been agreed with the operator.

(3) The operator responsible for a Schedule 1 consignment which is detained pursuant to this paragraph must store the consignment and take the measures specified in the notice served pursuant to sub-paragraph (1)(c) at the operator’s own expense.