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

PART 3 Official controls on consignments from third countries

8.—(1) In this Part—

“border control post” means a border control post in Northern Ireland which has been designated pursuant to Article 59(1) of the Official Controls Regulation for the purposes of the rules referred to in Article 1(2)(g) of that Regulation;

“documentary check”, in relation to a Schedule 1 consignment, means an examination of the phytosanitary certificate or transit declaration which is required to accompany the consignment on its introduction from a third country pursuant to Part 1;

“domestic import rule” means any prohibition, restriction or requirement in respect of the introduction of controlled material which applies by virtue of Part 1;

“identity check”, in relation to a Schedule 1 consignment, means a visual inspection of the controlled material in the consignment to verify that its contents correspond to the information provided in the phytosanitary certificate or transit declaration accompanying the consignment;

“official controls” means activities performed by a plant health inspector pursuant to this Part to verify that the controlled material in a Schedule 1 consignment complies with the domestic import rules relating to the material and that the operator of the consignment complies with this Part;

“operator”, in relation to a consignment, means the importer of the consignment, or the person acting on behalf of the importer, who is in charge of the consignment when presented at the border control post of first arrival in Northern Ireland and makes the necessary declarations to the Department;

“physical check”, in relation to the controlled material in a Schedule 1 consignment, means any check on that material, the packaging of the consignment or its means of transport which, in the opinion of a plant health inspector, is necessary to verify that the controlled material complies with the domestic import rules relating to that material;

“plant health entry document” has the meaning given in paragraph 10(1);

“responsible operator”, in relation to a consignment, means the operator who is responsible for that consignment.

(2) Where any controlled material is required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate pursuant to Part 1, any reference in this Part to the controlled material complying with the domestic import rules relating to that material is to be construed as including its compliance with the matters certified in the official statement that has been included in the phytosanitary certificate in respect of the controlled material.

Application of this Part

9.—(1) This Part applies to a Schedule 1 consignment which is to be, or is, brought into the Union territory from a third country where its point of first arrival into the Union territory is in Northern Ireland.

(2) But it does not apply to—

(a) any Schedule 1 consignment which forms part of the personal luggage of a passenger where the controlled material in the consignment is intended for personal consumption or use and does not include any plants for planting; or

(b) any small Schedule 1 consignment addressed to a natural person which is not intended to be placed on the market and does not include any plants for planting.

(3) Where a Schedule 1 consignment contains any plant, plant product or other object which is not controlled material, and Article 47(1) of the Official Controls Regulation applies in relation to that plant, plant product or other object, this Part applies only for the purposes of the performance of official controls on the controlled material in the consignment.

Notification and presentation of Schedule 1 consignments

10.—(1) A “plant health entry document” is an entry document, in the form required by the Department, to be used—

(a) for the prior notification of the arrival of a Schedule 1 consignment at a border control post in Northern Ireland; and

(b) for the purposes of recording the outcome of official controls on the consignment and any decisions taken by a plant health inspector in relation to the consignment under this Part.

(2) The operator responsible for a Schedule 1 consignment must complete the relevant part of a plant health entry document and submit the completed part to the Department—

(a) in the case of a consignment which is to be brought in by air, at least four working hours before its expected arrival in Northern Ireland;

(b) in the case of a consignment which consists in whole or in part of unprocessed logs or sawn or chipped wood and is to be brought into a point of entry which only has a temporary border control post, at least three working days before its expected arrival in Northern Ireland;

(c) in the case of any other consignment, at least one working day before its expected arrival in Northern Ireland.

(3) In the case of a Schedule 1 consignment which is intended to be transhipped, the Department may by notice in writing require the responsible operator to provide it, by the time or date specified in the notice, with the information set out in the notice in relation to the proposed transhipment.

(4) The operator responsible for a Schedule 1 consignment must arrange for the consignment, together with the phytosanitary certificate or transit declaration accompanying the consignment, to be presented to the Department at the border control post of first arrival.

(5) In sub-paragraph (2)—

“temporary border control post” means a border control post which has been exempted from the obligations in Article 64(3)(a), (c) and (f) of the Official Controls Regulation pursuant to Article 4 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/1012 supplementing Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council by derogating from the rules on the designation of control points and from the minimum requirements for border control posts(1);

“working day” and “working hour” have the same meaning as in regulation 7(4).

Consignments not correctly presented for official controls

11.  Where a plant health inspector suspects or is aware that a consignment which has arrived at a border control post in Northern Ireland is a Schedule 1 consignment and the operator responsible for that consignment has not presented the consignment to the Department in accordance with paragraph 10(4), the plant health inspector must serve a notice on the operator recalling the consignment and placing the consignment under official detention.

Official controls to be performed on Schedule 1 consignments

12.—(1) The Department must perform official controls on a Schedule 1 consignment at the border control post of arrival.

(2) Any documentary check, identity check or physical check in relation to a Schedule 1 consignment must be performed by a plant health inspector.

(3) In the case of a Schedule 1 consignment which is in transit, a plant health inspector may require the following official controls to be carried out before authorising any onward transit of the consignment—

(a) a documentary check of the transit declaration and an examination of any other official documents accompanying the consignment;

(b) a physical check of the consignment’s packaging and means of transport to verify that there is no risk of any Union quarantine pests, protected zone quarantine pests or pests subject to the measures adopted pursuant to Article 30(1) of the EU Plant Health Regulation being spread whilst in transit through the Union territory.

(4) In the case of a Schedule 1 consignment which is being transhipped and remains, or is to remain, at the border control post of arrival for longer than the transhipment period, a plant health inspector may require the following official controls to be carried out—

(a) a documentary check of the transit declaration and an examination of any other official documents accompanying the consignment;

(b) an identity check or plant health check in relation to the consignment.

(5) In the case of any other Schedule 1 consignment, a plant health inspector must carry out a documentary check, identity check and a physical check.

(6) Any documentary check, identity check or physical check which is carried out in relation to a Schedule 1 consignment must, so far as is possible, be carried out by a plant health inspector in the same manner as the inspector would carry out the check if the consignment were a consignment of plants, plant products or other objects referred to in Article 47(1)(c) of the Official Controls Regulation.

(7) Where a plant health inspector suspects that a Schedule 1 consignment is likely to be, or has been, brought into Northern Ireland from a third country in contravention of a domestic import rule or that any controlled material in the consignment may not otherwise comply with a domestic import rule relating to the controlled material in the consignment, the plant health inspector must serve a notice on the responsible operator—

(a) placing the consignment under official detention; and

(b) prohibiting the entry of the consignment into Northern Ireland,

pending the outcome of any additional official controls on the consignment which the inspector considers are necessary to confirm or to eliminate that suspicion.

(8) In sub-paragraph (4), “transhipment period” means—

(a) in relation to an airport, three days or more;

(b) in relation to a port, 30 days or more.

Completion of official controls

13.  Following the completion of official controls on a Schedule 1 consignment, a plant health inspector must—

(a) decide whether the controlled material in the consignment complies with the domestic import rules relating to that material and, where relevant, indicate the applicable customs procedure for the consignment;

(b) finalise the plant health entry document for that consignment; and

(c) where the finalised plant health entry document authorises the placing and handling of the consignment under a relevant customs procedure and the consignment was accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, provide the responsible operator with an authenticated copy of the phytosanitary certificate or, if the consignment is to be split, with authenticated copies of the phytosanitary certificate for each part of the split consignment.

Removal of Schedule 1 consignments from border control posts of arrival

14.—(1) No person may remove a Schedule 1 consignment from its border control post of arrival or split the consignment unless—

(a) the finalised plant health entry document for that consignment authorises the placing and handling of the consignment under a relevant customs procedure and, following the presentation of the finalised plant health entry document to HMRC, HMRC has authorised the placing of the consignment under a customs procedure; or

(b) a plant health inspector has served a notice on the person pursuant to paragraph 19 or 20 authorising its removal from that border control post.

(2) HMRC may not authorise the placing of any Schedule 1 consignment under a customs procedure which is different from the one indicated by the Department in the finalised plant health entry document for that consignment.

(3) Where a customs declaration is made for a Schedule 1 consignment and the finalised plant health entry document for that consignment is not presented to HMRC, HMRC must detain the Schedule 1 consignment and immediately notify the Department.

(4) Where a Schedule 1 consignment is permitted to leave its border control post pursuant to sub-paragraph (1), a plant health inspector may by notice in writing specify which documents (if any) must accompany the consignment to its place of destination.

(5) In this paragraph, “HMRC” means Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

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.

Measures to be taken on Schedule 1 consignments

16.—(1) This paragraph applies where—

(a) the official controls carried out by a plant health inspector pursuant to this Part indicate that the controlled material in a Schedule 1 consignment complies with the domestic import rules relating to that material;

(b) although the controlled material in the consignment complies, or appears to comply, with those domestic import rules, the inspector is of the opinion that the consignment poses a risk to plant health in Northern Ireland or to any other part of the Union territory; and

(c) Article 67 of the Official Controls Regulation does not apply to the consignment.

(2) The plant health inspector must—

(a) place the consignment under official detention and ensure that the consignment is isolated or quarantined;

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

(i) destroy the consignment; or

(ii) 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 or any EU plant health rules relating to the controlled material; and

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

Notification of decisions to refuse the entry of a Schedule 1 consignment into Northern Ireland

17.—(1) The Department must ensure that any decision by a plant health inspector to refuse a Schedule 1 consignment entry into Northern Ireland is immediately notified in writing to—

(a) the appropriate GB authority;

(b) the Commission;

(c) the competent authorities of other member States;

(d) the national plant protection organisation of the third country of origin; and

(e) the responsible operator.

(2) In this paragraph, “GB authority” means—

(a) in relation to England, the Secretary of State or the Forestry Commissioners;

(b) in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

(c) in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers.

Notices under this Part

18.  A notice in relation to a Schedule 1 consignment under this Part may include any of the following—

(a) the measures that the responsible operator must take to isolate or quarantine the consignment or otherwise deal with the risk to plant health arising from the consignment;

(b) where a plant health inspector requires the consignment to be destroyed or otherwise disposed of, re-exported or treated, the measures that the responsible operator must take to destroy or otherwise dispose of, re-export or treat the consignment;

(c) any other measures which the plant health inspector considers are appropriate in the light of the suspected or known contravention or the risk to plant health in Northern Ireland or to any other part of the Union territory arising from the consignment.

(1)

O.J. No. L 165, 21.6.2019, p. 4.