EU Plant Passport Scheme

[Diane]

I agree with Ralph, this line seems to indicate that for individuals no PP would be necessary:


"It is only the final stage of the supply chain, where the regulated plant or plant product is sold to the final user who is acquiring them for personal use, where a PP is not required."

[Bill]

I have been talking to several others who have made similar enquires of APHA

Was your enquiry, or any other of the similar enquiries, made formally on behalf of any organisation? Or were they just treated as enquiries from a member of the public?

I signed my email as:

Trustee - British Cactus and Succulent Society
Editor of Haworthiad the journal of the Haworthia Society

[ragamala]

I have been talking to several others who have made similar enquires of APHA

Was your enquiry, or any other of the similar enquiries, made formally on behalf of any organisation? Or were they just treated as enquiries from a member of the public?

I signed my email as:

Trustee - British Cactus and Succulent Society
Editor of Haworthiad the journal of the Haworthia Society

Thanks, Bill

[Bill]

I agree with Ralph, this line seems to indicate that for individuals no PP would be necessary:


"It is only the final stage of the supply chain, where the regulated plant or plant product is sold to the final user who is acquiring them for personal use, where a PP is not required."

That is for direct face to face sales only, distance selling is treated different for all sellers, this is what APHA who will be enforcing this have said.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/issuing-pla ... -in-the-eu
A plant passport is required even to customers buying for personal use if you are supplying through means of distance sales, for example, if you are selling online.

This is from the NFU guidance:
"Plant passports are not required for direct supply to final users (i.e. members of the public). But this excludes distance selling, where plant material sold to a final user will require a plant passport."

Pet Business world > Those trading plants via distance-selling contracts, e.g. online, over the telephone, etc., will be required to pass plant passports down to the final end user, e.g. domestic gardeners purchasing for personal use

Horticultural Weekly> Plant passports are not required for direct supply to the public, but this excludes distance selling.

I am sure these all haven't got it wrong.

[ragamala]

What interests me is what not our Withdrawal Agreement decides to do re UK law in terms of transition period, but what EU regulations and law enforces.

If their law says thou shalt not export to non-EU countries plants or plant materials etc without appropriate documentation, the question is whether this applies when the UK exits the EU on 31st January, as it not surely must.

Whatever EU leglislation is in place I am sure it didn't include "except for the UK".

[ralphrmartin]

I've emailed them and asked for a definitive link to the legislation itself. That's what counts, not our interpretations, or their "information" documents.

What counts is what APHA say and how they interpret the the rules, which is what I have given, not my interpretations and the link to the EU legislation is in my first post:
https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_h ... u_rules_en

That's an information sheet about the legislation, not the legislation...

[Chris L]

https://hta.org.uk/news/plant-passports-be-ready.html

Businesses involved in selling to other businesses, partnerships or sole traders may need to be authorised to issue plant passports and need to register with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to enable them to do so.

https://www.nfuonline.com/sectors/horti ... n-for-you/

What does the regulation do?

The purpose of the regulation is to strengthen biosecurity controls to protect the EU from quarantine pests by preventing introduction and effectively dealing with any outbreaks. Measures for monitoring, identifying and predicting risks are strengthened through new rules for plant movements, including commercial movements, via postal services, with travellers.

It strengthens measures around identifying risks, horizon scanning and surveillance. Specifically it requires plant businesses (growing, importing/exporting plants), to have in place processes that allow tracking and traceability of plants and plant material. This means plant material moving from a third country into the EU will require a phytosanitary certificate; and plant material moving within the EU, including within individual countries and even between premises of a single business, will require a plant passport.

What is covered?

Plant passports will only be required for plant material that is or could be planted: this includes all ornamental plants, propagation material, some seed (including certain vegetable seeds and potato seed and tubers, i.e. seed potatoes), certain oilseed crops, and also for potted herbs for culinary use. Plant passports will not be required for fruit and vegetables, with a few exceptions such as certain citrus.

How is a plant passport used?

Plant passports have to meet specific requirements in terms of content and format, and they have to be attached to the ‘trade unit’ of the plants. This could mean a tray of plants, but in many cases it will mean the individual pot or even directly onto the plant.

Plant passports are not required for direct supply to final users (i.e. members of the public). But this excludes distance selling, where plant material sold to a final user will require a plant passport.

https://plantnetwork.org/links/blog/new ... gulations/

Key messages:

The UK will be implementing the PHR but there is currently limited information available on the GOV.UK website although this will change as Defra has been given permission to re-engage with stakeholders during the election purdah and have stated that there will be a stepped approach to policing the regulations;
All plants and some seeds will require a plant passport when moved from professional operator to professional operator who will need to maintain records for three years;
Professional operators will need to register with and be authorised by their competent authority (e.g. APHA for England and Wales) to issue a plant passport;
Plant passports are not required when plants, plant products and other objects are supplied directly to final users (anyone who acquires plants or plant products for their own personal use);
Plant passports are required for distant sales (mail order, telephone sales etc.) or if supplied within a protected zone (an area where certain quarantine pests and diseases are not present and hence a plant passport provides assurance that a plant/plant product is free of the pest/disease before entering the area: see Annex XIV (page 205) with APHA listing protected zones in the EU and the UK);
If supplying directly and exclusively small quantities of plants, plant products and other objectives to the final user, authorisation to issue plant passports might not be required but do check with your local plant health inspector or contact the relevant plant health organisation for your region to find out if you need to register:

[Chris L]

I've emailed them and asked for a definitive link to the legislation itself. That's what counts, not our interpretations, or their "information" documents.

What counts is what APHA say and how they interpret the the rules, which is what I have given, not my interpretations and the link to the EU legislation is in my first post:
https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_h ... u_rules_en

That's an information sheet about the legislation, not the legislation...

I think this is the legislation - you'll need an afternoon to read it all.
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 32016R2031

[Bill]

I've emailed them and asked for a definitive link to the legislation itself. That's what counts, not our interpretations, or their "information" documents.

What counts is what APHA say and how they interpret the the rules, which is what I have given, not my interpretations and the link to the EU legislation is in my first post:
https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_h ... u_rules_en

That's an information sheet about the legislation, not the legislation...

Isnt it the first link on the page? Regulation (EU) 2016/2031

[ralphrmartin]

In the EU Directive which indeed Bill linked to (apologies Bill - the other two are info sheets):
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content ... 32016R2031,
throughout the whole document, it repeatedly uses the phrase professional operators. I have trouble parsing clause (27), but it does seem to say non-professionals are not subject to these rules. Maybe someone else can make more sense of that clause than I can.
(While the rest of the document has nothing to say about non-professional selling or moving of plants, iIt does say anyone discovering certain pests needs to report them).

Later it says
‘professional operator’ means any person, governed by public or private law, involved professionally in, and legally responsible for, one or more of the following activities ...
I'm not sure how the EU defines professional, but my understanding of a professional is someone who makes a living doing something, or at least a substantial part of their income. I cannot see how someone selling an odd spare plant on an auction site could be regarded as a professional.

I'm still waiting to get a response to my request for a link to the UK legislation (which may be stricter than the EU Directive, of course, which sets a minimum requirement for legislation in each country).