Registration and Procedures for Import - Plants and Plant Products

The import of Harmful Organisms from Third Countries on plant and plant products poses a serious threat to Ireland in terms of national plant production and specifically the impact that an outbreak of a disease or pest could have on the nation's agricultural, horticultural and forestry sectors and by way of the significant threat such an outbreak could have on the biodiversity of the Irish countryside.

EU Regulation 2016/2031 sets out a framework of protective measures against the introduction into the EU Community of organisms harmful to plant and plant products, and against their spread within the Community. It provides for a harmonized policy for the 27 members of the EU to prevent the introduction and spread of such organisms. Measures contained within the Regulation are designed to allow Member States adopt controls to prevent the introduction of pests and diseases harmful to plants and plant products and in preventing the spread within the Community of pests and diseases harmful to plant and plant products.

Regulation 2019/2072 outlines what plants and plant products are regulated when being imported into the European Union.

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=CELEX:32019R2072

Personal consignments of plants or plant products originating outside the European Union have the potential to endanger plant health as well as impact the biodiversity and wider environment if the goods brought into the State do not meet EU requirements. Regulation 2016/2031 and Regulation 2017/625 govern the movement of plants into and within the European Union by either commercial or private means. Regulated plants, parts of plants, fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, seeds and grain may not be brought in to the State without a valid phytosanitary certificate (with the appropriate declarations) being presented to the Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at the point of entry. All plants or plant products are regulated with the exception of dates, durians, coconuts, pineapples and bananas.

• Register as a Professional Plants Operator

In accordance with regulation 71 of the European Union (Plant Health) Regulations 2020, S.I. 459 of 2020, the schedule of charges for inspections carried out on regulated plants, plant products and other objects introduced into the State from Third Countries is set out at Annex B below. The plants, plant products and other objects to which charges apply are listed in Annex A.

All consignments of plants and plant products listed in Annex A which enter the State from Third Countries will be subject to an inspection charge, based on the schedule of charges as set out in Annex B. The charge will apply to imported consignments arriving in Dublin Port, Dublin Airport and Rosslare Harbour.

Annex A - Plants and Plant Products

Annex B - Fees Schedule

Application of Fees:

Each Inspection Charge comprises (a) documentary check fee, (b) an identity check fee and (c) a plant health check fee based on the volume/quantity of material as set out in Annex B.

Note: As per Article 3 of Regulation 2017/625 “consignment” means....a quantity of goods of the same type covered by the same official certificate, conveyed by the same means of transport from the same third country or territory.

Invoicing:

To reduce administrative burden, registered importers will be invoiced once in the second week of the month for all consignments inspected in the preceding calendar month.

Payment:

Details of the methods by which payments can be made shall accompany each invoice. A remittance slip will be provided with each invoice for your convenience. Please ensure that you quote your customer number, located at the top left of the invoice, together with the invoice number when completing the remittance slip.

Payment by cheque, draft or money order (in Euro only) should be made payable to:

The Accountant, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine

The remittance slip together with payment should be forwarded to:

Remittances should be sent to this address only. Failure to do so may result in delays in the registering of payments (see non payments below).

EFT/Credit/Debit Card Payments:

A facility to make payments by EFT or credit/debit card can only be made in accordance with a set protocol.

Information on payment by EFT can be obtained by contacting +353-(0)49-4368239

Details on payment by credit/debit Card can be obtained by contacting +353-(0)49-4352053.

Phytosanitary Certificates:

Registered importers are reminded of the provisions of Trader Notice 4 of 2015 and specifically; the requirement of ensuring that the original Phytosanitary Certificate for each consignment is received by DAFM within five working days of DAFM issuing the associated Clearance Certificate. Failure to do so may result in delays to issuing of CB licences for subsequent import applications.

Queries

In the event that you have any queries in relation to this matter, please contact this office either by emailing plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie or alternatively by telephone (01)5058885.

• Annex A Plants and Plant Products (pdf 69Kb)
• Annex B Fees Schedule (pdf 80Kb)

• Additional declaration guide to plants (pdf 3,167Kb)
• Additional declaration guide to citrus (pdf 1,094Kb)
• Additional declaration guide to seeds fruit and other produce (pdf 1,182Kb)

Please carefully note the following information when importing or otherwise risk delays or entry refusal at the Irish border:

These import procedures cover procedures for Dublin Airport for all consignments of plants and plant products imported directly from third countries.

Only registered professional operators with DAFM approved to import may import regulated plants and plant products directly from third countries.

It is the responsibility of the operator responsible for the consignment (acting on behalf of the trader, customs agent) to ensure they are registered on TRACES NT. Guidelines on how to create an EU login and sign up to use TRACES NT can be found here.

All importers of regulated plants and plant products must notify the Department a minimum of 24 hours in advance of shipping via points 1 and 2 below.

Regulated plants and plant products coming from the third countries must be accompanied by a valid phytosanitary certificate.

All wood packaging material and dunnage associated with the consignment must be stamped with the ISPM 15 mark. Please refer to the Wood Packaging Material section on this page for detailed information.

Registered traders are required to follow the steps and advice below:

1. Complete the CHEDPP part 1 via TRACES NT

2. Necessary documents and logistical information must be submitted 24 hours in advance via DAFM’s Imports Control Web portal. Instructions on how to use the web portal can be found here. The documents and information required are as follows:

Instructions on how to complete a CHEDPP part 1 can be found here.

• Contact details of Operator Responsible for the consignment
• Date and time of arrival of consignment
• Country of dispatch
• Entry Point on arrival
• CHED-PP number
• Plant Health Registration (PHR) number of the importer
• Customs SAD number
• Copy of the Original Phytosanitary Certificate (colour scan of original) with appropriate additional declarations
• Copy of the Invoice
• Copy of the Airway bill
• Copy of Customs SAD (Single Administrative Document

3. The importer or customs agent will receive an automatic confirmation email that DAFM have received an application. This email will contain a Case Reference Number. This is an automated reply and only refers to receipt of application and is not an approval for entry.

4. If the application is incomplete or documents are missing, the operator responsible for the consignment will be notified of this via email. The email will outline what information or documents are still required. In this case, to proceed the operator responsible for the consignment must resubmit the outstanding information via the link attached on the email.

Please note incomplete applications will likely lead to delays in the processing applications.

5. On arrival, consignments will be subject to Documentary, Identity and Physical checks by a DAFM official.

6. On the date of arrival of the consignment the operator responsible for the consignment will be notified the allocated inspections time at the BCP. It is the responsibility of the operator responsible for the consignment to ensure that the consignment is presented at the allocated time at the BCP to avoid delays.

7. On successful completion of DAFM’s checks, a Clearance Certificate will be issued to Customs and the operator responsible for the consignment.

8. If a consignment is rejected at any stage of the checking process, the operator responsible for the consignment will be notified via email outlining the reasons for rejection. In the event of a rejection of an application the Customs SAD is also rejected. If the operator responsible for the consignment wishes to reapply, they must supply a new Customs SAD and reapply to DAFM via the process outlined above.

9. The original phytosanitary certificate must be presented to a DAFM inspector at the BCP in Cargo Terminal 3 in Dublin airport on the day of arrival of the consignment.

Note: It is the responsibility of the operator responsible for the consignment to ensure that any additional documentary processes necessary to clear Customs Control have been completed.

Please carefully note the following information when importing or otherwise risk delays or entry refusal at the Irish border:

These import procedures cover procedures for Dublin port for all consignments of plants and plant products imported directly from third countries.

Only registered traders approved to import may import regulated plants and plant products directly from third countries.

It is the responsibility of the person responsible for the consignment (acting on behalf of the trader) to ensure they are registered on TRACES NT.

Guidelines on how to register and use TRACES NT can be found here

All importers of regulated plants and plant products must notify the Department a minimum of 24 hours in advance of shipping via points 1 and 2 below.

Regulated plants and plant products coming from the third countries must be accompanied by a valid phytosanitary certificate.

All wood packaging material and dunnage associated with the consignment must be stamped with the ISPM 15 mark. Please refer to the Wood Packaging Material section on this page for detailed information.

Registered traders are required to follow the steps and advice below:

1. Complete the CHEDPP part 1 via TRACES NT

2. Necessary documents and logistical information must be submitted 24 hours in advance via DAFM’s Imports Control Web portal. Instructions on how to use the web portal can be found here. The documents and information required are as follows:

• Contact details of Operator Responsible for the consignment
• Date and time of arrival of consignment
• Country of dispatch
• Entry Point on arrival
• CHED-PP number
• Plant Health Registration (PHR) number of the importer
• Customs SAD number
• Copy of the Original Phytosanitary Certificate (colour scan of original) with appropriate additional declarations
• Copy of the Invoice
• Copy of the Airway bill
• Copy of Customs SAD (Single Administrative Document)

3. The importer will then receive an automatic confirmation email that DAFM have received an application. This email will contain a Case Reference Number. This is an automated reply and only refers to receipt of application and is not an approval for entry.

4. If the application is incomplete or documents are missing, the person responsible for the consignment will be notified of this via email. The email will outline what information or documents are still required. In this case, to proceed the person responsible for the consignment must resubmit the outstanding information via the link attached on the email.

Please note incomplete applications will likely lead to delays in the processing applications.

5. On arrival, consignments will be subject to Documentary, Identity and Physical checks by a DAFM official.

6. On successful completion of DAFM’s checks, a Clearance Certificate will be issued to Customs and the person responsible for the load.

7. If a consignment is rejected at any stage of the checking process, the person responsible for the load will be notified via email outlining the reasons for rejection. In the event of a rejection of an application the Customs SAD is also rejected. If the person responsible for the load wishes to reapply, they must supply a new Customs SAD and reapply to DAFM via the process outlined above.

8. The original phytosanitary certificate together with a copy of the relevant clearance certificate must be received within 5 working days from the date of issue of the clearance certificate at the address below:

Note: It is the responsibility of the importer to ensure that any additional documentary processes necessary to clear Customs Control have been completed.

• Important information regarding Wood Packaging Material (WPM) requirements when trading with third countries (non-EU countries)

Q: What is a Phytosanitary Certificate?

A: A Phytosaniary Certificate is a legal document issued by the NPPO (National Plant Protection Organisation) of the country of export for goods and commercial consignemts of plant origin certifying that they are free from certain / specified harmful and quarantine pests and diseases.

Q: I am a non commercial importer and I wish to bring cut flowers home from a third country (non-EU) what do i need to do?

A: There are many thousands of species of cut flowers, some are regulated others are not, so it’s not possible to tell you until we know the specific details. Please submit your query via email to plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie

Q: I wish to import regulated plants and plant products into Ireland and I want to get a Phytosanitary certificate for these products. Who do i contact?

A: Contact the competent authority of the country of origin of the goods? A link to contact details can be found here. Alternatively your seller in the country of origin can arrange this locally with the competent authority.

Q: I am a commercial importer how do i establish if there are phytosanitary requirements to import my plants into Ireland (EU)?

A: Contact plantimports@agriculture.gov.ie to confirm if the plant or plant product requires certification. If so then you must follow registration procedures as outlined above.

Q: Post import checks I noted unusual occurrence of harmful organisms (pests or diseases) on my consignment. Who do i contact?

A: Immediately contact the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine at email address plantandpests@agriculture.gov.ie or by telephone 01-5058885

Q: What is a Plant Passport?

A: A Plant Passport is an official label issued by producer and authorised by the competent authority, with gives evidence that the provisions of the EU Directives relating to plant health standards and special requirements are satisfied and which are:

• Standardised at Community level for different types of plants or plant products, and
• Issued in accordance with the implementing rules governing the details of the procedure for issuing plant passports.

Q: What does a Plant Passport look like? And where do i find it?

A: Typically a plant passport can be attached to the plant or referenced in the associated documentation i.e. the invoice or the delivery docket.