Importing with phyto certificate

[Davey246]

But I trust you sent the VAT due to HM Revenue and Customs.
After all, several members of this Forum are/were employees of HMRC

Of course

[ralphrmartin]

It seems this is one area where the BCSS could usefully produce a leaflet, explaining step-by-step what to do, now that we are out of the EU (a bit like the useful series of cultivation leaflets).

It would be useful if it could cover both plant and seed imports, and also differences in procedures for CITES and non-CITES plants.

Maybe one of the Forum Members who are on the BoT or some other suitable committee could bring it up as a suggestion at an appropriate meeting?

[Herts Mike]

That is an excellent idea Ralph. The sort of thing the Society should be doing.

[MatDz]

It seems this is one area where the BCSS could usefully produce a leaflet, explaining step-by-step what to do, now that we are out of the EU (a bit like the useful series of cultivation leaflets).

It would be useful if it could cover both plant and seed imports, and also differences in procedures for CITES and non-CITES plants.

Maybe one of the Forum Members who are on the BoT or some other suitable committee could bring it up as a suggestion at an appropriate meeting?

As Mike wrote, an excellent idea.

Let's add an official approval stamp from whichever bureau is responsible, maybe?

[Stuart]

Good idea but I agree it should be checked and approved by DEFRA before printed or added online to the new website. With VAT, I pay HMRC in advance so before I bring plants in they already know vehicle reg and time and place of import.

Stuart

[Davey246]

Apart from species being added or changed appendix, CITES has never changed

[Paul D]

I attended seminars organised by Plant Heritage on the regulations on importing plant material, hoping to find out how to not break the law. The regulations and the seminars are squarely aimed at professional importers and I am none the wiser as to what amateur growers need to do. When I asked the question, I was told they don't know, they can only advise professionals.
Similar to the situation with plant passporting, it seems officials would prefer if amateur growers would just go away!

Note that I'm talking about how to import a plant while complying with the law, not "how to get away with it".
Unfortunately before producing a guide for amateurs buying the odd plant from abroad, we need a definitive set of statements from UK officials of what is required. Is an amateur buying a single plant from a nursery in France which is providing all the required documentation, really required to register with PEACH and pre-notify the import? If that is the case it needs spelled out and I haven't seen that yet. Very happy to be corrected.

[Stuart]

I don't think there's any difference between amateur and commercial imports or for differing quantities of plants. CITES has changed in that the UK is now a separate country and not part of the EU which was treated as one country for CITES. I think a phyto from a EU country will double up as a CITES export permit but this still needs to be combined with a CITES import permit. When I last had one, the charges were £25 per genus, I can't see Wilkos paying £25 per genus to import a tray of mixed cacti so maybe there are exceptions.

Stuart

[Pattock]

Unfortunately before producing a guide for amateurs buying the odd plant from abroad, we need a definitive set of statements from UK officials of what is required.

Considering it took me 12 closely-argued emails to get APHA to understand their own rules on the phased introduction of regulations - good luck with that!

They don't have anything for personal imports of plants and seeds but it appears that: "You should follow different rules for personal imports of animals and animal products into the UK." https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-great-britain Does that just mean on your person when returning from abroad or does it include posting as with a brief mention on another page for non-EU imports in the same section? https://www.gov.uk/bringing-plants-and- ... ertificate

Fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds
The rules on bringing fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds depend on the country you’re bringing it from.

From the EU, Switzerland or Liechtenstein
You can bring in the following for personal use:
fruit
vegetables
nuts and seeds

https://www.gov.uk/bringing-food-into-g ... nuts-seeds

So the import of fresh, edible cactus fruit would be allowable for personal use. Many cactus fruit are edible and delicious. Unfortunately, most asclepiad fruit are only edible unripe.

According to their guidance pages, it appears you don't have to notify IPAFFS if you are importing plants from outside the EU, though you would have to for sausages, tortoises and horse feed. I suspect this is an oversight.
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/import-of-p ... eed-system

In their "Travel abroad" section they have a specific list of seeds of common agricultural crops for which you need a PC for import from the EU. They don't mention that they are defining "plants for planting" as including seeds, which seems a bit mean if they still are doing that:
https://www.gov.uk/bringing-plants-and- ... chtenstein

[Davey246]

Speaking from personal experience, relying on the letter of any law or regualtion with DEFRA involved, may easily become a fool's errand.

Amongst the various regualtions covering importation of livestock, poultry are defined as (I may miss some from the complete list) - chickens, turkeys, guineafowl, quail, partridge, pheasants, pigeons, ducks, geese, ostrich, emu. There is (or was) no mention of genera or species.

I applied to import some Bobwhites (Colinus virginianus), which are both ornamental and sometimes farmed for meat (they produce a bigger carcass than the normal Japanese quail). DEFRA insisted that they were ornamental so were not poultry, so had to be imported under totally different and more onerous regulations. (Import applications specificaly ask for Latin names for anything biological, from blood samples, to timber, to large African mammals.)

Would you win against DEFRA, in court? Probably, but at what financial cost?