Guidance on GB requirements for phytosanitary certificates
The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has released guidance to help interpret special requirements (also known as ADs) in the Great Britain (GB) Plant Health Regulations which dictate whether ADs need to be included on the phytosanitary certificate (PC) to import plants and plant products into GB. This guidance will also give illustrative examples of how the ADs should be written on the PC.
GB requires that PCs be issued for plants, plant products and other regulated imported material, indicating they are free from pests and diseases specified in Schedules 1 and 2 of the Plant Health (Phytosanitary Conditions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
ADs are statements which must be added to the PC in the relevant section to provide specific additional information pertinent to the PC of a consignment. The full details of the special requirements and which commodities they apply to can be found in Schedule 7 of the Plant Health (Phytosanitary Conditions) (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020.
The AD guidance tools, which are accessible via the Plant Health Portal, can help assist in finding the relevant ADs:
- Imports special requirements tool and user guide for plants for planting
- Imports special requirements tool and user guide for produce