2454 final report.pdf - Agra CEAS Consulting

Evaluation of the Community Plant Health Regime: Final Report
DG SANCO Evaluation Framework Contract Lot 3 (Food Chain)
General survey results
Q3.1.m Extent to which the additional declaration on phytosanitary certificate has been effective in
preventing the introduction of HOs into the Community:
18 out of 26 MS CAs and 12 out of 23 stakeholders consider that the additional declaration has been effective in
preventing the introduction of HOs (5 MS CA and 8 stakeholders do not know).
Annex VI specifies plants and plant products to which special arrangements may applied (this
provision is described further in Annex 1 (Theme 2). Only four Member States reported (general
survey, Q3.7) that they apply special arrangements for the import of plant products (concerns
four categories of products for which the phytosanitary risk may develop while in storage, as
specified in Annex VI), as follows:
IT: specific requirements regarding import of dry cereals and vegetables;
DE: options to inspect stored products, which is partially used;
IE: importers should notify the Department 48 hours in advance of the intended arrival of
any regulated material.
BG: minimal equipment on Border Inspection Posts;
This situation illustrates that this option is not widely used by MS and therefore it can be
concluded that it is only useful in a very limited number of cases (in the general survey, 2 out of
3 stakeholders that were aware of this provision noted they were satisfied with it). During the
interviews, MS have not indicated that they will further use this possibility in the future, and no
further comments have been provided by stakeholders.
3.4.7 Functioning of checks at the place of final destination
Import controls are mainly done at point of entry PoE 115 , but under certain conditions outlined in
Commission Directive 2004/103/EC, identity and plant health checks (but not documentary
checks) can be carried out at the point of destination (PoD). The system is more fully described
in Annex 1 (Theme 2).
For checks to be carried out at the place of destination, the agreement of the plant health
authorities responsible both for the PoE and the PoD is necessary; the plant health authorities
must have previously approved an importer for this purpose on the basis of certain guarantees;
115 The concept of point of entry (PoE)is different from the Border Inspection Posts (BIPs). MS did not want to
follow the BIP approach in plant health due to the extensive volume and complex nature of trade flows in plants and
plant products (large number of consignments; many product groups; complex trading flows), leading to difficulties
in implementing an efficient logistics system. Therefore, minimum criteria for import controls at PoE were
introduced to gain in flexibility. In the case of a PoE, it is up to MS to decide how/where they will do phytosanitary
checks. The PoE where phytosanitary controls are to be carried out could be in a customs area inside the country or
at the border. BIPs are under the territorial authority of customs, at the border only. According to Directive
2000/29/EC, a point of entry (PoE) shall be considered to mean: The place where plants, plant products or other
objects are brought for the first time into the customs territory of the Community: the airport in the case of air
transport, the port in the case of maritime or fluvial transport, the station in the case of railway transport, and the
place of the customs office responsible for the area where the Community inland frontier is crossed, in the case of
any other transport.
Food Chain Evaluation Consortium 100