The Plant Health etc. (Fees) (England) Regulations 2018

• Citation: S.I. 2018/289
• Sections: 22

Section 1 Citation, commencement, extent and application

(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Plant Health etc. (Fees) (England) Regulations 2018.

(2) They come into force on 6th April 2018.

(3) They extend to England and Wales, but apply in relation to England only.

Section 2 Interpretation

(1) In these Regulations, “the ... Plant Health Regulation” means Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council on protective measures against pests of plants.

(2) Words and expressions which are not defined in these Regulations and appear in the ... Plant Health Regulation or in Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products have the same meaning in these Regulations as they have in the ... instrument in question.

Section 3 Import inspection fees

(1) This regulation applies in relation to a third country consignment insofar as it includes plants, plant products or other objects of a description specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 1 that fall within Part A of Annex 11, or Annex 12, to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/2072 establishing uniform conditions for the implementation of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and the Council, as regards protective measures against pests of plants ....

(2) The fee payable by the importer of a third country consignment in respect of a documentary check of each phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export accompanying the consignment is—

(a) in the case of a consignment originating in Liechtenstein containing any plants or plant products falling within the table in Schedule 2B and also within the Schedule to the Official Controls (Plant Health) (Frequency of Checks) Regulations 2022, £5.25;

(b) in the case of a consignment to which sub-paragraph (a) does not apply, originating in an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland and containing only plants or plant products falling within the table in Schedule 2B, £0.15;

(c) in any other case, £5.25.

(2A) Subject to paragraphs (2B), (2C) and (2E), the fees payable by the importer of a third country consignment in respect of liability to a physical check and identity check that may be carried out on the consignment (whether or not any such check is carried out) are, where a consignment includes plants, plant products or other objects of a description specified in column 1 of the table, which originate in a country specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of the table—

(a) the fee specified in column 3 of the table in respect of a physical check of plants, plant products or other objects of each such description included in the consignment; and

(b) the fee specified in column 4 of the table in respect of an identity check of plants, plant products or other objects of each such description included in the consignment.

(2B) The fees specified under paragraph (2A) in respect of liability to a physical check and identity check of cut flowers, fruit, vegetables or leaves are payable in respect of a single lot of the kind in question.

(2C) Where a consignment includes two or more plants, plant products or other objects falling within a single category specified in column 1 of the table, the fee payable under paragraph (2A) in respect of liability to a physical check or identity check of the plants, plant products or other objects within the category in question is—

(a) so far as the consignment includes two or more lots either of cut flowers or of fruit, vegetables or leaves—

(i) the fee payable in respect of a single lot of cut flowers or of fruit, vegetables or leaves (as the case may be); or

(ii) where different amounts are specified in relation to the lots in question, a fee equal to the highest of the fees relating to liability to a physical check or identity check (as the case may be);

(b) so far as the consignment includes any other plants, plant products or other objects which originate in the same country—

(i) the fee payable in respect of a single plant, plant product or other object of any of the descriptions in question; or

(ii) where different amounts are specified in relation to those plants, plant products or other objects, a fee equal to the highest of the fees relating to liability to a physical check or identity check (as the case may be).

(2D) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(2E) No fee is payable under paragraph (2A) in respect of—

(a) any consignment originating in an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland introduced into England through a relevant port before 31st October 2024; or

(b) any plants listed in the table in Schedule 2A to the Plant Health (Amendment etc.) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 contained in any consignment originating in an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, introduced into England before 31st October 2024.

(2EA) Paragraph (2E) does not apply to any goods—

(a) contained in a consignment originating in Liechtenstein; and

(b) falling within the Schedule to the Official Controls (Plant Health) (Frequency of Checks) Regulations 2022.

(2F) Where an inspector suspects that a third country consignment is infected with a controlled plant pest and takes a sample from the consignment for laboratory testing to confirm whether the pest is present, the fee payable by the importer of the third country consignment is £147.35 for each sample tested.

(2G) For the purposes of this regulation and the table —

(a) “ leaves ” means vegetables, herbs and spices, so far as they take the form of leaves with or without stems or stalks attached, and the loose leaves of any other plants;

(b) “vegetables”, except in sub-paragraph (a), means vegetables other than in so far as they take the form of leaves.

(3) In this regulation—

(a) “ category ”, in relation to anything specified in column 1 of the table, means a grouping which is listed in column 1 in bold typeface;

(b) “ controlled plant pest ” means a GB quarantine pest, a provisional GB quarantine pest, a PFA quarantine pest or a GB regulated non-quarantine pest;

(c) “ description ”, in relation to anything specified in column 1 of the table, means the specific description in respect of which a fee is specified;

(d) “ lot ” means one or more units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, which form part of a consignment;

(da) “ relevant port ” means any of the following seaports—

(i) Barrow;

(ii) Ellesmere Port;

(iii) Garston;

(iv) Heysham;

(v) Lancaster;

(vi) Liverpool;

(vii) Mersey Wharf;

(viii) Royal Portbury (Bristol);

(ix) Seaforth Grain Terminal;

(x) Silloth;

(xi) Workington;

(e) “ the table ” means the table in Schedule 1;

(f) “ third country consignment ” means a consignment that is introduced into England from a third country;

(g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 4 Plant passport authorisation fees

(1) This regulation applies in relation to a plant passport authorisation.

(2) The fee specified in paragraph (3) is payable in respect of an inspection and any associated activities which are carried out by, or on behalf of, the Secretary of State —

(a) in connection with an application for a plant passport authorisation;

(b) for the purpose of monitoring compliance with any requirements imposed on the holder of a plant passport authorisation.

(3) A fee of £61.58 is payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection and any associated activities at the relevant premises, subject to a minimum fee of £123.16.

(4) An additional fee of £20.66 is payable where a person submits an application for a plant passport authorisation in paper form (and not online).

(5) Any fees payable under this regulation are payable by the person applying for a plant passport authorisation or the holder of a plant passport authorisation (as the case may be).

(6) In this regulation-

(a) “ plant passport authorisation ” means an authorisation to issue UK plant passports ...;

(b) “ relevant premises ”, in relation to an application for a plant passport authorisation or a plant passport authorisation, means the premises which are subject to the application or the authorisation.

Section 5 Plant health licence fees

(1) The fees specified in the table in Schedule 4 are payable in respect of—

(a) an application for a licence made to the Secretary of State ;

(b) any other activity specified in column 1 of that table which is carried out in connection with a licence granted by the Secretary of State .

(2) The amount of any fee payable in respect of an application for a licence or any other activity specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 4 is the amount specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 of that table, determined in accordance with the entries in respect of that service (if any) in column 2 of that table.

(3) The fee payable in respect of the monitoring of licence terms and conditions is payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection and any associated activities at the premises which are subject to the licence, subject to the minimum fee specified.

(4) Any fee payable under this regulation is payable by the person who submits an application for a licence or the licence holder (as the case may be).

(5) In this regulation, “ licence ” means an authorisation described in regulation 20(1)(a) or (b)(i) or 21(1)(b) of the Official Controls (Plant Health and Genetically Modified Organisms) (England) Regulations 2019 .

Section 5A Export certification services and pre-export services: fees

(1) Subject to paragraph (4A), the fees specified in the table in Schedule 4A (“the table”) are payable in respect of the services described in column 1 of the table by a person who applies to the Secretary of State for a certificate or a pre-export service.

(2) The amount of the fee in respect of any service described in column 1 of the table is—

(a) in the case of a small exporter who, at the date of the application, has only been liable during the financial year in which the application is made to pay fees of £750 or less in respect of the services described in column 1 of the table, the amount specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of the table;

(b) in any other case, the amount specified in the corresponding entry in column 3 of the table.

(3) The fees specified in columns 2 and 3 of the table in respect of an inspection of a consignment or an audit of a grain inspection are payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection or audit and any associated activities, subject to the minimum fees specified in those entries.

(4) Where a person submits an application for a certificate or a pre-export service or a request to amend a certificate in paper form (and not online), the following additional fee is payable in respect of the application or request—

(a) in the case of a small exporter who, at the date of the application or request, has only been liable during the financial year in which the application or request is made to pay fees of £750 or less in respect of the services described in column 1 of the table, £7.88;

(b) in any other case, £15.76.

(4A) The fees specified in Schedule 4A are not payable in respect of a consignment to be transported to Northern Ireland—

(a) by a person acting otherwise than in the course of a business, where the consignment is not to be placed on the market; or

(b) for delivery to—

(i) a professional operator whose principal place of business is in Northern Ireland or

(ii) any person resident in Northern Ireland, where the consignment is not to be placed on the market or used for the purposes of any business.

(4B) Paragraph (4A) ceases to have effect at the end of 30th June 2025 .

(5) In this regulation—

“certificate” means either a phytosanitary certificate for export or a phytosanitary certificate for re-export;

“pre-export service” means any plant health inspection or examination, including by the taking of samples, which is required to be carried out in relation to a plant, plant product or other object which is to be exported ... in order to satisfy the relevant phytosanitary import requirements within the meaning of Article 99a of the Plant Health Regulation , other than any such inspection or examination required for the issue of a certificate;

“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 concerning plants, plant products and other objects—

planting;

breeding;

production, including growing, multiplying and maintaining;

introduction into, and movement within and out of Northern Ireland;

making available on the market;

storage, collection, dispatching and processing.

“small exporter” means a person who—

in the financial year in which the application or request is made—

is not a taxable person for the purposes of the Value Added Tax Act 1994; or

does not make a taxable supply of plants, plant products, seeds, soil or agricultural machinery for the purposes of the Value Added Tax Act 1994; or

in the financial year preceding the year in which the application or request is made, exported goods which were accompanied by a certificate the total value of which was less than £5,000.

Section 6 Potatoes originating in Egypt: fee

(1) Where an official plant health officer takes a sample of potatoes originating in Egypt in order to ascertain ... those potatoes are infected with Ralstonia solanacearum (Smith) Yabuuchi et al., the importer must pay a fee of £70.83 in respect of each lot sampled.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 6A Potatoes originating in Lebanon: fee

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Section 7 Potatoes originating in Lebanon: fee

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Section 8 Seed potatoes: fees

(1) The fees specified in the table in Schedule 5 are payable in respect of the activities specified in column 1 of that table which relate to an application for the certification of seed potatoes in accordance with regulation 10 of the Seed Potatoes (England) Regulations 2015 .

(2) The fees specified in column 2 of the table in Schedule 5 are payable subject to the minimum fees (if any) specified in the corresponding entries in column 3 of that table.

(3) The fees specified in column 2 of the table in Schedule 5 in respect of an inspection of growing crops for certification as Union grade PBTC and an inspection of harvested tubers are payable for each 15 minutes (or part thereof) spent in carrying out the inspection and any associated activities at the relevant premises.

(4) An additional fee of £15.76 is payable where a person submits an application for the certification of seed potatoes in paper form (and not online).

(4A) Where a person submits an application for the provision of printed labels, the following additional fee is payable—

(a) in the case of an application submitted online, £11.45;

(b) in the case of an application submitted in paper form, £15.61.

(5) Any fees payable under this regulation are payable by the applicant.

(6) In paragraph (3), “ relevant premises ” means the premises at which the growing crops for certification as Union grade PBTC or the harvested tubers to be inspected are located.

Section 9 Fruit plants and fruit plant propagating material: fees

(1) The fee specified in paragraph (2) is payable in connection with an application for the certification of fruit plants and fruit plant propagating material in accordance with regulation 9 of the Marketing of Fruit Plant and Propagating Material (England) Regulations 2017 .

(2) A fee of £26.00 per each 15 minutes (or part thereof) is payable in respect of time spent in carrying out an official examination and any associated activities at the relevant premises for the purposes of certifying the material, subject to a minimum fee of £52.00.

(3) Any fees payable under this regulation are payable by the applicant.

(4) In paragraph (2), “ relevant premises ” means the premises at which the material to be certified is located.

Section 10 Payment of fees

Fees payable under these Regulations are payable to the Secretary of State on demand.

Section 11 Suspension of registration

(1) Where any sum due by way of, or on account of, any fee or any part of a fee payable by a registered professional operator under Part 2 of these Regulations remains unpaid, the Secretary of State may—

(a) recover the sum as a civil debt, or

(b) after giving one month's written notice, suspend the operator’s registration until such sum has been paid.

(2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Section 12 Revocations

The instruments listed in Schedule 6 are revoked.

Section 15

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Section 16

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Section 17

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Section 18

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Section 19

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Section 20

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Section 21

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Section 22

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