The Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005

Made: 6th September 2005

Laid before Parliament: 8th September 2005

Coming into force: 1st October 2005

The Forestry Commissioners, in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by sections 2 and 3 of the Plant Health Act 1967[^f00001], as read with section 20 of the Agriculture (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1972[^f00002] make the following Order:

PART 1 — GENERAL

Title and commencement

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This Order may be cited as the Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 and shall come into force on 1st October 2005.

General interpretation

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• (1) In this Order—

• “the appropriate authority” means— the Commissioners, in relation to England and Scotland; the Welsh Ministers, in relation to Wales;

• “area of plant health control” is defined in article 10(2);

• “associated controlled dunnage”, in items 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10A, 11, 12A or 13 12, 12A, 13 or 13C of Part A of Schedule 4, means wood which supports a consignment of wood of a genus or species specified in that item and which— is constructed from wood of the same type and quality as the wood in the consignment; and meets the same European Union phytosanitary requirements as the wood in the consignment;

• “authorised officer” means— an authorised representative of the responsible official body of the country in which a plant passport is issued, a public servant acting under the authority of such a representative or a qualified agent employed by the responsible official body, in any case who shall be appropriately qualified; a person permitted by Swiss legislation to issue a Swiss plant passport; or an authorised representative of the responsible official body or the national plant protection organisation of the country in which a phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export or translation of a phytosanitary certificate or a phytosanitary certificate for re-export is issued, or a public officer acting under the authority of such a representative;

• “bark-free” means wood from which all bark, excluding the vascular cambium, ingrown bark around knots and bark pockets between rings of annual growth, has been removed;

• “Commissioners” means the Forestry Commissioners;

• “consignment” has the same meaning as in Article 2(1)(p) of the Directive where that term is used in Part 2 or in relation to any relevant material referred to in that Part;

• “Customs Act” means the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979[^f00003];

• “debarked” means wood which has undergone a process by which some, but not necessarily all, of its bark has been removed;

• “Decision 2002/757/EC” means Commission Decision 2002/757/EC on provisional emergency phytosanitary measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Community of Phytophthora ramorum Werres, De Cock & Man in ‘t Veld sp. nov., as amended from time to time;

• “Decision 2007/433/EC” means Commission Decision 2007/433/EC on provisional emergency measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Community of Gibberella circinata Nirenberg & O’Donnell, as amended from time to time;

• “Decision 2012/138/EU” means Commission Implementing Decision 2012/138/EU as regards emergency measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Anoplophora chinensis (Forster), as amended from time to time;

• “Decision 2012/535/EU” means Commission Implementing Decision 2012/535/EU on emergency measures to prevent the spread within the Union of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Steiner et Buhrer) Nickle et al. (the pine wood nematode), as amended from time to time;

• “Decision (EU) 2015/789” means Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/789 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.), as amended from time to time;

• “Decision (EU) 2015/893” means Commission Implementing Decision (EU) 2015/893 as regards measures to prevent the introduction into and the spread within the Union of Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky), as amended from time to time;

• ...

• “the Directive” means Council Directive 2000/29/EC on protective measures against the introduction into the Community of organisms harmful to plants or plant products and against their spread within the Community, as amended from time to time;

• “dunnage” means wood used to wedge or support cargo;

• “EC transit goods” means any relevant material introduced into a relevant territory from a third country via another part of the European Union;

• “Euro-Mediterranean area” means the geographical area comprising Europe, Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the area of Turkey east of the Bosphorus Strait known as Anatolia;

• “Europe” includes Belarus, the Canary Islands, Georgia, Kazakhstan (except the area east of the Ural river), Russia (except the regions of Tyumen, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Kemerovo, Kurgan, Novossibirsk, Omsk, Sverdlovsk, Tomsk, Chita, Kamchatka, Magadan, Amur and Skhalin, the territories of Krasnoyarsk, Altay, Khabarovsk and Primarie, and the republics of Sakha, Tuva and Buryatia), Ukraine and Turkey (except the area east of the Bosphorus Strait known as Anatolia);

• “European Union” means the territories of the member States including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands but excluding the Canary Islands, Ceuta, Melilla and the French Overseas Departments;

• “forestry trader” means— an importer of relevant material, a producer of relevant material, a person in charge of premises used for the storage, aggregation or dispatch of consignments of relevant material, or a person who in the course of a trade or business divides up or combines consignments of relevant material;

• “fruit” means fruit in the botanical sense but does not include dried, dehydrated, lacquered or deep frozen fruit;

• “importer”, in relation to any tree pest or relevant material at any time between their landing from a third country and the time when they are discharged by an inspector under this Order, includes any owner or other person for the time being possessed of or beneficially interested in the tree pest or relevant material;

• “inspector” means any person authorised by the Commissioners or the Welsh Ministers to be an inspector for the purposes of this Order (see article 2A for further provision about inspectors);

• “IPPC” means the International Plant Protection Convention 1951[^f00015];

• “ISPM No 4” means International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No 4 of November 1995 on the requirements for the establishment of pest-free areas, prepared by the Secretariat of the IPPC established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations;

• “ISPM No. 4” means International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 4 of November 1995 on the requirements for the establishment of pest-free areas, prepared by the Secretariat of the IPPC established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations;

• “ISPM No. 10” means International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 10 of October 1999 on requirements for the establishment of pest free places of production and pest free production sites, prepared by the Secretariat of the IPPC established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations;

• “ISPM No. 15” means International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 of March 2002 on Guidelines for regulating wood packaging material in international trade, prepared by the Secretariat of the IPPC established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations;

• “ISPM No. 15” means International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 15 of March 2002 on the regulation of wood packaging material in international trade, prepared by the Secretariat of the IPPC established by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations;

• “isolated bark” means bark which has been removed or become detached from a living, felled or fallen tree or from any part of such tree;

• “landed” means introduced into a relevant territory by any means and includes imported by post, and “land” and “landing” shall be construed accordingly;

• “lot” has the same meaning as in Article 2(1)(o) of the Directive;

• “national plant protection organisation” means the service established by the government of a third country to discharge the functions specified in Article IV(1)(a) of the IPPC, details of which have been notified— in the case of contracting parties to the IPPC, to the Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations; and in all other cases, to the European Commission;

• “North America” means the geographical area comprising Canada, Mexico and the USA;

• “official” in relation to any testing or other procedure required by this Order to be carried out in respect of any relevant material means carried out by or under the supervision of the responsible official body or the national plant protection organisation of the country in which the testing or other procedure is carried out and “officially” shall be construed accordingly;

• “official body of destination” has the same meaning as in article 2(1)(l) of the Directive;

• “official body of point of entry” has the same meaning as in article 2(1)(k) of the Directive;

• “official documentation” means documentation issued by or with the authority of the responsible official body of the member State in which the documentation is issued;

• “official label” means a label that meets the relevant requirements set out in Schedule 9, issued by or with the authority of the responsible official body for the member State in which the official label is issued;

• “official statement” means a statement issued by an authorised officer or a statement included in a plant passport;

• “phytosanitary certificate” means a certificate which complies with the relevant requirements of articles 7 and 15;

• “phytosanitary certificate for re-export” means a certificate which complies with the relevant requirements of articles 7 and 15;

• “place of production” means any premises, normally worked as a unit, together with any contiguous land in the same ownership or occupation as such premises;

• “plant health check” means an examination carried out under article 12(3);

• “plant health movement document” means a document which meets the requirements in Schedule 13;

• “plant passport” means a label and, where appropriate, an accompanying document that meets the relevant requirements set out in Schedule 9, issued by or with the authority of the responsible official body for the member State in which the plant passport is issued, and includes a replacement plant passport;

• “planting” has the same meaning as in Article 2(1)(c) of the Directive;

• “premises” includes any land, building, vehicle, vessel, aircraft, hovercraft, freight container or railway wagon;

• “producer” in relation to relevant material means a person who grows or makes the material in the course of a trade or business;

• “protected zone” means a member State or an area in a member State which is recognised as a protected zone exposed to particular plant health risks for the purposes of the Directive, as listed in Annex I to Regulation (EC) No 690/2008;

• “registers” means the registers of forestry traders maintained under article 24(1) and (2);

• “registered” in relation to a forestry trader means a trader whose particulars are listed in the either or both of the registers, and “registration” shall be construed accordingly;

• “Regulation (EC) No 690/2008” means Commission Regulation (EC) No 690/2008 recognising protected zones exposed to particular plant health risks in the Community, as amended from time to time;

• “relevant material” means any tree, wood, isolated bark, soil or growing medium;

• “relevant territory” means— England and Scotland; and Wales;

• “responsible official body” means either the body described in paragraph (i) or the body described in paragraph (ii) of Article 2(1)(g) of the Directive;

• “round wood” means wood which is not sawn lengthwise;

• “seed” means seed in the botanical sense other than seed not intended for planting;

• “solid fuel wood” means fuel wood in the form of logs, billets, twigs, faggots or other similar forms;

• “Swiss plant passport” means a label and, where appropriate, an accompanying document, issued in Switzerland in accordance with Swiss legislation, which— contains information which gives evidence that the legislation in Switzerland relating to plant health standards and special requirements for relevant material moving into and within Switzerland have been complied with; and relates to relevant material listed in Part A of Schedule 8;

• “third country” means a country or territory other than one within the European Union;

• “tree” means a living tree or shrub, or a living part of a tree or shrub, at any stage of growth; and living parts of a tree shall include— fruit or seed, branches with or without foliage, a tree or shrub that has been cut and which retains any foliage, leaves or foliage, a tree or shrub in tissue culture, and bud wood, cuttings or scions;

• “tree or shrub in tissue culture” means a tree or shrub growing in a clear liquid or clear solid aseptic culture medium in a closed transparent container;

• “trees intended for planting” means trees which at the time of their landing in a relevant territory are— planted and are intended to remain planted or to be replanted, or not planted but are intended to be planted;

• “tree pest” means a pathogen, or any living organism, other than a vertebrate animal, in any stage of its existence, which is injurious or likely to be injurious to any tree or wood and includes a culture of such pathogen or organism;

• “USA” means the United States of America (except the state of Hawaii);

• “wood”, save where expressly provided otherwise, means— any wood which retains part or all of its natural round surface, with or without bark; or wood in the form of chips, particles, shavings, sawdust, wood waste or scrap; and whether or not satisfying the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b), wood packaging material; and.

• “wood packaging material” means wood in the form of packing cases, boxes, crates, drums or similar packings, pallets, box pallets or other load boards, pallet collars or dunnage, whether or not actually in use in the transport of objects of any kind;

• “working day”, in relation to the notice requirements in articles 6(3)(b)(ii), 16(3) and 18(4) and the period for which material may be detained under article 14(1), means a period of twenty-four hours which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971 in England or Scotland;

• “working hour” means a period of one hour during a working day.

• (2) “Transit”, for the purposes of this Order—

• (a) where it occurs in article 12(5) or (6), has the same meaning as in Article 2(1)(r) of the Directive; and

• (b) where it occurs anywhere else in this Order shall bear its ordinary meaning.

• (3) Any reference in this Order to the European Union, to a member State or a third country includes a reference to a state, country, principality, province or region within the European Union, member State, or third country, as the case may be.

• (3A) In articles 4(1), 7(6)(b), 11(c), 12(6), 18(1), 18(3), 20(3), (4), (5) and (6) and 29(4), any reference to another part of the European Union is a reference to any part of the European Union except a relevant territory.

• (4) Any reference in this Order to a numbered article or a numbered Schedule with no corresponding reference to a specific instrument shall be construed as a reference to the article or Schedule so numbered in this Order.

• (5) The requirements specified in any entry in column 3 of Part A, Part B or Part C of Schedule 4 are without prejudice to any other requirements specified in another entry in column 3 of that Part.

PART 2 — IMPORTS FROM THIRD COUNTRIES

Interpretation of Part 2

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In this Part—

• “approved place of inspection” means a place of destination of relevant material approved by the the appropriate authority under article 17;

• “Customs Code” means Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92[^f00017] establishing the Community Customs Code;

• “customs document” means a document required by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for placing relevant material under one of the procedures specified in Article 4(16)(a) and (d) to (g) of the Customs Code;

• “electronic communications” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Communications Act 2000[^f00018];

• “identity check” means an examination of a consignment of relevant material for the purposes of determining whether it corresponds to its description in the documents that accompany it being an examination of that consignment— in its entirety; or on the basis of one or more representative samples from the consignment or from each lot forming part of the consignment;

• “industry certificate” means a certificate authorised by a decision referred to in article 7(7) and which complies with the requirements of article 15(3);

• “working day”, in relation to the notice requirements in articles 6(3)(b)(ii) and 16(3) and the period for which material may be detained under article 14(1), means a period of twenty-four hours which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971[^f00019] in the part of Great Britain where the notice is given or the material is detained; and