Defra permit UK plant passports to be attached in EU

Defra have extended the existing temporary measure which permits UK plant passports to be applied in an EU member state until 30 June 2023. As before, the passport will have no legal status unless the terms below are met at the first place of destination in GB:

• The extension applies to plants that are intended for final users only. i.e. by evidence from the packaging, labelling or by other means, for sale to final users
• This extends only to the act of ‘attaching’ a UK plant passport. EU operators will not be authorised to ‘issue’ UK plant passports. This means that it will be the GB operator who is responsible for the first place of destination of the relevant consignment who will need to be authorised to issue those plant passports and would be responsible for record keeping. The GB operator would also be audited under the plant passport regime. It is the GB operator’s registration number that will go in Part B of the UK plant passport
  
  
• The plants would travel to GB under a phytosanitary certificate and are subject to official inspections as needed at Border Control Posts /Control Points
  
  
• Upon arrival at first place of destination, the plants should be examined by the authorised business
  
  
• UK plant passports attached in EU member states will be considered as ‘draft’ and will have no legal status until the plants have passed this examination by the GB authorised business. Once the examination is successfully completed, the UK plant passport can be ‘issued’, and the ‘draft’ status removed
  
  
• Should the plants fail this examination, the draft plant passport must be removed. The issue should then be corrected to ensure compliance with plant passport requirements (and a new plant passport issued) or the plants must be destroyed. If a quarantine pest is found, the plants should be held, and a plant health Inspector immediately notified
  
  
• A record of the examination should be kept, and plant health inspectors will audit this during annual visits
  
  
• No change is needed to the format of the UK plant passport. Importers are not required to make changes directly to the UK plant passport to mark it as ‘draft’ or ‘issued’. The UK plant passport attached in an EU member state, should be in the UK standard format
  
  
• Non-compliances will be the responsibility of the GB operator and may prevent plants from being able to move on from the premises

Further reading:

Plant Health Portal Article