Article 2 General interpretationF1I1

In this Order—

• F2”appropriate checks”, in relation to a consignment of notifiable relevant material means—

  1. (a)

     an examination of the phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export accompanying the consignment to determine whether it is the correct phytosanitary certificate;

  2. (b)

     an examination of the consignment to determine whether it corresponds to its description in the trade documents that accompany it;

  3. (c)

     an examination of the consignment and its packaging, and where necessary, the vehicle transporting the consignment to determine whether it meets the prescribed requirements;

• “appropriate UK plant health authority” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to Northern Ireland, the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs;

  2. (b)

     in relation to forest and timber pests in England, the Forestry Commissioners;

  3. (c)

     otherwise in relation to England, the Secretary of State;

  4. (d)

     in relation to Wales, the Welsh Ministers;

  5. (e)

     in relation to Scotland, the Scottish Ministers;

  6. (f)

     in relation to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the States of Guernsey;

  7. (g)

     in relation to the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Department of Environment of the Bailiwick of Jersey;

  8. (h)

     in relation to the Isle of Man, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture of the Isle of Man;

• F3”approved place of inspection”, as regards Northern Ireland, means a place which has been approved by the Department under Article 16A or, in relation to other UK territories, by the appropriate UK plant health authority under equivalent provisions of the relevant Plant Health Order;

• F4...

• ...

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

• “authorised officer” means—

  1. (a)

     F5in relation to a UK plant passport, an inspector appointed for the purposes of a relevant Plant Health Order, or

  2. (b)

     in relation to a phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export, an authorised representative of, or a public officer acting under the national plant protection organisation of the country in which a phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export or a translation of a phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export is issued;

• F6...

• “Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

• F7”CD territory” means the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Bailiwick of Jersey or the Isle of Man;

• F8“consignment” means a quantity of goods covered by a single document required for customs formalities or for other formalities;

• F9“correct phytosanitary certificate”, in relation to notifiable relevant material, means a phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export required by Article 6;

• “Customs Act” means the Customs and Excise Management Act 1979^f1;

• F10...

• “customs document” means a document required by the Commissioners for placing relevant material under one of F11a customs procedure within the meaning of the Taxation (Cross-border Trade) Act 2018 ;

• F12...

• F13...

• F14

• “the Department” means the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

• F15“designated area of plant health control”, in relation to notifiable relevant material means a place close to a point of entry which has been designated as an area of plant health control by the Department and the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs;

• F16...

• “documentary check” means an examination to determine that the consignment or lot is accompanied by the required certificates, alternative documents or marks, as specified in Article 13(1)(ii) of the Directive;

• F17...

• “F18European Union transit goods” means any relevant material introduced into Northern Ireland from a third country via another part of the European Union ;

• “electronic communications” has the same meaning as in the Electronic Communications Act (Northern Ireland) 2001^f2.

• F19“EU transit material” means any notifiable relevant material from a third country, other than a country or territory in the European Union, which is consigned to the United Kingdom via the European Union and which was not, on its entry into the European Union, subject to—

  1. (a)

     the formalities described in Article 13a of Directive 2000/29/EC, or

  2. (b)

     to other similar official controls under Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council as it has effect in EU law;

• “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;

• ...

• ...

• “forestry trader” means—

  1. (a)

     an importer of relevant material,

  2. (b)

     a producer of relevant material,

  3. (c)

     a person in charge of premises used for the storage, aggregation or dispatch of consignments of relevant material, or

  4. (d)

     a person who in the course of a trade or business divides up or combines consignments of relevant material;

• F20...

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

• “importer”, in relation to any 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 in possession of or beneficially interested in the pest or relevant material;

• ...

• “inspector” means any person authorised by the Department to be an inspector for the purposes of this Order;

• “IPPC” means the International Plant Protection Convention 1951^f3;

• F21“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

• F22“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;

• F23“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;

• F24...

• F25“the list of controlled material” means Schedule 6 to the Plant Health Regulations;

• “the list of PFA controlled material” means Schedule 7 to the Plant Health Regulations;

• “the list of prohibited infested material” means Schedule 2 to the Plant Health Regulations”;

• “the list of prohibited material” means Schedule 3 to the Plant Health Regulations;

• “the list of prohibited plant pests” means Schedule 1 to the Plant Health Regulations;

• “the list of regulated material” means Schedule 4 to the Plant Health Regulations;

• F26...

• “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—

  1. (a)

     in the case of the contracting parties to the IPPC, to the Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations; and

  2. (b)

     in all other cases, to the F27national plant protection organisation of the United Kingdom ;

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

• F28“NI Order” means the Plant Health Order (Northern Ireland) 2018;

• “NI Wood and Bark Orders” means the Plant Health (Wood and Bark) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 and the Plant Health (Wood and Bark) (Phytophthora ramorum) Order (Northern Ireland) 2005;

• “notifiable relevant material” means any relevant material—

  1. (a)

     of a description specified in Schedule 5 to the Plant Health Regulations;

  2. (b)

     of a description specified in Schedule 7 to the Plant Health Regulations, originating in a third country;

• “notified EU material” means any notifiable relevant material originating in the European Union or Switzerland which is intended to be, or has been, consigned to the United Kingdom from the European Union or Switzerland via a point of entry in Northern Ireland and whose arrival in Northern Ireland has been notified to the Department in accordance with Article 5(A1);

• “point of entry” means—

  1. (a)

     in the case of relevant material which arrives by air, the airport at which the material first arrives in the United Kingdom;

  2. (b)

     in the case of relevant material which arrives by maritime or fluvial transport, the port at which the material first arrives in the United Kingdom;

  3. (c)

     in the case of relevant material which arrives by rail, the rail freight terminal at which the material first arrives in the United Kingdom;

  4. (d)

     in the case of relevant material which arrives by road, the initial destination of the material after its arrival in the United Kingdom;

• “prescribed requirements”, in relation to any notifiable relevant material, means—

  1. (a)

     the requirements specified in respect of the material in Article 4; or

  2. (b)

     in the case of any material which is destined for a UK pest free area which includes Northern Ireland but not England, the requirements specified in respect of that material in Article 4 of this Order or Article 5 of the NI Order;

• “relevant Plant Health Order” means—

  1. (a)

     in relation to relevant material destined for Northern Ireland, the NI Order and the NI (Wood and Bark) Orders;

  2. (b)

     in relation to relevant material destined for England, the Plant Health (England) Order 2015 and the Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 in its application to England;

  3. (c)

     in relation to relevant material destined for Wales, the Plant Health (Wales) Order 2018 and the Plant Health (Forestry) Order in its application to Wales;

  4. (d)

     in relation to relevant material destined for Scotland, the Plant Health (Scotland) Order 2005 and the Plant Health (Forestry) Order 2005 in its application to Scotland;

• “trade documents” in relation to a consignment of notifiable relevant material, means the invoice, delivery note, consignment note or other similar document;

• “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 F29appropriate UK plant health authority 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 label” means a label that meets the relevant requirements set out in Schedule 9, issued by or with the authority of the F30appropriate UK plant health authority ;

• “official statement” means a statement issued by an authorised officer or a statement included in a F31UK plant passport ;

• “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;

• F32“pest free area” means that part of a UK pest free area that is in Northern Ireland or, where the UK pest free area includes two or more separate parts of Northern Ireland, each such part;

• “phytosanitary certificate” means a certificate which complies with the relevant requirements of Articles 6 and 14;

• “phytosanitary certificate for re-export” means a certificate which complies with the relevant requirements of Articles 6 and 14;

• “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;

• F33...

• F34“the Plant Health Regulations” means the Plant Health (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019;

• ...

• ...

• “premises” includes any land, building (other than a private dwelling house), 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;

• F35...

• “register” means the register of forestry traders maintained under Article 23(1);

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

• F36“regulated pest” means—

  1. (a)

     a plant pest of a description specified in Part A, B or D of the list of prohibited plant pests;

  2. (b)

     a plant pest of a description specified in Part C of the list of prohibited plant pests which relate to a pest free area;

  3. (c)

     a plant pest of a description specified in Column 3 of Part A, B or D of the list of prohibited infested material;

  4. (d)

     a plant pest of a description specified in column 3 of Part C of the list of prohibited infested material which relates to a pest free area;

• F37“relevant material” means any wood or isolated bark F38or any machinery or vehicle which has been operated for agricultural or forestry purposes ;

• F39...

• ...

• F40“solid fuel wood” means fuel wood in the form of logs, billets, twigs, faggots, chips or other similar forms;

• F41...

  1. (a)

  2. (b)

• F42”third country” means—

  1. (a)

     a country or territory outside the European Union, other than a territory or country within the British Islands; or

  2. (b)

     the European Union;

• F43“UK pest free area” means an area in the United Kingdom which has been established as a pest free area in accordance with ISPM No. 4;

• “UK 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 appropriate UK plant health authority, and includes any replacement of such a passport;

• “UK territory” means England, Northern Ireland, Scotland or Wales;

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

• “wood”, save where expressly provided otherwise, means—

  1. (a)

     any wood which retains part or all of its natural round surface, with or without bark; or

  2. (b)

     wood in the form of chips, particles, shavings, sawdust, wood waste or scrap; and

  3. (c)

     F44whether or not satisfying the requirements of paragraph (a) or (b), wood packaging material;

     1. (i)

        dunnage,

     2. (ii)

        wood packaging material;

• F45”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;

• F46“working day”, in relation to the notice requirements in articles 5(3)(b)(ii) and 15(3) and 17(4) and the period for which material may be detained under article 13(1), means a period of twenty-four hours which is not a Saturday, Sunday, Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday in Northern Ireland under the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971;

• F47“working hour” means a period of one hour during a working day.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F49Unless expressly provided otherwise, 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.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

For the purpose of the definition of “appropriate UK plant health authority”, “forest pests” and “timber pests” have the same meaning as in the Plant Health Act 1967.