GovWire

You must be authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) to import, move or keep specified material. Thisused to be known as scientific licensing.

Specified material you need authorisation to import, move or keep includes:

• invertebrate plant pests (arthropods and nematodes)
• plant pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, virus-like agents and phytoplasmas)
• plants, including parts of plants and seeds
• soil and other organic material
• potatoes

If your application is approved by APHA you will receive an authorisation document by email. This will include the specific conditions under which you must import, move or keep the specified material.

You must follow these along with the conditions set out in this guidance.

If you are in Scotland contact SASA or?email plant_health_licensing@sasa.gov.scot for further information.

If you are in Northern Ireland, contact the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA).

Who can get authorisation

You can only get authorisation if you are using the specified material for:

• official testing
• scientific research
• educational purposes
• trials
• testing new varieties of plants (varietal selection)
• breeding

Authorisation for invertebrate plant pests and plant pathogens

You must have authorisation to import, move or keep invertebrate plant pests or plant pathogens which meet any one of the following conditions:

• they are Great Britain quarantine pests listed in Annex 2 of the Plant Health Regulations 2020 (as amended)
• they are Great Britain provisional quarantine pests (PQPs) listed in Annex 2A of the Plant Health Regulations 2020
• they are Pest Free Area quarantine pests for Great Britain listed in Annex 3 of the retained Plant Health Regulations 2020
• they are assessed to be a Great Britain potential quarantine pest by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) contact?APHA to check if the pest or pathogen you wish to work with meets the potential quarantine pest criteria, email: planthealthlicence@apha.gov.uk

You do not need authorisation to import, move or keep invertebrate plant pests or plant pathogens which meet any one of the following conditions:

• they are a Regulated Non-Quarantine Pest (RNQP) listed in Annex 4 of the Plant Health Regulations 2020
• they are assessed not to be a Great Britain potential quarantine pest by Defra contact?APHA?to check if the invertebrate or pathogen you wish to work with meets the potential quarantine pest criteria, email: planthealthlicence@apha.gov.uk

Authorisation for plants, parts of plants and seeds

You must have authorisation to import, move or keep any plants, parts of plants or seeds listed in Annex 6 of the Plant Health Regulations 2020.

Using authorisation instead of a phytosanitary certificate

You may be able to use your authorisation to bring in plants, parts of plants and seeds which would normally need a phytosanitary certificate.

You can only do this if you cannot get a phytosanitary certificate for scientifically justified reasons. You must contact?APHA if you want to do this, email: planthealthlicence@apha.gov.uk

Authorisation for soil and other organic material

You must have authorisation to import, move, or keep soil from all countries apart from EU member states, Liechtenstein and Switzerland. This also applies to any organic material which is capable of sustaining plant life and which contains solid organic matter, for example:

• humus
• peat, other than pure and unused peat
• moss, bark and artificial growing media which contains organic matter

You do not need authorisation for:

• marine sediments
• pure and unused peat
• pure and unused fibre of Cocos nucifera L.
• pure sand, clay, talc, rocks, volcanic pumice and chalk
• water that is not contaminated by soil or organic matter

Apply for authorisation

You should apply for authorisation at least 2 months before you need it, using Defras eDomero online application system.

If you have not used eDomero before, you need to register as a new user.

Application fees

New authorisations for plants, plant pests and pathogens cost 995.36. This fee covers authorisations for 5 types of material - you must pay a further 52.45 for each extra type of material.

New authorisations for soil or other organic material cost 745.41 if you need them for chemical or physical analysis. They cost 995.36 if you need them for other purposes.

APHA?will send you an invoice after you apply for authorisation using the eDomero system.

What to include in your application

Your application must include the following details:

• place of origin of the material
• quantity of the material
• duration of the work on the specified material
• summary of the nature and objectives of the work
• packaging conditions under which the material will be moved or imported
• final use of the specified material on completion of the work, for example, destruction, collection or storage
• method of destruction or treatment of the material on completion of the work
• standard operating procedure (SOP) including contact details for your consignor (supplier)
• a list of personnel who will be working with the specified material

What to include in your standard operating procedure (SOP)

You should upload your SOP as an attached file to your application on eDomero. Your SOPshould provide details of your:

• site security
• record keeping and labelling
• the layout of your facilities
• the procedures you will follow during experiments

Site security

You must confirm:

• all areas containing specified material are kept locked
• the names of anyone who has access to the facilities or a set of keys
• how you label quarantine stations or confinement facilities
• that all authorised personnel will read and sign a standard operating procedure before starting work with specified material

Record keeping and labelling

You must describe how you will keep dated records on:

• personnel trained to work with specified material
• visitors accessing the facility
• specified material entering and leaving the quarantine station or confinement facility, including its origin and any associated letter of authority reference numbers
• observations of any pests on specified plants, soil or other organic material for the APHA inspector to review at the inspection

You must label or distinguish specified material at all stages of your experiments.

Your facilities

You must:

• describe the type of facilit
  

  View the original news story