Session 2: EU Plant Passport Regime

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Session 2 EU Plant Passport Regime

• Lidija Necajeva
• Head of Plant Quarantine Division, SPPS, Lithuania

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Major points to be presented

• The legal requirements
• Implementation
• Assumptions to the system of producer
  registration and plant passports
• Requirements for producer registration and what
  needs checking (production storage places,
  paperwork records, etc)

3
The legal basis

• Commission Directive 2000/29/EC (former 77/93/EC)
• Commission Directive 92/90/EEC
• Commission Directive 93/50/EEC
• Commission Directive 92/105EEC
• Other related legislation

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The legal requirements (1)

• Commission Directive 2000/29/EC (former 77/93/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
• Article 6, paragraph 5, indent 6
• Any producer for whom the official examination
  referred to in the second subparagraph is
  required under paragraphs 1 to 4 shall be listed
  in an official register under a registration
  number by which to identify him. The official
  registers thus established shall be accessible to
  the Commission on request.

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The legal requirements (2)

• Commission Directive 92/90/EEC establishing
  obligations to which producers and importers of
  plants, plant products or other objects are
  subject and establishing details for their
  registration
• producer, collective warehouse, dispatching
  centre, other person or importer who come under
  Article 6 (4), third subparagraph, Article 6 (5),
  Article 10 (3), second indent or Article 12 (6),
  second subparagraph, of Directive 2000/29/EC
  (former 77/93/EEC) should apply for registration
  and afterwards should be listed in an official
  Plant Health register

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The legal requirements (3)

• Commission Directive 93/50/EEC specifying
  certain plants not listed in Annex V, part A to
  Council Directive 2000/29/EC (former 77/93/EEC),
  the producers of which, or the warehouses,
  dispatching centres in the production zones of
  such plants, shall be listed in an official
  register
• producers, or collective warehouses, or
  dispatching centres in the production zones of
  the products listed in the Annex to this
  Directive shall be listed in an official local,
  regional or national register.

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The legal requirements (4)

• Commission Directive 92/105/EEC establishing a
  degree of standardization for plant passports to
  be used for the movement of certain plants, plant
  products or other objects within the Community,
  and establishing the detailed procedures related
  to the issuing of such plant passports and the
  conditions and detailed procedures for their
  replacement

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The legal requirements (5)

• Commission Directive 2000/29/EC (former 77/93/EC)
  Article 10 and 11 issuing plant passports for
  plants, plant products and other objects
  indicated in the Annex V A of this Directive

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Implementation of EC directives

• Transposition of directives into National
  legislation
• Information campaign
• Establishment of special software for
  registration of operators
• Training of staff of SPPS
• Training of operators.

10
Information campaign

• Information distributed through
• Radio
• Media
• Distribution of leaflets
• Personal letters (based on import, export and
  national surveillance control system)
• Seminars.

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Establishment of special software for
registration of operators

• Specialist of SPPS along with IT specialist have
  created a software database intended for
  registration of operators as well as for printing
  plant passports
• Purchased necessary equipment for using software
  and issuing plant passports for all 10 regions
• Database is created in such a way that it is
  available at any time for every inspector of SPPS.

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Training of staff of SPPS

• All inspectors were trained on
• Legal aspects of registration
• Legal aspects of plant passporting system
• Using software for registration and issuing plant
  passports

13
Training of operators

• Approved training programme for growers in the
  beginning of each year
• Experts of Plant Quarantine Division (PQD) train
  the operators according to approved programme
• Further trainings performed by the inspectors of
  SPPS
• In cooperation with local Agricultural
  departments of municipalities the lectures are
  delivered during the meetings with the growers

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First step towards the implementation of plant
passporting system Plant Health register!

• Who must be registered at Plant Health register
• Growers, importers and wholesalers of plants and
  plant products which needs plant passports
• Growers, importers and wholesalers of host plants
  of Fireblight as well as potato and citrus
  growers (Lithuanian experience host plants of
  Fireblight and potatoes must have plant passports
  or labels for the final consumer as well))
• Wholesalers, who buys and sales plants or plant
  products, which already have plant passports or
  needs it after mixing or separation of batches
  (Replacement plant passports)

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Who is not necessary to be registered at
phytosanitary register

• Growers and producers who grow and produce plants
  or plant products for their own use.
• Growers and producers who grow and produce plants
  or plant products and sell it on local market
  (except grower of propagation material of
  Fireblight host plants and potatoes) and for
  which it is not the main activity

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Provisions of the PHR legislation

• Data of the Register is accumulated in the sole
  database (Lithuanian experience)
• An authorized Institution that
• carries out the registration
• coordinates,
• controls,
• systematically supervises the operators
• Application data filled in must be
• as accurate as possible and
• should include all necessary data concerning the
  activities of the register object

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Registration procedure (1)

• Inspector
• provides the operators with the application form
• helps operators to make a scheme of place of
  production
• checks operators declaration
• performs an inspection at the place of
  production
• writes his conclusions

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Compressed version of application (1)
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Compressed version of application (2)
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Compressed version of application (3)
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Registration procedure (2)

• Operator prepares 3 sets of documents
• Application
• Map of place of production
• Confirmation of fee paid (goes to State budget)
• Conclusions of the inspector
• Laboratory testing results if were performed
• One copy for operator, another for regional
  inspector the third one for PQD.

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Registration procedure (3)

• At the PQD of SPPS
• received documents are checked
• Entering data into a data base the unique
  registration number is given
• the registration certificate is issued and sent
  to operator via inspector

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Registration procedure (4)

• Registration data
• is saved in paper format, and
• In electronic equivalent
• At the end of every working day, the data at the
  database is updated and the extract is sent to
  every regional inspection and border inspection
  post.

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Registration procedure (5)

• The registration certificate is valid for one
  year. Afterwards it must be resumed,
  re-registered or removed if the object has
  changed the field of activities and it is no
  longer related to the plants, plant products and
  other objects concerned.
• Data on removed operators is kept in the archives
  of the database

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Registration procedure (6)

• Lithuanian experience The renewal register
  database every year causes a lot of work at
  least two persons must be involved all the time
• A way out since the inspections are carried out
  each year at the premises of the objects of PHR,
  the draft of Governmental Resolution is prepared
  to make the validation of the certificate of PHR
  for 5 years

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Registration procedure (7)

• Official (kept in database and available for
  every inspector by logging in and password
  protected) data contains
• Registration ID No.
• Code of natural or legal person
• Name of the operator
• Address
• Code of the region
• Full register number
• Activities production concerned
• The volume of production and import
• Kind of production
• Facilities and equipment owned by the operator
• Summary report on inspections performed
• In cases of findings description of
  phytosanitary measures taken

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Registration procedure (8)

• The registration data concerning the operators is
  published on the SPPS website
• Public data contains
• Registration ID No.
• Name of the operator
• Address
• Contact person
• Activities production concerned

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Registration procedure (9)

• With the rights and obligations the operator is
  introduced by filling the application
• The other side of the registration certificate
  contains
• obligations and rights of the operator according
  to legislation
• obligations and rights of SPPS, frequency of
  inspections, depending on the activities

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Obligations of operators (1)

• Objects of the register
• are responsible for the correctness of the
  submitted data
• must provide data to the SPPS in due time
• upon changing the activities, must apply for
  re-registration in due time
• upon expiry of validity of registration
  certificate, must renew the registration in due
  time
• must nominate person who should be responsible
  for relations with SPPS and for the phytosanitary
  status at the company
• must keep the documents, which give information
  to the officers of the SPPS on the plants, plant
  products and other objects grown, processed,
  transported, stored, or otherwise used. (include
  plans, schemes, purchase documents of plant
  protection products, copies of documents supplied
  to the specialists of SPPS and etc.)

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Obligations of operators (2)

• must ensure that the plant production stored in
  warehouses contains labels, indicating the
  following information
• type of production
• number of field according to the plan/scheme
  approved by the inspector
• registration number of the owner of production
• must create the conditions for the specialists
  of the SPPS to carry out plant health checks
• upon detecting new or unusual harmful organisms,
  must forthwith inform about them the SPPS
• must act in compliance with other legal acts of
  the Republic of Lithuania, regulating
  phytosanitary.

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The registration number at Phytosanitary register

• The sample of the number of phytosanitary
  register Nr. 111111-01-AA-IA
• It consists of
• Unique identification code (six figures)
  (111111)
• The number of region in which the activities are
  done (two figures) (01)
• The kind of activities performed (marked with
  two capital letters - AA-IA).

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Registration according to kinds of activities

• AA grower in the open air
• AS grower in the greenhouses
• IA importer
• SA warehouses, packing centers processing
  companies
• IM importer for scientific purposes.

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Operators are provided with

• Results of inspections
• Plant passport guidelines
• Leaflets containing the requirements for PP
• Necessary information concerning ZP
• The trainings and seminars are also arranged
  constantly and upon the request.

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What needs checking?

• Production sites
• Storage places
• Record keeping

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Systematic supervision of PHR

• Systematic supervision of all operators must be
  performed at least once a year in accordance with
  annually approved plan
• Two kinds of inspections documentary and
  phytosanitary - can be combined and performed
  during the same visit

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Phytosanitary check

• Nurseries, greenhouses, orchards, and other
  production sites are inspected for harmful
  organisms
• storehouses, packing centers, processing
  companies and wholesalers are inspected to make
  sure that the plants and plant products are
  purchased from the registered growers

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Plant health inspections Lithuanian experience

• at greenhouses in which planting material is
  grown - every two weeks (visual and by traps)
• at greenhouses in which plants are grown for
  final consumption at least once a month
• at seed producing farms and nurseries - at least
  3 time a year (including documentary check)
• at other farms, warehouses and wholesalers - at
  least once a year

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Documentary inspection

• Performed at least once a year
• Includes
• Inspection of registration book, stored documents
  (plant passports received and issued, invoices of
  purchased or sold plants, copies of documents of
  previous inspection results)

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Registration book (1)

• Should contain such information
• Plant maintenance information
• Number of varieties, amount grown
• Extent of introduced and sold plants,
• Registration of printed, used and leftovers of
  plant passports
• Use of plant protection products (name, date of
  use)

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Registration book (2)

• Depending on the activities performed, the
  registration book can contain different
  information
• When the activity is related to buying up the
  potatoes
• Date, Name of supplier, purpose of potatoes,
  variety (category), the amount purchased, Number
  of the lot and registration at PHR (from the
  suppliers label), numbers of labels received,
  accompanied document
• When the activity is grading
• Date, Name of supplier, purpose of potatoes,
  variety, the total amount of potatoes, the amount
  after grading, the amount of wastes, the way of
  disposal of the wastes
• When the activity is related to sale of potatoes
• Number of PHR, date, buyer, purpose of potatoes,
  variety, amount, No. of lot, amount of labels
  issued, accompanied document

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Sanctions

• For violation of legislation provisions sanctions
  are applied
• Warning
• Penalty
• Cancellation of registration at PHR

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Cancellation of registration at PHR (drafted)

• A certain period of time is given to operator to
  remove violations and if during the inspection
  after this time, the violations are identified
  again, the registration is cancelled. It is
  drafted in the amendments of the rules, however
  it is not clear whether this provision shall be
  adopted.

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Cancellation of registration at PHR

• At the moment cancellation procedure looks this
  way
• When the validity of register is over, specialist
  of SPPS is trying to contact the operator
• If it is not fruitful the official
  letter-reminder is sent
• If there is no reaction of operator the
  registration is cancelled.

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Conclusions (1)

• The operators must be very well aware of their
  obligations
• Information concerning the PHR must be published
  via all possible media
• Operators must know the harmful organisms
  (biology, symptoms, measures to be taken), that
  might attack and damage grow crops

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Conclusions (2)

• Annual documentary check and phytosanitary
  inspections are obligatory and very important
• A good cooperation between inspectors and
  operators (or authorized person) is essential.
• It is useful to have an annual plan for
  inspection of operators.
• The renewal of registration is not necessary

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Registration at PHR is a basis for issuance of
plant passports!
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Thank you for your attention!