Article 18Official checks at introduction into the Union
1
All consignments of specified plants introduced into the Union from a third country shall be officially checked at the point of entry into the Union or at the place of destination established in accordance with Article 1 of Commission Directive 2004/103/EC16, and, as applicable, pursuant to paragraph 2 or 3, and paragraph 4.
F12
In the case of specified plants originating in a third country, where the specified organism is not present or in an area referred to in Article 17(2), the responsible official body shall carry out the following checks:
a
a visual inspection; and
b
in the case of suspicion of the presence of the specified organism, sampling and testing of the lot of the specified plants to confirm the absence of the specified organism or its symptoms.
3
In the case of specified plants, originating in an area where the specified organism is known to be present the responsible official body shall carry out the following checks:
a
a visual inspection; and
b
sampling and testing of the lot of the specified plants to confirm the absence of the specified organism or its symptoms.
4
The samples referred to in paragraphs 2(b) and 3(b) shall be of a size that allows identifying with 99 % reliability a level of infected plants of 1 % or above, taking account of ISPM No 31.
The first subparagraph shall not apply to specified plants which have been grown for the entire production cycle in vitro and are transported in transparent containers under sterile conditions.