Transitional provision: approved places of inspection
13.—(1) The Department may during the relevant period authorise—
(a)the transportation of a controlled consignment to an approved place of inspection; and
(b)the performance of identity checks and plant health checks by a plant health inspector at an approved place of inspection.
(2) The operator who is responsible for a controlled consignment that is destined for an approved place of inspection must—
(a)by notice in writing give the Department the particulars set out in paragraph (3) no later than three working days before the consignment arrives in Northern Ireland;
(b)ensure that the consignment, its packaging and the vehicle in which it is transported are closed or sealed in such a way that there is no risk of the plants, plant products or objects in the consignment causing infestation, infection or contamination or a change occurring in the contents of the consignment; and
(c)ensure that the consignment is accompanied by a plant health movement document.
(3) The particulars are—
(a)the name, address and location of the approved place of inspection to which the consignment is destined;
(b)the scheduled date and time of arrival of the consignment at the place referred to in sub-paragraph (a);
(c)if available, the individual serial number of the plant health movement document in relation to that consignment;
(d)if available, the date and place at which that plant health movement document was drawn up;
(e)the name, address and registration number of the operator; and
(f)the reference number of the phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export required in relation to the consignment pursuant to Article 72(1) or 74(1) of the EU Plant Health Regulation.
(4) The operator must notify the Department immediately in writing of any changes to the particulars which the operator has given under paragraph (2)(a).
(5) The notice must be given to the Department at the address given by the Department from time to time for the purposes of this regulation.
(6) The Department may for the purposes of paragraph (1) approve a place to which a controlled consignment may be destined as a place at which identity checks and plant health checks may be performed by a plant health inspector during the relevant period.
(7) An application for approval under paragraph (6) must be made to the Department in the manner and form required by the Department.
(8) An approval may be granted subject to conditions, including conditions relating to the storage of controlled consignments, and may be withdrawn at any time if the Department no longer considers that the place to which the approval relates is suitable for the purpose for which the approval was given.
(9) The Department may only approve a place as an approved place of inspection if the place has been approved by the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs for use as a temporary storage facility.
(10) In this regulation—
“approved place of inspection” means a place which is approved as a place of inspection by the Department under paragraph (6);
“plant health movement document” means a document in the form set out in the Annex to Commission Directive 2004/103/EC on identity and plant health checks of plants, plant products or other objects, listed in Part B of Annex V to Directive 2000/29/EC, which may be carried out at a place other than the point of entry into the Community or at a place close by and specifying the conditions related to these checks(1);
“relevant period” means the period beginning on the date upon which these Regulations come into operation and ending on 13th December 2020;
“temporary storage facility” means a storage facility within the meaning of Article 148 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council laying down the Union Customs Code(2);
“working day” has the meaning given in regulation 7(4).
O.J. No. L 313, 12.10.2004, p. 16.
O.J. No. L 269, 10.10.2013, p. 1, as last amended by Regulation (EU) 2019/632 of the European Parliament and of the Council.