CASE



Case



Case



Prepare a report which clearly sets out the legal issues relating to each of the issues raised above and which summarises the advice you would give to VastCo.

a) Vastco can look into various laws and try to adjust with it. The Regulations, which amend the Plant Health (Import Inspections Fees)(England) Regulations 2006, amend the fees to be charged for plant health examinations of certain imported material and also amend the list of trades eligible for reduced rate inspections. The amended fees are set out in regulation 4 and the Schedule of the present Regulations (amending Schedule 2 to the original Regulations). The changes, which are outlined in paragraph 7.2 below, come into force in two stages - the first stage on 1 September 2009; the second on 1 January 2010.

Council Directive 2000/29/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 ("the Plant Health Directive") establishes the Community plant health regime. It contains measures to be taken in order to prevent the introduction into, and spread within, the Community of serious pests and diseases of plants and plant produce. The Directive is implemented in England, for non-forestry matters, by the Plant Health (England) Order 2005 (SI 2005 No. 2530). Similar but separate legislation operates in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For forestry matters the Directive has been implemented by the Plant Health (Fees)(Forestry) Regulations 2006, which applies throughout Great Britain. (Craig, 2007: 11-12)

Each year England imports from non-EC countries about 40,000 consignments of plants and plant produce which pose a risk of introducing new plant pests and diseases to European crops and ecosystems. Under the Plant Health Directive3, we are required to check these imports to ensure they comply with EC rules and to minimise the plant health risks associated with their import. In broad terms these checks cover plants, potatoes, the major fruit other than bananas and grapes, cut flowers and some leafy vegetables. The required level for inspections is specified at 100%, except for certain trades subject to the Directive's "reduced checks" provision which allows lower levels of physical checks to be agreed on the basis of past experience of compliance.

Under the 2006 Regulations reduced checks applied to 52 trades. The trades eligible for reduced levels of inspection are subject to an annual review by the European Commission. The Plant Health (Import Inspection Fees) (England)(Amendment) Regulations 2009 implement the latest changes agreed by the Commission Working Group held in June this year, which saw the addition of 1 new trade, the removal of 2 trades and changes to the levels of inspection on 11 trades previously agreed to take account of additional data on compliance.

In line with the usual Commission timetable the changes will apply from 1 January 2010. However, removal of the 2 trades (Cut roses from India and Uganda) reflects a high level of interceptions of quarantine pests and diseases associated with those trades necessitating more urgent ...