Title and commencement

1.  The title of these Regulations is the Plant Health etc. (Fees) (Amendment) (Wales) (EU Exit) (No. 2) Regulations 2022 and they come into force on 22 July 2022.

Amendment of the Plant Health etc. (Fees) (Wales) Regulations 2018

2.—(1) The Plant Health etc. (Fees) (Wales) Regulations 2018( 3) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 3 (import inspection fees)—

(a) in paragraph (1)—

(i) for the words “are described in” substitute “fall within”;

(ii) omit the words from “or any machinery” to the end;

(b) for paragraph (2A) substitute—

“(2A)  Subject to paragraphs (2B), (2C) and (2E), the fees payable by the importer of a third country consignment in respect of liability to a physical check and identity check that may be carried out on the consignment (whether or not any such check is carried out) are, where a consignment includes plants, plant products or other objects of a description specified in column 1 of the table, which originate in a country specified in the corresponding entry in column 2 of the table—

(a) the fee specified in column 3 of the table in respect of a physical check of plants, plant products or other objects of each such description included in the consignment; and

(b) the fee specified in column 4 of the table in respect of an identity check of plants, plant products or other objects of each such description included in the consignment. ”;

(c) for paragraph (2B) substitute—

“(2B)  The fees specified under paragraph (2A) in respect of liability to a physical check and identity check of cut flowers, fruit, vegetables or leaves are payable in respect of a single lot of the kind in question. ”;

(d) for paragraph (2C) substitute—

“(2C)  Where a consignment includes two or more plants, plant products or other objects falling within a single category specified in column 1 of the table, the fee payable under paragraph (2A) in respect of liability to a physical check or identity check of the plants, plant products or other objects within the category in question is—

(a) so far as the consignment includes two or more lots either of cut flowers or of fruit, vegetables or leaves—

(i) the fee payable in respect of a single lot of cut flowers or of fruit, vegetables or leaves (as the case may be); or

(ii) where different amounts are specified in relation to the lots in question, a fee equal to the highest of the fees relating to liability to a physical check or identity check (as the case may be);

(b) so far as the consignment includes any other plants, plant products or other objects which originate in the same country—

(i) the fee payable in respect of a single plant, plant product or other object of any of the descriptions in question; or

(ii) where different amounts are specified in relation to those plants, plant products or other objects, a fee equal to the highest of the fees relating to liability to a physical check or identity check (as the case may be). ”;

(e) omit paragraph (2D);

(f) for paragraph (2E) substitute—

“(2E)  No fee is payable under paragraph (2A) in respect of any consignment originating in an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland that is imported before the end of the transitional staging period, in respect of any plants or plant products specified in Schedule 2A that are contained in the consignment. ”

(g) after paragraph (2E), insert—

“(2F)  Where an inspector suspects that a third country consignment is infected with a controlled plant pest and takes a sample from the consignment for laboratory testing to confirm whether the pest is present, the fee payable by the importer of the third country consignment is £147.35 for each sample tested.

(2G)  For the purposes of this regulation, the table and Schedule 2A—

(a) “ leaves ” means vegetables, herbs and spices, so far as they take the form of leaves with or without stems or stalks attached, and the loose leaves of any other plants;

(b) “vegetables”, except in sub-paragraph (a), means vegetables other than in so far as they take the form of leaves. ”;

(h) for paragraph (3) substitute—

“(3)  In this regulation—

(a) “ category ”, in relation to anything specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 1, means a grouping which is listed in column 1 in bold typeface;

(b) “ controlled plant pest ” means a GB quarantine pest, a provisional GB quarantine pest, a PFA quarantine pest or a GB regulated non-quarantine pest( 4) ;

(c) “ description ”, in relation to anything specified in column 1 of the table in Schedule 1, means the specific description in respect of which a fee is specified;

(d) “ lot ” means one or more units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, which form part of a consignment;

(e) “ the table ” means the table in Schedule 1;

(f) “ third country consignment ” means a consignment that is introduced into Wales from a third country;

(g) “ the transitional staging period ” has the meaning given in Annex 6 to Regulation (EU) 2017/625 of the European Parliament and of the Council on official controls and other official activities performed to ensure the application of food and feed law, rules on animal health and welfare, plant health and plant protection products( 5) . ”.

(3) In regulation 5A (export certification services and pre-export services: fees), in paragraph (4B), for “2022” substitute “2023”.

(4) For Schedule 1, substitute the Schedule 1 contained in Schedule 1 to these Regulations.

(5) Omit Schedules 1A and 2.

(6) For Schedule 2A, substitute the Schedule 2A contained in Schedule 2 to these Regulations.

Regulation 2(4)

SCHEDULE 1

Regulation 3(2A) and (2C)

“SCHEDULE  1   Import inspection fees

Regulation 2(6)

SCHEDULE 2

Regulation 3(2E)

“SCHEDULE  2A List of plants and plant products originating in an EU Member State, Liechtenstein or Switzerland subject to fees for physical checks and identity checks from the end of the transitional staging period

1.   Branches with foliage, parts of Conifers other than bark or cut Christmas trees.

2.   Cut Christmas trees.

3.   Cut flowers.

4.   Fruit.

5.   Grain, other than seeds for sowing.

6.   Leaves.

7.   Seeds other than—

(a) seeds of—

(i) Allium cepa L.,

(ii) Allium porrum L.,

(iii) Castanea Mill.,

(iv) Capsicum spp. L.,

(v) Helianthus annuus L.,

(vi) Medicago sativa L.,

(vii) Phaseolus cocineus .,

(viii) Phaseolus vulgaris L.,

(ix) Solanum lycopersicum L.,

(x) Solanum tuberosum L. (True potato seed).

(b) Vegetable seeds of Pisum sativum L. and Vicia faba L.

(c) Seeds of oil and fibre plants of—

(i) Brassica napus L.,

(ii) Brassica rapa L.,

(iii) Sinapis alba L.,

(iv) Glycine max (L.) Merrill,

(v) Linum usitatissimum L.

8.   Vegetables. ”

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations are made in exercise of the powers conferred by paragraph 7(2) of Schedule 4 and paragraph 21(b) of Schedule 7 to the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (c. 16). They amend the Plant Health etc. (Fees) (Wales) Regulations 2018 ( S.I. 2018/1179) (W. 238)(“ the 2018 Regulations”).

In particular, the 2018 Regulations are amended—

(a) in relation to the fees payable by an importer of a consignment originating in a third country in respect of a physical check and identity check of plants, plant products or other objects, to reflect the frequency rates of physical checks and identity checks of such plants, plant products and other objects. The amendments include providing for a flat rate fee in respect of certain plants for planting and changes to the categorisation of certain plants, and plant products; and

(b) to extend the exemption from the payment of fees otherwise payable in respect of certification and pre-export services on consignments in certain circumstances to 31 December 2023.

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to these Regulations. As a result, it was not considered necessary to carry out a regulatory impact assessment as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with these Regulations.