Phytosanitary inspection

PHYTOSANITARY CONTROL – GENERAL PROVISIONS
 

Plants, plant products, pesticides and fertilizers are subject to phytosanitary inspection on import, which is conducted at border crossing points with organised phytosanitary inspection, which also meet technical and hygienic working conditions. Exceptionally, import of certain plants, plant products and pesticides and fertilizers can be carried out through border crossings where phytosanitary inspection is not organised, which are temporarily opened for this specific purpose based on the decision of the relevant minister. Shipments not subject to phytosanitary check, which are packed in wooden packaging, may be imported through border crossings where customs service is organised. Border crossing points through which plants, plant products and pesticides and fertilizers can be imported are designated by relevant minister who shall prescribe hygienic and technical, operational and other requirements to be met by these border crossings. 

 

PHYTOSANITARY CONTROL OF PLANTS

 

Production, processing, finishing, import, storage and trade in plants, plant products and regulated items, can be dealt by a legal entity or entrepreneur, registered in the Business Register and is entered in the Register of producers, processors, finishers, importers, keepers and traders of plants, plant products and regulated items (hereinafter: the Register), maintained by the Ministry.

Consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items which are imported, their packaging and means of transport used are all subject to customs control and compulsory phytosanitary check carried out entirely or on a representative sample. Consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items can be imported into the country, or into a protected area provided it: is not infected with harmful organisms; has a phytosanitary certificate; does not contain plants, plant products and regulated items from a special list; fulfils specific phytosanitary requirements. Phytosanitary measures of the exporting country, especially those related to the fulfilment of specific phytosanitary requirements shall be deemed equivalent to the phytosanitary measures laid down in the importing country if the exporting country objectively proves that they are based on scientific evidence and that the same results are achieved. During the phytosanitary inspection, specific characteristics regarding agronomical and ecological conditions of the exporting country will be taken into account, that is, the status of areas free of harmful organisms shall be accepted, if it is recognised in accordance with the standards that are in line with the International Plant Protection Convention.

Phytosanitary inspection of consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items may be carried out at a lower frequency under the following conditions: if based on an agreement with the competent authority for plant protection of the exporting country such phytosanitary check has already been carried out in the country from which the consignment is imported, by the competent authority importing country; based on risk assessment; on the basis of an agreement concluded with the country from which the consignment is imported, which is based on the identity of phytosanitary measures and procedures in the importing country and the exporting country or the transit country to prevent the introduction, spread and suppression of harmful organisms. In addition, the conditions and manner of performing the risk assessment as well as the list of plants, plant products and regulated items for which the checks are carried out at a lower frequency is set forth by the relevant minister.

Phytosanitary inspection is not obligatory for import small quantities of plants, plant products and regulated items which are used for non-industrial and non-commercial purposes, or are used for consumption during travel, provided there is no risk of spreading harmful organisms. Relevant minister shall prescribe the manner and conditions for the import of small quantities of plants, plant products and regulated items and shall determine small quantities for specific types of plants and plant products. If there is no risk of spreading harmful organisms, relevant ministry may allow physical entities residing in the border zone to import plants, plant products and regulated items without phyto-certificate or phytosanitary inspection, if by the entry into force of this law such entity the owner of the agricultural or forest land in the border territory of a neighbouring country, provided that plants, plant products and regulated items are used in the place of residence of such physical entity.

As stated above, plants, plant products and regulated items must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate or the phytosanitary certificate for re-export. If the consignments after the issuance of phytosanitary certificate in the country of origin are reloaded, stored, repacked or divided in another country other than the country of origin, they shall have, in addition to the original phyto-certificates, or certified copies of phyto-certificate for re-export, a certified copy of this certificate of each importing country. In addition, phytosanitary certificate and phytosanitary certificate for re-export shall be issued in accordance with the International Plant Protection Convention, it must be original, issued to a single recipient and certified in the prescribed manner, marked with a serial number, and written in Serbian language and one of the languages that are officially accepted in international trade. Exceptionally, phytosanitary certificate issued in the exporting country which is not a signatory of the International Plant Protection Convention can be accepted, under the conditions prescribed by the Minister, and if the requirements are met, phyto-certificates can be accepted also in electronic form. In exceptional cases, officially certified phyto-certificate copies can be accepted. If plants, plant products and regulated items for which a phytosanitary certificate is issued are subject to specific phytosanitary requirements, competent authority of the country of origin shall issue the phytosanitary certificate. Where specific phytosanitary requirements can be confirmed outside the country of origin as well, phytosanitary certificate may be issued by the exporting country. However, phytosanitary certificate and phytosanitary certificate for re-export shall expire if consignments for which they are issued have not left the territory of the country within 14 days from the date of issue.

In the importing process, the importer or representative thereof (declarant) shall: announce to phytosanitary inspector the arrival of the consignment; submit the request for check within the prescribed period; provide all necessary conditions for phytosanitary inspection; and implement all measures ordered by the phytosanitary inspector. Customs authority cannot take actions specified in the rules of the relevant customs procedure, except for shipments in transit, until phytosanitary inspectors have conducted phytosanitary checks of consignments and confirmed health safety thereof. If the shipment arrives at the border crossing that is not designated for phytosanitary inspection, customs authority shall prohibit the import and direct the consignment to the nearest crossing where phytosanitary inspection is organised. If shipment of certain plants, plant products and regulated items whose importation is prohibited arrives at the border crossing, customs authority shall prohibit the import of such consignment and shall notify competent phytosanitary inspector. Examinations of wooden materials used for packaging (pallets), or as an aid in the transport of consignments not subject to phytosanitary examination, shall be conducted by customs authority to determine whether the wooden material meets the international phytosanitary standard ISPM 15. 

 

If inspector, during the phytosanitary inspection of consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items suspects the presence of certain harmful organisms whose presence is not possible to determine in check at the border crossing, the phytosanitary inspector shall take official sample and submit it to the Reference Laboratory for analysis. If there are no conditions for phytosanitary inspection in accordance with this law at the border crossing, and there is no risk of spreading harmful organisms that threaten plant health, phytosanitary inspection of consignments can be carried out in certain places within the Republic of Serbia, in destination custom offices. In this case, the consignment of plants, plant products and regulated items shall be allowed to the office of destination by phytosanitary inspector based on the decision on transit, where such consignment remains under customs supervision until the completion of check, and shall be forbidden to remove, divide or sampled. After the examination of the consignment or after receiving the results of laboratory analyses, the phytosanitary inspector can allow the import of consignments by issuing import permit or by certifying customs documentation, putting a square-shaped seal; the inspector shall also certify the phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export putting the phytosanitary inspection seal with the date of entry. If the phytosanitary inspection establishes that legal conditions are not fulfilled, the phytosanitary inspector shall issue a ruling order one or more phytosanitary measures: ban on the import of consignment or part of the consignment in the territory of the Republic of Serbia; destruction of the consignment or part thereof; treatment for the purpose of combating harmful organisms; change of use for the consignment; quarantine supervision of the consignment, until the results of the laboratory analysis. If the phytosanitary inspection found that part of the consignment is infected with harmful organisms, importing of the rest of the consignment may be permitted if there is no suspicion of the presence of harmful organisms in that part of the consignment and if there is no risk of spreading harmful organisms. In the event that import s prohibited, phytosanitary inspector shall put triangular stamp on phytosanitary certificate or phytosanitary certificate for re-export, thus making the phytosanitary certificate invalid.

 

If the importing country requires phytosanitary certificate for consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items which are exported, the phytosanitary inspector inspects a shipment with the aim to issue the phytosanitary certificate. When the consignment of plants, plant products and regulated items are stored, repackaged or shared on the territory of the Republic of Serbia, and the importing country requires phytosanitary certificate, phytosanitary inspector shall inspect the shipment with the aim to issue the phytosanitary certificate for re-export. Application for issuance of phyto-certificate shall be submitted to the Ministry by the exporter at least 24 hours before loading. The application for phyto-certificate shall particularly contain: data on the applicant: name of the legal entity or entrepreneur, head office or name and address of a physical entity; information about the shipment. The exporter is required to provide insight into all available documentation, and to provide all necessary conditions for proper conduct of phytosanitary inspection. Subject to phytosanitary inspection includes plants, plant products, regulated items, packaging, transport means, and if required, warehouse, land and production site where the plants, plant products and regulated items originate from. If the phytosanitary inspection confirms that specific phytosanitary requirements of the importing country are not fulfilled, the phytosanitary inspector shall order measures for the fulfilment of specific phytosanitary requirements, or shall refuse to issue the phyto-certificate.

Consignments of plants, plant products and regulated items which are in transit shall not be subject to phytosanitary inspection. If the consignment is packed in a manner that prevents the spread of harmful organisms, or if for any reason the consignment is unloaded, divided, combined with other consignments or repacked in the territory of the Republic of Serbia, the customs authority is required to report the shipment for check to the competent phytosanitary inspector.

PHYTOSANITARY CONTROL OF PLANT PROTECTION PRODUCTS

Plant protection products which are marketed in the Republic of Serbia must be registered for trade. Authorisation of plant protection products is carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, on the basis of application for registration of plant protection products submitted by the manufacturer. In addition, the manufacturer who is based in the Republic of Serbia can apply for registration of plant protection products if such manufacture is registered in the Company Register in accordance with the law which regulates registration of business entities, and if it has evidence of compliance with the conditions for the production of pesticides in accordance with regulations pertaining to environmental protection.  Manufacturer that has no head office in the Republic of Serbia apply for authorisation of plant protection products through an agent or representative office based in the Republic of Serbia. The decision on the registration of plant protection products (hereinafter: certificate of registration) issued by the minister on the basis of assessment of the active substance or basic substance and based on results of evaluation of plant protection products. This decision shall refer to plant protection products and manufacturer as well. In addition, the requirement for placement on the market (and import) of plant protection products is that distributor, or importer, is registered in the Company Register in accordance with the law pertaining to registration of business entities and is recorded in the Register of distributors and importers of plant protection products (hereinafter: the Register of distributors and importers), maintained by the Ministry. Registration in the Register of distributors and importers shall be based on the application submitted by distributor or importer to the Ministry. Distributor or importer of plant protection products shall be entered in the Register of distributors and importers, if they meet relevant requirements in terms of facilities, equipment and qualification of personnel.

Consignments in import shall be subject to: check that includes the consignment identification, inspection of documents, packaging, means of transport and shipment, and sampling. The importer or the customs agent shall: announce to the phytosanitary inspector the arrival of the consignment; submit the request for inspection of the consignment within the prescribed period; provide all necessary conditions for carrying out verification of the consignment; implement measures ordered by phytosanitary inspectors. Customs authority cannot undertake actions envisaged by rules laid down in relevant customs procedures, except for shipments in transit until phytosanitary inspectors have performed check and sampling of consignments. Arrival of consignments in transit subject to reloading operations on the territory of the Republic of Serbia must be announced by customs agent phytosanitary inspector, in order to enable recording thereof. The minister shall prescribe the conditions and manner of inspection and sampling of the consignment, mode of delivery of samples and the number and size of the sample for testing, the method of the consignment arrival announcement, the form and contents of the request for inspection of the consignment and the conditions which must be fulfilled by the importer in order to conduct phytosanitary inspection.

If it is not possible to conduct check or sample of shipment on the border crossing point in accordance with this law, the inspection of the consignment or sampling can be done in certain areas within the Republic of Serbia in the destination custom office. In this case, the phytosanitary inspector shall issue a decision on transport based on which the shipment is allowed to the destination custom office, where the consignment is under customs supervision until the completion of the inspection, sampling and approvals, or ban of the import. At the same time, it is prohibited to remove, open, divide or sample the consignments which are under customs supervision.

Samples taken from the consignment shall be submitted by the phytosanitary inspector to a legal entity authorised to carry out activities in the public interest to test chemical and physical properties. If the results of check and laboratory tests in compliance with the prescribed conditions, the phytosanitary inspector approves the import. If the results of examinations and laboratory tests are not in accordance with the prescribed conditions, the phytosanitary inspector prohibits the import of the consignment and orders its return or seizure. An appeal can be lodged against the decision made by the phytosanitary inspector to the minister within eight days of receipt of the decision; however, the appeal shall not postpone the execution. The minister's decision on the appeal shall be final and an administrative dispute can be initiated against it. The seized consignment shall be treated in accordance with the regulations pertaining to the conditions related to transport of goods, provision of services in transport of goods and the inspection supervision.

 

PHYTOSANITARY CONTROL OF FERTILIZERS

According to the Law on Fertilizers and Soil Improvers, the import of plant nutrition products can be conducted by any importer registered in the Business Register in accordance with the law which regulates registration of business entities and is entered in the Register of Distributors and Importers. The importer may be entered in the Register of Distributors and Importers if they meet the requirements in terms of facilities for the storage of plant nutrition products. Ministerial decision more closely determines conditions and prescribes the requirements regarding facilities for the storage of plant nutrition products and a sales and storage of plant nutrition products.

 

Registration in the Register of Distributors and Importers shall be made upon the application of the distributor, or importer, submitted to the Ministry, and decision on entry in the Register of Distributors and Importers shall be made within two months from the date of application. This decision shall be final and an administrative dispute can be initiated against it. Distributor or importer shall report any change in the data entered in the register of distributors and importers to the Ministry within 15 days from the date of the change. The minister shall prescribe the form and content of the application for registration of distributors and importers.

Consignments in import shall be subject to: check that includes the consignment identification, inspection of documents, packaging, means of transport and shipment, and sampling. The importer or the customs agent shall: announce to the phytosanitary inspector the arrival of the consignment; submit the request for inspection of the consignment within the prescribed period; provide all necessary conditions for carrying out verification of the consignment; implement measures ordered by phytosanitary inspectors. Customs authority cannot undertake actions envisaged by rules laid down in relevant customs procedures, except for shipments in transit until phytosanitary inspectors have performed check and sampling of consignments. Arrival of consignments in transit subject to reloading operations on the territory of the Republic of Serbia must be announced by customs agent phytosanitary inspector, in order to enable recording thereof. If it is not possible to conduct check or sample of the consignment on the border crossing point in accordance with this law, the inspection of the consignment or sampling can be done in certain areas within the Republic of Serbia in the destination custom office. In this case, the phytosanitary inspector shall issue a decision on transport based on which the consignment is allowed to the destination custom office, where the consignment is under customs supervision until the completion of the inspection, sampling and approvals, or ban of the import or transit. At the same time, it is prohibited to remove, divide or sample the consignments which are under customs supervision.

Samples of plant nutrition products taken from the shipment shall be submitted by phytosanitary inspector to a legal entity conducting the activities of public interest in order to carry out laboratory tests and verify chemical and physical properties. If the results of examinations and laboratory tests are in compliance with the prescribed conditions, the phytosanitary inspector approves the import. If the results of examinations and laboratory tests are not in compliance with the prescribed conditions, the phytosanitary inspector shall prohibit the import of such consignment and order its return or seizure.