Plant importers and wholesalers need to get to grips with new requirements if they bring in aquatic plants from the EU from 1 January 2021. And if you supply to Northern Irish businesses the rules will be different again.

New UK Plant Passports will need to be applied as soon as plants enter the UK – you cannot rely on the EU Plant Passport. This may mean that more businesses need to apply to become authorised to issue plant passports.

From 1 January 2021:

  • UK Plant Passports cannot be attached in the EU and EU Plant Passports cannot be attached in GB.
  • An operator in the EU will not be able to issue a UK Plant Passport because they will not be authorised to do so under the GB Plant Health Regime.
  • A Plant Passport is not just a traceability document but attests that the plants covered by that Plant Passport have met the plant health standards of GB.

Changes will happen in the following areas:

The content and format of the UK plant passport will be different from the EU.

  • Guidance on when country of origin changes to UK will change for some commodities.
  • There will be changes to Protected Zones.
  • Plant Passports will no longer be applicable for movements from GB to Northern Ireland (NI).
  • Imports from the EU will require a phytosanitary certificate (Plant Health certificate or PC). This means that if you move goods on an EU Plant Passport now without issuing your own plant passport for them, you may need to be authorised from 1 Jan 2021 to issue your own UK Plant Passports.

Read the latest update from the Government here to prepare.

Find the templates for UK Plant Passports here.

Keep checking the Government’s Plant Health Portal for the latest updates or our Leaving the EU page.