Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) and pre-notification requirements for registered Place of Destination (PoD) users and multi-drop options

Updated: November 2023

Glossary

PoD = Place of Destination
PP = Plant Passport
PC = Phytosanitary Certificate
RoRo = Roll On Roll Off
Exporter = a person, or company, that sends goods to another country for sale
Importer = a person, or company, that brings goods in from another country for sale
Consignment = a batch/lots of goods, listed and covered by a single PC.
Consignee = the person, or company, in the importing country responsible for the consignment
Competent authority = the local or national government department or agency that oversees the legislative and legal requirements to ensure they are fulfilled. In England and Wales this is APHA. In Scotland this is SASA. For wood, wood products, and isolated bark this is the Forestry Commission (including Scotland).

The PoD scheme facilitates inland checks on EU high-priority plants and plant products and is a temporary measure that will remain in place until checks move to Border Control Posts (BCPs) and Control Points (CPs) in April 2024.

This guide outlines the Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) and pre-notification requirements for importing EU high-priority plants and plant products under the PoD scheme. Pre-notification should take place within the competent authorities’ operational hours, i.e. APHA, SASA, or the Forestry Commission. Find out more about the Service Level Agreements and Operational Hours. The simplest import journey commonly includes a single lorry, carrying a single consignment on behalf of a single importer. The consignment will travel directly to the importers singular PoD at which point it will end its journey. If required, the competent authority, will undertake plant health checks and clear the goods.
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PC, pre-notification and Plant Passporting requirements for the single import scenario:

1 x PC per consignment
1 x Pre-notification per consignment
If your good are moving onwards from the PoD, then you need plant passport authorisation

Multi-drop scenarios

It is also common practice for lorries to enter GB through Roll On Roll Off (RoRo) ports carrying plants and plant products imported by multiple importers (or in some cases the same importer) that are destined for either one PoD, multiple PoDs, or a sequence of PoDs along a route. Multi-drops are a facilitation under the PoD scheme and will no longer be an option when checks move to BCPs / CPs.

There are five scenarios that illustrate how the multi-drop practice applies to your business. Regardless of the scenario, there are some key points to consider:

There must be clear labelling of consignments in the lorry and once the consignment arrives at a PoD, it cannot be broken down until the necessary checks have been completed.
The lorry does not have to wait at a PoD until plant health checks have been completed.
If non-compliance is found and statutory action is needed, it is the importer’s responsibility to arrange for any necessary logistics to fulfil this e.g. destruction/re-export of the consignment.
When submitting a PEACH/IPAFFS application as part of the pre-notification process, include a delivery note/invoice that is specific to each portion of the multi-drop, including the one to the declared PoD. This provides a means for traceability and helps inspectors plan the most efficient inspection route.

The below provides a breakdown of the PC and pre-notification requirements, as well as any subsequent plant passporting implications for each scenario.

**Scenario 1: a single lorry contains plant consignments* for multiple importers each destined for different PoDs**

In this scenario, a single lorry contains multiple consignments, each for a different importer and destined for different PoDs. A PC and pre-notification is required for each consignment on the lorry. In practice, this means the lorry can drop each distinct consignment covered by its own PC and pre-notification at PoDs along a route.

PC, pre-notification and Plant Passporting requirements for Scenario 1:

1 x PC per consignment
1 x Pre-notification per consignment
If your good are moving onwards from the PoD, then you need plant passport authorisation

**Scenario 2: a single lorry contains plant consignments* for a single importer intended from multiple customers/retail stores, under the ‘distribution centre’ logistics model**

In this scenario, a single lorry, containing plants for one importer, is routed to a distribution centre which acts as a single PoD. A PC and pre-notification is required for each consignment that is destined for the distribution centre PoD. Plant health checks of each consignment are undertaken at the single distribution centre PoD, where once inspected they can then continue onwards to customers/retail stores.

The distribution centre acting as the PoD would not qualify as a retailer selling goods directly to customer, therefore the distribution centre will need to be Plant Passport authorised for any onward movement of plant passported goods. For more information on issuing Plant Passports visit gov.uk.

This scenario could cover large scale retailers, or large-scale growers who take on importing responsibilities on behalf of their customers.

Multi-drop scenario 2

PC, Pre-notification, and Plant Passporting requirements for Scenario 2:

1 x PC per consignment
1 x Pre-notification per consignment
If goods are moving onwards from the PoD, then you will need plant passport authorisation

**Scenario 3: a single lorry contains plant consignments* for a single importer intended for multiple PoDs, under the ‘direct delivery’ logistics model**

In this scenario, a single lorry, containing a single consignment of plants for a single importer, is split and dropped off to multiple PoDs along a route (which may or may not be retail stores). The consignment must have its own PC and pre-notification made to only one PoD. Which PoD the pre-notification is made to is dependent on whether there are higher-risk species (i.e woody plants, seeds (including seed potatoes), or Xylella hosts) in the lorry or not.

If there are no higher risk species in the lorry, the importer must pre-notify the first customer/retailers PoD in the sequence of deliveries (see scenario 3a).

If there are higher risk species in the lorry, the importer must pre-notify the first customer/retailers PoD that those higher risk species are delivered to (see scenario 3b).

A representative sample of the consignment will be inspected at the designated PoD, recognising that the full consignment is spread between multiple PoDs. Further samples may be required at other PoDs in the sequence. For traceability purposes, the importer must provide all customers/retailers in the sequence of deliveries with the following on each delivery note:

The PEACH application number covering the consignment, and;
The Phytosanitary Certificate identification number

Your local inspector will contact you to request further information, including a list of all the premises you are dropping off at, for that application. If a pest or disease is suspected, a trace forward or trace back exercise will be undertaken by the plant health inspectorate to identify the remainder of that consignment and apply necessary biosecurity measures.

This scenario could cover large scale retailers, or a producer organisation who take on importing responsibilities on behalf of growers. The PoDs may be separate customers of the importer.

Multi-drop scenario 3b

PC, Pre-notification, and Plant Passporting requirements for Scenario 3 (A & B)

1 x PC per consignment
1 x Pre-notification per consignment made to one PoD (see A & B)
If goods are moving onwards from the PoD, then you will need plant passport authorisation

**Scenario 4: a single consignment* for a single importer is transported via multiple lorries intended for multiple PoDs under the ‘direct delivery’ logistics model**

In this scenario, a single consignment for a single importer is transported via multiple lorries due to the size of the load. The consignment is then split and dropped off to multiple PoDs along a route (which may or may not be retail stores).The consignment must have a PC**(which will cover the whole consignment being transported via multiple lorries) and a pre-notification made to only one PoD. Which PoD the pre-notification is made to is dependent on whether there are higher-risk species (i.e woody plants, seeds (including seed potatoes), or Xylella hosts) in the lorry or not.

If there are no higher risk species in the lorry, the importer must pre-notify the first customer/retailers PoD in the sequence of deliveries.

If there are higher risk species in the lorry, the importer must pre-notify the first customer/retailers PoD those higher risk species are delivered to.

A representative sample of the consignment will be inspected at the designated PoD, recognising that the full consignment is spread between multiple sites. Further samples may be required at other PoDs in the sequence. For traceability purposes, the importer must provide all customers/retailers in the sequence of deliveries with one of the following on each delivery note:

The PEACH application number covering the consignment, and;
The Phytosanitary Certificate identification number

This scenario could cover large scale retailers, or a producer organisation who take on importing responsibilities on behalf of growers. The PoDs may be separate customers of the importer.

Multi-drop scenario 4a

Multi-drop scenario 4b

PC, Pre-notification, and Plant Passporting requirements for Scenario 4 (A & B)

1 x PC per consignment (even when transported via multiple lorries)
1 x Pre-notification per consignment made to one PoD (see A & B)
If goods are moving onwards from the PoD, then you will need plant passport authorisation

Scenario 5: a single consignment for a single importer is transported via multiple lorries destined for a single PoD

In this scenario, a single consignment for a single importer is transported via multiple lorries due to the size of the load. The consignment must have a PC** (which will cover the whole consignment being transported via multiple lorries)and a pre-notification made to the PoD the lorries will deliver to.The pre-notification should be made at least 4 working hours in advance of the first lorry landing in GB.

The full consignment, across all lorries, must be made available for inspection at the PoD in order for the inspector to undertake checks. If one of the lorries is delayed, the importer is responsible foralerting the competent authority of any delays, to ensure the inspector does not arrive on site before all goods are available and can be presented for inspection. The goods must remain on site until the whole consignment is present and the inspector has passed the checks.

Scenario ten

PC, Pre-notification, and Plant Passporting requirements for Scenario 5:

1 x PC per consignment
1 x Pre-notification per consignment (even when transported via multiple lorries)
If goods are moving onwards from the PoD, then you will need plant passport authorisation

* from either one or multiple exporters. If it is multiple exporters, then each consignment must be covered by its own PC and pre-notification.

**The PC is only valid for 14 days after issuance by the exporting country and all parts must arrive into GB within this time frame.

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