S.L. 433.33 Art. 18Introduction into the Maltese territory and the Union of specified plants originating in a third country wherethespecified organism is known to be present. S.L. 433.03

(1) Specified plants originating in a third country where the specified organism is known to be present may be introduced into the Union and the Maltese territory where the following conditions are fulfilled:

(a) they are accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate, as referred to in regulation 15 of the Plant Quarantine (Harmful Organisms) Regulations;

(b) they comply with the provisions of sub-regulation (2) or sub-regulations (3) and (5);

(c) the professional operators being supplied with these specified plants shall also inform the Directorate by means of the Third Countries Notification Form available on the Directorate’s website forty-eight hours (48) prior to the arrival of the plant material in Malta;

(d) the non-professional final user being supplied with these specified plants shall also inform the Directorate by means of the Third Countries Notification Form available on the Directorate’s website forty-eight hours (48) prior to the arrival of the plant material in Malta;

(e) on entry into the Union and the Maltese territory they have been checked by the Directorate in accordance to regulation 19 and neither presence nor symptoms of the specified organism have been found.

(2) Where specified plants originate in an area free from the specified organism, as established by the national plant protection organisation concerned in accordance with relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures, the following conditions shall be fulfilled:

(a) the national plant protection organisation of the third country concerned has communicated in writing to the Commission the name of that area;

(b) the name of that area is stated in the phytosanitary certificate under the rubric ‘place of origin’.

(3) Where specified plants, other than plants which have been grown for the entire production cycle in vitro originate in an area where the specified organism is known to be present, the phytosanitary certificate shall state under the rubric ‘Additional Declaration’ that:

(a) the specified plants have been produced in one or more sites fulfilling the conditions set out in sub-regulation (5);

(b) the national plant protection organisation of the third country concerned has communicated in writing to the Commission the list of those sites, including their location within the country;

(c) phytosanitary treatments against the vectors of the specified organism are applied in the site and its zone as referred to in sub-regulation (5)(c);

(d) representative samples of each species of specified plants from each site have been subject to annual testing, at the most appropriate time, and the absence of the specified organism has been confirmed on the basis of tests carried out in accordance with internationally validated testing methods;

(e) the specified plants have been transported in closed containers or packaging, ensuring that infection with the specified organism or any of its known vectors cannot occur;

(f) as practically close to the time of export as possible, the lots of the specified plants were subjected to official visual inspection, sampling and molecular testing, carried out in accordance with internationally validated testing methods, confirming the absence of the specified organism, using a sampling scheme able to identify with 99% reliability a level of presence of infected plants of 1% or above and targeted especially at plants displaying suspect symptoms of the specified organism;

(g) immediately prior to export, the lots of the specified plants were subjected to phytosanitary treatments against any of the known vectors of the specified organism.

In addition, the phytosanitary certificate referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) shall indicate under the rubric ‘Place of origin’ the identification of the site referred to in paragraph (a).

(4) Where specified plants, which have been grown for the entire production cycle in vitro, originate in an area where the specified organism is known to be present, the phytosanitary certificate shall state under the rubric ‘Additional Declaration’ that:

(a) the specified plants have been produced in one or more sites fulfilling the conditions set out in sub-regulation (6);

(b) the national plant protection organisation of the third country concerned has communicated in writing to the Commission the list of those sites, including their location within the country;

(c) the specified plants have been transported under sterile conditions in a transparent container that precludes the possibility of infection by the specified organism through its vectors;

(d) the specified plants meet one of the following conditions:

(i) they have been grown from seeds;

(ii) they have been propagated, under sterile conditions, from mother plants which have spent their entire lives in an area free from the specified organism and which have been tested and found free from the specified organism;

(iii) they have been propagated, under sterile conditions, from mother plants which have been grown in a site fulfilling the conditions of sub-regulation (5) and which have been tested and found free from the specified organism.

In addition, the phytosanitary certificate referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) shall indicate under the rubric ‘Place of origin’ the site referred to in paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (4).

(5) The site referred to in sub-regulation (3)(a) shall fulfil the following conditions:

(a) it is authorised by the national plant protection organisation as free from the specified organism and its vectors, in accordance with the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures;

(b) it is physically protected against the introduction of the specified organism by its vectors;

(c) it is surrounded by a zone with a width of 100m which has been subject to official inspections twice per year and where all of the plants found to be infected with the specified organism or to have symptoms have been immediately removed, and appropriate phytosanitary treatments against the vectors of the specified organism have been applied before that removal;

(d) at appropriate times throughout the year, it is subject to phytosanitary treatments to maintain freedom from vectors of the specified organism; those treatments may include, as appropriate, removal of plants;

(e) it is subjected annually, together with the zone referred to in paragraph (c), to at least two official inspections during the flight season of the vector;

(f) throughout the production time of the specified plants, neither symptoms of the specified organism nor its vectors were found in the site, or, if suspect symptoms were observed, testing has been undertaken and absence of the specified organism has been confirmed;

(g) throughout the production time of the specified plants, no symptoms of the specified organism were found in the zone referred to in paragraph (c) or, if suspect symptoms were observed, testing has been undertaken and absence of the specified organism has been confirmed.

(6) The site referred to in sub-regulation (4)(a) shall fulfil the following conditions:

(a) it is authorised by the national plant protection organisation as free from the specified organism and its vectors, in accordance with the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures;

(b) it is physically protected against the introduction of the specified organism by its vectors;

(c) it is subjected annually to at least two official inspections carried out at appropriate times;

(d) throughout the production time of the specified plants, neither symptoms of the specified organism nor its vectors were found in the site, or, if suspect symptoms were observed, testing has been undertaken and absence of the specified organism has been confirmed.