Plant and Plant Materials Import Allowed through Karaikal and Pipavav Sea Ports

[Draft Notification dated 23rd November 2009]

In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 3 of the Destructive Insects and Pests Act, 1914 (2 of 1914), the Central Government hereby makes the following Order further to amend the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003, namely:-

1. (i) This Order may be called the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Seventh Amendment), Order, 2009.

(ii) It shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.

(iii) All stakeholders desirous of making any suggestions/comments on the draft Order, may forward with the justification to the National Enquiry Point Shri Pankaj Kumar, (Plant Protection), Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Room No. 224, Krishi Bhavan, New Delhi; Tel. No. 23070306, e-mail pankajkumar@nic.in within sixty days w.e.f. 23rd November, 2009.

2. In the Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003, in Schedule I, under the heading “Seaports”, after serial number 35, and the entry relating thereto the following serial numbers and the entries shall be inserted, namely:-

“36. Karaikal (Puducherry)

37. Pipavav (Gujarat)”

F.No. 35-1/2009-PP.II

[Ministry of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation Office Memorandum dated 23rd November 2009]

Subject: Notification to be made in the SPS Committee of WTO regarding Plant Quarantine (Regulation of import into India) (Seventh Amendment) Order, 2009.

Please find enclosed the text of the notification to the WTO containing the draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Seventh Amendment) Order, 2009 proposing certain amendments to the Schedule-I, allowing for import of plants and plant materials into India from Karaikal Port and Pipavav Port.

2. It is requested that further necessary action to notify the same to the WTO Secretariat, may be taken at your end at the earliest and WTO notification number allotted by WTO Secretariat may please be intimated to this Department. A copy of the draft notification is also enclosed herewith for information.

This issues with the approval of Joint Secretary (Plant Protection).

Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Original

Notification

1. Member of Agreement notifying:

India

2. Agency responsible:

Department of Agriculture & Cooperation Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India

3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national scheduled deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition where applicable):

Plants and Plant materials and other regulated articles as per Plant Quarantine (Regulation of import into India) Order, 2003 and its Amendments.

4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:

Listed trading partner countries, exporting Plants and Plant materials to India.

5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document:

Title – Draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Seventh Amendment) Order, 2009

Language – English

Number of pages – 1

6. Description of content:

The Draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Seventh Amendment) Order, 2009 seeks to further liberalize provisions governing import of plants and plant materials into India by including Karaikal Port, Puducherry and Pipavav Port, Gujarat under Schedule-I as points of entry. This notification will make possible imports of plants and plant materials into India, through Karaikal Port, Puducherry and Pipavav Port, Gujarat. The details can be seen in the website www.agricoop.nic.in (Circulars and Notifications -> Plant Quarantine Order and Amendments-> Draft Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) (Seventh Amendment) Order, 2009) or can be obtained from the National Enquiry Point – Mr. Pankaj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Plant Protection, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Room No. 224, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110011, INDIA. Tele/Fax : 91-11-23070306, E-mail : pankajkumar@nic.in

7. Objective and rationale: [ ] food safety, [ ] animal health, [_ ] plant protection [ _ ] protect humans from animal/ plant pest or disease. [ _ ] protect territory from other damage from pests.

8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: [ ] Codex Alimentarius Commission, [ ] Office International des Epizooties [ _ ] International standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate reference and briefly identify deviations.

The contents of this notification are in consonance with the International Standards on Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) of International Plant Protection (IPPC) of FAO are based on Pest Risk Analysis(PRA).

9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:

English

10. Proposed date of adoption: This draft notification is to be adopted on 22nd February, 2010.

11. Proposed date of entry into force: 22nd February, 2010 (Tentative)

12. Final date of comments: 22nd January, 2010

Agency or authority designated to handle comments:

National Enquiry Point - Mr. Pankaj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Plant Protection, Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Room No. 224, Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi-110011, INDIA. Tele/Fax: 91-11-23070306. E-mail: pankajkumar@nic.in

13. Text available from:

Website of the Department of Agriculture & Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India viz. www.agricoop.nic.in and www.plantquarantineindia.org

And