Next Phase of Lacey Act Enforcement for Imported Plants And Products Thereof Begins April 1, 2010
Issue 7, February 15, 2010
Phase 4 in the enforcement of the Lacey Act is scheduled to begin on April 1, 2010.
Upon the effective enforcement date of phase 4, importers of the subject products will be required to submit a completed Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) form (PPQ505) upon entry into the United States. A copy of the form, along with instructions for completion, is available at-
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/downloads/declarationform.pdf
In coordination with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), APHIS will accept the form in electronic format when submitted as part of an entry/entry summary submission via the Automated Broker Interface (ABI). DHL Global Forwarding will offer this service to our customers. We will require that customers provide us with either a copy of the form or the data in electronic format in order to complete the submission.
The products subject to the declaration requirement as of April 1, 2010, are those classified under the following HTSUS headings: 4421, 6602, 8201, 9201, 9202, 9302, 9305.10.20., 9401.69, 9504.20., and 9703 (plus all items currently subject to the requirement).
The new products subject to this requirement include (but not limited to)- walking sticks, hand tools, sculptures, revolvers and parts thereof, seats with wood frames, billiard articles and accessories, pianos and stringed instruments, and items classified in the HTSUS as “other articles of wood”.
Additional products will become subject to the declaration requirement upon implementation of future phases of enforcement.
At present, APHIS plans to continue to enforce the declaration requirement on formal consumption entries only. APHIS does not intend to enforce the declaration requirement for informal entries, personal importations, mail (unless subject to formal entry), transportation and exportation entries, in-transit movements, carnet importations, foreign trade zone entries, or warehouse entries.
Also, APHIS is only enforcing the declaration requirement for the actual product being imported and not the materials that ordinarily accompany the product (e.g., tags, labels, manuals, and warranty cards).
Additional information on the Lacey Act requirements is available at-
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/index.shtml
Regards,
Paul Vroman
Regulatory & Compliance Consultant
DHL Global Forwarding
