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Lacey
Act Enforcement
will commence on 1
May 2009
Dear Customers and Friends of Seajet:
The Lacey Act
has become effective December 15, 2008, with the enforcement of the
declaration requirement becoming effective May 1, 2009. Violations to
the Lacey Act will be subject to legal and criminal penalties which is
why you cannot ignore this.
However you will see that for most of you the Lacey Act in its latest
version will have a much lesser impact on your business than was
anticipated. For practical purposes there are two main components of
importance:
Covered articles will be phased in as per attached Phase In Schedule.
The articles covered will be subject to PPQ 505 = Plant Product
Declaration.
Even if you import articles not mentioned in the attached Phase In
Schedule, you would be in violation if any of the articles that you
import contain parts of plants or plant products which are unlawful to
import. If not sure please refer to the paragraph below which helps you
identify plant and plant products which are illegal to import.
The Lacey Act, first enacted in 1900 and significantly amended in 1981,
is the United States’ oldest wildlife protection statue. The Act combats
trafficking in “illegal” wildlife, fish, or plants.
To look up which plant and/or plant products are illegal to import
please refer to
www.aphis.usda.gov. Go to Plant Health
on the left hand side under “Browse by Subject”. Then on the right hand
side under “I want To” click “View PPQ Electronic Manuals”. On the
middle of that page click “Port Programs”. Scroll down on that page to
“Nursery Stock Restrictions”. On that page type in the particular plant
(example: birch) into the search window and a page will pop up telling
you if illegal to import and if so from which countries.
If your product does fall under the Plant and Plant Product Declaration
requirement as per the attached Phase in Schedule, which data fields
will you have to provide to be in compliance? Please refer to the
attached page 2 of the Plant and Plant Product Import Declaration Form
(data required on page 1 will be available from the Commercial Invoice
and other shipping related documents required to clear customs). For the
purpose of you having to obtain and furnish information, only fields 13
through 18 apply. For an explanation of what is required in each field
please refer to the attached “Import Declaration Explanation” form items
13 – 18. You can look up scientific plant names at
http://plants.usda.gov/ and
http://www.ibiblio.org/pfaf/D_search.html.
Is important to note that Customs will not accept any paper forms and
was insisting (until Friday, 03/27) that such forms be submitted
electronically effective April 1, 2009. This is a fitting date
considering that customs has also said that it may not be able to
receive the electronic data on this date and announced Friday, 3/27
that the enforcement date has been postponed until May 1, 2009.
In the meantime Seajet is ready to submit the Plant & Plant Product
Declaration Form (PPQ 505) electronically as soon as customs gives the
green light. If you import articles that are part of the enclosed Phase
in Schedule we encourage you to start obtaining the required information
from your suppliers now so that you are ready to comply and provide the
required information at the respective effective dates.
The bottom line is that in order for us to submit the electronic Plant
and Plant Product Import Declaration (if and where applicable) we shall
require items 13 through 18. We suggest that you ask your suppliers to
either complete the enclosed page 2 of the Plant and Plant Product
Import Declaration or ask them to add the data into their Commercial
Invoice.
The Import Declaration Fee for the Electronic Plant and Plant Product
Import Declaration PPQ 505 will be $ 20.00 per product applicable. If
more than one product per Commercial Invoice (or entry) then the fee
will be $ 5.00 for each additional line.
Below hereto are two more websites with useful information on this
subject
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/
Guidance on the Lacey Act Declaration
We hope that
the above has helped you to better understand the Lacey Act and how it
will affect you. If you have questions please feel free to contact us at
any time.
Please review the following PDF
documents:
PDFdoc/Phase In Schedule.pdf
PDFdoc/Import Declaration page
2.pdf
PDFdoc/Import Declaration
Explanation.pdf
PDFdoc/Latest Customs Update.pdf
Thank you for your support.
Best regards,
Andreas
Bauermeister
President
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