WHEREAS, the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS) and the FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) reaffirms the sovereign right of the country to institute appropriate measures deemed necessary to protect human, plant, and animal life and health, provided that such measures do not unnecessarily restrict trade;
WHEREAS, the Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for fresh paprika (Capsicum anuum L.) was conducted and completed in accordance with the IPPC International Standard for Phytosanitary Measures ISPM #11, which takes into account evaluation of the biological or other scientific and economic evidence to determine whether a pest should be regulated and the strength of any phytosanitary measures to be taken against it;
Whereas, the completed PRA served as the basis for the issuance of this Administrative Circular (AC);
NOW, THEREFORE, I, PROCESO J. ALCALA, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, by the powers vested in me by law, do hereby issue this Circular providing guidelines governing the importation of fresh paprika from the Republic of Korea.
Article I
SCOPE AND DEFINITION OF TERMS AND ACRONYM
Section 1. Scope. This Circular shall govern the importation of fresh paprika from the Republic of Korea.
Section 2. Definition of Terms and Acronyms. For the purpose of this Circular, the following terms, words and phrases herein used shall be construed to mean as follows:
A. Definition:
B. Acronyms:
AMV - Alfalfa Mosaic Virua BPI - Bureau of Plant Industry (the NPPO of the Philippines) IPPC - International Plant Protection Convention MRL - Maximum Residue Limit NPPO - National Plant Protection Organization PepMoV - Pepper Mottle Virus PC - Phytosanitary Certificate PMMV - Pepper Mild Mottle Virus PQC - Plant Quarantine Clearance PQO - Plant Quarantine Officer of the BPI PQS - Plant Quarantine Service PRA - Pest Risk Analysis QIA - Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency SPS - Sanitary and Phytosanitary WTO - World Trade Organization
Article II
IMPORTER ACCREDITATION GUIDELINES AND PROCEDURES
The following guidelines and procedures shall be implemented in the accreditation of the importers of fresh paprika (see Annex I).
A. Application for Accreditation – The accomplished Application for Accreditation and Accreditation Validation Form, together with pertinent documents enumerated hereunder shall be submitted to the BPI-PQS Central Office for the initial verification and evaluation of application. Pertinent documents should consist of the following:
B. Importer’s Orientation - The company owner with his authorized representative(s) shall be oriented on the Plant Quarantine laws (PQ laws) and regulations, allowable plants/plant products that can be imported in the Philippines, procedures (process flow) of issuance of Plant Quarantine Clearance (PQC), possible sanctions of violations, and other concerns with regards to the importation of fresh paprika.
Orientation will be carried-out by the Chief of PQS or his assigned technical staff.
C. Facility Inspection – The Plant Quarantine (PQ) Officer/Inspector will conduct ocular inspection of the applicant’s office and storage facility following the guidelines for facility inspection procedures set by BPI-PQS (see Annex II).
D. Approval and Issuance of Accreditation – After the applicant has complied with all the requirements for accreditation, the application will be recommended for approval.
The BPI-PQS shall then issue a Certificate of Accreditation duly signed by the BPI Director upon recommendation of the PQS Chief.
Article III
APPLICATION FOR AND ISSUANCE OF PLANT QUARANTINE CLEARANCE
A. Any BPI-accredited fresh paprika importer who desires to import from the Republic of Korea must secure BPI Q Form No. 1 (Annex III).
B. Duly accomplished form together with the payment of non-refundable fee must be submitted to BPI-PQS with the following documents:
1. Valid Pro-forma invoice
2. Other commodity specific requirements
C. The BPI-PQS shall determine its sufficiency in form and substance and inform the applicant accordingly. Only properly accomplished application form with complete documentary requirements shall be processed within five (5) working days.
D. Approval / disapproval may take into consideration the following:
Article IV
DISTRIBUTION OF APPROVED PQC
Upon approval of the application, a PQC in quadruplicate shall be issued as follows:
The original shall be given to the applicant for presentation to the Plant Quarantine Officer upon arrival of the consignment. The duplicate shall be sent in advance to the shipper in the country of origin by the applicant for their guidance relative to the terms and conditions imposed in the PQC. The triplicate shall be furnished to the Collector of Customs at the Port of Entry and the fourth copy shall be filed with the application.
Article V
VALIDITY AND NON-TRANSFERABILITY OF THE PQC
A. Validity of the PQC:
B. Non-Transferability of the PQC
The PQC is non-transferable and shall only be used by the person/company whose name appears in the PQC.
Article VI
FEES AND CHARGES
An accreditation fee shall be collected upon release of Certificate of Accreditation in the amount of Php 5,000.00. Yearly renewal shall also be subjected to processing fee of Php 3,000.00.
Other relevant fees shall be imposed as necessary pursuant to DA Administrative Order No. 01 Series of 2001, DA Administrative Order No. 12 and 26 Series of 2004.
Article VII
REQUIREMENTS AND CONDITIONS ON PRE-EXPORT QUARANTINE INSPECTION
A. Source Areas
Exporters, production areas and processing facilities of fresh paprika intended for export to the Philippines shall be registered with Korea QIA. An official list shall be provided to BPI-PQS. Only those indicated in the list shall be allowed to export to the Philippines and approved by BPI-PQS.
B. Cleaning, Packing and Labelling
C. Storage and transport
- Paprika should be stored at temperatures 18°C or below prior to export
- Paprika should be transported/shipped to the Philippines in refrigerated containers at 10°C or below.
D. Pre-export Phytosanitary Inspection and Certification by QIA
- Paprika fruits for export should be inspected for pests and diseases by QIA at a standard 600 unit sampling rate per inspection lot whereby one unit is one capsicum fruit
- Each consignment of paprika must be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by QIA upon completion of pre-export inspection to verify that the relevant measure has been undertaken.
E. Sealing and Labeling of Carton Boxes
If the consignment satisfactorily passes the inspection, each carton box shall be sealed and labeled with the following information conspicuously displayed on the two sides of the box:
F. Loading of Consignment and Sealing of Reefer Vans
G. Phytosanitary Certification
An original Phytosanitary Certificate (PC) shall be issued by the QIA for each consignment that satisfactorily passed the pre-export quarantine inspection. Integral to the PC is an additional declaration stating the following information:
H. Maximum Residue Level (MRL) Certificate
Each shipment shall be accompanied by a certificate of analysis for pesticide residue issued by a relevant government laboratory in Korea or issued by a government accredited laboratory, attesting that the pesticides used during production conform to the required Codex MRL for each pesticide.
Article VIII
ENTRY AND POST-ENTRY INSPECTION
The Philippine Plant Quarantine Service shall undertake the following phytosanitary activities upon arrival of each shipment.
Article IX
PENALTIES AND SANCTIONS
Section 1. Suspension/Revocation of PQC:
A. The PQC may be suspended or revoked at any time for any of the following grounds:
B. Revocation or cancellation of the PQC shall be without prejudice to being further subjected to penalties.
Section 2. Confiscation and Disposal:
A. If the border inspection shows that:
The PQS shall inform the BOC of the violations and the consignment shall be disposed of in any of the following manner:
In no case shall a confiscated consignment be auctioned, redeemed, donated or sold by any government bureau or agency.
B. Notice of Confiscation shall be issued to the importer stating the reason/s for the confiscation. Three (3) copies of the said Notice shall be issued as follows: one (1) copy shall be given to the BOC; one (1) copy to the importer and one (1) copy shall be retained by the PQS.
Further, the notice shall provide indicative date of condemnation and disposal of the product.
C. All expenses (including travel, per diem or subsistence, and overtime pay) of officers or employees of the Philippine government in connection with the destruction or disposition of the seized fresh paprika and all expenses in connection with the storage, cargo or labor with respect to the refusal for admission of fresh paprika shall be paid by the importer.
D. The importer concerned shall then be blacklisted from the list of accredited importers.
E. The impounding or seizure shall not be a bar to subsequent prosecution in the court of the person/s concerned in accordance with law.
Section 3. Suspension of Fresh Paprika Importation:
A. In case of non-compliance with the requirements and conditions of this AC, quarantine pest interceptions at the port of entry, and/or pest outbreak at the source, the BPI reserves the right to suspend the fresh paprika importation.
B. An audit of the export program shall be conducted. The program shall resume only when the BPI and the QIA have mutually agreed on and instituted the necessary corrective actions to comply with the requirements and conditions of this AC.
Section 4. Other Penalties: The existing laws and rules and regulations of the BPI prescribing the violations and corresponding penalties shall be applied and imposed.
Section 5. Notification: The Department of Agriculture through the BPI shall immediately notify the QIA in writing, through the DFA-Philippine Embassy in Korea or the Embassy of Korea in Manila, of any detection or interception of quarantine pests in the shipment and non-compliance with the requirements and conditions of this AC.
Article X
REPEALING CLAUSE
All existing administrative circulars, rules and regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Circular are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Article XI
SEPARABILITY CLAUSE
If any portion of this Circular is declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other portions thereof which are not affected thereby shall continue to be in full force and effect.
Article XII
EFFECTIVITY
This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation.
Recommending Approval:
(SGD.) CLARITO M. BARRON Phd, CESO IV
Director, Bureau of Plant Industry
Approved:
(SGD.) PROCESO J. ALCALA
Secretary, Department of Agriculture