Some of the agri-commoditiy Traders are planning to import Maize into India for Consumption purpose. The import of plants and plant material are regulated under Plant Quarantine (Regulation of Import into India) Order, 2003 (PQ Order, 2003) issued under the DIP Act, 1914. A brief appraisal of the phytosanitary requirement is given hereunder:

  • Import Permit has to be taken prior to import from the relevant Plant Quarantine Station from wherein the import is desired.
  • No consignment shall be contaminated with quarantine weeds which are listed in Schedule VIII of PQ Order, 2003 as given below:

SCHEDULE-VIII

[See Clause 3 (12)]

List of Quarantine Weed Species


(1) (2) (1) (2)
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.
14.

15.

 

 

 Allium vineale

Ambrosia maritime

Ambrosia psilostachya

Ambrosia trifida

Apera-spica-venti

Bromus secalinus

Cenchrus tribuloides

Centaurea diffusa

Centaurea maculosa

Centaurea solstitialis

Cichorium pumilum

Cichorium spinosum

Cordia curassavica

Cuscuta australis

Cynoglossum officinale

 

 16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31

 Echinochloa crus-pavonis

Froelichia floridana

Helianthus californicus

Helianthus ciliaris

Heliotropium amplexicaule

Leersia japonica

Matricaria perforatum

Polygonum cuspidatum

Proboscidea lovisianica

Salsola vermiculata

Senecio jacobaea

Solanum carolinense

Striga hermonthica

Thesium australe

Thesium humiale

Viola arvensis

 

 

  • Following additional declaration should be endorsed on the Phytosanitary Certificate (PSC):

Free from:
(a) Ergot (Claviceps gigantea)
b) Larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus)
(c) Maize weevil (Sitophilus zeamais)

 

  • The consignment should be got fumigated with Methyl bromide @32 gm/cu.metre for 24 hours at 21 degree celcius and above under NAP and treatment shall be endorsed on the PSC by the Exporting Country.
  • The consignment, on arrival, would be inspected and if found free from quarantine pests and noxious weed species, permission shall be accorded for clearance from plant quarantine angle.

Note 1: Commercial imports of Transgenic or Genetically Modified Organisms(GMOs) are regulated by separate guidelines issued by the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee or Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM). Specific declaration regarding import of non GM agricultural commodities is mentioned in column 12 of PQ Form 01, while applying for issuance of Import Permit.

If the consignment is Non-GMO, the Importers are advised to get Non-GMO Certificate from the competent authority of the Exporting Country.

Note 2: Consignment could be allowed without offshore Methyl bromide fumigation from only those countries which certify the discontinuance of this chemical from phytosanitary treatment. Such consignment would be subjected to Methyl bromide fumigation in India at the port of entry and on payment of penal fees. Plant Quarantine Incharge at the port of entry has been authorised to grant relaxation from the condition of Import with regard to methyl bromide in such cases. However, each such case would be subsequently referred to NPPO-India for issuance of notification of Non-Compliance to his counterpart in the Exporting country.

The relevant extracts from PQ Order, 2003 are attached for details.