Movement of plants and seeds for planting under the NIPHL Scheme

1. The movement of the consignment is between an Authorised Professional Operator in GB registered with the GB competent authority and a Professional Operator in Northern Ireland registered with DAERA.
2. Goods must have a valid NIPHL attached: for plants and seeds for planting, the NIPHL must be attached to the smallest tradeable unit - this could be pots, trays or pallets.
3. The registered Authorised Professional Operator in GB must ensure that any plants or seeds are examined to make sure they meet the phytosanitary requirements for Northern Ireland and comply with the requirements of the NIPHL Scheme, including growing season inspections.

Receiving plants and seeds for planting from GB to Northern Ireland:

• Professional Operators currently registered with DAERA, intending to receive NIPHL consignments must sign a declaration that they agree to abide by the rules and conditions of the NIPHL Scheme.
• The business (or their agent) receiving the NIPHL consignment in Northern Ireland notifies details of the consignment to DAERA in Northern Ireland in advance by submitting a CHED-PP on TRACES NT. Read guidance on how to register for TRACES NT and create a CHED-PP. This will provide DAERA with details needed to conduct relevant documentary, ID and physical processes on arrival at an SPS Facility in Northern Ireland.
• The consignment must remain in Northern Ireland. It cannot be moved on to the Republic of Ireland (RoI) or other EU countries.
• Professional operators in Northern Ireland will be required to keep records of NIPHLs received, including the traceability code on the NIPHL, for a minimum of 3 years.
• Specific queries should be forwarded to planthealth@daera-ni.gov.uk

Where the above goods are moving from GB to NI for onward movement to RoI or another EU country, they cannot be moved under the NIPHL Scheme.

 

Moving plants or seeds for planting that have changed form after initially being planted in Northern Ireland 

Plants for planting that only increase in size or are re-potted in Northern Ireland without undergoing any physical change in form remain the same plants as were originally moved to NI using a NIPHL. Therefore, in accordance with NIPHL rules these cannot then be moved to the Republic of Ireland or other EU countries.

Where plants or seeds have been planted in Northern Ireland and have changed form (that is germinated or grown into a new plant or a new seed/bulb) these are considered to have undergone a change of country of origin and can therefore, under NIPHL legislation subsequently be moved to the Republic of Ireland or other EU countries, provided EU movement requirements are complied with.  See table below:

Original Form	Does the original plant for planting change from their physical form into a new plant?
Seeds	✅ Yes, if grown into plants (i.e., no longer in seed form1
Bulbs, corms, rhizomes or tuber (other than seed potato tubers)	✅ Yes, if grown into plants (i.e., no longer in dormant bulb, corm, rhizome or tuber form)1
Sprouts	✅ Yes, if grown into plants (i.e. no longer in sprout form)1
Plant tissue cultures	✅ Yes, if grown into plants (i.e., no longer plant tissue cultures)1
Rootstocks, material for bud work, or scions	✅ Yes, if the introduced scion is grafted onto a rootstock, or the imported rootstock is grafted onto a scion, and then grown as a whole plant1
Cuttings	✅ Yes, if grown into plants (i.e., no longer a cutting)1
Propagation materials – (products from plants)	✅ Yes, for any resulting products from the plant, such as seed/bulbs/scions/budwood etc
Young plant / plant for planting	🚫No, if simply grown into a mature plant or potted into a new container/pot

^[1]Cuttings could be taken from the resulting plants (including unrooted cuttings or rooted cuttings) which could also be moved to EU

✅ Means the plant changes form to the extent that it is no longer regarded as the same plant for planting.

🚫 Instances where the plant for planting has not changed form sufficiently to be regarded as a different plant.

 

This page has been published to provide information on the new Northern Ireland Retail Movement Scheme and the NI Plant Health Label Scheme. Please note that information not related to NIRMS or NIPHL on this page is currently under review.