PLANT QUARANTINE ACT

CHAPTER 433

PLANT QUARANTINE ACT

To prevent the introduction into Malta of plant pests and diseases, to

control and check the spread thereof and to provide for other matters

incidental and ancillary thereto.

1st September, 2001

Act XVIII of 2001 , as amended by Act III of 2004 ; Legal Notice 426

of 2007 ; and Acts V of 2011 , XXI of 2020 , XVII of 2024 and XV of 2025.

PART I

Preliminary

The short title of this Act is Plant Quarantine Act.

(1) In this Act and in any regulations made thereunder,

unless the context otherwise requires -

"Authority" means the Food Safety and Security Authority as

established by article 4 of the Food Safety and Security Authority

Act and shall include, to the extent of the authority given by the

aforementioned Authority, any of its officers authorised in writing to

act on its behalf for the purposes of this Act;

"authorised officer" means an officer of the Police force,

Customs Department, Postal Services or Plant Health Service or

any other person authorised by the Director in writing to enforce or

implement any provision of this Act;

"beneficial organism" means any organism, including fungi,

bacteria, viruses, virus-like organisms, invertebrate or other

animals, which is declared in writing by the Minister, after

consultation with the Minister responsible for the protection of the

environment, to be beneficial to Maltese flora or agricultural

production;

"certification scheme" means a method of growing, monitoring

and testing of plants to ensure that they are free from particular

pests and diseases;

"Convention" means the International Plant Protection

Convention, signed in Rome on the 6th December 1951 as amended

or with any other convention prescribed by the Minister from time

to time;

"conveyance" means any vessel, aircraft, hovercraft, train,

vehicle, cart, container, animal or other thing which can convey

plant material, plant pests, beneficial organisms or soil from one

place to another;

"designated point of entry" means a port, airport, post office or

other place designated by the Minister as a place where the

importation of plant material is permitted, and includes a freeport

as defined in the Malta Freeports Act;

"importer" includes anyone who, whether as owner, consignor,

consignee, agent, broker or otherwise, is in possession of or in any

way entitled to the custody of any plant material, plant pest,

beneficial organism, soil or packaging landed or likely to be landed

in Malta from another country;

"inspector" means any inspector appointed under article 26 and

any other officer of the Plant Health Service or other person

designated as such in writing by the Director from time to time;

''Malta'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it by article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for food and includes, to

the extent of the authority given, any officer authorised in writing to

act on his behalf for the purposes of this Act;

"packing material" means any material used to pack, contain or

keep plant material, beneficial organisms, soils or plant pests;

"phytosanitary certificate" means a certificate relating to the

phytosanitary condition and origin of a consignment of plants and,

or, plant products prepared and issued in accordance with the

Convention;

"Plant Health Service" means the office empowered to carry out

plant health inspections and examinations and to implement the

provisions of this Act;

"plant material" includes any plant, plant part, propagative

material, or plant product which can be affected by, or harbour, a

plant pest;

"plant pest" means any form of plant or animal life or any

pathogenic agent, other than a beneficial organism, capable of

directly or indirectly injuring any plant material or beneficial

organism, and includes genetically modified plant pests and weeds;

"plant product" means any unmanufactured material of plant

origin and those manufactured products which, by their nature or

that of their processing, may create a risk of plant pests spreading;

"planting" means any operation whereby plants are placed in

such a way as to ensure their growth, reproduction or propagation;

"plants" means living plants and living parts thereof, including

seeds, fruits and vegetables (except frozen), underground parts of

plants, cut flowers, branches, trees with foliage and tissue cultures;

"propagative material" means any living plant or part of a living

plant, used or intended for propagation, including a seed, corm,

cutting, bud, rhizome or plant tissue culture;

"quarantine station" means an official station designated by the

Minister as a place where plant material may be confined for

phytosanitary inspection, observation, testing or research;

"soil" means any medium capable of sustaining plant life

including earth, water, compost or clay but excluding any medium

which is sterile or incapable of harbouring or transmitting plant

pests;

"treatment" means any appropriate process, including the use of

chemicals, heat or low pressure, for ensuring the removal,

sterilisation or killing of a plant pest.

(2) For the purposes of this Act the terms "import" and

"export" shall not include the introduction of a thing into Malta or

the taking out of a thing from Malta, from or to respectively, a

member state of the European Union, or to such extent as may be

prescribed from or to such state as the Minister may prescribed,

being a state forming part of the European Economic Area or a

state having similar arrangements with the European Union.

PART II

Administration

(1) The Authority shall be responsible for the Plant Health

Service and to administer and enforce the provisions of this Act.

(2)

The Plant Health Service shall -

(a) inspect growing plants, areas under cultivation, and

plants and plant products in storage or locally in

transit, in order to report the existence, outbreak and

spread of plant pests and to control plant pests;

(b) in respect of consignments of plant materials moving

in international traffic -

(i)

inspect the said consignments and, where

appropriate, inspect consignments of other

articles

and

commodities

moving

in

international traffic under conditions where they

may act incidentally as carriers of plant pests;

(ii) inspect and supervise storage and transport

facilities of any kind, particularly with the object

of preventing the dissemination of plant pests

across national boundaries;

(iii) disinfest or disinfect consignments of plants and

plant products, as well as their containers,

packaging, storage places or transport facilities;

(c) determine the percentage of inspection checks to be

carried out;

(d) issue phytosanitary certificates or plant passports;

(e) authorise nurseries to issue plant passports in

accordance with regulations prescribed under this Act;

(f)

periodically update and disseminate lists of plant

material, plant pests and beneficial organisms the

importation of which into Malta is prohibited or

restricted;

(g) distribute information within Malta about pests of

plants and plant products and how to prevent and

control them;

(h) promote integrated pest management and control in

Malta;

(i)

conduct research and surveys in the field of plant

protection;

(j)

administer and enforce the provisions of this Act; and

(k) attend to such matters as the Authority may prescribe.

(1) The Plant Protection Board shall consist of

(a) a Chairman to be appointed by the Minister;

(b) four members, to be appointed by the Minister, at least

one of whom shall be a farmer’s representative;

(c) the Authority, or its representative; and

(d) a representative from the University of Malta, and a

representative from the Public Health Department, the

Department of Environment, the Malta Standards

Authority, the Occupational Health and Safety

Authority, the Department of Agriculture and the

Malta Resources Authority.

(2) The Minister shall designate an officer of the Authority to

act as Secretary of the Board.

(3) The Board shall regularly review the state of plant

quarantine in Malta on the formulation of policies in this regard,

and advise the Minister on any matters with which this Act is

concerned, particularly with respect to

(a) the promulgation of regulations under this Act and

matters arising from the application of any such

regulations;

(b) the declaration of any plant pest as a notifiable plant

pest pursuant to article 20;

(c) the phytosanitary implications of importing any plant

material, plant products, pests, beneficial organisms or

soil;

(d) the management, operation and requirements of the

Plant Health Service; and

(e) the diagnosis, detection and identification of particular

pests and diseases.

The Authority may establish Plant Certification Schemes

which shall follow international standards and shall be

administered and updated by the Plant Health Service on the advice

of the Board.

PART III

Importation

No person shall import into Malta any plant material, plant

pest, beneficial organism, soil or packaging material except in

accordance with this Act.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (2), any plant

material, plant pest, beneficial organism, soil or packaging material

shall only be imported into Malta through a designated point of

entry and upon importation shall be declared and submitted

together with the prescribed permits and certificates for

examination by an inspector.

(2) The Minister may, after consultation with the Board, by

regulation or notice published in the Gazette exempt certain classes

of plant material from the requirement to be declared on

importation.

(3) The Director may, after consultation with the Board, by

notice issued in the Gazette establish the details of the conditions

under which and, or, treatments that any plant material, originating

from such countries and, or, zones, as may be specified in the

notice, has to be subjected to prior to importation.

The person in charge of any conveyance transporting or

storing anything required to be declared under article 7(1) shall

make the conveyance and its contents available for inspection and

treatment by an authorised officer in accordance with this Act as

soon as reasonably possible after arrival in Malta or at any other

time reasonably directed by an inspector; who shall determine the

place of inspection.

Any person in Malta who receives any plant material, plant

pest, beneficial organism or soil from outside Malta whether or not

that person consented to it being dispatched, shall, on receipt,

immediately notify an inspector and carry out the inspector ’s

instructions regarding its destruction, disposal or treatment to the

satisfaction of the inspector.

Anything imported into Malta, in transit through Malta or

moved from one part of Malta to another, in contravention of this

Act, together with any container used to transport it or other thing

reasonably suspected of harbouring any plant pest, may be seized

by inspectors or any authorised officer and may be destroyed,

disposed of, treated or otherwise dealt with as an inspector or

authorised person thinks fit, subject to the provisions of this Act.

(1)

The Authority may, by notice published in the

Gazette, require that any class of plant material, plant pest, beneficial

organism, soil or packaging shall not be imported into Malta from such

countries or zones, as may be specified in the notice, except with an

import permit and in strict compliance with the terms of the permit.

(2)

The Authority may

(a)

issue, refuse to issue or cancel an import permit;

or

(b)

prescribe in any import permit such terms and

conditions as the Authority deems appropriate and at any time,

whether before or after importation, vary or add to the terms or

conditions.

The Director may, by notice published in the Gazette,

require that any class of plant material, as shall be specified in the

notice, shall not be imported except with a phytosanitary certificate

issued or a plant passport recognised by the plant protection

organisation of the exporting country in accordance with the

Convention and which conforms in all material respects with either

the model phytosanitary certificate for export or for re-export, as

the case may be, in the annex to the Convention.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the

Director may, after consultation with the Board, by notice in the

Gazette, prohibit or restrict the introduction, sale, cultivation,

propagation or movement of any plant material, plant pest,

beneficial organism, soil, packaging or any other thing capable of

harbouring or spreading a plant pest.

(2) Any notice given under sub-article (1) shall expire six

months after the date of publication in the Gazette, unless it is

renewed.

The Minister may, acting on the advice of the Board, make

regulations establishing rules for the marketing of vegetative

propagating and planting material and may by such regulations

establish the conditions for the grant of permits for the importation

and transport of any plant material, plant pest or other organisms

for the purposes of scientific research or otherwise, subject to such

terms and conditions as may be established in or referred to in the

regulations to safeguard public health, agriculture and, or, the

environment.

(1) All officers of Customs and of the Post Office shall

assist the Authority in preventing the importation into Malta of

anything contrary to this Act and in so doing may exercise all the

powers conferred upon them by or under the Customs Ordinance

and the Post Office Act or any law replacing the same.

(2) Any officer of Customs or of the Post Office who becomes

aware of the i mportation of an y plant material, plant pest,

beneficial organism, soil, packaging or other thing regulated by this

Act, other than things which are not required to be declared

pursuant to article 7(2), shall immediately notify an inspector or

other designated officer of the Plant Health Service.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (2), no plant

material, plant pest, soil or packing materials under examination or

liable to be examined by an inspector shall be moved or handled in

any way, nor shall any container be opened, except in accordance

with the directions of an inspector.

(2) An officer of Customs or of the Post Office may move and

handle a thing referred to in subsection (1) to the extent necessary

for the proper performance of that officer’s duties provided that the

enforcement and attainment of the objects of this Act are not

prejudiced.

The Authority may require any person

involved in

propagating, storing, importing, exporting, producing or otherwise

trading in plant material to register with the Plant Health Service and

comply with such requirements as the Authority may reasonably

require from time to time.

Any person who has imported any plant material, plant

pest, beneficial organism, soil or packaging shall, on demand by an

inspector, allow the imported things to be examined and samples to

be taken by an inspector at any reasonable time to enable the

inspector to determine whether or not this Act and any permit

issued under it, has been complied with and whether or not further

steps should be taken.

PART IV

Export Control

(1) Any person intending to export a consignment of

plants or plant products to another country shall submit the

c o n s i g n m e n t t o t h e P l a n t H e a l t h S e r v i c e f o r p r e -e x p o r t

examination.

(2) Each consignment submitted shall be examined by an

inspector within fourteen days of the date of export in accordance

with the requirements of the country of destination and if the

inspector is satisfied that the requirements for the issue of a

phytosanitary certificate or plant passport have been met, the

inspector shall issue a phytosanitary certificate or plant passport in

accordance with this Act.

PART V

Containment and Eradication of Plant Pests

(1) The Director may, by notice published in the Gazette,

declare any plant pest to be a notifiable plant pest if it presents, or

is likely to present, a threat to the production of or trade in plant

materials or to the natural environment and if it is either not known

to be established in Malta or is established in Malta but is the

subject of measures for its eradication or containment.

(2) The occupier or owner of any land or premises on which a

plant pest is found which is identified as, or is suspected to be, a

notifiable plant pest shall immediately notify an officer of the Plant

Health Service.

The Director may, by notice published in the Gazette -

(a) declare any island or area in Malta which is infested or

is suspected of being infested with any plant pest, to be

an infested area;

(b) declare any land or premises which is infested or is

suspected of being infested with any plant pest, to be

under quarantine;

(c) prescribe any measures for the treatment or disposal of

plant material, plant pests, soil or packaging, and the

treatment of conveyances, whether or not they have

been found to be infested, in order to limit the spread

of the plant pest;

(d) prescribe the period within which it shall be unlawful

to plant or replant the whole or part of any infested

place or area under quarantine.

If the Authority is satisfied that a notifiable plant pest is

present at any place, the Authority may cause a written notice to be

served on the owner or occupier of such land or premises and, if it

deems it necessary for the purposes of this Act, on the owner or

occupier of any land or premises in the vicinity, ordering each of them,

within a period specified in the notice, to take whatever measures on

their lands or premises the Authority considers appropriate to

eradicate, contain or restrict the spreading of the notifiable plant pest.

If an owner or occupier either cannot comply with any term

of a notice issued under articles 17 or 18 or is unable to comply

within the stipulated period and in either case advises the Authority

accordingly, the Authority may authorise the Plant Health Service to

enter upon the land or premises in question and to take whatever

measures may be appropriate to carry out the requirements of the

notice.

The Authority shall regularly review the situation in respect of

any land placed under quarantine and, when it is satisfied that either

the relevant plant pest has been eradicated or that after consideration of

all relevant circumstances it would be inappropriate to continue to

maintain the quarantine restrictions in respect of part or all of the land

under quarantine, the Authority shall, by notice published in the

Gazette and by notice served on all affected owners or occupiers of

such land, declare that from a specified date any land identified in the

notice shall no longer be under quarantine.

(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-article (2), where any

plant material or other thing is destroyed or harmed by any

measures taken to eradicate, contain or limit the spread of a

notifiable plant pest, the Authority may compensate the owner of the

plant material or item destroyed or harmed from monies voted for

that purpose by the House of Representatives.

(2) The Authority shall not be obliged to compensate any person

who has suffered loss as a result of action authorised under this Act

if the action was taken to remedy a situation caused wholly or

partially by that person’s negligence, failure to comply with lawful

instructions or contravention of this Act.

(3) The Authority shall, on the advice of the Board, determine the

amount of compensation payable in the circumstances of the case and

may, by government notice published in the Gazette, prescribe the

procedures to be followed to claim compensation.

(4) Any person claiming compensation for any seizure or

destruction under this Act of anything which was not infested with

plant pests or otherwise injurious to plants or beneficial organisms

who is aggrieved by a decision of the Director under sub-article (3)

may, make application to the Civil Court of competent jurisdiction,

request a determination of the claimant’s interest in or right over

the property, the amount of compensation payable and to obtain

payment and shall have the right to appeal to the Court of Appeal

against any such determination.

PART VI

Enforcement

(1) The Minister shall appoint inspectors to enforce the

provisions of this Act and the Minister shall ensure that they

receive adequate technical training to enable them to properly

perform their duties.

(2) The Minister may, on the advice of the Director, designate

public officers in the Authority to be temporary inspectors to

enforce the provisions of this Act, together with the inspectors

appointed under sub-article (1), and shall ensure that they receive

adequate technical training to enable them to properly perform their

duties.

For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act, the

Authority may request the assistance of members of the Police Force

or any authorised officer, and the provisions of article 10 shall

apply to anything seized in the execution of such powers.

Any inspector or authorised officer who causes anything to

be seized, detained, treated, disposed of or destroyed shall, as soon

as practicable, notify the owner or person having possession, care

or control of the thing, of the steps taken and the reasons for them.

If, in exceptional circumstances, the seizure is not made in the

presence of such person, they shall be notified in writing in such

manner as the Minister may from time to time prescribe.

PART VII

Offences, Penalties and Proceedings

Any person who, either personally or through an employee

or agent -

(a) grows, possesses, sells, offers for sale, transports or

distributes in any manner -

(i)

any plant material, plant pest, soil, beneficial

organism or packaging in the knowledge that it

has been imported into Malta contrary to the

provisions of this Act; or

(ii) anything infested with a plant pest controlled

under this Act or subject to a notice issued under

articles 17 or 18;

(b) assaults, resists, threatens or wilfully obstructs any

inspector or authorised officer in the execution of his

functions under this Act;

(c) refuses or neglects to comply with any order or

direction lawfully made or given under this Act;

(d) without reasonable excuse fails to answer any question

asked by an inspector or authorised officer or to

produce anything required to be produced;

(e) fails to allow a search or inspection authorised under

this Act;

(f)

prevents or attempts to prevent another person from

complying with orders or directions, from answering

questions, from producing any thing or from allowing

searches or inspections under this Act;

(g) knowingly or recklessly provides information which is

false in a material particular, for the purpose of

obtaining any permit or certificate or for the purported

compliance with any requirements of this Act;

(h) alters, forges, counterfeits, defaces or destroys any

PLANT QUARANTINE

document presented to or issued by the Director under

this Act; or

(i)

contravenes any of the provisions of this Act or of any

regulation made thereunder,

shall be guilty of an offence under this Act.

Where the Director has reasonable cause to believe that -

(a) an offence against this Act has been committed by any

person; and

(b) having regard to the previous conduct of the person

concerned, it would be appropriate to impose a penalty

under this article,

he may cause a notice in writing in accordance with sub-article (2)

in the appropriate form to be served on that person.

(2)

A notice under sub-article (1) shall specify -

(a) the date and nature of the offence;

(b) a summary of the facts upon which the allegation that

an offence has been committed is based (being a

sufficient summary fully and fairly to inform the

person of the allegation against him);

(c) any other matter (not being previous convictions) that

the Director considers relevant to the imposition of a

penalty; and

(d) the amount of the penalty due, and, where the penalty

due depends on a previous conviction, the date of such

conviction,

and shall be endorsed on a statement setting out the provisions of

this article.

(3) Any person on whom a notice under sub-article (1) is

served may, within thirty days after such service, by notice in

writing in the appropriate form served on the Director, require that

proceedings in respect of the alleged offence shall be dealt with by

the Court, in which case the following provisions shall apply

(a) no further proceedings shall be taken under this article

by the Director; and

(b) nothing in this article shall be construed as preventing

the institution of any proceedings in respect of the

alleged offence or the conviction of the person for the

offence by the Court or the imposition of any penalty

or forfeiture under this Act upon such conviction.

(4) Any person on whom a notice under sub-article (1) is

served who does not wish that proceedings in respect of the alleged

offence shall be dealt with by the Court may by notice in writing

served on the Director -

(a) admit the offence, and

(b) pay the amount of the penalty to the Director within

thirty days after the notice of the penalty is served or

after such subsequent period as the Director may

determine.

(5) Where under this article a person admits an offence, the

Director shall impose a monetary penalty on that person in respect

of the offence amounting to one third of the maximum penalty to

which the person would be liable if he were convicted of the

offence by the Court.

(6) The penalty imposed under sub-article (5) shall be due as a

civil debt enforceable by the competent Court of civil jurisdiction

in favour of the Government and the declaration by the person on

whom the penalty is imposed that he admits the charge shall

constitute an executive title for the purposes of article 253 of the

Code of Organization and Civil Procedure in the same manner as if

it were a judgement of the competent Court of civil jurisdiction.

(7) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or of any

other enactment, where an offence has been admitted under this

article no charge may be laid in respect of the offence against any

person by whom it has been admitted.

(8) Where a person on whom a notice under sub-article (1) is

served does not, within thirty days after the notice is served on

him, admit the offence, the Director shall institute proceedings or

cause proceedings to be instituted before the Court in respect of the

alleged offence.

(1) Any person who acts in violation of this Act or in

breach of any regulations made thereunder, shall -

(a) on a first conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of not

less than two hundred euro (€200) but not exceeding

two thousand euro (€2,000);

(b) on a second or subsequent conviction be liable to a

fine (multa) of not less than one thousand euro

(€1,000) but not exceeding twenty thousand euro

(€20,000),

or to a term of imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year,

or to both such fine and imprisonment.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act

the court may, in addition to any other penalty that it may impose -

(a) order that all income and profits from the sale of such

offending article be seized;

(b) impose an additional fine equivalent to the estimated

economic benefit which the convicted person derived

from the commission of the offence or would have

derived had the offence remained undetected; and, or

(c) revoke any permit granted under this Act and debar the

person convicted from holding another such permit for

a period not exceeding three years.

The Minister responsible for Justice may by regulations

prescribe that certain offences under this Act shall be scheduled

offences for the purposes of the Commissioners for Justice Act and

PLANT QUARANTINE

may be tried by a Commissioner for Justice as an infringement.

PART VIII

Miscellaneous

(1) The Minister may make regulations generally to give

effect to any of the provisions of this Act, and, in particular, may

make regulations for all or any of the following purposes

(a) prohibiting or restricting the introduction into Malta of

any plant material likely to introduce any plant pest

into Malta, whether or not already present in Malta, or

as having noxious or undesirable characteristics, or as

being of an undesirable strain;

(b) prohibiting or restricting the introduction into Malta of

any -

(i)

soil, packaging or other thing specified in the

regulations as being likely to introduce any plant

pest into Malta, whether or not already present

in Malta; or

(ii) plant pest or organism which is or is alleged to

be a beneficial organism;

(c) designating points of entry and quarantine stations;

(d) prescribing procedures to be followed by any inspector

or other person in the exercise of powers or the

performance of obligations under this Act;

(e) prescribing procedures to be adopted for the treatment

of imported materials regulated by this Act and of the

conveyances bringing them to Malta to prevent or

control the introduction of plant pests into Malta;

(f)

providing for the control and care of plant material

kept or grown in isolation or in quarantine conditions

whether in quarantine stations or elsewhere;

(g) requiring the provision and maintenance of such

facilities as may reasonably be prescribed;

(h) providing for the inspection of domestic plant

material, soil or packaging for export and the issue of

appropriate phytosanitary certificates or plant

passports;

(i)

promoting co-ordination and co-operation among

government departments and third parties in

implementing and enforcing the provisions of this Act;

(j)

inspecting growing plants, lands or other premises and

plant material, including plant material in storage or

being transported, to ascertain the presence or absence

of plant pests;

(k) imposing and determining fees and other payments in

relation to any permit or certificate required under this

Act;

(l)

prescribing forms to be used for the purposes of this

Act;

(m) for the issuing, suspension and revocation of permits

and certificates provided for under this Act;

(n) for carrying out, co-ordinating and encouraging

research in the field of plant protection;

(o) for promoting public awareness of plant pests and their

prevention, eradication and control including the use

of beneficial organisms;

(p) liaising with competent authorities in other countries

in plant protection matters;

(q) for the carrying out of the responsibilities of the

Government under the Convention and any other

international conventions relating to plant protection;

(r) prescribing punishments for offences under this Act;

(s) establishing rules for the setting up of protected zones

and rules for the movement of certain plants, plant

products or other objects through a protected zone, and

for movements of such items originating in and

moving within such protected zones;

(t)

recognising countries and, or, zones as being free from

or exposed to particular pests and diseases; and

(u) to establish a national plant health laboratory and

regulate plant health laboratory analysis.

(2) Any regulations and orders made under any of the

provisions of this Act may be made in the English language only.

(1) Any person found guilty of an offence under this Act

shall, upon an application by the Director after the sentence, be

ordered by the Court to reimburse the Director for any expenses

incurred by the Director, or by an inspector or other authorised

officer, on account of that person having acted contrary to any

order or instruction lawfully made or given under this Act.

(2) No appeal shall lie from a decision of the Court under sub-

article (1). Any sum awarded by way of reimbursement by such a

decision shall be recoverable as a civil debt, and that decision shall

be an executive title in like manner as if it were included among the

executive titles contained in article 253 of the Code of

Organization and Civil Procedure.

(3) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-articles (1) and

(2), the owner and importer of any plant material, plant pest,

beneficial organism, soil or packaging which is disposed of or

treated by the Plant Health Service or any other authorised person

under this Act shall be jointly and severally liable to reimburse the

Government for the costs of such disposal or treatment, which costs

shall be recoverable in the manner provided in articles 466 and 467

of the Code of Organization and Civil Procedure.

The Plant Protection (Fees) Regulations, 1998 made under

the Agriculture (Plant Protection) Act, repealed by this Act, shall

PLANT QUARANTINE

continue in force as if made under the provisions of this Act, and

may be amended and revoked accordingly.