The General Office of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration ("NFGA") has recently issued the Circular on Starting the Use of the New Phytosanitary Certificate (the "Circular").
The Circular sets out requirements in three respects. The first is tightening the management of certificates. Efforts will be made to further improve the certificate management system and effectively handle the application for and the issue of new-version certificates, and altering the style of new certificates is prohibited; also, actions will be taken to severely crack down on acts of unlawfully selling certificates and of forging, selling or using fake certificates, and legally pursue the liability of relevant individuals held responsible. The second is ensuring a smooth transition for upgrading the certificates from the old to the new. Each region shall timely notify departments of transport, agriculture and rural affairs, customs, railway, civil aviation and post within the local administrative region, of matters concerning the launch of new certificates, and work collaboratively with them to verify certificates. The third is regulating the issue of certificates. All levels of quarantine agencies of forestry and plants shall strengthen the administration of the issue of quarantine inspectors' certificates, and, under the principles of "letting whoever conducts quarantine tests shoulder the responsibility" and "letting whoever issues certificates shoulder the responsibility", earnestly carry out on-the-spot quarantine tests and quarantine tests of origin; they are prohibited from merely issuing certificates without performing quarantine tests. Applications for phytosanitary certificates must be handled on the "Quarantine Management and Service Platform for Prevention and Control of Forestry Pests".