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APHIS to Require Lacey Act Declarations on Sixth Set of Products in October

July 1, 2021 by Brian Feito|Top News

The next phase of Lacey Act implementation by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will begin Oct. 1, APHIS said in a notice released July 1. Phase VI subjects 27 new tariff lines to Lacey Act declaration requirements. The agency had originally planned the new requirements for October 2020 before delaying due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see 2008190010).

Though pallets are one of the newly covered products in Phase VI, APHIS will require a declaration only for new products in Harmonized Tariff Code 4415 that are formally entering the U.S., as expected (see 2106290033). The declaration requirement will not apply to used, recycled or reclaimed pallets or to pallets, empty or under load, that are used to carry goods imported into the U.S., APHIS said.

APHIS is also removing subheading 3301.29.5150, which covers “other” essential oils, from the list of subheadings covered in Phase VI. Industry has said it’s unclear what the subheading covers, and “there could be attempts to inaccurately classify products under different codes to avoid the plant import declaration requirement.” APHIS said it agrees “that this code may not provide sufficient specificity and could result in both deliberate and unintentional inaccuracies.”

The 10-digit subheadings newly subject to Lacey Act declaration requirements as of Oct. 1 are as follows: