Importers expecting a refund from Defra for unfulfilled plant health inspections must now decide whether to accept the standard offer or press for an individual assessment.
Defra has agreed to refund charges made for inspections not completed between April 20, 2005 and August 4, 2006.
But owing to the expense and difficulty of calculating refunds on an individual basis, Defra has issued a refund offer of 68 per cent, which it says represents the average shortfall in inspections for the period.
The organisation is in the process of contacting all importers eligible for a refund, inviting them to accept the 68 per cent offer or request an individual calculation, which it says may take “some time”.
Charges that are not eligible for a refund are: charges for documentary or identity checks, which are carried out on all consignments; charges for trades subject to agreed reduced checks, where the charge has already been reduced in proportion to the reduced level of inspection; and charges for trades that have been subject to a longstanding target of 100 per cent inspection, which includes plants and potatoes.
As of August 4, 2006, Defra Plant Health has the authority to charge for inspections, whether or not the inspections take place.
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