APHIS Says Lacey Act Declaration Units of Measure Must be Metric Beginning May 1
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has posted a clarification to its Website stating that beginning May 1, 2010, APHIS is requiring that plant material quantities be reported on the Lacey Act declaration using standardized metric units (such as kg, m, m2, m3).
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APHIS states that this step is being taken in an effort to create a uniform dataset.
Pieces, Number, and Boxes Should Not Be Used
APHIS will no longer accept counts of items (PCS - pieces, No - number, Boxes, etc) as valid units of measure. APHIS states that counts of items do not adequately address the “quantity of the plant material” required by the Lacey Act Amendments. Counts do not allow for differences in size or weight between items, nor do they accurately reflect the actual plant content in a shipment.
Others Measurable Units Such as Board Feet Should Also Not be Used
APHIS sources now state that units such as board feet (bd ft, BF), though they are measurable and not merely counted, should also not be utilized. (APHIS sources had previously stated that metric was preferred but not required. It is unclear if APHIS will be flexible on this with respect to BF. See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/06/10 news, (Ref: 10050605), for second BP summary of this new requirement.)
Quantity Should Reflect Actual Plant Content
APHIS states that the quantity values should reflect the actual plant content in the product and not necessarily the product as a whole. (See the sample Plant and Plant Product Declaration (PPQ 505 form) for decorative wooden spoons, in the APHIS April 2010 Primer.)
(See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/05/10 news, (Ref: 10050505), for initial BP summary on this new requirement.)
APHIS clarification (posted 05/06/10) available at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/lacey_act/downloads/ClarificationQuantityandUnitofMeasure.pdf