Lacey Act

Guidance on the Lacey Act Declaration
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The Lacey Act (16 U.S.C. 3371 et seq., the Act) as amended makes it unlawful to import, export, transport, sell, receive, acquire, or purchase in interstate or foreign commerce any plant, with some limited exceptions, taken or traded in violation of the laws of the United States, a U.S. State or a foreign country. On September 2, 2009, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) published a notice in the Federal Register announcing a revised enforcement phase in plan for the Act's requirement for a plant product import declaration (see 74 Fed. Reg. 45415 for details). The revised plan identifies a list of products and the associated Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) Chapter or Heading as to which the requirement for a Plant Product Declaration Form (PPQ 505) is anticipated to be enforced.

PPQ 505: Plant Product Declaration
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A declaration is required to obtain release of a covered product. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has automated the process for collecting the PPQ 505 data elements. Data will be transmitted to CBP's Automated Commercial System (ACS) through the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) in the cargo release module. Electronic filing of the PPQ 505 declaration will not preclude remote location filing. Additional information on how to electronically file the PPQ 505 data can be found in the Participating Government Agencies chapter in the Customs and Trade Automated Interface Requirements (CATAIR) page. An importer has the option to complete and present a paper Plant and Plant Product Declaration Form PPQ 505for each line. If a paper form of the PPQ 505 is used, the importer must mail the form to USDA at the address on the form.

The most current information on implementation of the amended Lacey Act can be found on the USDA website.