I will attempt to clear some of the confusion and misconceptions regarding the legal importation of Plants (include plant parts) and Seed in the US.
As per Code of Federal Regulations (Agriculture) Title 7.319, United States Code Title 7 (Agriculture) and United States Code Title 19 (Customs and Duties). Violations are punishable by criminal and civil penalties per United States Code Title 18 (Crimes and Criminal Procedures) - basically fines and/or imprisonment up to $250,000 or six years incarceration.
These regulations apply regardless if you are given, trade or buy plants and seeds on eBay, a website or through some other form of communication.
Falsely declaring plant material as many eBay sellers do as "craft items" is violation of the US Code 19 Customs and Duties and you can be penalized for Customs violations.
Importing plants without the proper permits and Phytosanitary Certificates and bypassing the Plant Protection and Quarantine inspection is in violation of CFR 7.319.
You are dealing with two regulating and enforcement agencies - The Department of Homeland Security (Customs) and the USDA (APHIS). Either or both can bring charges against you, sometimes years apart.
Definitions:
Lot - is a standard term used in the grain and seed industry
The Seed Lot defined as: a quantity of seed that is uniform to percentage of pure commodity seed and the germination rates; other viable non-commodity seed & recognized noxious weed seed, organic and non viable inert contaminants.
From CFR Title 7:
§ 301.92–1
Lot. A contiguous block of plants of the same species or cultivar, of the same container size and and from the same source, if known.
§ 318.13–2
Lot. A number of units of a single commodity, identifiable by its homogeneity of composition and origin, forming all or part of a consignment.
Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.
Plants for planting. Plants intended to remain planted, to be planted or replanted.
Prohibited article. Any plant for planting designated in §319.37–2 (a) or (b), except wood articles regulated under §§319.40–1 through 319.40–11, “Subpart—Logs, Lumber, and Other Unmanufactured Wood Articles.”
Regulated plant. A vascular or nonvascular plant. Vascular plants include gymnosperms, angiosperms, ferns, and fern allies. Gymnosperms include cycads, conifers, and gingko. Angiosperms include any flowering plant. Fern allies include club mosses, horsetails, whisk ferns, spike mosses, and quillworts. Nonvascular plants include mosses, liverworts, hornworts, and green algae.
Restricted article. Any plant for planting, excluding any prohibited articles listed in §319.37–2(a) or (b) of this subpart, any articles whose importation is not authorized pending pest risk analysis under §319.37–2a of this subpart, and excluding any articles regulated in §§319.8 through 319.28 or 319.41 through 319.74–4 of this part and any articles regulated in part 360 of this chapter.
<P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><FONT SIZE=3><B>Permits and Certificates Required</B></FONT><FONT SIZE=3>:</FONT></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Small Seed Lots – 50 seeds, 10 grams or less of any one taxon, no more than 50 taxa per shipment </B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Registered For Small Seed Lots</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>No</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P STYLE="font-weight: normal">seed must be free of any pests,diseases, plant or non-plant material other than seed</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Shipper must include copies of their CITES certificates</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; page-break-before: always"><B>Plants or Seed – for Lots of 13 or more or seed quantities greater than 50 seeds or 10 grams</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Registered for General Importation of Plants</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Certifies plants are free of pests and disease and meets importrequirements of US</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Shipper must include copies of their CITES certificates</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Plants or Seed – for Lots of 12 or less (where qty of seed > 50 seeds or 10 grams per taxa)</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=213><COL WIDTH=214><COL WIDTH=213><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Documentation</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Required</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Notes</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>No</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P><BR></P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>Phytosanitary Certificate</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Same as above</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=213><P>CITES (PPQ 621)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=214><P>Yes*, to applicable species</P></TD><TD WIDTH=213><P>Same as above</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">* CITES permits are not required if plants were propagated from tissue culture and sent in sealed flasks and sterile media. However they must be accompanied by certificates of artificial propagation or export permits.</P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in">Plants – see above for definitions</P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><B>Costs (as of February 2012)</B></P><TABLE WIDTH=665 BORDER=1 BORDERCOLOR="#000000" CELLPADDING=4 CELLSPACING=0><COL WIDTH=323><COL WIDTH=324><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>PPQ 621 (CITES)</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>$70 USD</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>PPQ 587</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>free</P></TD></TR><TR VALIGN=TOP><TD WIDTH=323><P>Phytosanitary Certificates</P></TD><TD WIDTH=324><P>Determined by the Issuing Country, cost is passed on to the importer/buyer. Some countries require one certificate per taxon, others one per shipment. Costs are subject to currency exchanges rates. Costs range from $20 to over $200 USD</P></TD></TR></TABLE><P STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in"><BR></P><P ALIGN=LEFT STYLE="margin-bottom: 0in; font-weight: normal"><BR></P>
Regardless of which permits and certificates are required all plant material must pass through one of the Plant Protection and Quarantine inspection centers on entering the US.
I contacted a Senior Import Specialist at the APHIS Headquarters in Riverdale, MD with these specific questions:
Q: A phytosanitary certificate is not required for plants in-vitro with
sterile media, e.g. sealed in a tissue culture flask and growing media.
Is this correct?
A: No all plants for propagation require a phytosanitary
certificate unless an import permit instructs otherwise or the commodity
is prohibited entry into the USA. The Phyto reflects the inspection of the
exporting country that the plants is the shipment meet the entry
requirements of the USA.
Q: Are plants shipped in this manner required to enter the US through a PPQ
inspection center?
A: Yes
Q: Are tubers or gemmae eligible for the Small Seeds Permit provided the
50 count or 10 grams per taxon is not exceeded?
A: No the small lots of seed is for seed not vegetative plant material.
Tubers are not seed.
Q: Or is a phytosanitary certificate required regardless?
A: A Phytosanitary certificate is required for all propagative plant material
and sometimes for non propagative plant material that is eligible for
entry into the USA.
See also this circular from APHIS that explains the obligations that a foreign shipper and importer must fulfill to legal import plants and seed to the US. A copy of this should be sent to the party exporting the plants or seed. It is available in several languages:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant_health/permits/downloads/q37-2circular.pdf
If you have any questions contact APHIS:
Contact Permit Services:
Telephone (301) 734-0841 or (877) 770-5990 (Toll-Free Automated System); Fax (301) 734-4300; Email:
Permits@aphis.usda.gov