User Pays’ Charges: issuing of animal health export and associated certificates.

STATES OF JERSEY

USER PAYS' CHARGES: ISSUING OF ANIMAL HEALTH EXPORT AND ASSOCIATED CERTIFICATES

Lodged au Greffe on 5th March 2010

by the Minister for Planning and Environment

STATES GREFFE

2010   Price code: B  P.25

PROPOSITION

THE STATES are asked to decide whether they are of opinion

in  accordance  with  user  pays'  principle,  new  charges  are  introduced  for issuing  export  health  certificates  and  movement  documents  for  export  of animals and animal products and for professional services in connection with export  certification,  carried  out  by  the  States  Veterinary  Officer  and Inspectors.

MINISTER FOR PLANNING AND ENVIRONMENT

REPORT

On 5th May 2009 the Minister for Planning and Environment made a Decision, MD- PE-2009-90, proposing introduction of new cost recovery charges for issue of export health  certificates  and  shellfish  movement  documents  and  for  inspection  or examination of animals and animal products.

Official documents and inspections are required for international trade. The necessary documents are issued by the Department and depending on the animal species or product, are completed by the States Veterinary Officer, private veterinary surgeons or Inspectors. Introduction of charges accords with States policy of user pays' where a section  of  the  community  receives  a  valuable  service  from  the  States  which  is subsidised by taxpayers generally.

To minimise the risk of disease transmission and in the case of live animals, ensure welfare is not compromised, international animal and animal product movements are commonly subject to veterinary health certification in the country of origin. In the case of fish and shellfish, inspection to produce the required certificate is carried out by authorised Inspectors.

Export Certificates may be legally required and are official documents issued by government as the competent authority, and completed by the inspecting veterinary surgeon or Inspector to enable trade or movement to take place. There is currently no charge for issue of the certificates or required inspections and certification, which sometimes requires working outside normal hours and subsequently overtime payment to States staff.

In the case of dogs and cats, Export Health Certificates are issued by the States to the exporter's private veterinary surgeon for the necessary inspection and certification. Exporters  are  liable  for  their  private  veterinary  surgeon's  fee.  Export  Health certification  of  other  species  is  carried  out  by  the  States  Veterinary  Officer  or Inspector. No charge is made to exporters for examination or inspection of animals and animal products and certification for export by Department staff.

In 2008 the numbers of export health certificates issued and numbers of consignments inspected are as follows –

Issue  of  export  health  certificates  for  dogs  and  cats  may  be  time  consuming, particularly when the importing country's conditions have to be established and the exporter and their veterinary surgeon advised. The Certificate and any associated documents are then prepared and issued to the nominated private veterinary surgeon who carries out the necessary work, paid for  by the client. Dogs and cats to be exported to European Member States are accompanied by a passport issued by the veterinary practice. Passports are official documents issued by the Department at no cost. No cost for issue of European Pet Passports is proposed at this time.

It is proposed to introduce a standard fee of £40 for issue of 3rd country export health certificates which do not require inspection of animals or animal products by States staff.  The  fee  is  based  on  average  time  to  process  applications  and  dispatch  the documents to private vets.

It is proposed to introduce a standard fee of £20 for issue of required intra-community trade, U.K., Bailiwick of Guernsey and Isle of Man health certificates. Inspection by States staff will incur an additional charge. The fee is based on average time to process applications, dispatch documents and notify the receiving jurisdiction. When a health certificate  is  not  required  and  only  notification  between  competent  authorities  is necessary e.g. oyster exports for relaying, no charge will be made.

Exports require preparation of the certificate followed by clinical inspection of the animal(s) or product(s) and completion of the certificate. Inspection and certification frequently takes place at the premises of origin from which they will be exported. Time taken, including travelling, to carry out the procedure varies from approximately 40 minutes to 2 hours.

It is proposed inspections and certification by State Veterinary Officer are charged at £27.53 per 20 minutes, or part thereof, to include travelling and office time.

It is proposed inspections and certification of shellfish and fish by an Inspector are charged at £14 per 20 minutes, or part thereof, to include travelling and office time.

The charges are based on civil servant charge out rates for the appropriate grades, and proposed in 20 minute blocks. Some inspections take less than 20 minutes, therefore, it is reasonable to charge in this way rather than for 1 hour minimum.

Fees will be liable whenever an inspection visit is made, whether a certificate can be signed or not e.g. animal not presented, animal or product does not meet certification requirement. The difference in charging regimes reflects the grade of staff member carrying out inspection.

Exporters may opt to employ an authorised private veterinary surgeon to carry out the necessary inspection and certification for terrestrial species.

Financial and resource implications

Based on the number of export health certificates issued and inspections carried out in 2008 and considering a significant EU legislative change which has decreased the requirement for shellfish inspections, the projected first year income is £2,000.

There are no financial or staffing implications for the States as the work is already carried out. Income will vary as it is influenced by economic and trading conditions and  whether  exporters  choose  to  use  a  private  veterinary  surgeon  to  carry  out certification.

Examples of additional cost for the private sector are £47.53 to export a pet bird to a European Member State (not U.K. for which no certification is required), £100 to export a horse to Europe (no certification is required for movement to U.K.) and £100 to export a small consignment of cattle.

Summary of charges