Review of the Plant Health (Export Certification) Fees as charged by the Scottish Government

Closed 8 Feb 2018

Opened 14 Dec 2017

Contact

PHP@gov.scot

Feedback updated 4 May 2018

We asked

We asked for your views on proposed changes to the fees charged for the Inspections and production of Plant Health movement documents.

You said

We received 8 responses all from organisations.  The majority agreed that the fees should be increased.  Concerns were raised about the prosed implementation date of 31 March 2018, as it falls part way through the export season for some crops.  Due to the variety of crops and the differing export seasons it is not possible to completely avoid this.  To ensure fairness and to minimise the impact of these changes to already agreed export agreements the Scottish Ministers have agreed to delay implementation until 1 June 2018.

We did

We have fully considered all of the responses.  The responses have been published.  The new fee structure will now come into force on 1 June 2018.

Results updated 5 Apr 2019

Please see the 'We Asked, You Said, We Did' segment for more details.

Published responses

View submitted responses where consent has been given to publish the response.

Overview

A recent review of the plant health export fees has established that the current charges set do not reflect the costs incurred of providing the service. There is a Government responsibility to remove the subsidy for exporters and subsequent financial cost to taxpayers. The proposed new fee arrangement looks at ways to reduce the discrepancy.

View the full consultation paper here.

An eight week consultation was deemed appropriate as it is relevant to a narrow and specific group of stakeholders.  In addition it will allow the necessary administration work to be carried out to allow any new fee structure to be in place prior to the main export season.

Why your views matter

To make those individuals and businesses who pay the Fees aware of the proposed options. offer them the opportunity to raise an opinion and gather information on the potential effects on Scottish Businesses.

Interests

  • Farming and Rural