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Proposed changes to the import health standard for vehicles, machinery, and parts

Update

9 September 2020 – Revised IHS

MPI has issued the Vehicles, Machinery and Parts Import Health Standard and it came into force on 1 September 2020. Importers who are exporting vehicles, machinery and parts on or after 1 September 2020 need to comply with this import health standard (IHS).

Changes that importers should be aware of are:

1. The current brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB) management exclusions for new smaller vehicle types remain in the IHS.

2. Some new types of vehicles, machinery, and parts are excluded from BMSB management requirements (treatment or system management) providing they are stored indoors and exported in a fully enclosed container and a signed manufacturer's declaration is submitted before arrival. Exclusions will apply to the following commodities unless exported from Italy:

  • new machinery (non-drivable kind)
  • new jet skis and sea scooters
  • new tyres
  • new vehicle and machinery parts
  • new smaller vehicle types (including all-terrain vehicles (ATV), motorcycles, golf carts, go-karts, scooters, side by side (SxS) racers/vehicles, snowmobiles, quad bikes, and tricycles).

Examples of the new manufacturer’s declarations

3. Used small vehicle types (as listed above) exported from Japan will not require year-round mandatory system management. BMSB management requirements will apply instead.

4. Schedule 3 – BMSB management changes:

  • Includes BMSB-risk season dates as well as BMSB-risk countries (no longer stated under every commodity section).
  • Includes vehicles, machinery and parts that spend more than 5 days in a Schedule 3 country before export.
  • Includes the possibility for some vehicles, machinery, and parts being excluded from BMSB management when sealed within a fully enclosed sea contained before 1 September and exported before 1 October of the same year, if evidence of the container sealing is provided (aligns with the Sea Container IHS)
  • Kazakhstan, Moldova, Portugal, and Ukraine added to the Schedule 3 country list.

Vehicles, Machinery, and Parts – Import Health Standard [PDF, 571 KB]

Response to submissions for sea containers and vehicles, machinery, and parts 2020 [PDF, 651 KB]

Have your say

From 14 May 2020 to 17 July 2020, the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) invited comment on proposed changes to the Import Health Standard (IHS) for Vehicles, Machinery and Parts.

The changes included a new layout and usability improvements.

  • The layout was changed to give importers greater assurance around the types of vehicles, machinery and parts captured by the requirements of the IHS, especially brown marmorated stick bug management requirements.
  • The IHS was now solely based on commodity types without designated sections for brown marmorated stink bug management or used vehicles, machinery, and parts.
  • The specific commodity type lists (schedule 1) were expanded to provide as much inclusion and exclusion examples as possible.

Proposed changes to measures were:

  • Moldova, Portugal, and Ukraine have been included as brown marmorated stink bug risk countries.
  • Three changes relating to brown marmorated stink bug management including the removal of new vehicle type exclusions, mandatory submission of a declaration linked to exclusion criteria for some new commodities, and minor changes to the residual insecticide treatment option for importers of aircraft and watercraft. 
  • Three minor changes relating to the more general import pathway for vehicles, machinery, and parts.

All changes were separately listed and discussed in the risk management proposal.

Consultation documents

Risk management proposal amendment: Vehicles, machinery, and parts [PDF, 860 KB]

Draft Import Health Standard: Vehicles, Machinery, and Parts [PDF, 1 MB]

Related document

NZL 627 WTO notification [PDF, 170 KB]

Steps to finalising the new IHS

After consultation on a draft import health standard, MPI publishes a provisional IHS.

If you made a submission during the consultation, you had 10 working days to notify the director-general of MPI that you intended to request an independent review. Reviews are limited to whether or not specific scientific evidence was given sufficient consideration.

If no review is requested within 10 working days, then the provisional IHS is confirmed and issued as a standard.

For more information about reviews refer to:

Submissions are public information

Note that any submission you make becomes public information. People can ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we have to make submissions available unless we have a good reason for withholding it. That is explained in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

Tell us if you think there are grounds to withhold specific information in your submission. Reasons might include that it's commercially sensitive or it's personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold information can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may tell us to release it.

Legal background

MPI must consult with interested parties in accordance with section 23 of the Biosecurity Act 1993 (the Act) and MPI's consultation policy before issuing or amending (other than of minor or urgent nature) import health standards (IHS) under sections 24A and 24B of the Act.

An IHS specifies import requirements that must be met either in the country of origin or of export, or during transit before biosecurity clearance can be given for the goods to enter New Zealand. MPI must ensure that these requirements are technically justified and provide an appropriate level of biosecurity protection.

Find out more