The 2009 ABCs of Seed Importation into Canada

A. The Seeds Regulations have some specific information requirements in order to import seed into Canada to verify that seed imported into Canada is free of prohibited noxious weeds and meets the minimum standards for purity and germination for the crop kind in question.

In order to import seed, the importer must provide a signed statement including the following:

• the name of the species or crop kind being imported*
• the weight of seed being imported
• the lot designation of the seed (see Section T)
• the name and address of the exporter
• the name, address and telephone number of the importer
• for species requiring variety registration, the name of the variety (refer to the Seeds Regulations Schedule III)
• the country in which the seed was produced
• the intended purpose of importation (see Section P)

The importer must also provide an acceptable certificate of analysis (see Section G)

* Importers are encouraged to provide both the common name and the scientific name of the species and crop kind being imported as this increases the speed of processing the notices of release.

There may be additional requirements under the Plant Protection Act and Regulations. See Automated Import Reference System (AIRS) at www.inspection.gc.ca/english/imp/airse.shtml for more information. In addition, for information related to the importation of non-indigenous plant taxa, either not present in Canada or not yet widely distributed in Canada, contact CFIA's Invasive Plant Section at invasive.plants@inspection.gc.ca.

The CFIA Plant Health Program regulates all types of seed for the presence of soil. Seed contaminated with soil may be refused entry into Canada. Please contact the Horticulture Section for more information.

To facilitate rapid processing of your import, the information should be entered onto the Import Declaration Form (CFIA/ACIA Form 4560) that is available at www.inspection.gc.ca/english/for/mpppe.shtml. The importer must sign the declaration form and send it to the Import Service Centre (ISC) closest to the point of entry. The Import Service Centres and the Canadian Border Services Agency also require the use of a Request for Release Approval form (CFIA/ACIA Form 5272), available at the same URL.

B. Upon submission of this documentation, the ISC will allow the seed to enter the country pending a release decision. The documentation will be sent by the ISC to the CFIA Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section for review to determine if the importation meets the Canadian requirements including purity and germination. The Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section will communicate with the importer directly.

C. Until such time as a notice of release is issued by the Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section indicating that the seed meets the requirements of the Seeds Regulations, the importer is required to keep the seed separate from all other seed and intact in its packaging.

D. Unregistered Varieties

Varieties of most agricultural crop kinds must be registered under Part III of the Seeds Regulations in order to be imported into or sold in Canada. There are specific exemptions to this requirement

Unregistered varieties may be imported into Canada for:

• conditioning
• research
• sale pursuant to subsection 5(4) of the Seeds Regulations.

In addition, other than unregistered varieties of wheat being imported into the Canadian Wheat Board Area, unregistered varieties may be imported for seeding by the importer.

In order to determine if the varieties of the species you are importing requires variety registration, please refer to Schedule III of the Seeds Regulations. In order to determine if the specific variety you are importing is registered, please refer to http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/plaveg/variet/vartoce.shtml.

When importing seed of unregistered varieties, importers should be aware that they may be subject to additional regulatory requirements under Part V of the Seeds Regulations if the seed is derived from a plant with a novel trait (PNT).

A plant is considered novel if it contains a trait that is both new to the Canadian environment and has the potential to affect the specific use and safety of the plant with respect to the environment and human health. For example, a plant may be subject to regulation if it is a product of biotechnology, and/or displays novel herbicide tolerance, and/or has a new trait that could increase its weediness or invasiveness.

PNTs that have been approved for unconfined environmental release in Canada do not require any additional import conditions beyond those that would otherwise apply. The plants evaluated for environmental and livestock feed safety database of approved PNTs is available on the CFIA web site.

PNTs that have not been approved for environmental release in Canada do require an import permit. Directive 96-13 describes the import permit requirements for PNTs and their products. Any questions about the importation of PNTs into Canada can be directed to the Plant Biosafety Office at 613-221-4357.

E. Exemptions from the Importation Requirements

The following are exemptions from the above requirements:

1. Where the imported seed lot is 5 kg or less for large seeded crop kinds such as peas, wheat, soybeans and corn or is 500 g or less for small seeded crop kinds such as alfalfa, tomato or canola, neither the import declaration information nor the certificate of analysis need be supplied. See Section X(below) for clarification of importations with multiple small seed lots
2. In order to determine whether the species is "large seeded" or small seeded, please refer to Section Z. If the species is listed as having 199 seeds or less per gram, it is considered large seeded. If the species is listed as having 200 seeds or more per gram, it is considered small seeded.
3. Where the seed is being imported for research purposes or for conditioning, the certificate of analysis need not include information on the percent germination.
4. Certificates of analysis and import declarations are not required for lots of herb seed that are 5 kg or less, or for flower seed, tree or shrub seed, true potato seed, ginseng, seeds of aquatic plants or onion/garlic multiplier sets. Please note that this exemption does not apply to wildflowers; importations of seed lots of wildflower species or mixtures that are greater than 500 grams require an import declaration and a certificate of analysis.
5. For non-pedigreed seed of forage species, the name of the variety need not be supplied on the import declaration.

F. Seed Importation Fees

For the purposes of calculating fees:

"small shipment" means an imported seed shipment that weighs less than

1. 5 kg, in the case of large seeded crop kinds; and
2. 500 g, in the case of small seeded crop kinds.

There are no fees for the small shipments described above. For all other shipments by non-Authorized Importers, the fees are:

• $15.00 for a shipment of 1,500 kg or less
• $0.01 per kg for a shipment of more than 1,500 kg

Authorized Importers pay an annual authorization fee and are exempt from fees for individual shipments.

G. Acceptable Certificate of Analysis

Acceptable certificates of analysis may be obtained from:

• officially recognized laboratories
• CFIA accredited graders for large crop kinds
• seed testing laboratories operating under the supervision of a Senior or Associate member of the Commercial Seed Analysts' Association of Canada
• seed testing laboratories operating under the supervision of a Registered Seed Technologist registered by the Society of Commercial Seed Technologist or
• a seed testing laboratory operated by or under the authority of a national or state government of a foreign country or
• a laboratory accredited by the International Seed Testing Association.

These certificates of analysis must provide sufficient information on purity and germination to verify that the seed lot meets the minimum standards for importation. They must be signed by the analyst and bear an official seal.

The lot numbers on the certificates of analysis must be identical to the lot numbers of the seed being imported.

H. The above requirements only pertain to seed for propagation purposes. Seed being imported for use in a food product such as mustard seed or cumin seed are not subject to the requirements of the Seeds Act and Regulations. Similarly, seed being imported for laboratory analysis including purity and germination testing is not required to comply with these requirements. Specialty items such as jewelry made of seeds or pens containing seed in clear tubes are not considered seeds and are not subject to the Seeds Act and Regulations. Similarly, specialty items such as pottery objects with seeds for ornamental sprouting purposes are not considered seeds for propagation and are not subject to the Seeds Act and Regulations.

Seed imported for the production of sprouts for human consumption (e.g. alfalfa and mung bean sprouts) is not considered to be seed for propagation and are not subject to the Seeds Act and Regulations.

I. Industrial Hemp

Importers of industrial hemp, in the form of seed, must be licensed by Health Canada. In addition to holding a licence, they are also required to obtain a permit from Health Canada for each shipment. For more information, please contact the Industrial Hemp Section, Health Canada at 613-954-6524 or by e-mail, hemp@hc-sc.gc.ca. Additional information concerning the application for an industrial hemp licence can be obtained from the Health Canada website: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/substancontrol/hemp-chanvre/index-eng.php

J. Importer

The importer is a person or company residing in Canada. The onus is on the importer to provide the information required for seed importation outlined in Section A.

K. Authorized Importer

Importers who have been registered as "Authorized Importers" upon the recommendation of the Canadian Seed Institute need only provide their Authorized Importer number along with the Request for Release Approval Form at the time of importation. They are required to inform their local CFIA office within 30 days of the importation, providing the information required by Section 40 (3) of the Seeds Regulations. They are also required to conduct an import conformity assessment. If the seed meets the minimum importation requirements, the seed is released and Authorized Importers are required to retain a copy of the seed import release decision and supporting documentation. If the seed does not meet import requirements, the Authorized Importer communicates with the local CFIA office to arrange for appropriate corrective action or disposal.

L. Pre-clearance by Authorized Importers

Authorized Importers may issue import release decisions for non-authorized importers prior to the importation of the seed. The non-authorized importer must supply the information required in Section A to the Authorized Importer in advance of the importation. The importer must supply a seed import release decision along with the Request for Release Approval Form at the time of importation. Not all Authorized Importers choose to supply this service to the public.

N. Seed Import Instruction Notice

When your importation is allowed into the country by the Import Service Centre, the Import Service Centre will send you a Seed Import Instruction Notice reminding you that your seed must be kept separate and intact until a notice of release is granted by the Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section. The notice also reminds you of the information and documents required to obtain the notice of release.

O. Own use

Own use is defined as the planting of seed on one's own land or on land rented by the owner of the seed.

P. Purposes of Importation

When completing the import declaration, the importer must declare the purpose of the importation. Under the Seeds Regulations, there are four purposes of importation:

• research (see Section R)
• own use includes seed production (see Section O)
• sale/resale (see Section S)
• conditioning includes conditioning for re-export (see Section Q). We ask that importers use these terms. Seed Section is currently working to have the import declaration form revised to meet current regulatory needs.

Q. Conditioning

Conditioning is defined as the cleaning, processing, packing, treating or changing in any other manner the nature of a seed lot. Seed imported for conditioning is exempt from most standards. However, the importer must provide an acceptable certificate of analysis at time of importation to show the lot is free of any prohibited noxious weed seeds. Prior to conditioning, this lot is to be released even though it does not meet a minimum grade standard, on the basis of the conditioning exemption.

R. Research purposes

The definition of "research purposes" is for use in interpreting the Seeds Regulations only. Other related import authorities, such as the Plant Biosafety Office which administers Part V of the Seeds Regulations, or those groups administering the Plant Protection Act, may have differing definitions of research for the purposes of their legislation. The following are examples of what is considered research for the purposes of the Seeds Regulations:

• variety registration trials conducted for the purposes of generating data to be reviewed by a committee that is recognized by the Minister as a variety registration recommending committee.
• pest control products trials conducted for the purposes of generating data in support of the registration of a pest control product for use on a specific crop.
• adaptation trials or other scientific evaluation conducted by a recognized university, provincial or federal department of agriculture or by a plant breeder recognized by the CSGA.

Please note that where imported seed is to be crushed and analyzed for chemical purposes, there are no requirements under the Seeds Regulations as the seed is not being imported for propagation. Similarly, where seed is being imported for purity and germination analysis and not for further propagation, the seed is exempt from the requirements of the Seeds Regulations.

S. Sell

Sell is defined as agree to sell, or offer, keep, expose, transit, send, convey or deliver for sale, or agree to exchange or to dispose of to any person in any manner for a consideration.

T. Lot Designation

The lot number or unique identifier is important for linking the information on various documents. It must appear on the Seed Analysis Certificate and one or more of the other submitted documents i.e. import declaration form, invoice or blend sheet. It is not sufficient for there to be a lot designation appearing only on the Seed Analysis certificate, with no corresponding lot designation on other documents.

There is currently no clear space on the import declaration form for the provision of this information. Please enter this information into Box 20 of the form "Other References".

U. Confusing Species

A common importation question pertains to the importation of seed for "catgrass" or seed designed to be grown in pots for grazing by domestic housepets. Catgrass is not a recognized species but is rather the end use of a number of possible species such as wheat, barley and oats. It is important for importers to clearly specify the species or kind of seed as well as the variety being imported e.g. Oats, barley etc. as catgrass. Forage oats are exempt from variety registration, and therefore can be imported and sold without being of a registered variety.

Seeds of Poppy, other than Papaver somniferum, are permitted in Canada. Papaver somniferum is a controlled substance as per the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Oriental poppy is a commonly imported species of poppy.

W. Warning

It is a contravention of the Seeds Act and Regulations and most other regulatory legislation to provide false or misleading information orally or in writing to an inspector or other officer engaged in carrying out his duties or functions under this Act.

Examples include importing seed for own use then subsequently selling the seed. If following the importation, the importer's use intentions for the seed change, the importer must submit a revised import declaration to:

• the Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section, if the notice of release has not been issued
• the nearest CFIA office, if the notice of release has been issued.

Similarly, importations of wheat as grain for food or feed use may not be subsequently used for the purposes of plant propagation until the required importation documentation has been submitted to the Saskatoon Laboratory - Seed Science and Technology Section and a notice of release is issued.

X. Explanatory Notes

1. When determining the weight of seed being imported for the purpose of determining fees and lot sizes, the weight of the seed refers only to the weight of the seed itself. The weight does not include any seed coatings, seed packaging material or any material to which the seed is attached e.g. seed tape.
2. For the purposes of determining whether a "small lot" exemption is triggered, seed lot refers to a quantity of seed to which a unique identifier (such as a variety name or seed lot number) is assigned. There may be one or more packages that make up the seed lot being imported. For example 250 envelopes each containing 1 g of carrot seed of a variety called "Fred" may make up a seed lot for importation. The seed lot size is 250 g. The carrot seed may be accompanied by equal quantities of tomato, beet and bell pepper seed to make up a seed shipment weighing 1 kg. This shipment would be subject to the minimum $15 import fee; however, the individual seed lots would not be subject to the import declaration or certificate of analysis requirements.

Z. Approximate number of seeds per gram

• Species ≤ 199 seeds per gram = Large seeded species
• Species ≥ 200 seeds per gram = Small seeded species

Seed type	Seeds per gram
Alfalfa	500
Alkaligrass, weeping	3800
Anise	350
Artichoke	25
Asparagus	25
Balm, lemon	2000
Barley	30
Basil	680
Bean, broad	1
Bean, faba	2
Bean, field	4
Bean, lima	2
Bean, runner	1
Bean, field	55
Bean, sugar	55
Bentgrass, colonial	16400
Bentgrass, colonial (Astoria)	12500
Bentgrass, colonial (Highland)	20000
Bentgrass, creeping	15400
Bentgrass, velvet	21000
Bentgrass, annual	2600
Bentgrass,Canada	5300
Bentgrass, Kentucky	3600
Bentgrass, rough	5100
Bentgrass, supina	3500
Bentgrass, wood	5700
Borage	90
Broccoli	315
Bromegrass	300
Bromegrass, meadow	195
Brussels sprouts	315
Buckwheat, common	45
Buckwheat, tartarian	45
Cabbage	315
Canarygrass	150
Canarygrass, reed	1200
Canola (Brassica napus)	350
Canola (Brassica rapa)	540
Cantaloupe	45
Caraway	500
Carrot	825
Catnip	1690
Cauliflower	315
Celeriac	2500
Celery	2500
Celtuce	900
Chervil	550
Chickpea	2
Chicory	940
Chives	925
Chives, garlic	350
Citron	11
Clover, alsike	1500
Clover, crimson	350
Clover, hop, large	5400
Clover, hop, small	1950
Clover, hop, yellow	2200
Clover, ladino	2000
Clover, red	600
Clover, strawberry	635
Clover, subterranean	120
Clover, sweet	570
Clover, white	1500
Collards	315
Coriander	105
Corn, field	3
Corn, pop	3
Corn, sweet	4
Cornsalad	380
Cowpea	8
Cress, garden	425
Cress, upland	1160
Crownvetch	300
Cucumber	40
Dandelion	1200
Dill	800
Dogtail, crested	1900
Eggplant	230
Emmer	25
Endive	940
Fennel	300
Fenugreek	70
Fescue, Chewings	1000
Fescue, hard	1300
Fescue, meadow	500
Fescue, red	1000
Fescue, sheep's	1170
Fescue, tall	500
Flax	180
Foxtail, meadow	1050
Kale	315
Kidneyvetch	435
Kohlrabi	315
Lavander	395
Leek	395
Lentil	40
Lespedeza, common	750
Lespedeza, Korean	525
Lespedeza, sericea	820
Lettuce	900
Lovage	350
Lupine, blue	7
Lupine, white	7
Lupine, yellow	9
Mangel	60
Medick, black	585
Millet, foxtail	470
Millet, Japanese	320
Millet, pearl	195
Millet, proso	180
Mint, pepper	16660
Mint, spear	11520
Muskmelon	45
Mustard, black	1255
Mustard, Indian	625
Mustard, spinach	535
Mustard, white	160
Needlegrass, green	370
Oat	40
Oatgrass, tall	375
Okra	19
Onion	340
Orchardgrass	1140
Oregano	8640
Pakchoi	635
Parsley	650
Parsley, Japanese	600
Parsnip	430
Pea, field	4
Pea, garden	3
Peanut	2
Pepper	170
Pe-Tsai	635
Pumpkin	5
Purslane	2500
Radish	75
Redtop	11000
Rhubarb	60
Rosemary	740
Rye	40
Ryegrass, annual	450
Ryegrass, perennial	480
Safflower	30
Sage	120
Sainfoin	50
Salsify	65
Savory	1750
Sorghum	55
Sorghum almum	150
Sorghum-sudangrass	110
Sorrel	1080
Soybean	6
Soybean, natto-type	13
Spelt	25
Spinach	100
Spinach, New Zealand	13
Squash	14
Sudangrass	100
Sunflower (cultivated)	9
Tarragon	5550
Thyme	3560
Thyme, mother-of	1000
Timothy	2500
Tobacco	15600
Tomato	400
Tomato, husk	1240
Trefoil, bird's foot	815
Trilicale	50
Turnip	535
Vetch, hairy	35
Vetch, Hungarian	24
Vetch, common	19
Watermelon	11
Wheat, common	25
Wheat, durum	25
Wheatgrass, fairway crested	700
Wheatgrass, standard crested	425
Wheatgrass, intermediate	195
Wheatgrass, northern	370
Wheatgrass, pubescent	180
Wheatgrass, slender	320
Wheatgrass, streambank	370
Wheatgrass, tall	150
Wheatgrass, western	250
Wildrye, Altai	155
Wildrye, Dahurian	190
Wildrye, Russian	375