The Act consists of 45 sections divided into 5 Parts: Preliminary (I); Inspectors (II); Importation (III); Domestic quarantine control (IV); Offences and punishment (V). Section 2 defines, among other things, “plant”, “plant pest” and “quarantine”. The Ministry of Agriculture Forests and Fisheries shall be responsible for administering this Act (sect. 3). The Minister shall appoint Inspectors as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act (sect. 8). Powers of Inspectors are set out in sections 9 to 13. The Minister may at any time prohibit by Regulations the importation of any plant, plant material, plant pest, soil, etc. pursuant to section 15 and may limit the entry of plants in accordance with section16. Importation of plants requires a permit to be issued by the Minister under section 17. Sections 18 to 32 concern inspection of importation, unauthorized importation, marking of packages, quarantine actions, etc. Importation of living cultures as defined in section 33 require a permit to be issued by the Minister. Section 34 concerns the importation of noxious weeds and section 35 regulates the discharge of garbage from any vessel or aircraft. Section 36 places restrictions on movement in Tonga of quarantined material. Sections 37 and 38 specify quarantine measures the Minister may take in case of occurrence of a plant pest (emergency).
Тонга · 1982-08-31