Guidance

How to complete a CSV file for IPAFFS (plants and plant products)

Updated 14 May 2024

You can use a CSV file to upload commodity details about plants and plant products to the Import of products, animals, food and feed system (IPAFFS).

You must enter the values into the CSV file exactly as they appear in this guide.

Download the IPAFFS CSV template file.

The previous version of the CSV template is no longer supported.

If you try to upload a CSV file using the previous template, you’ll get the following error message: ‘We do not recognise these column headings – download the CSV template and try again’.

The updated CSV template includes an ‘Intended for final users (or commercial flower production)’ column, which is required for some plants and bulbs that are for planting. This replaces the ‘Intended for final user or propagated’ column in the previous version.

Commodity code

Required for all commodities.

Enter a commodity code.

IPAFFS allows you to search for commodities by genus and species when creating your import notification. You can use this search feature to look up the correct commodity codes you need.

Read guidance on how to locate commodity codes.

Genus and species

Enter a valid scientific name for the commodity, such as ‘Chamaecrista comosa var. capricorna’. You can enter a European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO) code into column C instead and leave the genus and species column blank.

Use the EPPO global database to find the scientific names.

EPPO code

Enter an EPPO code from the EPPO global database.

You can enter the genus and species into column B instead of entering an EPPO code.

Variety

Required for fruit and vegetables (commodity codes starting with 07 and 08) which are Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (HMI) and Specific Marketing Standard (SMS) regulated.

The value must match the name of a variety in IPAFFS, including spaces and capital letters.

Class

Required for fruit and vegetables (commodity codes starting with 07 and 08) which are HMI and SMS regulated.

Your answer must match one of these values exactly, including spaces and capital letters:

  • Class I

  • Class II

  • Extra Class

Intended for final users (or commercial flower production)

Required for some plants and bulbs (commodity codes starting with 06 and 07) which are for planting.

Your answer must match one of these values exactly, including capital letters:

  • Yes

  • No

If you’re importing bulbs

If the bulbs are intended for final users or commercial flower production, enter ‘Yes’ in this column. Otherwise, enter ‘No’.

You only need to enter a value for the following commodity codes:

  • 06011010 (Hyacinths)

  • 06011020 (Narcissi)

  • 06011030 (Tulips)

  • 06011040 (Gladioli)

  • 06011090 (Other)

If you’re importing plants

If the commodity is intended for final users, enter ‘Yes’ in this column. Otherwise, enter ‘No’.

You only need to enter a value for the commodity codes shown in the following table.

Commodity code Commodity heading Commodity name
06012010 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots Chicory plants and roots
06012030 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots Orchids, hyacinths, narcissi and tulips
06012090 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots Other
0601209010 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots Plants (rhizomes in flower) of Colocasia Schott
0601209090 Bulbs, tubers, tuberous roots, corms, crowns and rhizomes, in growth or in flower; chicory plants and roots Other
06021010 Unrooted cuttings and slips Of vines
06021090 Unrooted cuttings and slips Other
0602109010 Unrooted cuttings and slips Mormodica L., Solanum Melogena L. and Trichosantes L.
0602109090 Unrooted cuttings and slips Other
06022010 Trees, shrubs and bushes, grafted or not, of kinds which bear edible fruit or nuts Vine slips, grafted or rooted
06022020 Trees, shrubs and bushes, grafted or not, of kinds which bear edible fruit or nuts With bare roots
06022030 Trees, shrubs and bushes, grafted or not, of kinds which bear edible fruit or nuts Citrus
06022080 Trees, shrubs and bushes, grafted or not, of kinds which bear edible fruit or nuts Other
0602300010 Rhododendrons and azaleas, grafted or not Rhododendrons
0602300090 Rhododendrons and azaleas, grafted or not Azaleas
06024000 Roses, grafted or not Roses, grafted or not
0602400010 Roses, grafted or not Cuttings
0602400090 Roses, grafted or not Other
06029020 Other Pineapple plants
06029030 Other Vegetable and strawberry plants
06029041 Other Forest trees
06029045 Other Rooted cuttings and young plants
06029046 Other With bare roots
06029047 Other Conifers and evergreens
06029048 Other Other
06029050 Other Other outdoor plants
0602905010 Other Mormodica L., Solanum Melogena L. and Trichosantes L.
0602905090 Other Other
06029070 Other Rooted cuttings and young plants, excluding cacti
06029091 Other Flowering plants with buds or flowers, excluding cacti
0602909110 Other Potted plants not exceeding 1m in height
0602909190 Other Other
06029099 Other Other
0602909910 Other Potted plants not exceeding 1m in height
0602909990 Other Other

Number of packages

Required for all commodities.

Enter the number of packages for this commodity in your consignment. You must use digits only.

You can find the number of packages on your phytosanitary certificate.

Do not use commas in numbers over 999. For example, enter one thousand packages as 1000.

Type of package

Required for all commodities.

Use the following list of codes to identify the type of packaging used to transport this commodity.

Your answer must match one of these codes exactly, including capital letters.

If your answer does not match one of these codes, the type of package will default to ‘Other’ when uploaded to IPAFFS.

Description                              Code
Bag                                      BG  
Bale                                     BL  
Box                                      BX  
Bulk solid granular particles (“grains”) VR  
Can                                      CA  
Carton                                   CT  
Case                                     CS  
Cask                                     CK  
Coffer                                   CF  
Container                                CN  
Crate                                    CR  
Package                                  PK  
Pallet                                   PX  
Tray                                     PU  
Tube                                     TU  
Vial                                     VI  
Wood barrel                              BA  
Wood bundle                              BE  
Wood case with pallet base               EE  
Wood crate                               8B  

Quantity

Required for all commodities.

This is the quantity of the commodity in this row.

You must use digits only.

For example, if the consignment has 10 boxes of the same commodity and each box contains 100 bulbs, the quantity is 1000.

Do not use commas in numbers over 999. For example, enter one thousand bulbs as 1000.

This number relates to the Quantity type value that follows in the CSV file.

Quantity type

Required for all commodities.

This is the measurement unit used for the commodity you are importing.

Your answer must match one of these codes exactly, including capital letters.

Description              Code
Bulbs                    BLB 
Corms and rhizomes       CRZ 
Kilograms                KGM 
Pieces                   PCS 
Plants in tissue culture PTC 
Seeds                    SDS 
Stems                    STM 

Net weight (kg)

Required for all commodities.

This is the net weight of the entire commodity in this row, measured in kilograms (kg).

The net weight (kg) value must:

  • be a number only – do not include ‘kilograms’ or ‘kg’
  • be 0.001 or greater
  • use no more than 3 decimals, for example 12.345 not 12.3456

Do not use commas to separate numbers over 999. For example, enter one thousand kilograms as 1000.

Controlled atmosphere container

Optional (leaving this blank will default to ‘No’ when uploaded to IPAFFS).

This identifies if the commodity is being stored in a controlled atmosphere container.

Your answer must match one of these values exactly, including capital letters:

  • Yes
  • No