Participating in the Bio-security Assurance Arrangement (BSAA)

The BSAA is a scheme provided by NParks to all institutions, companies and organizations regularly importing plants, insects and micro-organisms into the country.

Under the BSAA, the participants play a more responsible role by implementing a documented and approved management system to minimize the various risks involved during the introduction and use of the introduced plants, insects and micro-organisms. The arrangement involves periodic audits to ensure full compliance to approved and documented procedures of BSAA.

Applicant shall write to NParks via https://www.nparks.gov.sg/feedback to establish the intent to participate in BSAA and thereafter shall develop a BSAA Manual to document the management profile and quality assurance system for regular imports into Singapore.

Import of insects and micro-organisms of agricultural importance

If you are bringing in insects and micro-organisms of agricultural importance, you must write to NParks for approval and to participate in a Bio-Security Assurance Arrangement (BSAA) with NParks

Importers must obtain prior approval from NParks to import the following.

Insects of agricultural importance.

Micro-organisms of agricultural importance.

Import of genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

Before importing genetically modified organisms (GMOs), importers must obtain a letter of recommendation from the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee of Singapore (GMAC).

Please contact the Plant Science and Health (PSH) Branch via https://www.nparks.gov.sg/feedback to get more information on the process of importing GMOs.

The guidelines on the release of agriculture-related GMOs is available here.

Information on Singapore’s biosafety guidelines for research on GMOs is available here.

Post-entry inspection

Imported plants and plant products may be subject to inspection by NParks. Importers whose consignment has been flagged for inspection can make an inspection booking online via the Intelligent Food Approval & Safety Tracking System (iFAST).

Fees and charges

Fees for import permit and CITES permit.

Description

Fee

Import permit.

S$11 per consignment.

CITES permit

A minimum of S$60 per consignment (up to five species)

Each subsequent species is charged at S$12 within the same consignment