7 CFR § 352.5 - Permit; requirement, form and conditions.
(a) General.
(1) Permits are required for the arrival, unloading or landing, or other movement into or through the United States of plants, plant products, plant pests, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, and soil subject to this part. The permit may consist of a general authorization as set out in paragraph (b), (c), or (d) of this section or § 352.11, or it may be a specific permit. A specific permit may be formal or oral except as a formal permit is required by paragraph (c) or (e) of this section. The Deputy Administrator may in administrative instructions require specific or formal permits for any class of products or articles subject to this part.
(2) A formal permit may be issued in prescribed form, in letter form, or a combination thereof. A rubber stamp impression or other endorsement made by the inspector on pertinent Customs documents covering the products or articles involved may constitute the formal permit in appropriate cases.
(b) Permit for prohibited or restricted products or articles brought in for temporary stay where unloading or landing in the United States is not intended. No permit other than the authorization contained in this paragraph shall be required for bringing into the United States any plants, plant products, plant pests, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, or soil subject to this part for temporary stay where unloading or landing in the United States is not intended, e.g., in connection with residue cargo movement under Customs procedure, or in connection with Customs entry for exportation or for transportation and exportation. This authorization also includes transshipment of products and articles under this paragraph from a carrier directly to another carrier of the same company when necessitated by an emergency or operating requirement and effected in accordance with safeguards prescribed in writing or orally by the inspector under § 352.10.
(c) Permit for prohibited or restricted products or articles unloaded or landed for immediate transshipment and exportation, or immediate transportation and exportation. When in the opinion of the inspector it is unnecessary to specify in a formal permit the safeguards required to prevent plant pest dissemination, plants, plant products, plant pests, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, or soil subject to this part may be unloaded or landed for immediate transshipment and exportation or for immediate transportation and exportation, as provided in § 352.10, with the approval of the inspector and no further permit than the authorization contained in this paragraph; otherwise a formal permit shall be required for such unloading or landing.
(d) Permit for restricted products or articles moving as residue cargo from port of first arrival to port of entry. Restricted plants, plant products, plant pests, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, or soil subject to this part arriving in the United States for movement under residue cargo procedures of Customs from a port of first arrival to another port for Customs entry into the United States may be allowed to so move without permit other than the authorization contained in this paragraph, if the inspector finds that apparently they can meet the applicable requirements of parts 319, 330, and 360 of this chapter at the port where entry is to be made; otherwise a formal permit shall be required for such movement. Such restricted products and articles shall become subject to the applicable permit and other requirements of parts 319, 330, and 360 of this chapter upon arrival at the port where Customs entry is to be made and shall not be unloaded or landed unless they comply with the applicable requirements.
(e) Formal permits required for certain prohibited or restricted products or articles brought into a foreign trade zone. A formal permit must be obtained to bring any prohibited or restricted plants, plant products, plant pests, biological control organisms, noxious weeds, or soil subject to the provisions in this part, into a foreign trade zone for storage, manipulation, or other handling, except for immediate transshipment and exportation or for immediate transportation and exportation. Special conditions to safeguard such storage, manipulation, or other possession or handling may be specified in the permit, and when so specified shall be in addition to any other applicable requirements of this part or the safeguards prescribed by the inspector or otherwise under this part.