The following definitions apply to this subpart:

Administrative instructions. Published documents related to the enforcement of this part and issued under authority of the Plant Protection Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), by the Administrator.

Administrator. The Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or any employee of the United States Department of Agriculture delegated to act in his or her stead.

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture.

Applicant. A person at least 18 years of age who, on behalf of him- or herself or another person, submits an application for a permit to import into the United States or move interstate a regulated article in accordance with this part.

Approved. Approved by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

Article. Any material or tangible objects that could harbor or be a vector of plant pests or noxious weeds.

Consignment. A quantity of plants, plant products, and/or other articles being moved from one country to another authorized when required, by a single permit. A consignment may be composed of one or more commodities or lots.

Country of origin. The country where the plants, or plants from which the plant products are derived, were grown or where the non-plant articles were produced.

Enter, entry. To move into, or the act of movement into, the commerce of the United States.

Import, importation. To move into, or the act of movement into, the territorial limits of the United States.

Inspector. Any individual authorized by the Administrator of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service or the Commissioner of the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security, to enforce the regulations in this part.

Intended use. The purpose for the importation of the regulated article, including, but not limited to, consumption, propagation, or research purposes.

Lot. All the regulated articles on a single means of conveyance that are derived from the same species of plant or are the same type of non-plant article, were subjected to the same treatments prior to importation, and are consigned to the same person.

Means of conveyance. Any personal property used for or intended for use for the movement of any other personal property.

Move. To carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to aid, abet, cause, or induce the carrying, entering, importing, mailing, shipping, or transporting; to offer to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to receive to carry, enter, import, mail, ship, or transport; to release into the environment; or to allow any of the activities described in this definition.

Oral authorization. Verbal permission to import that may be granted by an inspector at the port of entry.

Permit. A written authorization, including by electronic methods, to move plants, plant products, biological control organisms, plant pests, noxious weeds, or articles under conditions prescribed by the Administrator.

Permittee. The person who, on behalf of self or another person, is legally the importer of an article, meets the requirements of §319.7-2(f), and is responsible for compliance with the conditions for the importation that is the subject of a permit issued in accordance with this part.

Person. Any individual, partnership, corporation, association, joint venture, or other legal entity.

Plant. Any plant (including any plant part) for or capable of propagation, including a tree, a tissue culture, a plantlet culture, pollen, a shrub, a vine, a cutting, a graft, a scion, a bud, a bulb, a root, and a seed.

Plant pest. Any living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant product: A protozoan; a nonhuman animal; a parasitic plant; a bacterium; a fungus; a virus or viroid; an infectious agent or other pathogen; or any article similar to or allied with any of the foregoing enumerated articles.

Plant product. Any flower, fruit, vegetable, root, bulb, seed, or other plant part that is not included in the definition of plant, or any manufactured or processed plant or plant part.

Port of entry. A port at which a specified shipment or means of conveyance is accepted for entry or admitted without entry into the United States for transit purposes.

Port of first arrival. The area (such as a seaport, airport, or land border) where a person or means of conveyance first arrives in the United States, and where inspection of regulated articles may be carried out by inspectors.

PPQ. The Plant Protection and Quarantine Program, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, delegated responsibility for enforcing provisions of the Plant Protection Act and related legislation, quarantines and regulations.

Regulated article. Any material or tangible object regulated by this part for entry into the United States or interstate movement.

Soil. The unconsolidated material from the earth's surface that consists of rock and mineral particles mixed with organic material and that supports or is capable of supporting biotic communities.

State. Any of the several States of the United States, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, or any other territory or possession of the United States.

Treatment. A procedure approved by the Administrator for neutralizing infestations or infections of plant pests or diseases, such as fumigation, application of chemicals or dry or moist heat, or processing, utilization, or storage.

United States. All of the States.