The Central Government has issued a notification granting exemptions to specific laboratories and organizations from obtaining insecticide registration. This notification was issued on 8th November, 2023 and is effective from that same date.
It is pertinent to note that as per the Insecticides Act, 1968 persons desirous of manufacturing or importing insecticides must obtain registrations for such insecticides. However, the central government is empowered to exempt any organisation from this requirement. The government may grant this exemption to any educational, scientific or research organisation performing experiments with insecticides.
Who Can Avail Insecticide Registration Exemption?
The following organizations benefit from this exemption:
- Indian Council for Agricultural Research,
- State Agriculture Universities,
- Institutions of the Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare,
- Department of Science and Technology, and
- Department of Scientific and Industrial Research.
Furthermore, the exemption is also available to any government or private laboratory or insecticide industry recognized by:
- the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research or
- the Department of Science and Technology,
- Ministry of Science and Technology
All these laboratories must be accredited by the National Accreditation Board for Accredited Laboratories or have Good Laboratory Practices certification with insecticides in their scope.
Quantities of Samples Exempted From Import Registration
The exemption allows the import of specified sample quantities as follows:
- Insecticide formulation: up to twenty kilograms in a calendar year.
- Technical insecticides: up to ten kilograms in a calendar year.
- Plant growth regulators, household insecticides, and other products for pre-harvest or post-harvest treatment of crop produce: up to five hundred grams in a calendar year.
Such exemption is granted for research and development purposes, registration-related data generation, and experiments with insecticides.
Conditions of Exemptions
However, the exemption is subject to several conditions, including:
- prohibition of importing banned insecticides, micro-organisms, coded, and red triangle insecticides.
- submission of an application for exemption, along with an undertaking and valid accreditation certificate.
To ensure compliance, laboratories must provide an annual report detailing the research and development work carried out by them. This information will be published on the websites of the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage.
Furthermore, laboratories are required to give an undertaking that the imported quantity of insecticides will be used exclusively for research and development activities, registration-related data generation, and experiments. Such undertaking must be made on non-judicial stamp paper.
Any laboratory found contravening these provisions or the conditions of exemption will be subject to punishment under the Insecticides Act, 1968, and the Insecticides Rules, 1971.
The notification seeks to facilitate research and development in the field of insecticides while ensuring stringent regulatory oversight.
